[Groop] Overly Short Comic Con Report

[Eric Chun]

Hi guys/grrls!

Flew to San Diego on Wednesday afternoon.  One guy sitting
in the row behind me on the plane was telling a kid that he's
going to the Comic Con, and that he had owned a comic
store.  I asked him which store.  "Big Guys in Mountain View,"
he replied.  He sold it two years ago, and the name of the
store changed.  I told him that I've been there, and they're
-still- using bags with "Big Guys" on them.  Evidently, they
haven't run out of his bags yet!

Took an hour of waiting in line to get to the Dollar Rent-A-Car
counter.  By far, the longest wait -ever-.  The guy in line
after me finally got to the counter next to me.  He then asks
the rental agent, "Is this the Hertz counter??"  (He was just
kidding.)  That was so funny, it almost made the wait worth it!

By then, it was past 3:30pm.  Preview night starts at 5:30pm.
Wanted to check out a guitar shop (Buffalo Brothers) in
Carlsbad, and then go to preview night.  Carlsbad didn't seem
too far away -- only 35 miles.  But traffic was bad.  Made it to
the guitar shop.  Didn't make it to preview night.  Picking up
your badge at the convention center closed at 7:30pm.
Missed it by 10 minutes or so ...

Life isn't just a comic con, so gotta see at least one of the
other attractions in San Diego every year.  Went to the San
Diego Zoo on Thursday morning.  San Diego was overcast with
clouds every morning, so going to the zoo in the morning is
perfect.  It's not as hot as when the sun is out.  The zoo has
a deal with China -- any Panda cubs born there have to be sent
back to China when they're old enough to go.  They still have
1 Panda cub.

Headed for the Comic Con at 1:00pm.  No parking spaces
to be found anywhere near the convention center, or even
10 blocks downtown!  All of the parking lots were full.  It
was now 2:15pm.  At this rate, might miss the Groo panel!  De-
cided to do something unconventional.  Drove to the cruise
ships.  Finally found a parking lot with some spaces there.  It
was about a mile away from the convention center, and the
sun was blazing by that time.  Overheating by the time I
walked to the convention center.  Drank a 20-ounce bottle
of water, and bought a new Graphitti t-shirt to change into.
Made it in time, but that's the last time I go on a trek before
the Groo panel!  (Some people never learn from other's ex-
periences ...)

Just happened to get a great spot for the Groo panel.  Saw
Kaytee, Steve, Gary, Becky, Claire, Janet, Elie, and George
there.  Don't know what Dougie looks like.  Sergio walked into
the room (on time!), pointed at me and a few people by me
and said, "Hey -- you guys are at the wrong panel!"

Sergio, Mark, Stan, and Tom were on the panel.  Wendy
Pini (Elfquest) was sitting right behind me.  Didn't know who
she was, until Mark mentioned that she was one of the
artists who worked on Fanboy.  Gordon Kent, who colored
the 1st Groo story, was also there.  A few people were video-
taping the panel.  Gary got the spotlight when explaining the
Turkish Groos.  This time, Mark told everyone to leave their
cel phones on, but to bring them up to the panel when some-
one calls.  Those of you on the non-trip could have called in!

Friday, Jeannie Schulz visited Sergio's table, but Sergio wasn't
there.  Scott Shaw! was watching his table.  He told her that
they had met many years ago.  Jeannie had to get back to
her Peanuts booth for a signing.  Went to her signing.  Show-
ed her the Peanuts pins on my lanyard, and told her that I've
read Peanuts my whole life.  Still my favorite comic strip.  She
was very nice.  She signed my sketch book, and said that she
should learn to at least draw one of the Peanuts characters
(for fans).  Sergio is also a big fan of Peanuts.  Saw him at
Charles Schulz's memorial, and when he gave speeches at the
Schulz Museum a few months ago.

Got free sketches from Tim Sale (Superman) and Don Rosa
(Gyro Gearloose).  Went to Artist's Alley.  Said "Hey" to Tom.
He had color guides of Groo covers spread out on his table.
Cool.  Spotted color guides of Louder Than Words covers
(front and back) in a stack.  Wow!  I asked, "Are these for
sale?"  They were.  As I looked though them, he dug up some
large envelopes at the bottom of the stack.  They were color
guides to 4 complete Marvel Groo stories, and a few Usagi
Yojimbo stories!  Whoa!  "Are these for sale, too?"  They were.
Must've stared at them for 10-15 minutes.  Tom was probably
wondering if I'd actually end up buying one.  Finally decided on
the color guides for Groo #14.

Signed up for a flickr account (Lia's recommendation) after
seeing Claire's photos.  flickr looks pretty good.  If you'd
like to see what Groo color guides look like, surf on over to:

http://flickr.com/photos/49502997109@N01

Went over to see Gary at Sergio's table to see if he'd like to
get some color guides from Tom.  There were 3 complete
Marvel Groo stories left.  Gary wasn't there.  Found out he
was at the Wild Animal Park.  Can't blame Gary for that.  Went
there myself one year, plus the zoo yesterday.  George ap-
peared, and was also floored by seeing the Groo 14 color guides.
Sergio said, "You got that from Tom?  This is my favorite."
He explained that he works on pages a little at a time, and
has fun going back and adding details.  In this story, he added
all types of workers building the pyramid, even people bringing
food to the workers.  After that, George rushed to Artist's
Alley to see Tom.  Don't know if he ended up buying any
color guides.  Called Larry on the phone not long after, but
he passed on the color guides this time.  Did he err?

The Quick Draw panel was on Saturday.  Just happened to
get a great spot again, near the giant screens!  The rest of
the Groop accidentally found me, so it became a Groop section.
Sergio, Jeff Smith (Bone), and Scott Shaw! (Hanna Barbera)
were on the panel.  Sergio has faced many famous cartoonists
and artists before, but when it comes to impromptu drawing
for speed and humor, none of them (so far) can beat Sergio!

See you.

Eric

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