[Groop] WONDERCON: THE SERGIO & MARK SHOW

Tue Mar 6 07:21:20 PST 2007

I agree with Eric.

I¹d consider myself a fan, and not a very committed one, but now I¹m sure
fired up to do some fan art! I can¹t believe anyone would send hate mail to
Eric! Larry¹s right, Eric is like the giant winner in the ³I¹m Nicer Than
You² contest! Read what he has to say. Weigh it carefully. Then decide what
you want to do. If you¹re on this list, I think you should try to do what
you can to support Groo. Maybe you can¹t draw. Okay, then don¹t do a
drawing, but find ways to support Groo that you can do. It¹s worth it.

Okay, I¹m off my soapbox now.

Glorko

on 3/6/07 2:38 AM, Eric Chun at ericchun at hotmail.com wrote:

> 
> He is collector above and beyond the call of duty, and a real fan.  Who else
> has a Groo license plate on their car?  Who else volunteers to create mem-
> bership cards and t-shirts and ship them to the ends of the earth?  He is
> the
> only one.
> 
> I keep saying that someone else should step up to the plate every now
> and to give him a break.
> 
> But it is a fact that there are different classes of fans.
> 
> There are collector fans (collector junkies) who just can't wait until the
> next
> item is released.  When they get it, they hardly enjoy it, and just can't
> wait
> for the next item.  For some people, it is just a check mark in their
> collection.
> It happens on this mailing list.  (Check the mailing list archives if you
> don't
> believe it.)  It happens everywhere.
> 
> There are other fans who enjoy what they have, and try to share it with
> others.  When I walk around conventions, I take a moment to look at the
> costumes people have made and are walking around in.  Even take photos
> of some of them.  They must -really- like the characters to spend the time,
> effort, and cost to make the costumes and are brave enough to wear them
> in public.  Why else would they do it?  Very few of them win masquerade
> prizes.  They even stop to take photos with other fans.
> 
> I was right there when the gentleman with the Groo tattoo showed it
> Sergio, and both Sergio and I were were floored!  It was unbelieveable
> that someone would do that!  Sergio said, "You're sure you wanted to do
> that?  Now you're stuck with it forever!" (or something to that effect.)
> The gentleman said, "Yeah, I really love Groo."  Sergio then said that he
> wanted to take a photo of it.  I said I did too.  While Sergio searched for
> his camera, I snapped my photo.  Sergio said that he wanted to get the
> gentleman's face in his picture, when he snapped his photo.  The gentle-
> didn't want anything in return, just wanted the chance to meet Sergio.
> There's no question that this is a "real fan."  No question at all.
> 
> You may have seen Kaytee's (literally) award winning bead work.  These
> take many, many hours to create, and are at her own expense.  After
> entering them in the art show, she gives them away.  (Stan proudly dis-
> played one on the wall of his Usagi Yojimbo booth.  Note the "1st Place"
> ribbon!)  Is she a "real fan?"  She gets my vote.
> 
> http://www.geocities.com/groosite/Rufferto2.jpg
> http://www.geocities.com/groosite/sd2004.html
> 
> I simply cannot say that all fans are the same, that those who go out of
> their way to promote their favorite characters without any thought of
> reward are the same as those who are "fair weather fans," ("collector fans")
> who only help their own collection, who disappear when no new comic
> books are being released.  It just wouldn't be fair.
> 
> Evidently, I can't spur anyone to action.
> 
> At the comic book shop that I go to, the best one in the bay area,
> there was a separate shelf for Sergio's books.  The shelf was even
> labeled with his name on it.  It used to be stocked with the Sergio's
> latest books and even the back issues.  Now, the shelf is gone.
> The last Groo comic book was released in 2002.  (5 years ago!)
> The last Groo TPB was released in 2003, and Dark Horse doesn't
> even want to continue releasing the alphabetical series.  Nothing is
> being solicited in Previews.  Nothing on the horizon.  Is it any
> wonder that Sergio's shelf is gone?  There is no visibility for Groo.
> Out of sight, out of mind.
> 
> Now, there is a golden (well, silver) opportunity -- something that may
> never happen again.  Out of the hundreds of choices that Comic Con
> could have selected, they have selected "Groo's 25th Anniversary" as
> one of the themes for this year's souvenir program book.  Fans are en-
> courage to submit fan artwork or articles for the program book.  The
> program book is given to each attendee.  100,000+ of them.  Most of
> them comic book reading, comic book buying fans.  What better way
> to get Groo back into their memory?  To remember the adventure, the
> laughter, the great times reading Groo comic books.  The last Groo comic
> book circulation was down (from 100,000 with Epic Groo #1 to 20,000
> with Dark Horse).  You could reach 5 times the last circulation.
> 
> The alternative is to do nothing.  Not bother.  An inconvenience.  But
> then, don't cry as the shelves once full of Groo comic books slowly dis-
> appear.  (My comic book shop this time, next time yours.)  Wait 'til next
> time to do something you say?  If the Groo movie doesn't get released
> for some reason, will there be a 30th anniversary in the program book?
> Will -we- be around for the 50th anniversary?  Sergio turns 70 this year.
> He'll be 95 at the 50th anniversary.
> 
> I'm willing to risk taking a lot of flak for these posts -- they're nothing
> new.  (I already get hate mail from well-known posters from time to
> time.)  But, if I can spur/shame anyone to at least attempt to get into
> the program book, then my efforts won't have fallen on deaf ears and
> will have been worth it.  You may not make it into the program book,
> and even if you do Groo may disappear by the wayside, but the saying
> in basketball is "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take."
> 
> Let's shoot some shots ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Check out my blog, Insight Through Hindsight,
my journal in cartoon form, at:
http://insightthroughhindsight.typepad.com/

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