[Groop] Baltimore Comic Con report - #1....any midnight comicshop openings t

[Finn Smith]

Don't you mean "The anticipation for tomorrow's latest Groo is GROOLING"?


>From: Yodazone at aol.com
>To: groop at groo.com
>Subject: Re: [Groop] Baltimore Comic Con report - #1....any midnight 
>comicshop openings tonight??
>Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:05:36 EDT
>
>
>Nice coverage report Tone!  Thanks for sharing the  pix!    That's a very
>cool tricked out bike picture too....very  Tim Burton-ish....kinda like the 
>bike
>in the classic movie, "Pee  Wee's Big Adventure!"
>
>btw,   how come comic shops aren't having any special  midnight openings to
>release the Groo Special tonight????   Other  shops did that for Harry
>Potter!!!   And who actually reads  Harry Potter anyway????
>
>The anticipation for tomorrow's latest Groo is  grueling!!!!
>
>The new Groo book is way more important than any other release out  
>there!!!!
>
>Less than 24 hours till  GROOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>In a message dated 9/11/2007 3:06:52 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
>Tone at moon-shine.net writes:
>
>Okay, I am finally rested and caught up on all the e-mail I had
>gotten. Now  it is time for me to start giving you guys that update I
>have been  promising.
>
>It all pretty much started Friday night. After  gathering all my
>gear and prepping things I tried to go to bed by 9pm, but  even though I
>had attempted to get in the habit of going to bed on an  earlier basis, I
>was too excited. I think I must have not fallen asleep  until some time
>after 10pm, then I only slept until 2:45am. At that point I  stealthily
>got up, quietly got ready, and slipped into my gear. I was on my  bike
>and actually pedaling by 4am.
>About five miles from  my home is the start of Pennsylvania's
>Heritage Rail Trail, which use to be  a rail road. Along with Maryland's
>North Central Rail Trail it runs 41  miles south to the outskirts of
>Baltimore. Abraham Lincoln used it on his  way up to deliver the
>Gettysburg address, and the rail was also used by  escaped slaves to head
>north across the Mason-Dixon line in pursuit of  their freedom. In fact
>just over the border on the PA side is a town called  "New Freedom."
>Well, by the time I got to the Mason-Dixon  Line between PA and
>Maryland it was still completely dark. Remember the  moon is/was in its
>new-moon phase, which makes it especially dark. I was  definitely
>prepared though. Check out my light set up in this photo I took  at the
>PA/MD  border:
>http://www.moon-shine.net/groo/Baltimore-BikeInDark.jpg
>It  consisted of three white headlights on the handlebars, two small red
>lights  each screwed on the valves of my tire tubes, a small blinking red
>light on  the rear, a green glow stick on the right side toward the rear,
>and a  yellow glow stick on the left side behind the seat. If that was
>not enough,  I also wore a miner-style headlamp, which also had a
>blinking red light  clipped to its back. For the photo I sat the head
>gear on my bike seat.  Here is the same photo, but with a camera  flash:
>http://www.moon-shine.net/groo/Baltimore-BikeInFlash.jpg
>You can see the Mason-Dixon Line posted on the map and  bulletin
>board in the background. The ride was certainly spooky at  times,
>especially when I would see pairs of yellow eyes in wooded areas.  Half
>of the time I could eventually tell they were just cats, but other  times
>I could not tell what the heck they were when I directed my head lamp  at
>them. One time I know I saw a fawn sitting completely still beneath  a
>big shrub. I kept picturing those Groo panels where Groo was in the  dark
>and surrounded by eyes looking at him, and I wondered what a  great
>imagine Sergio could sketch up of me riding my foolish butt down  to
>Baltimore in the middle of the night.
>Even though the  glowing eyes were creepy, what was probably more
>dangerous, were posts set  up at cross roads so vehicles could not drive
>onto the trail. Usually these  would all have reflectors on them, which I
>could easily pick out, but  occasionally I got within a couple of yards
>before I realized I had to stop  or redirect myself. The worst part
>though was on the way back at dusk. In  Maryland the trail runs along a
>stream in the Gun Powder Fall State Park,  and I found myself wishing I
>had goggles because of all the gnats  spattering into me. As I biked
>along the consistency of them colliding into  my face and arms was almost
>exactly the same as riding through drizzling  rain. I found myself
>clenching my lips together and squinting my eyes as I  cycled forward.
>
>Okay, so I am sure you guys are probably  sick of the cycling
>stuff, so I will wrap it up. Basically I was off the 41  mile trail by
>about 8am, and I completely the additional 16 miles to the  Convention
>Center by 9:45, which gave me 15 minutes before the Comic Con  opened. I
>quickly freshened up in the bathroom, changed in my Groo shirt,  and
>snatched up a program booklet. While flipping through it to figure  out
>where Sergio's table was I slowly followed the meandering  ULTRA-LONG
>line, which eventually curved back onto itself two times. I  finally got
>my place at the end of the line and after about ten minutes  only then
>realized, even though I already had my Ticket-Master bought  ticket in
>hand, I still had to have it verified by getting a wrist band at  one of
>the front desks. I naturally did so, but I ended up loosing my place  in
>line because by then it had already started moving and I could not  find
>where I had been.
>It must have been some time after  11am when I finally got onto
>the actually Con floor. That was not my only  problem though. Earlier on
>I mentioned to the Groop Sergio's name was no  longer listed on the guest
>page of the Baltimore Comic Con web site and  wondered if this was a
>problem. Well, it turned out in the program booklet  there was also no
>indication where Sergio's table was located! His name was  only listed as
>one of the autographing artists and as a spotlight panel in  an upstairs
>conference room later in the day.
>I have never  been to a Comic Con as large as this one, so I
>found myself starting from  scratch and simply following my own search
>pattern. Eventually I found the  Dark Horse booth, which was in booth
>1305, but not listed in the convention  map either. I asked if they
>happened to know where Sergio was, and they  said they did not even
>realize he was at the Con, which got me a bit  worried. I told them
>Sergio was in fact listed in the program, had a panel  later on, and Mark
>had said he would be in attendance. Being the good  natured individual I
>am, I even offered to return with information to  Sergio's whereabouts if
>I was ever able to find him.
>Eventually of course I did find Sergio and his table. At that
>point I knew  meetings him was really going to happen. I did not expect
>his line to be so  long. It seem to consistently have one to two dozen
>people lined up, and  even later in the day I counted no less than six at
>any given time. Here is  a photo of the  line:
>http://www.moon-shine.net/groo/Baltimore-SergioLine.jpg
>It is a bit hard to make out in the photo, but Sergio's table  is
>beneath his white banner, which is just above that bald guy in the  white
>T-shirt. I was behind "Mr. Red-shirt" and there were still two or  three
>people behind me at the time.
>Growing up all the  other kids collected "cooler" comics like
>X-Men and stuff, but Sergio  definitely had one of the longer lines,
>which made me feel sad for some of  the other artists at booths around
>him. I did not mind much. Waiting in  Sergio's queue just meant my feet
>would hurt from standing around a little  longer, and after biking for
>over five hours that was  nothing.
>
>By process of elimination I finally got to  Sergio's  table.
>http://www.moon-shine.net/groo/Baltimore-SergioSketching.jpg
>I was practically at a loss for words, but Sergio was  extremely
>welcoming. Even while being so busy greeting his fans,  signing
>autographs, and doodling the occasional sketch, he had already  noticed
>my Groo shirt and my Groop membership cards proudly hanging around  my
>neck. In his experience he smoothly eased my nervousness with a  warm
>hand shake and kind words.
>Most of my Groo collection  is stored back in New York City, but
>I did bring along my copy of the first  printing of "MAD's Sergio On
>Parade," which I bought MANY years ago when it  was new on the shelf. I
>was originally a fan of Sergio's marginals in the  MAD magazines my
>friends had, and initially picked out Groo only because I  recognized
>Sergio's name on a Groo cover while thumbing through random  comics when
>waiting for a friend looking for his monthly comic  fix.
>Here is a photo of the cover from my copy of "Sergio on  Parade":
>http://www.moon-shine.net/groo/Baltimore-MADCover.jpg
>...and here is what Sergio sketched  inside:
>http://www.moon-shine.net/groo/Baltimore-MADSignature.jpg
>
>While Sergio was making quick work of his sketch in my book,  I
>managed to get some sense about me. I spoke up and was able to bring  up
>the pre-paid Groo hats Gary had arranged for me, and before I  even
>finished my sentence Sergio verbally confirmed my order, had the hats  in
>front of him, and asked if I wanted them autographed. That was an  easy
>enough question for me to say yes to. :)
>Here are  some photos of one of the hats I  got:
>http://www.moon-shine.net/groo/Baltimore-Hat.jpg
>http://www.moon-shine.net/groo/Baltimore-HatBill.jpg
>http://www.moon-shine.net/groo/Baltimore-HatInside.jpg
>
>I had also noticed the Groo magnets on the table at Sergio's
>side.  Our Gary G. was gracious enough to score me two of the magnets,
>but it had  seemed Sergio's inventory of the Rufferto magnets was over
>with because of  Sergio's generosity in giving them away to the little
>kids. Well, it turned  out Sergio DID have some Rufferto magnets left,
>and I personally witnessed  Sergio freely distributing them to the young
>ones several times on  Saturday. Needless to say I was able to speak up
>enough to ask for a couple  of magnets. Now I have all  three:
>http://www.moon-shine.net/groo/Baltimore-Magnets.jpg
>If you take a look at the "Groo & Friends" magnet, you  will
>notice Rufferto is missing an eye spot. Sergio is always willing to  draw
>an eye spot on the magnets in person, but I wanted to keep  them
>original.
>After getting the magnets and the hats,  Sergio did not have
>anything else on his table Groo-related I did not have,  except for the
>Spanish versions of the trade paper backs. I had already  told myself I
>would not start up an international collection because that  could
>potentially be infinite and I can not read other languages except  poor
>Portuguese anyway. I was really hoping Sergio would have copies of  the
>Anniversary Special, but he did not. Though he did seem convinced  some
>dealer at the convention must have copies, but I and other fans  proved
>him wrong by the time of Sergio's' spotlight panel.
>
>Before ending my awestruck meeting with Sergio, there was still
>at  least one thing left for me to do at Sergio's table. I noticed he had
>at  least one folder of pre-made sketches, and since I biked 58 miles to
>meet  Sergio for the first time ever on Groo's 25th anniversary... I was
>psyched  to have a look in his portfolio and definitely financially
>prepared to buy  something original.
>When I mentioned I was interested in  Sergio's original art he
>immediately suggested I come around the table  inside his booth. Not only
>that, but he said I should hang out and have a  seat. Sergio actually
>interrupted the artist in the next booth to snag one  of his extra seats,
>and he unfolded it and set it down for me before also  pulling out his
>larger portfolio of artwork. I felt like I was getting VIP  treatment,
>and when I began to question him if he was sure about it, Sergio  shot me
>down like a family member, who would not take no for an answer  when
>giving a gift.
>I enthusiastically flipped through his  pages appreciating every
>piece of art and the privilege of seeing it all  first hand. There were
>some really sweet pieces, which stood out at me. One  was a large-format
>sword fight seen of Groo slicing a bunch of lizard-like  men surrounding
>him. Unfortunately, that work was tagged at $600, which was  just a bit
>beyond my price range. Apart from that though, there was a  really
>tasteful image of Rufferto with Groo's swords, which I  particularly
>liked. It had one of the lower price tags at $100, so I went  for  it:
>http://www.moon-shine.net/groo/Baltimore-RuffertoSketch.jpg
>After deciding on the piece, I patiently waited, watched,  and
>appreciated Sergio's interactions with his other fans. Eventually  Sergio
>turned to me to say some amusing comment about how the line never  ends.
>At that point he noticed I was finished and he actually apologized to  me
>as if he had been ignoring me. I told him he was ridiculous, and if  he
>needed a break or anything else I could offer him assistance since  I
>primarily came to the Con for him. I could see the look of  appreciation
>in his smile, but he said he had things under control and we  completed
>the transaction. As usual, Sergio had a canister for CBLDF  donations and
>was asking for donations for sketches or for more than three  signatures.
>I had not reached any of the limits, but I gladly donated $50  in
>appreciation to his efforts. Come to think of it, Sergio did not  even
>ask me for the money for the magnets and I was too scatter-brained  to
>think of it, so technically I owe him money! :)
>Before  departing I asked Sergio about some old bike messenger
>related artwork he  had made for MAD long ago because I was possibly
>interested in purchasing  it if he still had it. He barely remembered the
>piece, but told me even if  he did not have it he could easily re-sketch
>and send it to me, so he gave  me his contact info. I was shocked at
>that, but apparently he trusted me  enough with it and I am honored by
>it. Afterward I told Sergio I would be  walking around the Con a bit, but
>would return to see if he needed any  assistance. I know our Gary helps
>Sergio out in San Diego, but there was no  visual Groopie presence in
>Baltimore, so I had no problem stepping up if  needed. Sergio told me
>that would be really terrific of me.
>
>After that I headed back to the Dark Horse booth just to let
>them  know where Sergio was located. They were actually only about five
>booths  away, yet they still had no clue Sergio was there. :)
>With my  primary mission complete the only thing left to do was
>do a more thorough  inspection of the place because earlier while
>wandering around I was ONLY  seeking out Sergio's booth. Now I had some
>time to relax and stroll around  to see if I could locate any rare Groo
>items I did not have. Perhaps I am  inexperienced in the ways of Comic
>Cons, but I ended up not finding  anything I wanted. I did see a few
>random Groo comic books and some of the  first issues, but nothing I did
>not already have. I did have my collection  list too, but as you can see
>I have A LOT of Groo stuff  already:
>http://www.moon-shine.net/groo/Tone'sGrooCollection.rtf
>This list might be good for those wanting to learn what they
>might  be missing in their own collections. Viewers might have to fiddle
>with the  font sizing and paper margins to get the lines to fit as I
>intended them  to. After the Sergio panel I showed Eric and Dominick my
>printed copy, and  they both seemed interested in seeing my listings
>later on, so I figured it  might be useful to others as well.
>
>Well, I think this has  been quite a bit of reading for ANYONE to
>digest in one sitting, so I will  leave you guys with that for now and
>follow up later on. I just hope I have  not put you guys to sleep or left
>anyone hanging. More  later,
>_TONE_
>
>
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