[Groop] WonderCon Report - Better late than never

Chris Schechner cschechner at sbcglobal.net
Fri Apr 30 10:07:01 PDT 2010


Great report Arturo. I love reading these things.


on 4/30/10 11:17 AM, Arturo R. at mentecato at izrm.net wrote:

> I hope this doesn't show up twice. I had sent it a couple of days ago
> but got a message back that it was being held for moderation.
> 
> Hi all! I've been the epitome of a lurker for a while now, but I'm
> coming out of the shadows to give a con report.
> 
> My family and I were only able to go to the con on Sunday only. From
> what I've read this was actually a good day to go because the crowds
> were bigger Friday and Saturday. We got there and my younger brother
> and I made a beeline to Sergio's table. When we got there he was just
> getting up, probably to stretch his legs and walk around a bit.
> 
> We hung out around the area while he came back. That's when I noticed
> that Mark was also around! This was the first time I've seen him
> outside of panels. For some reason I've never had a chance to talk to
> him in person. As soon as Mark finished talking to Stan Freberg I
> pounced on him. "Mr. Evanier", I said, exending my hand. He said:
> "Mark will do", or something to that effect. I shook his hand and told
> him I was a big fan, and how I enjoyed reading his blog (no white
> lie). I had brought my copy of Kirby: King of Comics and I asked him
> to sign it. I was nervous but also very excited to finally meet him.
> 
> Afterward we went back to talk to Sergio, who was back to his table. I
> greeted him and he said: "Nice shirt!" I was wearing the MotorCon
> shirt and I told him how Gary had gotten it for me. Me and my brother
> talked to him for a bit and I asked him to sign my sketchbook and he
> doodled a little Chakaal on it. I also asked him to sign my silver
> Groop Membership Card for me. I've had it for a while, but it had
> never occurred to me to have him sign it. At his point he had a line
> forming so I told him I would let him talk to his other fans and we
> would be back.
> 
> We went around the con for a bit and came back later. This is the
> first time I've seen Sergio and not commissioned any big artwork from
> him. Unfortunately, my funds have been limited (got my hours cut at
> work, plus I now have a baby at home), but did ask him to make me new
> comic dividers for Hogs of Horder and The Simpsons. These are the
> plastic pieces like these:
> http://www.opentip.com/Office-Products/Ultrapro-Comic-Dividers-p-1129240.html
> I had an idea last year to ask him to draw a little something for each
> "section" of my Groo collection (Pacific, Epic, Image, etc). I'll take
> pictures of them and post them one of these days. I really like the
> way they turned out. Unfortunately the ones he did for me this year
> got smeared. :( I have to remember to ask him to try different markers
> when I ask him to redo them.
> 
> Finally, the third most exciting part of the con (after seeing Sergio
> and Mark)..
> 
> We were walking around and as we're passing one of the many booths
> this guy points at my shirt and gives me the thumbs up. I give him
> thumbs up back and squint my eyes because I start to recognize the
> fella.. is it.. could it be.. yes! It's world renowned #1 Groo fan
> Gary G! He must have realized I had to be a Groop member because he
> came out of the booth. I told him, "Gary, right?" and he says,
> "Yeah!". I told him who I was and he remembered me! (Or rather, the
> things he has gotten for me). It was really cool to meet Gary, he is a
> super nice guy. I asked him what he was doing there, since I didn't
> remember reading about him going to WonderCon. He said it was a
> surprise, and it was definitely a surprise to me. :) We talked some
> more and I asked if I we could take a picture. My regular camera is on
> the fritz, so the pic is cellphone quality. :/
> 
> And that's my con report.
> 
> Wow, this message was long. I feel Tone-like. (I kid Tone! I love
> reading your posts). At least the Gary/Arturo posting ratio is now
> better than 582/0. :)

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