[Groop] WonderCon Report - Better late than never

[Shawn Nicholson]

Great job Arturo! 
 
Thanks so much for posting a wonderful report. It's exciting to read the different Groop's "Con" experiences - all the while wishing how fun it would be if we could all go; each and every one of us.
 
I really liked your idea about the dividers (thanks for the link). I made my comic divider's out of cut-up cardboard boxes - they look kind of hokey. Sorry to hear the divider's Sergio drew on were smudged. :(  Hope you were able to salvage more than a few of them.
 
Enjoy!
 
Shawn (the girl :)
 
 

--- On Fri, 4/30/10, Arturo R. <mentecato at izrm.net> wrote:


From: Arturo R. <mentecato at izrm.net>
Subject: [Groop] WonderCon Report - Better late than never
To: groop at groo.com
Date: Friday, April 30, 2010, 9:17 AM


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. :)

-- 
Arturo R.
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