Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Ol' Groove just had to share some of his experiences at the Lexington Comic and Toy Convention this past March 9, 2024. I had the opportunity to visit the Lexington Con for one day (thanks to my brother-in-law/YouTube movie reviewer Badraven), so I wanted to make the most of it, as did he and his son Drewdrop. We made our plans to leave early on Friday morning (around 8 a.m.) to get to the Con in plenty of time before it officially opened (we'd gotten our tickets online to speed things up). And we were glad we did.
We got there about an hour before opening, but you could go inside to get your lanyards and get in line for whichever event you were going to visit first (I headed for the comicbook creators/vendors line on the third floor, Badraven and Drewdrop headed downstairs to level one for the Celebrity autographs and photo-ops.) What lines! Long, four rows wide lines in the spacious halls of Rupp Arena, but once the doors opened, everything moved swiftly and smoothly into the artists/vendors area.
Having planned ahead, I made a beeline for Jim Shooter's table. No one else was there, so I got to have a very nice visit with him. I'm sure he'd heard similar stories before, but I thanked him for being so kind to 14-year-old me back in 1978 when I sent in my Angel vs. a Sentinel pencil samples (on typing paper, natch--sorry I still don't have them--or the letter for that matter. Sigh.). I reminded him that he'd been especially kind and helpful in his letter/critique and that I was sure I wasn't alone in being so thankful for his kindness and encouragement. We had a short, pleasant conversation and shared two warm handshakes. I walked away so happy from that meeting. Later that day I got to sit in on his Q&A session. I learned a lot about his life, career, and his time at Marvel as E-I-C. I may share some of that in a later post if'n ya wanna hear it. :D
My next stop was across the aisle and and at the opposite end of the hall: Joe Staton! I've always heard about how warm and friendly artist Joe Staton is, and Ol' Groove's here to tell you--them's the facts, Jack!
Joe was working on a piece of art when I interrupted him to say, "Hello." He looked up, a big smile on his face, put down his pencil and extended his hand for a handshake. I got to tell him my story about how I got my hands on E-Man #1 (August 1973) (which I rap about here) and how much I love the characters Alec Tronn, Nova Kane, and Mike Mouser.
I got to talk about how his co-creation (with Paul Levitz and Bob Layton) The Huntress, and how I believe that Showcase #100 (I'm still gonna do a post on that one) might just be the best DC comic of the 1970s (or tied with the origin of the JSA--which, huh--Joe also illustrated). That got Joe to stand up and give me a high-five. What an awesome moment.
Then Joe took the time to get to know me a bit, asked about my family and was interested in hearing about my comics. He knew and appreciated DotGK and was pleasantly surprised to learn that he was rapping with Ol' Groove. I bought a hand-drawn Scooby Doo from him, and he gave me an autographed E-Man trading card. It was an awesome visit for sure.
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| Ol' Groove's youngest grandsons happily posing with a Joe Staton Original Scooby Doo Sketch |
This was only Ol' Groove's second Con, and now that I'm retired, I hope to visit many more. Ol' Groove does think, though, that this year's visit to the Lexington Comic Con set a mighty high bar!
Rap at ya later, Groove-ophiles!
If you can ever get to HeroesCon, you should. It is a COMIC con that is big but has a small con feel. No movie or tv celebs, but tons of comic greats and up and comers.
ReplyDeleteOl' Groove here: I would love to get to HeroesCon sometime, Craig. It's on my list--fingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're posting again - I've missed reading DOTGK! Wow! Meeting Jim Shooter - what a privilege. In childhood, Jim's Avengers was top, out of all my comics. And Joe Staton, too! I don''t know if creators always realize their impact. Didn't that Huntress pic appear in DC House ads? I'm trying to remember if my brother had the comic, or I'm just remembering the House ad. Anyway, if you're back posting again...maybe I'll find out! Great to hear from you, once more.
ReplyDeletePhillip
Ol' Groove here: Yeah, meeting Jim Shooter and Joe Staton was a dream come true. They fact that they were truly warm and friendly with this old fan brought me so much joy that I had to share the experience with my Groove-ophiles. The Huntress cover in Joe's con pic was heavily advertised, yeah; the sketch page was published in DC Super-Stars #17, The Huntress' debut. I'm still working hard at my Blue Moon Comics (see the stuff on the sidebar), but when the muse hits, especially now that I'm retired and have a bit more time, you'll see new posts from time-to-time. Thanks for the welcome back!
DeleteGreat to see a new post from you, Groove, and thank you for keeping the blog open all this time. You have a great library of scans to revisit.
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Chris A.
Wow, great to see a new post at the ol' site, and what a great post it is. It's great that you got to meet those two - I'd love to have that opportunity myself, esp. Mr. Staton. He's always been one of my favorites: I, too, love E-man and agree with you about the greatness of Showcase #100.
ReplyDeleteOl’ Groove says: What it is, Chris and Edo! Thanks for always being such great supporters!
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you posting again, thank you for keeping this great comics site up and available!
ReplyDeleteOl’ Groove says: Thanks! I don’t know how often I’ll get to post, but it should be more often than it has been the last few years, lol. And I do plan to keep this blog going for as long as I’m allowed.
ReplyDeleteGroove, great to hear from you! I come back here regularly and still love the site. Really cool couple of guys to meet, I must say. Shooter was a major hero of mine as a kid-I started with his Legion stuff and followed him through the years. Joe Staton, wow! Talk about a serious talent with so much great work in his bibliography. Legion, E-Man, Green Lantern, JSA, Batman (once in a while), and the list goes on. I loved that you mentioned the Huntress story to him. That one really got me and when he continued it with the JSA tales in Adventure (including the death of the Golden Age Batman) I was really captivated. Thanks for keeping the site going and reminding me of two greats.
ReplyDeleteBest,
John Lavin
I just remembered one more thought-I once saw an interview with Frank Miller in which he described how much he respected Shooter for not only giving him his first shot with Daredevil, but for giving him so much freedom to do what he wanted. Miller described going into Shooter's office and leading with, "Jim, I think I have to kill Elektra." Elektra was the first breakout character in years for Marvel. Shooter sighed and said, "Tell me a story, Frank". Perfectly summarized his loyalty to his creators.
ReplyDeleteBest,
John Lavin
I met Jim Shooter when I was a teen, when he was aftDefiant, he was humble and amazing. I still have Showcase #100, I know I have it in a plastic sleeve somewhere, I need to put it in better storage.
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