Pittsburgh summary (with sketchs)

[Steve_Paulus]

Well I spent last weekend in Pittsburgh attending the con with my good friend Rich Henn (Acting as his CAW). In tow was my Girl Friend Sarah, who (God bless her) spent every minute with me and Rich helping out in her first ever comic convention. Sarah looked a little unsure, on Friday afternoon about this little venture into ‘geekdom’, but she stuck it out and eventfully had a good time. My brother Nick also came down to his first convention, but only spent Friday afternoon with us… I was disipointed that he could not stay longer, maybe next year

 

We started out the con with a call from Rich saying he was going to be late (2 or 3 hours late )… I have known Rich for over 20 years… this surprised me not in the least. We got settled, went over to the CGC booth and chatted with Bill, Joe, and Bree. Then we rushed over to Joe Sinnott’s table and asked him to sign some of Nick’s books and I commissioned a drawing.

 

 

I have only gone to a few Cons so I’m very cautious when I approach writers and artist as I never know how personable they are. Being that Joe Sinnott is a legend (In my eyes anyway) I was afraid he might be a bit of a Pre-Madonna, I was relieved to find out that nothing could be further from the truth. Joe looked up at me and said “Hey a couple of Buffalo Bills Fans… (I was wearing my Bills sweatshirt because of the draft) I’m a big Bills fan…” He went on to tell us that he is friends with a lot of the Bills players that went to the super bowl(s). He and his son Mark joked around with us for 15 minutes or so (Just so everyone knows there was no one in line behind us). I told Joe that I was a big fan of his work and asked him to draw a sketch for me… I asked for a Thor… An angry Thor… with lightning and such. He said that he would be happy to do that and asked if I minded stopping back…

Here is the results... (And before you ask I'm never parting with this one... )

 

 

 

 

Anyway, over the next few days I found myself at his table a number of times and I have to say the he and Mark are both friendly, outgoing, and genuine, and very very accommodating. They both looked like they were enjoying their time at the show and were very pleasant to everyone. Compared to some writers and artist I've met at conventions, they are breath of fresh air

 

 

We also spent a lot of time hitting up Ron Frenz for sigs and sketches. Ron is a wonderful character who mixes a lot of sarcasm into his banter with his fans. He was also very gracious with his time and he pumped out some amazing sketches, the man can draw!

 

I think Sarah really hit it off with Herp Trimpe and his wife. She described him a sweet and really nice. She was able to hit him up for some thumb nail sketches (No charge) on a few of my brother’s books and more than a few for Rich as well. By Sunday, Herb was told her that “He knows her and would not take money for a five minute sketch. There might have been a little good natured flirting between the two. If Herb’s wife did not care, who I’m I to cry foul?

 

One thing I noticed is that the artists really seemed to appreciate people who approached them with humility and respect. Although Sarah confessed to knowing almost nothing about whom these guys are and what comics they drew. She was engaging them in conversations about their jobs and after awhile their family. Because She did so, we found out that Herb’s has a son who went to the same collage as I did (University of Rochester)… By the end of the day Herb and his wife were asking if we (I assume they meant Sarah) were going to their next con… I told them Baltimore for sure… They said they would be there, unless they cancelled.

 

I also hit up Billy Tucci for a sketch of Sgt Rock. I was very happy with the results… His price was reasonable… $25 to buy the book and the sketch was free.. You decide if I made out well or not…

 

That is all I got for now..

 

 

[Raphael]

that is a GORGEOUS Thor!!

[mamatsch]

Congrats on a gorgeous Thor sketch! (thumbs u

[Steve_Paulus]

that is a GORGEOUS Thor!!

 

I know, Joe Sinnott Rocked that drawing... He put a good deal of time into that picture... and never once refused to stop and sign a book or two.. He is a real class act!

 

I was impressed with the detail he added... I honestly think that he would have kept going, but he saw me watching him draw... and he asked if I liked it. I said "God yes..." so he worked another 2- 3 minutes and said "well... am I done?"

 

What do you say to that?

 

I said "once you sign it..."

 

I feel very fortunate to have been able to commission this work

[MagnetoWasRight]

Awesome Thor! Congrats on that...its going to be a great addition to your collection. It will be worth almost as much as the memory you will have of spending time with the man that created it.

[con]

 

I also hit up Billy Tucci for a sketch of Sgt Rock. I was very happy with the results… His price was reasonable… $25 to buy the book and the sketch was free.. You decide if I made out well or not…

 

Everyone Thinks the Thor is Great, Not a Thor Guy But Your Tucci for 25 bucks is a steal for a sketch