By Michael Klam
Sergio Aragonés at Comic-Con 2014
Comic-Con International is about fanatics: the fiercely loyal comic book and graphic novel readers, the pop culture super freaks — Vader for President 2016! — and the cosplay trippers on a much needed vacation in fantasy.
For four days every summer, the seven-foot-tall perfectly costumed wookie and the sly, bomb-wielding, father-and-son Spy Vs. Spy team can rub elbows (and do battle) with the Batmans, the zombies and the Disney princesses.
The San Diego Convention Center morphs into a place where fans can dwell in their imaginations and take selfies with their heroes.
Sergio Aragonés is one of the heavyweights of Comic-Con. The award-winning creator of Groo the Wanderer and master of pantomime vignettes — the hilarious little drawings in the margins of Mad Magazine — has been a force to be reckoned with in comics for over 50 years. At Comic-Con, he greets, tells stories, signs books (and clothing!) and takes snaps with his readers.
“It’s a great place to meet my friends, the fans and the artists who have inspired me over the years,” Aragonés said.
His bushy mustache highlights his contagious smile. He always wears a belligerently colorful shirt, Bermuda shorts and a ponytail to spite the thinning on the top.
Aragonés started with Mad Magazine in 1963 and has been in every issue since. He is a prolific illustrator, constantly with pen in hand, and regarded by peers and fans alike as the world’s fastest cartoonist.
“The work is like breathing for me,” he said. “It’s what I do. I think and draw. I enjoy working, and if I’m not working, I don’t feel good.”
Aragonés emphasizes ideas as more important than the actual drawing. “If it’s a bad joke, it doesn’t matter who tells it,” he said. “Picasso could do the drawing, but it would still be a bad joke.”
Aragonés works all day long. If a good story occurs to him in the middle of the night, he gets up and draws. “It is the combination of fun and work,” he said. He illustrates at home, on the road, on vacation. “I draw by the pool. Then when I get hot, I jump in!” he said.
There is a palpable sense of joy when his fans first see him at his usual table, I-7, in the exhibitor section of Comic-Con. He welcomes them warmly, shakes hands, listens and gives them what they want: a moment with the artist who has made them laugh, in good times and bad, for five decades.
Visitors of all ages make their way to the table, and Aragonés’ line is longer than every other line in the row. But the fans are more than willing to wait for their chance to say hello.
“The fans grow up,” Aragonés said, “but the humor speaks to all generations. This is the benefit of drawing humor.”
One visitor, in his fifties, graying beard, presents Aragonés with a denim jacket his wife modified for him for his birthday with a large drawing of Aragonés’ popular oafish character Groo the Wanderer on the back.
Aragonés is truly amazed at the image and offers to sign the jacket in white so the man’s wife can trace and embroider the signature. The fan then drops over $200 in posters and comics and bows to the artist graciously on the way out.
Soon after, another fan shows up dressed as the barbarian Groo, and Aragonés comes out from behind the table to hug “Groo” and revel in the costume and take pictures.
His fans follow him throughout the convention. He participates in several panels that fill large rooms to maximum capacity.
One panel is the Mark and Sergio Show with longtime friend and fellow artist Mark Evanier. The two illustrators tell stories and bicker over the details like old brothers. Evanier shares an anecdote about a comic called Fanboy that didn’t fare too well, but both artists loved making it and will forever sing its praises. “It was the most fun I ever had making a book that nobody ever bought,” Evanier quipped.
The two artists spend as much time on the panel talking about other work and other artists as they do their own. They do their best to convince the audience to buy The Sakai Project to support Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai and his wife Sharon in a time of family need. Produced in association with the Comic Art Professional Society (CAPS) and edited by Dark Horse, The Sakai Project is a tribute to Sakai’s art by the world’s best illustrators.
Evanier mentions the possibility of a reprint of the Groo series in its entirety, but says a deal hadn’t been brokered yet.
Aragonés also discusses the recent Evanier/Aragonés concocted crossover Groo Vs. Conan with illustrator Thomas Yeates and colorist Tom Luth. The artists have distinctly different styles, and Yeates worried that the artwork wouldn’t groove. But Aragonés convinced him to go for it, and the end product “worked perfectly,” Yeates said.
In a Rashomon style of telling various versions of the story from different perspectives, the two barbarians go at it in the comic like… well… two barbarians.
Aragonés also participates every year in one of the most popular panels at Comic-Con: Quick Draw!
This year he is joined by Scott Shaw, Simpsons Comics illustrator, and Disney’s Floyd Norman. The artists are given ideas by the moderator and the audience. Illustrators have to think on their feet and quickly draw the scenes given to them. The results are often hilarious. Although this is not competitive, Aragonés is the reigning champion for his quick wit and over-the-top drawings.
The room, one of the biggest halls at the convention center, is packed to the rim with fans who interact, yelling out characters to illustrate in odd situations.
The first task for the illustrators is to draw their evil twin and what the evil one would be doing at this moment. While Shaw and Floyd show their evil twins being mischievous elsewhere, Aragonés draws himself there at Quick Draw and says, “Mwah ha ha ha ha,” into the microphone.
Other audience-inspired topics range from drawing Betty Boop and Sergeant Rock’s love child (Aragonés has the baby coming out of the womb with a machine gun and firing at hospital staff) to illustrating “the worst impression you ever made on a date.”
Reporter Michael Klam takes a selfie with artists Sergio Aragonés
Here Aragonés gets stumped a bit and jokes that he “never made a bad impression.” Then he tells a story about the time he was a young man, showing off his muscles to a beautiful actress. His buddy tells the young woman to “look at how strong Sergio’s stomach muscles are” and encourages her to punch him in the belly. So she socks him, and Sergio lets out a massive fart. In the same moment of finishing the story, Aragonés finishes the drawing with a gaseous cloud billowing out of his muscular butt. The crowd erupts in laughter.
In the end, Aragonés is an extremely likeable fellow who is never afraid to tell a story. His fans love him so much, probably because he cares about them equally.
In short, Comic-Con is about crazy fans and brilliant artists. Aragonés fits flawlessly in that world.
If you meet him next summer at Comic-Con, don’t be surprised if you find yourself taking a selfie.
Visit the official Aragone web page at http://www.sergioaragones.com/ to find Sergio Aragonés Funnies. You can get the recent Sergio Aragonés Massacres Marvel and Sergio Aragonés Destroys DC on Amazon.com.