CAKE 2014: Groo isn't dead either

With every convention I attend, I bring along my sketchbook to get some sketches of my favorite character, Sergio Aragones' Groo. Here's what I got this year:



Sam Alden did sort of a minimalist pencil sketch, and I love the long, curved lines he drew.



Mike Dawson demonstrated his great cartoony style with some impeccable inking.



Joshua Cotter did a pretty flawless copy of a Sergio panel in one of the issues I had on hand for reference.



Hellen Jo delivered her signature brand of coolness with this reclining figure of our favorite mendicant.



Liz Prince went cute with this great depiction of Rufferto and a cat.



Jesse Moynihan did a pretty awesome version of Groo that looks like he could show up on Adventure Time.



Luke Pearson also went cute with a sort of super-deformed Groo; I like his topknot.



And finally, Chris Eliopolous turned Groo into a character that could appear in one of his children's books. Nice!

CAKE 2014: Yes, I came home with some comics

Comics conventions are exciting experiences, and the great thing about them is that you come home with a ton of stuff to keep you passionate about comics and the people who make them. Here's all the stuff I got at this year's CAKE:

And here's what it all is, starting from the back row:

• Hilda and the Bird Parade, by Luke Pearson
• Fried Rice #3: Forever Ever Ever Quest, by Sean Dove
• Nighttimes, by Bret Koontz
• Wicked Chicken Queen, by Sam Alden
• A giveaway ninja mask from Print Ninja

Across the middle:

• Two issues of the free Seattle newspaper comic Intruder
• DAYGLOAYHOLE: The Beast In Me, by Ben Passmore (and also a smaller DAYGLOAYHOLE minicomic and a New Orleans-based zine called Uncontrollable that Passmore did illustrations for)
• The Lizard Laughed, by Noah Van Sciver
• Guy Gardeners, by John Drawdoer
• Teamwork Makes the Dream Work (a.k.a "Pizza Comic"), by Beth Hetland and Kyle O'Connell
• Fütchie Perf/Hank the Zinedealer, by Kevin Czapiewski and John G.
• A Make Comics Anytime booklet that was given away at a pre-CAKE event that took place at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art. The interior is blank, so you can fill it with your own comics.
• Lumps, an anthology minicomic/zine by Kristen Fidler, Zelda Galewsky, Victoria Perez-Segovia, Jillian Schumann, and Raziel Puma.
• Running/Slowly, a tiny minicomic by a creator whose name I forget
• A CD from Wacom, TX, given to me by Paul Nudd

And in the front row:

• Eat or Be Meatball, by Liz Suburbia
• Unfortunate Mishaps in Aviation History, by Emi Gennis
• A sampler chapter from Liz Prince's upcoming autobiographical comic Tomboy. This book looks excellent, focusing on Prince's childhood as she struggled with gender identity issues. It's coming out this fall from Zest Books, and it's one I'll definitely be watching out for.
• Phase 7 #18, by Alec Longstreth (containing part 2 of his ongoing Weezer story)
• This year's issue of Runner Runner, which is Tugboat Press's Free Comic Book Day book.
• Cut-Away Comics #2, by Dan Zettwoch
• Mortifera #1 (This one was on the free comics table)
• Chicago: From the Swamp to the Slaughterhouse, by Caitlin Cass

That seems to be everything I brought home, but I saw plenty more, and I found lots of other cartoonists that I'll have to try to follow. The Chicago comics scene is as exciting as ever, so it looks like my comics-loving energy is refreshed for another year!