Revenge of the Nerds
by John Hitch | Jan. 16, 2015 | 5:00 AM
Fight Club
Michael Rooker is one tough dude on screen. As Merle Dixon, he sawed off his own hand to escape zombies in The Walking Dead. As the blue-skinned Yondu, he led a crew of space mercenaries in Guardians of the Galaxy. But don't be fooled by his formidable roles, he's really approachable — especially at comic conventions. "Whenever I have free time, I'll go to these events. Why? Because of these fans," he says. Catch him at comic con all three days.
Q. What's your favorite part about comic conventions?
A. I give [fans] big hugs and chat eyeball to eyeball. And [conventions] are completely filled with, in my opinion, some of the best artists in America.
Q. Any difference between The Walking Dead and Guardians of the Galaxy fans?
A. There's a lot of crossover. You have 7-year-olds who watch The Walking Dead. And I'm like, 'Wow, it's not scary for you?' And they say, 'No, no, not at all.' I'm blown away by that.
Q. Merle had a knife for a hand and Yondu had a flying arrow. Which would you rather have in a zombie apocalypse?
Three to See
A veteran of 15 conventions, Cleveland illustrator John Sloboda knows what it's like to sit on both the fan and artist side of the table. The designer behind Star Wars trading cards and The Walking Dead cast T-shirts breaks down these can't miss comic con events.
Artists' Alley: "You get more one-on-one time with the industry artists," Sloboda says.
William Shatner table: "That guy clears the line in record time," he says. "He'll have a line out the door, and it will be gone in an hour."
Costume Change
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