But he is even better known for his artistic talent and keen sense of humor.
At every San Diego Comic-Con I have attended (and there have been many since my first in 1986), Sergio has always been a constant. He typically attends all five days and he can be found in the Small Press are of the main convention floor where he meets fans one at a time with a big smile, bright, bespectacled eyes, and a quick sketch or signature to take away. Oh, and there’s always that handlebar mustache.
The mustache has become as much his trademark as have the simply drawn cartoon figures many of us first met in the margins of the pages of Mad magazine. He wears it as an obvious symbol of his bigger than life persona as well as his peculiar way of looking at the silly world around him.
In Wednesday’s issue of The Washington Post, there is a very nice piece about the 85-year-old cartoonist, detailing his career with a hopefulness that he still has many creative years ahead of him.
“Aragonés’s high standard for consistent creativity is legendary. For decades, he only missed contributing to a single issue, and that was because the mail from Europe was slow in the 1960s. The cartoonist, who also produces the fantasy comic book series “Groo the Wanderer,” attributes his mental fertility to mixing things up creatively, from narrative stories to the wordless art for the Mad margins, his signature domain. “The variety of my field,” he says with gusto, “allows me to never get tired of it.”
What you must understand about the beloved Aragonés, his colleagues say, is that beneath all his charisma is an ever-flowing fount of imagination. “I suspect if Sergio were to go and donate blood, ink would come out of him,” says John Ficarra, former Mad editor in chief. “He is incapable of not drawing.””
For the rest of Michael Cavna’s article (Mad magazine's oldest active artist still spoofs what makes us human), check it out HERE.
Why It Matters. I am not alone in hoping that Sergio and his wacky creations continue to enliven our own lives for many years to come, but even more so I hope to see him at future comic book conventions enjoying the adulations and finishing inspiration for new cartoons from the everyday occurrences we all encounter along the way.
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