Wednesday, September 11, 2013

On the Beat with Paul Erickson at Wizard World 2013

I usually give JohngysBeat.com's Contributor Extraordinaire Matt Parker loads of credit for finding hidden gems among the masses at Wizard World.  I take nothing away from Matt, but today's feature was pretty hard to miss.
Author Paul Erickson was dressed in full Hobbit costume (see interview below).  Generally speaking, it is not unusual to see people dressed as characters at these conventions, but it is a bit rare to see any artist, author or celebrity guest in costume.  Erickson certainly stood out and we just had to talk to him.
After the interview and some post-convention research, I realized that Erickson is quite a parodist.  In fact, I read somewhere that his goal was to be the world's best Tolkien parodist.  I am not sure how one would ever determine that, but I would say he might have already accomplished that goal.
Erickson was at Wizard World to promote his books, The Wobbit A Parody (Of Tolkien's The Hobbit) and The Superfriends Of The Ring.  He immediately gained a new reader in Matt (and probably one in me, too).
This interview included one of the rare times when I almost lost it in laughter when I least expected it.  Even though I was recording Matt doing an interview with a grown man dressed as a Hobbit, who was talking about parodies, I choked back laughter at the mention of Foghorn Leghorn.  Foghorn Leghorn is not the only "addition: Erickson has made to his books.  There are several other pop culture figured woven into the stories.  I can only imagine how hilariously twisted these books are.
It was a lot of fun talking to Erickson.  Matt walked away with two books (which I plan on borrowing...thanks Matt).  Erickson stayed there dressed in Hobbit attire, but with two new fans and hopefully more with the publishing of this interview!
After watching the video, head over to The Wobbit A Parody on Facebook to learn all about the book and Erickson and certainly to have some great laughs.  This guy is gold!

No comments: