The DEFORMD1 – Bill Grovers “character” from Hall of Heroes, NJ – (2003-2018)

By now you should know the character of Bill Grover (then of Lindenwold, NJ). Not saying people have not changed or are not able to, but I can only write of my experiences at the time, which I can say were friendly adversaries. Bill’s personality type — or the desperate need for you not to think he was a 40-year-old loser working at a South Jersey comic shop — was something he knew and felt in everything people would think and say around him. In a way, we all pitied Bill and let his false bravado run for as long as it did to end the shift.

During some of Bill’s “I’m not pathetic” droning, he would speak of his “comic book,” his answer to all the garbage being produced today (sound familiar?). He would talk and go on, and on, and on about his pages and how cool the character looked. Bill also claimed to be a fantastic artist. Funny thing — unlike what we saw with Dave, in Tem Dee we saw zero art from him. Well, not exactly zero — I saw something more on that later. Years of working with the guy and he never shared his art.

In contrast, for example, I had active projects with Dave DiPietro, Pete Gambino, Ken Kaeser, Buz Hason, and had the artwork and sketches to prove it. Looking back, I must have been a nightmare for this guy. I was brought in to catch him stealing, caught him stealing, reported it, got promoted, and then he had the deluge of hustle to contend with and explain away.

The crazy thing is, the only piece of art I ever saw from Bill was a half-assed design for his character, The Deformed1 (I’ll give it to him — cool name). The wild thing is this piece of art was for a Hall of Heroes “create your own character” art contest that I had entered years before, when I was in high school. Bill, as an employee (who should have been disqualified — yes, I eventually approached Sal the owner about this, and he yielded), entered the same contest and had won. Crazy thing is, as an adult he was second to a high school student. Forgive me if I don’t recall the third place winner, but even back then — maybe if this post starts to circulate we can kick up an answer (fingers crossed).

At this time, I tried to encourage Bill to develop his idea and bring in his art (the guy was a compulsive liar, yet I was still genuinely interested). On occasion I would draw his character The Deformed1 in my sketchbook. Surrounding this sketchbook page was another character I titled The DEMENTED1 — a clear nod to Bill’s character but also in the spirit of comic book creation, where rival companies would riff off one another’s title characters, a practice that has bled through all eras of the American comic book. The sketchbook page featured here is the only sketch labeled “The Deformed1,” see lower right. I’m unclear if either The Demented1 or The Deformed1 was intended to be part of a Duck Danger / Duck Saga story or not, however I recall Pete and myself discussing it would be something cool for down the road.

Bill never seemed happy, impressed, or into the idea that another person took an interest in his book. Maybe he saw through my intent, which here for the first time I’ll admit: I produced The Deformed1 character art to press him.

SUPLIMENTAL MATERIAL

VIEW the accompanying pieces to this sketchbook page.
The Demented1, A
The Demended1 B

CHECK OUT this Sketchbook in its entirety here, including a video flip-through, detailed page documentation, and a high-resolution scan of every page

About this piece.
Artist: Peter A. DeLuca
Title: The Deformed One / The Deformed1
Date: 2003 (estimated) -2018
Medium: Sharpie Black Marker, Prismacolor Chisel Tip Marker, Crayola Supertip Marker, Pentel Prestol Correction Pen
Dimensions: 11×14
Support: N/A (Possible Stratchmore Sketchbook Paper)
Editor’s Note:
**This sketchbook page was later completed in 2018 after I had discovered the effectiveness of the Pentel Prestol Jumbo Broad / Correction White Out Pen

PETER A DELUCA AKAPD

AKAPAD is a versatile thinker known across Philadelphia, Europe, and even in the vast Multiverse as The Electic One. By day, he excels as an IT Mastermind, assisting individuals, both big and small, with a wide range of simple and complex solutions. In contrast, he is also a talented illustrator, a passionate comic book enthusiast, a creative content creator, and an active live streamer. Additionally, his podcast, “AKAPAD The Film Buff Podcast,” boasts an impressive catalog of over 500 episodes available on nearly every major platform.