By Clint McElroy
HQ 126 | SUMMER 2024
Working in Tri-State radio for 44 years didn’t really pave the road to national fame.
Occasionally, someone would recognize my voice. On some of my many trips through the G.D. Ritzy’s drive-thru I would be greeted with, “Wait! Is this the guy on the radio?” I always hoped my local celebrity status would lead to a discount on my order — a Vanilla Diet Coke — but it never did.
Sometimes someone would recognize my name, usually not in the best of circumstances. Once after a small traffic mishap which may or may not have been my fault, the other driver recognized my name while we were exchanging information. “I listen to you all the time!” he said after glancing at my insurance card.
But it wasn’t until I started podcasting with my sons and the resulting publicity that my face started being recognized. It makes sense, if you think about it. Radio is a faceless enterprise. The only times you would see the face that goes with the voice would be at a remote broadcast, or when a radio personality introduced a concert act: “Come on Summer Motion! Let’s hear it for Little Big Town!”
All that changed when I started doing The Adventure Zone podcast with my sons Justin, Travis and Griffin. While the podcasting was still faceless, we started getting a lot of media attention for the series of graphic novels that we created. In addition, I made personal appearances to promote those books at big conventions like San Diego Comic-Con and New York Comic Con.
Then, we started doing live shows all across the country, where thousands of people would actually pay to see three grown men play Dungeons & Dragons with their dad.
Recently, I appeared at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (known as C2E2), which is one of the biggest conventions in the country. I was buying a Gatorade at the snack bar when the very nice lady running the check-out looked at me curiously.
“Oh my gosh! It’s YOU!”
Since I am me, I smiled.
“I love your books!” she said. This warmed my heart because I appreciate it when somebody expresses their interest in The Adventure Zone graphic novels. So I thanked her.
“When is the next one coming out?” she asked. I told her it would be out in July.
“I can’t wait to read it!” she said. “And I want to tell you one more thing. I think your books are so much better than the TV show.”
Then it hit me. She thought I was George R.R. Martin.
George R.R. Martin who has written the hugely popular Game of Thrones novels on which the Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning HBO television series was based.
I thanked her for her support and slunk away.
Me and George R.R. Martin. I just don’t see it!
