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Just a quick note to thank everyone who came out to see me and my presentations at Anime Boston! You guys helped make this best convention I have ever attended to date!
Still recovering from the incredibly busy weekend, but I’ll try to do a more thorough write-up of my travels later this week.
Thanks again!
Arisia went very well. Unlike last year, I didn’t exhibit at a table, because I was tapped to play local guide and guest liason to my friend and this year’s Webcomics Guest of Honor, Shaenon K. Garrity. Also thanks to my Boston Comics Roundtable compadre, Jaime Garmendia, the comics programming was top-notch, and I enjoyed being on a full load of panels.
Photo courtesy of Susan Soares
Interestingly, the “Challenges of Self-Publishing” panel’s audience seemed to be weighed toward non-comics publishing, and everyone on the panel was from a comics background. We tried our best to generalize the discussion, but we had our limitations. Personally, I found it difficult, because I share the industry’s skepticism toward self-published prose. While comics has a long, storied history of people getting a great start on indy side of the aisle, prose is littered with vanity presses and poorly-proofread tomes that the larger presses had rejected, often for good reason. However, given the changing nature of publishing, is that skepticism still justified? Perhaps that’s a conversation we should have.
Last year’s “Tools for Digital Art” panel had been a highlight, and I was looking forward to this year’s reprise. However, due to a change of format and venue, this year’s was a bit rougher around the edges. Despite the extra time added, we barely scratched the surface of the topic, and got a little too in-depth into specific features in programs like Photoshop and Poser. My feeling is next year we should consider dividing the panel into separate panels dealing 2D and 3D tools, respectively. There’s just too much ground to cover to try to squeeze it all into 75 minutes. Of course, it’s far too easy for me to talk at length about art process and how I use my tools, so perhaps I’m biased. Perhaps a workshop specifically on using digital tools in comics creation would be a good panel topic. If you happened to attend the panel, I’d be delighted to hear your thoughts.
On a related note, I worked up a walkthrough on how I’m using Photoshop to pencil PS since getting a Cintiq last month. I wasn’t able to use it at the panel, so I’ll be adapting what I have and debut it here in a future post. Stay tuned!
The “Comics: Not How You Start, But How You Finish!” panel was an experiment posed by yours truly. Oftentimes, many panels cover the topic of “How to Start a Comic”, but I’ve never seen one that discussed how to reach the finish line. We primarily covered ground on what stumbling blocks you may run into as a creator, and how to keep motivated to push through those obstacles and finish your comic. Seeking informative feedback, writing & drawing what you love, and getting over perfectionism where all highlights. It was a trickier topic to discuss at length than I’d imagined, but overall the discussion went well.
BCR’s Roho and Dave Marshall hosted the Comics Fight! on Saturday evening, and as usual it was lots of fun. I never do quite as well as I’d like at these, but I always have a good time. In a surprise turn, previous champion Braden D. Lamb emerged from the audience and kicked our collective butts. His “Baby Turkey as a Monster” drawing was simultaneously adorable and the stuff of nightmares. I should have gotten a photo. Did anyone else?
Much like the self-publishing panel, “Marketing Independent Media” was attended by a wide range of people wanting to bring non-comics work to the world, including podcasts, internet TV episodes and independent film. Inevitably, we mostly discussed ways to get the word out online, but also covered approaching stores, networking in person, and the importance of attending real events and conventions to find other people doing what you’re interested in.
By far, the best-attended panel was “The Best Webcomics You’re Not Reading”, which was a resounding success, which Kelly J Cooper broke down in great detail here. She covers it there better than I. Suffice to say, despite the impressive list, I still had more recommendations that we didn’t get to.
Lastly, the “How to Write a Comic” was probably my favorite for the whole weekend. I adore talking about process, and this was nothing but. I think the most fascinating thing I took away was that some writers who I admire greatly, and think of themselves as writers first, actually thumbnail out their comic scripts before writing them down. This is exactly the opposite of how I work, despite the fact I think of myself as an artist first. Yet, I write up scripts before I start drawing. I wonder if I would benefit from trying this.
Finally, I think the highlight of the weekend was meeting a fan who discovered Shaenon’s and my work through a little giveaway comic called “Next Stop: Germany!” that we were hired by Viz to do for the 2006 U.S. World Cup Team. It was a fun little project and a great paying gig, but I’d figured that nobody had ever really seen it, let alone enjoyed it. Well, it turns out it was very well received among fans of the US team. I was especially pleased to find that he even recognized and appreciated all the research I put into the art in the comic. He even pointed out that some of the photos I reference were considered to be iconic images amongst followers of team. Thank you so much, man! You totally made my weekend.
Anyway, it was a lots of fun. Thanks to everyone who came out for the panels and/or caught me in the hallways in between. If you happened to attend any panels and somehow missed chatting, please let me know what you thought.
I’m headed down to East Brunswick, New Jersey this weekend for my exciting guest appearance at MangaNEXT! I’m really looking forward this show, and getting a chance to catch up with my buddy Lea Hernandez, manga creator extraordinaire. I also hear rumors that there will be another Super Art Fight going on! Breaking News UPDATE! I will be IN the Super Art Fight!
I’ll also be heading up two panels, too!
The Importance of Setting in Storytelling: Friday 8:00-9:30pm – Could also be called “How I use backgrounds in my comics.” I’ll be going over why setting and using backgrounds can produce a powerful effect in storytelling, and the techniques I use to create all these crazy backgrounds here in Paradigm Shift.
SUPER ART FIGHT! Saturday, 12:30-1:30pm – BE THERE!
The Business of Art & Comics: Saturday 4:00-5:30pm – I’ve been making a living as a working artist for over 10 years now, and after so long in the trenches you’re bound to pick up a thing or three on how to survive. I’ll be covering the stuff they didn’t teach you in art school on how to make it out here in the cold, indifferent Real World™, and how you can make it, too!
So, come on out and join in the fun. It’s Halloween, so you never know what might happen. Mwu ha ha ha ha!
This past weekend saw the first Wizard’s New England Comic Con, which I decided to attend despite it being a first year show because I had such good luck Wizard Chicago this summer. Unfortunately, this convention didn’t quite live up to expectations, but it did offer some important insights about the comics industry and how my work and business fits into it.
Usually a local convention is a no-lose situation. The only major expenses are table registration, parking, and meals. Without the overhead of a hotel, plane flight or other travel costs, it makes for a fairly low break-even point. For this reason, I didn’t initially balk at the $300 table fee. This a pretty typical for a show like this—exactly the same as the Chicago one. Organizationally speaking, the con seemed to be well run. The volunteers were cheerful and happy to assist. There were no problems during set up. And there were plenty of friendly faces among the exhibitors, especially in Artist’s Alley. This was one of highlights of the show, and where I met Kevin Johnson and Tracy Lee Quinn, who organized the Drink & Draw on Friday night. I also had the good fortune to have E.J. Barnes and the Boston Comics Roundtable as my neighbors, and we tried our best to preach the gospel of Indy Comics to all who would hear.
The problem came when the doors opened. Attendance was much lower than I would have expected for a Wizard show, but considering my only experience has been with the one in Chicago, perhaps this was unrealistic. Friday evening, the crowd was light and primarily composed of what seemed to be “mainstream” superhero comic fans, who I’ve learned from experience are not a likely source of new readers for my work. We assumed that this was because Friday was essentially a “Preview Night” and most of the attendees were more hardcore fans. However, the make-up didn’t seem to change much on Saturday, either. There were definitely more people, but still not what I’ve come to expect from a Saturday crowd. Perhaps this was due to the fact that the President came to a political rally there at the convention center that day, and the crowds kept people from braving the trek to the show. However, when masses failed to arrive on Sunday as well, we knew what way the wind was blowing. In the end, a didn’t quite recoup my expenses for the weekend (but only just – I was only about $15 shy), but even if I had, it’s pretty apparent that I should be looking for an audience elsewhere.
Now, I’ve known for some time that pitching Paradigm Shift to the guy with the Incredible Hulk t-shirt is probably going to be a lost cause. However, usually the comics crowd is diverse enough that I don’t have to. For every guy in a Joker shirt will be smiling anime fangirl who digs supernatural RPGs, or the mom who like detective stories, or the dude who’s into indy comics. At some shows, like San Diego or New York, the sheer size of the crowd means there will be plenty of interested people in the mix. However, this time around it was a challenge just to get people to stop and take a look. I get the impression that many superhero fans are either indifferent or actively dislike the manga look, and I can accept that. However, I came to the realization at this convention that this is probably why I have so much trouble getting my work into most comic stores. If these are the folks who are frequenting the average comic book shop, chances are the owners of these shops tastes are likely to be similar. Consequently, I am not likely to find a majority of book sales there any time soon. It should be no wonder that my brief foray with Diamond was so short, and that the orders aren’t streaming in from the alternative distributors I’ve contacted. If my book can’t sell at Chicago Comics or Jim Hanley’s Universe, and Forbidden Planet won’t even touch it, perhaps I am barking up the wrong tree. It’s not that I don’t know if my books will sell, because they do, but obviously not to this crowd.
After doing 16 conventions this year, I can see where the majority of my sales are coming from, it’s pretty obvious: anime conventions are my bread and butter. The big comic shows are definitely big sellers, but the large expenses that go with them deeply cut into their profitability. If I look at gross book sales, my top ten conventions were:
1. San Diego Comic Con – 116 books
2. Anime Boston – 104 books
3. Chicago Comic Con – 104 books
4. New York Comic Con – 95 books
5. Tekkoshokon – 82 books
6. Anime Central – 79 books
7. C2E2 – 75 books
8. Anime St. Louis – 70 books
9. Connection – 69 books
10. Portcon – 53 books
While It’s nice to say that I sold 116 books at San Diego or 95 in New York, once you factor in expenses my top-selling shows were:
1. Anime Boston
2. Anime St. Louis*
3. Chicago Comic Con**
4. Anime Central
5. Tekkoshokon
6. Katsucon
7. Connecticon
8. Portcon
9. M.I.C.E.
10. Arisia* I was a guest at Anime STL, so there were no expenses.
** Due to special circumstances, my flight was extra cheap.
Now those big, prestigious shows like SDCC and NYCC have benefits to going beyond just making a profit, but as you can see aside from the Chicago Wizard show (which I’m pretty sure was a fluke), not a single other traditional Comic Con was a money-maker this year.
Looking forward, it’s obvious to me that doing 16 shows a year is unsustainable. While I am making a decent profit on this endeavor, the time involved with all this travel comes at an exhausting price: the more time I spend on the road, the less time I have to work on completing my next book. It seems pretty clear to me the next step is to find new markets for my work, and if comic book shops aren’t it, I need improve my game here on the internet. I have some ideas where to go next, and I’ll be posting them here in the blog as I flesh them out. I’d love to hear your ideas; what you’d like to see more of in the future; and what you’d be willing to buy in order to support the comic.
More soon. Watch this space.
The fall con season continues in full swing with New England Comic-Con this weekend at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center. Once again, I’ll be in Artist’s Alley at Table #721, ready with art, books, and comics wisdom. Come on by and say hi!
NY Comic-Con was great! I always enjoy visiting the Big Apple. After a bit of a rough start setting up on Thursday,
I hooked up with my awesome roomie, Carla Speed McNeil, and got our hotel situated and took off for a fantastic Mediterranean dinner at a snazzy joint called Ilili (really, say it out loud – it’s fun!)
My very patient neighbors were Contradictory Ed on one side, and The Multiplex’s Gordon McAlphin & Freewheelin’ Liz Baille on the other. Thanks for being such a good neighbors and putting up with my nonsense.
After a somewhat slow start on Friday, things really kicked into high gear on Saturday. Thankfully, the cavalry was called in. First, my friend Michele (who cosplayed as Kate!) came through and acted as a very capable sales & booth helper, all while pulling it off in character, no less! Then, I was unexpectedly descended upon by four gentlemen I met at Otakon a couple of years back. In exchange for a couple of extra badges I had on hand, they came back on Saturday to help pass out cards, sell books, handle money, fetch coffee, water & such, and generally save my bacon. I even had a chance to get up walk around. On Saturday! It was crazy good. Thanks again to Dario, Stefan, Joe, and Kevin for being such great sports on such short notice. And once again, Thanks to Michele for the great costume, acting, and assistance! You all were fantastic Deputies!
And lastly, thanks to everyone who came by, looked at art, bought books or just chatted. You’re the reason I can keep doing this thing. You rock!
