08.26.2010 @ 5:22 pm - 1000 Books this year!
Well, it’s official. As of Chicago Comic Con this past weekend, I have sold over 1000 books this year, and over 4600 since Part One: Equilibrium came out in the summer of 2003!
With at least five more conventions left this year, there’s a real chance I’ll achieve 5000 before the end of the year. Wow!
Thank you so much, everyone! I obviously could not have done it without your support.
08.26.2010 @ 5:20 pm - Chicago Comic Con Rocked It!
Chicago Comic Con exceeded all my expectations. The turnout was simply amazing. Based on the past couple of years, I assumed that it was going to be a bit of a sleepy show, especially with the lack of bigger name publishers in attendance (aside from the excellent Top Shelf). I figured, hell, the plane ride was already covered and I could stay with friends, so why not?
I am so glad that I did. As I mentioned before, I shared a table with Tim Broderick and Brian ‘BMAN’ Babendererde, and together we were in rare form. However, I think the lack of larger publishers ended up working to the advantage of smaller players like ourselves. People coming to the show looking for comics ended up finding their way back to Artist’s Alley when the booths in the front were found wanting. I also think the con playing the Celebrity Card brought in a different crowd than the fanboy-heavy mob in years past. Perhaps this helped our comics find a more receptive audience. Consequently, the sales were amazing: I sold over 100 books for the third time ever. Thanks to everyone who took a chance on PS! You guys made my weekend!
As usual, there were plenty of costumes around, though I was so busy chatting at the table, I hardly got any photos at all. I did manage to snap a shot of Kitty Pryde, though. She was always one of my favorites back in the day. I also squeezed in one fun commission for one of my long-time regulars.
However, the weekend wasn’t without its downsides. Most notoriously, the contemptible former (and nearly convicted — may it yet happen) Governor of Illinois made a disgraceful appearance to the convention on Saturday, with his hat in hand and begging for autographs. It made me feel dirty to be sharing the convention hall with such a figure. Star Trek, Batman and other actors are one thing, but this was quite another. It was shameful. I’m only happy to say that every time an announcement for the man came over the PA system, Artist’s Alley erupted in a cacophony of boo’s.
The other notable downside was that aside from Tim, Brian & Alisa, only a handful of other people I knew braved the show this year, and it made for significantly reduced socializing after hours. It was nice to have a little more time with some close friends, but I did miss the giant cartoonist katamari we normally take to our favorite family-style Chinese restaurant. It was a little sad when only three of us showed up on Saturday night.
However, those grumbles aside, I had a great time, and I will be back again next year! Thanks again to everyone who took the time to come out and see us. We’re so glad you did!
08.17.2010 @ 11:56 pm - Chicago Comic Con this weekend!
Once more, I return to the Windy City for the first convention I ever attended — Chicago Comic Con (AKA Wizard World Chicago). I first attended Chicago Comicon in its earlier incarnation in the summer of 1993, and it was pretty overwhelming. I returned again in 1999, right after I started drawing PS and made some of my first contacts in the business. A year later in 2000, I manned my first Artist’s Alley table and sold ashcans of Part One (or at least the first 40 pages of it.) Over the years, it’s been a on-again/off-again relationship, but I’m happy to be coming back this year with Part Three in hand, completing the series I debuted in those very halls. So, I guess this is a 10-year anniversary of sorts.
I’ll be at table #3102 sharing space with the ever-affable Tim Broderick, creator of Odd Jobs, and the man who taught me everything I know about hocking books at a convention. We’ll also be next to video game designer extraordinaire Brian ‘BMAN’ Babendererde, creator of Soul Chaser Betty and a formidable artist as well.
I hop on a plane in the morning, and I’m looking forward to spending a long weekend in my beloved Chicago again.
See you there!
08.04.2010 @ 3:39 pm - Comics Shoutout: Oh Perilous World
My buddy Nick Borkowicz (of Super Art Fight fame) has a new comic up and running, Oh Perilous World. It’s just started, and while I’m not entirely certain where it’s going yet, one thing is certain: strange supernatural things are afoot.
He even made a trailer for it. Cool.
I must know what this Skull Baby is…
07.29.2010 @ 1:00 am - San Diego Wrap-Up
Well, I’m back and mostly recovered from another year and the Mother of All Cons: San Diego Comic Con. This was my ninth (yes, ninth!) year at the show, and it was definitely my most successful to date. I had the pleasure of sharing my table and hotel with the excellent Shaenon K. Garrity, creator behind the amazing and hilarious comics Narbonic and Skin Horse and her husband Andrew Farago, widely known as curator of the fabulous Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco.
This year we had an excellent location in the Small Press pavilion, right across from Oni Press, a position that destined us to compete and take advantage of the hordes that descended upon them for Scott Pilgrim! (I should know, because I was right there with them to pick up Volume 6!)
Preview Night kicked off excellently well, but by the of the day on Thursday I was coming down with a cold, which meant I had to take things easy in order to get through the rest of the weekend. So, I didn’t get to party quite as much as I would have otherwise liked, but I still had plenty of time to hang out with many friends I hadn’t seen in quite awhile.
One the highlights of the show was to see Jason Thompson again and pick up his gut-bustingly funny King of RPGs. Seriously, if you’ve ever done any bit of role-playing or table-top gaming in your life, you will totally appreciate this send up done in consummate shonen manga style. As Shaenon and Andrew can attest, it had me cackling! I also had the pleasure of dining with he, and Roger Landgridge, whom I also hadn’t seen in an age and is now pounding page after page of Muppet comics for BOOM Kids! Good on ye, Roger!
Somehow I also found the energy to crank out a few commissions, too, including a conceptual sequel to Anime Boston’s “Yom Yom Yom” silliness:
After pacing myself, loading up on Airborne and Sudafed, and I managed to plow my way through the five days of convention madness, and thanks to the help all the kind, interested attendees, end up breaking my sales records for every other show to date. It was fantastic!
Thank you everyone for coming by the table at the show. As always, I couldn’t do this without you guys!
Next: I rest. At least until Wizard World Chicago next month…
Time to draw!
07.19.2010 @ 9:39 am - See you in San Diego!
Getting packed and prepped for my yearly pilgrimage the San Diego Comic-Con today. I’m off on a plane tomorrow for the sunny shores on the opposite coast.
You’ll find me in the Small Press pavilion at Table P14 along with the inimitable Shaenon K. Garrity of Skin Horse and Narbonic fame! I’ll have copies of all three PS books, art prints, and $10 ink sketches, too. Come by the table and see us while you venture the ocean of geekdom on the convention floor!
Update: Good news! No cash when you find us? I can now accept VISA & Mastercard on my iPhone, so worry not!
Tags: Comic-Con, conventions, San Diego, SDCC, travel
