Starting Today, at 11.30AM, through till Sunday at 5PM, I will be exhibiting at San Francisco’s biggest comic-book show, WONDERCON, at the Moscone Center.
This time I will be sharing the Abismo/Nerve Bomb booth with none other than the mighty RAFAEL NAVARRO, creator of the awesome SONAMBULO comics. Among other things I will have the ROCKET RABBIT COLLECTION on sale.
So come by and see us both at BOOTH #511!
For the EMERALD CITY convention in Seattle this week, I have a “new” book to sell; a 56 page collection of all the Rocket Rabbit stories that I’ve published so far.
KENESS has really come through with yet another fantastic print job. At 8.25×10.5 inches, this format is much bigger than any of the earlier Rocket Rabbit books and the print quality is much better too. Some of the earliest stories were out of print so this was a way of bringing them back to light and they have never looked better.
I still plan on getting NEW Rocket Rabbit stories done by the end of 2011 but frankly it has been hard to find the time in what has been a busy work year so far, so this collection is a good place-holder till I generate some new pages.
Starting this Friday 4th of March and through Sunday the 6th, I will be sharing booth Space #606 with the same two gentlemen who gave me a spot last time around; DEREK THOMPSON & TED MATHOT. Emerald City is a wonderful show and I hope to see some of you there!
Last weekend I exhibited at CTN ANIMATION EXPO and although I may not exhibit there again in the short term, I had a very good time meeting old friends and new.
I am genuinely happy that the US animation industry now has a show of its own; I don’t think there has been anything like this since the ANIMATION CELEBRATION of the late 1980s and 1990s. Judging from the booming attendance at CTN last weekend, many others want this community get-together too. But this show has yet to find its own identity. CTN is part student job-fair, part pro-seminar and part fan-convention and while the blend of the 3 is part of the appeal, at the moment, they blur together in a confusing and sometimes counter-productive way (at least from an EXHIBITOR point of view).
Some exhibitors were comped their tables in exchange for appearing at a panel or doing an art-demo but, not being a part of the show myself, I paid full-price for my space. My goal was to promote and sell my own books and artwork, but most people who came to my table were not in a buying frame of mind; they wanted information on the animation industry, so I spent most of the weekend reviewing students’ portfolios and answering their questions. I really enjoyed meeting these new people and talking about the industry that we all love, but unfortunately the expense of exhibiting, combined with the lack of sales meant that I was out of pocket to give out job advice. Besides, I’m not really sure if I was able to give these job-seekers any useful insights into the industry anyway, simply because it is very different and much more competitive now than when I started in the early 1980s.
It makes sense to me that STUDIOS would want to pay to meet new talent and maybe even that the talent would pay to meet the studios but I don’t think that exhibitors should be splitting the bill in that dating game. And speaking of THE BILL, they could afford to bring down the prices a little. The exhibitor-table at CTN cost me about twice what a table the exact same size would cost at APE, so with the air fare and hotel it turns out to be a much more expensive proposition, especially when the SALES are so bad.
Being an exhibitor, I missed out on the seminars and panels, which were my favourite aspect of being an attendee the first time. But I wasn’t the ONLY one who missed out; CTN has grown so dramatically in just one year that many who had paid a lot of money to attend were unable to get into the seminars. I heard about the overcrowding from students all weekend long. Some new system needs to be figured out so that nothing is oversold… perhaps a lower overall admission price with each seminar pre-sold with an additional ticket; no more tickets sold than there are seats. Otherwise, it will only escalate to that COMIC CON madness…
Likewise, there should be a CLEAR way of separating the different aspects of the show, so that there IS a job-fair for people wanting to get into the biz, but that it is separate from the sales area (maybe requiring a different pass?) Alternatively, the exhibit spaces should be free (or substantially cheaper) if portfolio reviews are a part of being an exhibitor, because if that’s the case “exhibitors” are actually a part of what attendees are paying to see.
I definitely want to go again, because the socializing each time I have gone has been a great deal of fun. I met friends from every phase of my career at the show; people I worked with in Sydney, in Asia, in Europe and the USA… but I may wait until the year after next because CTN has already outgrown the space that they still have a 3-year contract with. It was something of a madhouse this time around and I think the only way to improve that is extra SPACE. So I eagerly await finding out what that bigger, better space may be (maybe even the same space in Pasadena that the Animation Celebration used to occupy?)
This show has a great deal of potential so hopefully, after some growing pains and identity issues have been sorted out, the animation biz will have a truly wonderful show of its own. Though I wont be exhibiting, I am looking forward to attending again at some stage.
Here is an AD I made for the PROGRAM GUIDE of the CTN ANIMATION EXPO that I will be exhibiting at next week, (Friday, 19th through Sunday, 21st of November) down in Burbank.
This is only the second time that they’ve held this event, and I was at the very first show too, though as an attendee, not as an exhibitor. There were some very interesting seminars and panels which I enjoyed, not to mention the fact that I met people from just about every phase of my career (and some new people too) so it was fun from start to finish.
I was tempted to go as an attendee again this time around too, because as an exhibitor it is hard to attend the panels and so forth (plus I can’t sleep in!) But, in the end, I thought I’d give exhibiting a try. I have been meaning to do more shows each year, so why not this one, which is focussed on the community that I work in? I am very much looking forward to it.
A TON of friends will be also exhibiting this year; Patrick Awa, Maverix, Ghostbot, Jim Capobianco and more. A MAP of all the exhibitors is online HERE. It isn’t too late to get tickets, and if you quote the code BAKRX10 there is a discount.
I hope to see you all there!
Here is one of the 3 NEW prints I was selling last weekend at the Alternative Press Expo.
This was the 2nd time that I’ve exhibited solo at this show and it went very well, financially speaking, perhaps because having the whole space to myself allows me to display more product. I still need to work out the ultimate stripped-down travel package for shows out of town that I fly to on my own (which I’ll focus on next time for the CTN Animation Expo).
A plus this year was being surrounded by so many friends in that same row. (for example John Hoffman and his pals Chris Pearn & Craig Berry seen in the photo above). In the SWAG department, I picked up EVERY one of Corrine Mucha‘s books (that I didn’t have already) and I scored a copy of Anthology 451, paid for with some of my own craptacular stuff.
Saturday, we all had dinner at Poc Chuc which serves Mexcican food with a Mayan slant. It was very good, especially as it was chosen in a hurried scan of YELP. The evening ended at a very fun party hosted by GHOSTBOT, MAVERIX and CINEMATICO. Sunday night we had a fantastic meal at a German place called Schmidt’s. I should have left well enough alone and gone home on a high note, but my desire to end the show with the traditional ice-cream posse to Mitchell’s unfortunately went awry in a multi-pronged miscommunication fiasco, climaxing in a sad, weary wander through the Mission district looking for transportation…
The Rum & Raisin cone DID taste pretty good though.
I just bought some portable lightweight stands to hang my CONVENTION BANNERS from. It was a bit of an intelligence test trying to figure out how they work but I prevailed and will use them for the first time at the Alternative Press Expo (APE) this weekend. Mostly these book-shows and conventions provide a backboard behind the exhibitor spaces to hang stuff from, but not always. So I thought these would be a good investment. I also bought a velcro banner to display my PRINTS, of which I will have a couple of new designs. The SEPHILINA book I launched at COMIC CON will also be on sale. This year my booth Number is #108 and looking at the exhibitor map, I am surrounded by some pretty awesome neighbours: Julia Lundman at #102, Derek Thompson & Ted Mathot at #106, John Hoffman (Anthology 451) at #107, and Steam Crow (Daniel & Dawna) at #100. And there are many other friends exhibiting as well in OTHER parts of the hall (Jennifer Chang, Ghostbot, Charlene Kelley, Michael Aushenker, Rafael Navarro, Ben Walker and many more!!). I hope to see the REST of you there too!
Here’s my haul from last weekend’s ZINE FEST, here in San Francisco. I’d planned to exhibit there myself but it sold out by the time I applied. That turned out to be a good thing; it’s fun to go to comics shows as an ATTENDEE sometimes, especially as part of a POSSE (myself, Julia, Jeff, Gordon and his daughter Fiona). For one thing, it gives me the time to hunt for COMICS. Something that I can’t do at the shows where I am sitting behind a table myself.
I had not attended this show in several years. Back then, as you’d expect from the name, there was more emphasis on the ZINES and less on the comics but these days it seems to be about 50/50. This show was extra fun to attend for a few reasons: 1) It is free to get in. 2) it takes place in Golden Gate Park. 3) There is a lot of great, home-made stuff to see. 4) You can sometimes TRADE your own comics instead of pay. In fact, one 5th of these were paid for with my own product. I acquired so much stuff that I’ve still not had a chance to read it all in detail (and probably wont for some time) but here is a brief run-down:
“SHI LONG PANG” by Ben Costa. An epic tale that the artist worked on for 4 long years, finished off with funds from a XERIC grant. I have only browsed this one so far but I look forward to reading it in detail.
“KID BEOWULF” & “AMBITION STUDIOS ANTHOLOGY” by Alexis Fajardo. Another indie epic, this time modelled on the ORIGINAL epic of the English language; BEOWULF. However, in this version GENDEL, the monster is BEOWULF’s twin brother. Again, I haven’t done much more than a speed read but I look forward to checking this out.
“BUMS OF THE BAY” & “16th/MISSION STREET COMIX” by the Forsley Brothers. How could I NOT buy a book Chronicling Bay Area Bums? (complete with a cross-referenced map.)
“BRAD PRAYS TO GOD” & “BRAD AND CHAD ULTIMATE COLLECTION” by Two Fine Chaps. These gents had some lovely hard-bound books with intricate lazer cutting but their mini comics were more in my price range so that is what i came home with.
“MY FURTHER ADVENTURES IN RE-CAPTIONING”. My first SWAP of the day. I didn’t catch this fellow’s name and it isn’t listed in the credits, probably because this book is all about copyright infringement; recaptioning famous comics, such as GARFIELD and CALVIN & HOBBES, in a subversive way.
“LOCK GROOVE COMIX #1″ by Jean-Christophe Menu. A very nicely produced French indie comic about music. I got this one as a SWAP.
“THE MARTY CHRONICLES” by Liz Dunning & Teppei Ando. This was yet another one of my SWAPS; A chronicle of life with an eccentric person, drawn in an eccentric style.
“NOT MY SMALL DIARY” #15 (vols 1&2). A series of autobiographical anthologies each with a THEME. In this case “Brushes with Celebrity” and “Auto Eroticism.”
“KING CAT #71″ & “PERFECT EXAMPLE” by John Porcelino. Autobiography is as much the mainstay of indie comics as “Superheroes” are the meat and potatoes of the American mainstream, and this guy has been doing it forever.
“SHITHOLE” & “MY EVERY SINGLE THOUGHT” by Corine Mucha. So far, these two books are hands-down my favourite finds of the show. I was tipped off to these when our crew took a lunch break and I got to see a book Gordon had bought on the strength of the cover alone; a drawing of a grotty kitchen sink over which is the title SHITHOLE. A quick read proved that the contents, various stories about life in a grubby apartment full of students, lived up to the hilariously arresting title. SO, I promptly went back to the Zine Fest and bought my OWN copy, plus another book by the same author, that deals with the issue of being SINGLE after a break-up. She has a very original comedic voice and I look forward to finding more of her stuff at future shows.
COMIC CON, 2010:
This year, Rhode & I had thought we wouldn’t be able to follow-through with our recent tradition of a COMIC CON BOOTH THEME; whereby we decorate our booth to look like… well, something other than a boring old Comic Con booth. A bit of silliness that we have been indulging ourselves in for the past 4 years or so. Such things, even as cheesy as they are, take TIME to prepare and the fact that we now live on separate coasts made it unlikely this time around. Although we drove to Comic Con on Tuesday morning we had only met each-other (for the first time in months) at dinnertime the evening beforehand. Yet somehow, via communication by phone, text and e-mail, we pulled it off; THE YARD SALE theme. Last minute though it was, this booth display got perhaps our best response ever.
The only drawback of this particular theme was that, hilariously, people actually wanted to buy the JUNK that we had distributed throughout the display, as “props”. “How much for the George Foreman Grill?” “Give you $2 for the Rubik’s Cube…” “Ooh, a Smurf Mug!!”
These booth-theme ideas grew out of a conversation on the drive home from Comic Con 2006 (the first time we ever dressed up; in cheesy BLUE jump-suits, to promote CLOUD BOY) and that conversation continues to this day. I cannot now remember who came up with each idea because, in each case, they grew from one silly suggestion to the next. I do remember that each year, one of us begins to doubt if the idea will work (the line between cheesy/funny and outright stupid/lame is a razor’s edge, my friends) and the other guy becomes the torch-bearer for the idea. The Used Car Salesman theme excited me more than Rhode and he went along with it initially with some reservations (though he said at the end of that show that it was his fun-est ever, till that time). This year, I was the doubter; not that the idea itself was funny but that our execution might not work. But at a certain point, I decided to trust Rhode’s instincts rather than my own, and it worked out just grand.
Comic Con 2010 was our best ever, financially speaking. The runaway success of Rhode’s new children’s book, THE HALLOWEEN KID, made books Rhode’s biggest sellers this year. It was the prints that made up for the continuing downward curve in book sales for me (sadly, even the NEW one). Though this trend is a disappointment, I don’t take it personally, as Comic Con itself has been moving further and further away from its roots as a show about Comics. No need to dwell on that issue any further here (enough has been said about it already). My goal is to continue doing books come-what-may, as that is what drew me to these shows in the first place. A few years ago, I drifted away from doing comics, as I followed market forces towards the sales that would pay for the considerable costs of exhibiting. The new strategy is to firstly do a book each year and then use that book as a source for images that can become prints AS WELL. That way, the sales of prints should aid in sales of the books (“like that print? This is the book that it came from!”) or, at the very least, justify their existence as a mine from which to dig up images.
Socialising is always my favourite thing about Comic Con and, as always, I could not spend time with everyone that I wanted to. Wednesday’s PREVIEW NIGHT ended so late that Julia and I ate a tired but happy dinner back at our hotel. Thursday, meeting a crew of old cronies compensated for the slowest service of all time at an Indian place called MASALA. Everything clicked for Friday evening’s dinner at LOU & MICKEY’s. Hilarious conversation and good food culminated in a game where filthy phrases became the basis for creating new cocktails. We even had the Barman mix one to our specifications. The true name of this drink (pictured below) is too filthy to mention in this here G-rated blog but, in honour of its creator, Mr Kirk Thatcher, we gave it the optional name of THATCHER’s DELIGHT for use in polite company.
The hilarity and exhaustion (not to mention the effects of drinking the aforementioned saucy beverage) meant that I was too tired to move from my chair and thus unable to attend the party at the MAVERIX STUDIOS condo; an event that I seem to miss each year. Which was too bad this time around as I had recommended it to OTHER friends who showed up in my absence… But the main thing is everyone had fun. I will definitely be there NEXT time!
Saturday was exhausting. Even knowing ahead of time that it will be busy, it is hard to prepare for the sensory overload that is a Saturday at Comic Con. The combination of crowds and constant traffic at our booth, combined with frequent visits from many friends, meant that my mind was deep-fried by the end of the day. Walking wearily back to my hotel, I was not strong enough to resist the already-formed plan of dinner at OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE; that fake-Aussie eatery. I lodged a few half-hearted complaints but nevertheless climbed into the car that would drive me to the humiliation of Koala Fries, Platypus Burgers Kangaroo Shakes and other such nonsense…. to my surprise, the food was actually tasty (don’t tell any real Australians that I said so or FAIR DINKUM my citizenship will be revoked) and of course the company and conversation was entertaining. Just what I needed.
Sunday, sales at the booth were very good compared to previous years and though this had us in high spirits, we were both very weary, right from the beginning of the day. Lately, Comic Con starts EVERY day at 9AM (whereas the weekdays used to start from 11AM in the old days) meaning now there’s no chance to catch-up on sleep after the long drive down from San Francisco, and the subsequent evenings of fun and revelry. This schedule is cumulatively tiring, even on a healthy body, but especially on poor old Rhode, who had picked up a come-and-go infection that left him looking green by Sunday afternoon.
So we took our time in packing, after the show was over. Many of our friends just roll up a banner and simply walk out the door at the end of a show but the downside of our silly Booth Shenanigans is that it not only takes a while to prepare but ALSO to break down and getting all the stuff into the car (both at the start and the finish) is 3-dimensional TETRIS. Unfortunately, we couldn’t toss the YARD SALE fence-posts because they were needed back in Stockton (that wasn’t merely a prop; it was a genuine NORCAL fence, my friends!) though we did abandon the Astro-turf. The break-down of the booth this time around was the longest ever but we weren’t in any hurry. It was actually our first chance to relax since the show began! Coming back to my hotel to find a desk clerk rocking the good time COMIC CON party attitude in Clark Kent attire (see above) was an amusing end to a good show.
After freshening-up, I hooked-up with the Maverix crew at YAKITORI/YAKYUDORI for a post-con chow-fest; ending this year’s show at the same restaurant where the eating BEGAN the year prior. A huge mob of us invaded the place, and the waiter looked like he’d have an aneurysm when we ordered 4 of everything on 3 separate menus. The best part of Sunday though, was the chance to sleep-in before the long, and eventful drive back to the Bay Area (doing that story justice would take up an entire blog post on its own!)
…ah, SLEEP…. Actually, that still sounds pretty good to me! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
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