I posted my convention reports for ACEN 2016, which is one of my favorite conventions of the year. In the posts, I pose the important questions, like:
1) What do you love to do most when you attend cons?
2) How late do you stay up on Saturdays at a con?
3) What’s your favorite line from Spaceballs?
4) And the most important question of all: chocolate or strawberry pocky?
We had a blast at Wizard World Minneapolis, and made a lot of new friends. We posted the convention report in 3 parts on my other website:
PART 1 (Thursday)
PART 2 (Friday)
PART 3 (Saturday and Sunday)
Additionally, we have some new convention appearances coming up in June and July:
— Forest Park Library Workshop, Forest Park, IL, (May 28) 3-4pm
— Frankfort Public Library Workshops, Frankfort, IL, (June 4) 1-2pm, 2:30-3:30pm
— Kids Read Comics, Ann Arbor, MI, (June 18-19)
— Anime Midwest, Rosemont, IL, (July 8-10)
— Anime Iowa, Corralville, IA, (July 29-31)
My third (in a row!) and final convention appearance of March was Anime Boston, which had probably my highest sales volume in 2015. Since it’s an away show, I had to ship my inventory in advance, and since it’s an awesome city, my wife would also tag along with me for the journey. So sit back, relax, and check out the fun we had at Anime Boston!
THURSDAY:
I worked from home so we could leave straight for the airport after Beth got out of the office. We headed down to O’Hare, which took a lot less time than I thought, and then encountered the spring breakers in the security line (which took about as much time as I expected). Suffice it to say, we had time aplenty in the airport, so I was thankful that I had downloaded several episodes of a TV show I’m watching on my iPad. Our flight was delayed, due to mechanical issues (an oxygen mask in the cockpit needed to be replaced), so we arrived in Boston a lot later than expected – but that wasn’t terrible. It just means we had dinner at the airport instead of the city.
Upon arriving at the hotel, we got my books delivered to the room. I noticed one of them was not a box I had shipped (even though it had my label on it). This made me a bit nervous, so I opened the box to see what was inside…
A mysterious box sent to my hotel room, which I did not ship….
The box was filled with damaged books, some missing covers, and also a Cream vinyl record
…unfortunately, I discovered most of my single issues had been damaged (some missing covers, others with big chunks of them ripped out), 4 of my Reading with Pictures books were missing ($80 in potential revenue), and they had added a Jesus coloring and activity book, and a 2-disc Cream vinyl record set. Suffice it to say, this was not how I wanted to start my con. But it was late and there was little we could do about it now, so we tucked ourselves in and went to sleep.
FRIDAY:
We got up super early and headed to Thompkins for breakfast, a little diner right next to the convention center. We had a hearty meal, and then headed inside to drop off our stuff and set up our table. Anime Boston is unique, because you need multiple badges in order to be in artist alley – and getting them can be a bit tricky, since not everyone remembers that artists get priority access to the registration line, as well as get to skip the bag-check line. After jumping through some hurdles, we got our first badge, reminded security we didn’t need to go through bag check (several times), and made our way to artist alley to get our next set of badges.
I was set up right in front of the entrance door to artist alley – the first thing people saw when they entered into the hall – which was either going to be a spot where everyone saw me and kept going, or a spot where people bought from me first. Not surprisingly, it was a mix of the two.
The table is set up, with my lovely wife / assistant for the weekend
We set up the table, and then it was a waiting game until the doors opened and our 12 hours of selling would begin (the artist alley floor is from 10am-10pm Friday and Saturday). Since the Dealer’s Room didn’t open until noon on Friday, the alley was packed for the first two hours of the show. It was an incredible sight to behold, and because I was facing the entrance doors, I got to see the masses of people coming and going from the hall. Many would stop at the table – and thankfully, many would buy, with the newest titles going first and fast – and others would listen to pitches, grab a bookmark, and go about their day.
The alley was mostly filled with print vendors, one of which was next to me, and it was incredible to see how much business she was getting with her fan art prints of popular anime and video game characters. And also how little work she had to do to sell it, compared to comics. Books involve a pitch – people have to know what they’re buying, and if it’s worthy of their time. But a print is an impulse buy; You see it, and if you want it, you buy it. And she was selling them $10 each, or buy 3 get 1 free. Lots of the bundle deals were happening at her table. It invited some interesting conversations between Beth and I about how we should consider laying out our table moving forward.
As the day progressed, I got some repeat customers from last year. Several of which had spent the last year consuming my webcomics, and wanted more. I had one fan in particular who really enjoyed my first webcomic series, The Temple of a Thousand Tears (available online for free), and he requested a commission of his favorite character, Shiri. Additional commissions came in, as well, which made me even more grateful to have my wife on hand to continue selling while I went heads-down to work on art.
Shiri (from my webcomic series, The Temple of a Thousand Tears) sketch card commission
Another satisfied customer
Anti-Venom sketch card commission
MY TALLEST!
The sales rush continued after the Dealer’s Room closed, and the last several hours of the floor were busy in pulses. After the floor closed, however, it was time to celebrate our day of hard work, strong sales, and new friends – by heading to a local burger joint with our friends, Sean and Sara Lindsay (Spinnerette). One of their fans was having drinks with them when we arrived, so we got to chat with her for a bit before gorging ourselves on burgers and fries. After dinner, we all went our separate ways – since it was about midnight by that point.
SATURDAY:
Morning came much too early for our tastes, but we crawled out of bed and headed to a local Panera bread to grab some breakfast sandwiches before heading into the con to set up. We made our way through the multiple layers of security, reminding them yet again that we didn’t have to stand in the bag check line – we’re ARTISTS, we have tables to set up – and then proceeded to have breakfast at our table.
Beth and I, ready for day 2 of sales!
Sales started off strong and kept strong throughout the entire day. Beth and I worked our tails off, engaging in pitches, sales, general conversation, and checking out all of the amazing cosplays that walked through the door. We also promoted the heck out of our panels for later that day: Making Webcomics, and Self-Publishing 101. Webcomics was across the hall from the artist alley, so I headed in there about 10 minutes early just to make sure they knew I was coming…and found a full room, that just kept getting more full!
Making Webcomics panel, 5 minutes before start. Before they added another 4 rows of chairs. It was standing room only!
The panel was incredible! I was joined by Sean Lindsay from Spinnerette, and we talked about how we got started in webcomics, why the web was right for us, and then spent the bulk of the time answering questions from the audience. Participation was great, with hands flying left and right and people really getting into the material. I always try to keep my panels informative and entertaining, and I think we hit a good mix of the two.
After the panel ended, I invited people back to the table for additional questions, as well as to buy books, and found the table FLOODED with people for about 2-3 hours. Any books we hadn’t sold out of on Friday were gone before the end of this rush of people – especially the new books. Most people were buying one of everything on the table, which is always a great feeling.
Once the traffic at the table started to die down a bit, I headed off to the next panel, joined by Sara Lindsay. Sara has worked a lot of the Spinnerette Kickstarters, and also does a lot of the editing on the series, so we talked about the importance of setting deadlines, print formats, and again spent the bulk of the time answering questions from the audience. Engagement was, once again, very high from the attendees. One guy I even had to cut off, because he kept asking questions in a row – and we had to move on and let other people ask questions. After the panel ended, he of course rushed the table to ask some more questions while we were trying to sell in the panel room, and then again once we were downstairs at the table. We tried to accommodate everyone, and welcomed the mini-rush that followed that panel.
After the panels ended, it was time to get back to selling – and also doing commissions. Traffic on the floor lightened a bit, but picked up again in spurts as the Dealer’s Room closed. Overall, however, nothing compared to that rush we had post-panels, which was intense. Everything after that felt like a breather. Since there were lulls in traffic, the con staff (sitting right next to our table) was kind enough to announce my wife’s birthday over the PA. We both were very tickled by the kindness and generosity of the staff, and they were also fun and goofy neighbors.
A fan’s original character commission request
After the floor closed, Beth and I shut down the table and headed to the Atlantic Seafood Company for some dinner. We had gone here the previous year, and really liked their menu and the atmosphere. We ordered fish – since hey, it’s fresh not frozen – which was fantastic. Since we were celebrating her birthday, they also threw in some free dessert for us. At the end of dinner, we headed back to our hotel for a final night of sleep in Boston.
And then we went out to dinner at the Atlantic Seafood Company, and it was delicious
I ordered the sea bass…I chose wisely!
It was Beth’s birthday, so we got a free dessert. Peppermint ice cream pie!
SUNDAY:
The final morning of Anime Boston came much too early (as they all do), so Beth went to check us out of the hotel while I grabbed some breakfast from the Panera Bread down the street. We grabbed our packed bags and headed to the con floor, to set up what was left of our inventory. We were mostly sold out at this point, which was nice because it meant we didn’t have to work quite as hard. Books you have to take home always seem to weigh a little more, after all.
The doors opened and a slightly more zombie-like group of kids came in, most probably having stayed up all night listening to Greg Ayres rock it at the rave all night – the only reason they were awake, because they had to check out of the hotel by noon anyway. Beth and I didn’t mind, though, because we were very tired, too.
Sales occurred, people requested commissions, and eventually the floor came to a close. We packed up a little early, since 1) we were basically out of books, and 2) we wanted to beat the cab rush to the airport. It was spring break weekend, after all.
Samuari Jack sketch card commission
My buddy Rick’s brother stopped by the table – awesome!
Airport security was on par with what we experienced on our way to Boston, but we met up with Sean and Sara for some dinner and drinks. It’s always nice to be able to relax and unwind with friends after a show – especially one this incredible. We chatted in the booth until it was almost time for our mutual flights to board, and then we went our separate ways – presumably to pass out in the terminal until they called our boarding group. The flight home was short (especially compared to all the delays we had getting to Boston), and the drive home was quick.
Thank you to Anime Boston, the staffer, volunteers, and the attendees, for an incredible weekend. Here’s hoping to being invited back again next year!
My second convention (in a row) in March was in my own backyard of Chicago, C2E2! Typically for this show, I run the Reading with Pictures booth (this year the table was across from the Jelly Belly booth, for free jelly beans all weekend!) and only sell my all-ages books. Additionally, the proceeds from the sales go back to benefit the non-profit – so buying from me at C2E2 you get great content AND support a great charity. Bonus!
Friday morning, my buddy Phil Chan (Digital Pimp Online) and I drove into the city with our stuff in tow, and dropped off at the McCormick Convention Center in downtown Chicago. I stopped into the Airbnb I was going to be staying in, to grab the key, and then headed to the show floor to get my badges and set up the table.
The Reading with Picture booth, hidden behind Neal Adams
Reading with Pictures was set up right by the Marvel booth, behind Neal Adams, and across from the Jelly Belly booth. This was nice, because they kept us full of sugar all weekend – necessary after the late nights and early mornings. Since I arrived earlier than anticipated, I had a chance to walk around a bit and see some familiar faces. I took a stroll through artist alley to see who all was in already, said hi to some buddies, and then went back to the table in anticipation of the flood of attendees piling into the place.
Russell Lissau and Trevor Mueller – brothers in comics
Comic book creators, and good friends. From left to right: Russell Lissau, Ashley Erickson, me, and Gabo
After the doors opened, our volunteers showed up for the day. Helping us promote our latest initiatives (including a charity event we were hosting Saturday night), as well as helping us to sell some books, our volunteers were invaluable to our efforts and successes that weekend. Also, I got to reunite with Garrett, who helped us out last year and has been a big part of RWP’s efforts in the last several years.
Hanging out with Garrett Hill
As the day continued and books kept flying off the table, several friends started to stop by the table. Mark Waid stopped by to say hi, and to check out the Albert the Alien trades (he had yet to see volume 2). I was also visited by several of the cast of the Nostalgia Critic, who are always a blast to hang out with. And also some cosplay friends of mine stopped by to say hi, and to hopefully schedule a hangout for later in the weekend.
Special celebrity guest appearances by Tamara Chambers!
Good cosplay friends showed up, dressed as Captain America and Agent 13
After the floor closed and sales ended, I regrouped with my buddies and tried to figure out our dinner plans. My buddy Phil needed to eat, and we were joined by Channel Awesome stars Doug Walker, Brad Jones and Fard Mohummad as we walked to China Town for a quick bite. We stopped into a little place (that was not crowded, thankfully), and sitting down felt amazing. The food was also delicious, spicy (the way I like it), and plentiful. We ordered family style, and just shared everything together, while chatting about comics, cons, and movies.
Dinner out in China Town with Doug Walker, Brad Jones, Fard Muhammad, and Phil Chan
By the end of dinner, we were all pretty exhausted, but I made a quick stop back at the Hyatt bar to say hi to some friends. Gene Ha was there, sketching, and I got to meet some of his friends. I was also introduced to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo (who were really just saying hi to Gene Ha, but at least shook my hand). I hung out for a bit with friends Justin Jordan, John Bivens, and several others before it was time to call it a night.
SATURDAY:
I got up early at the condo I was staying in, took a shower (their bathroom was immaculately clean), and headed down the street to the corner shop, which had breakfast sandwiches. I headed to the show, ate, and set up the table for another day of incredible sales. We had another volunteer coming in on Saturday, too, who was cosplaying as Batgirl – so the kids could take pictures with her.
Reading with Pictures booth, day 2…now with significantly less inventory
Batgirl was volunteering at the Reading with Pictures booth on Saturday!
More cosplay friends came by to say hi, dressed as the 5th Evil Ex and Poison Ivy, respectively
Warrior Princess Peach!
More awesome cosplay from some good friends
Monty Python cosplayers are probably my favorites…that rabbit is just so vicious!
As sales winded down for the day, we broke down the table and headed off to my favorite sushi place in the city, Niu! With a reservation of 20+ people, this restaurant has never had an issue accommodating the lot of us. And we took up 3 rather large tables. I sat with my friends Russell Lissau (Old Wounds), Bryan Glass (Mice Templar), and Robin Dale. We talked about comics, comic movies, and the state and evolution of conventions.
After dinner, we returned to the hotel and I had a quick drink with some friends, and then headed back to the condo for some much needed sleep.
SUNDAY:
The final morning of the show is always a rough time. You’re tired, but you’re also energized to sell through the last of your stock and see your friends for a final time before returning to the real world. This morning was no different. We had very little stock left on the table to sell through, however we also had no volunteers coming in on Sunday to provide any coverage – so I was at the table for the bulk of the day. I did have to shut down, briefly, in order to attend a panel on Self-Publishing (moderated by my buddy, Jim McClain).
Come buy the last of my comics!
The Secrets of Sustainable Self-Publishing with Jim McClain, Jim McClain, Scott Bachmann, Tom Stillwell, Trevor Mueller, and Kelly Heying
More friends stopped by, in even more amazing costumes!
By the end of the panel, and the weekend, we were beat. I broke down the table, helped Phil pack up his inventory and take it to the cab, and then we hopped into separate cars and took off – he to his flight, and me to my condo so my wife could give me a ride back home.
C2E2 was nothing shy of amazing this year (as it is every year). The staff and volunteers are incredible, the attendees are great, the sales are amazing, and I love hanging out with everyone after the show ends. I can’t wait for next year!
2016 is off to a solid start with the first con I usually do during a given year (although this time, they pushed the con back from Valentine’s Day weekend to March…so it was warmer outside). Anime Milwaukee is this con that usually starts my con season, and it always sets the bar high. This year was no different, in that respect, and AMKE continues to be a fun and fulfilling convention experience.
THURSDAY:
Thursday after work, I met my buddy (and fellow comic book guest of honor) Russell Lissau at my house, had a quick chat while packing up his car with my stuff, and then we headed on our journey towards Milwaukee. Having moved from the city of Chicago to the northern suburbs, it’s now much quicker to get to Milwaukee than it previously was. Almost half the time, in fact. We arrived and unloaded our stuff, and immediately sought out our badges and the other guests (including our good friend and fellow comic book guest, Alan Evans).
It turns out the guests that had already arrived were on their way to dinner as a group, which (since we had eaten before we left Chicago) we were not hungry at this time. We opted instead to stop by the exhibitor hall to drop off our stuff, and have a quiet drink in our room while hanging out. Eventually, our friend Sandi came by and gave us a manicure – which is something that is quickly becoming an Anime Milwaukee tradition, and was much appreciated. Also, I will say that ending your day with a hand massage and cleansing is the perfect way to go to sleep.
FRIDAY:
Friday morning I got up and headed to the gym, where Alan and I started doing our workout routines. Typically at a con, I tend to work my arms only (since I’m standing all day, and I don’t need to burn out my legs at the beginning of the weekend), and that’s where my focus was – with a mix of push and pull exercises. Eventually, we were joined by voice actor guest Todd Haberkorn. Great minds must think alike, because he was also trying to squeeze in a workout before the first day of con.
Look at this page of good looking guests! From left to right: Stella Chuu, Todd Haberkorn, and some bald guy that writes comics
After the gym and a quick shower, we headed to the green room (a room provided to guests of shows that has refreshments, food, and usually a place to relax away from the con for a while) for some continental breakfast, followed by heading down to the floor to set up our tables. We were on the opposite side of the exhibitor hall from the entrance, basically where we were last year, however I noticed that a lot of the vendors have really started to build their displays vertically. It felt a lot more claustrophobic than it has in years past. Russell, Alan, and myself were all in a row next to each other, which is how we prefer to operate, and we began putting our displays up and readying ourselves for a day of sales.
We were surprised to hear that the show floor didn’t actually open until 2pm, since the program guide had said noon. Also, the artist alley outside of the exhibitor room had been in full swing since that morning – sacrificing security of their tables in exchange for longer times to sell. It wasn’t so bad, since 2pm was the same start time as last year, but since commerce was happening outside the room, we were very anxious to get started. Plus, I was premiering three new books at the show:
1) ALBERT THE ALIEN vol 2: The next chapter in the first foreign exchange student from space’s adventures on Earth.
2) LIL ALBERT: A coloring and activity book of baby Albert’s first adventure on our planet.
3) LOS OJOS: A supernatural action story about a contract killer who can see good and evil by looking someone in the eyes.
All set up and ready to sell some comics!
Once the day started and the doors opened, it was a mad house of people and sales. I’ve been attending AMKE for a long time now, and each year the show grows by leaps and bounds. And sales have grown right along with it.
During the day of selling, Alan and I snuck away back to the green room to grab some sandwiches for lunch. I also participated in some shenanigans with my table neighbors, the Bristol Renaissance Faire. Their table was doing magic tricks, sock puppet shows, and singing drinking songs throughout the day – and it was quite entertaining.
My table neighbors for the weekend: The Bristol Ren Faire!
After the floor closed, the comic group went to the Thai restaurant across the street from the hotel for some dinner. The con used to have two Thai restaurants next door: the good one and the less good one. Unfortunately, the good one closed. The food was still good at the current one, but the service tends to be rather slow. And true to form, it took a while for the food to arrive – but it was warm and delicious, so I can’t complain.
After dinner, we headed to the green room again to hang out and see some of the other guests. I texted Sonny Strait, and we had a great conversation about working in comics – and his work coloring for Dark Horse, and some of the projects he’s working on. It was also nice to see Brina Palencia again (it had been a few years since we last hung out). We also met cosplay guest Stella Chuu, and chatted with her and one of her friends late into the night.
SATURDAY:
The next morning we headed to the green room for breakfast, and then straight to the floor for the 10am start time. Commerce came in strong and steady, once again, and sales continued throughout the day. Alan and I escaped to the green room for lunch, making our own burritos, and then went right back to the selling.
Briana Lawrence and myself, hanging out on the sales floor!
A cosplay from one of my favorite animes: Elfin Lied!
One of many commission sketch cards from the weekend!
Another sketch card commission!
After the floor closed, we headed to our panels. At 6pm we did a panel about exhibiting at conventions, where we all dropped knowledge bombs about things to bring, priorities in your displays, and how to market yourself to your fans. After that, we had a little time and ran upstairs once again to grab some free food in the green room. My wife also arrived at the con, and was able to grab a quick bite before we had to run back downstairs for our next panel: How to Turn Ideas into Comics. It was an involved discussion about where ideas come from, and how you turn them into stories. Each of the comic guests had very different experiences and techniques for what they do with their ideas, and it was refreshing to do a new panel with the guys.
Immediately after our panels was the 18+ Cards Against Humanity panel, which was a ton of fun and filled with inappropriate jokes and good (or bad, depending on your personality) humor.
After the panel, we headed to the green room for some more hanging out, and eventually Alan and I went downstairs to grab a quite bite with Samurai Dan and Lady Jillian. We were out way later than I expected to be, and I started to get a little tired (I get really quiet when I’m tired). The fact that the time jumped ahead at 2am, due to daylight savings, did not help.
SUNDAY:
The final day of the show was another early start, beginning with breakfast in the green room followed by a day of selling on the floor. Before the con closed, however, we had one more panel to do as a group: Breaking into Comics. We all have very different stories for how we got into the business, and I tried to mix up the questions to things fans ask me all the time – and also to keep it fresh for us.
At the end of the con, it was time to pack up, say our goodbyes, and take the long drive back home.
AMKE was and continues to be the best way to start a convention season. I love this show!
The con even branded the bar. Awesome!