So when the APE Con came around this year in the Bay Area, I had three Dr. DeBunko and three Dick Hammer stories to shop to publishers, but I didn’t really know who to approach, or how. I thought I might again approach Slave Labor and Fantagraphics. I thought I might try to approach Drawn and Quarterly and Top Shelf. I didn’t know how many other possibilities would be open.
I’d spoken with Fantagraphics at the previous year’s con, and they had kindly taken a package, and even sent me a reply email with a handwritten note of rejection, which I thought was nice for them to take the time. I found the same guy from the previous year, Eric Reynolds (whose name I still didn’t know). I asked if I could leave another package. He started to begin basically the same pitch, that he can’t really look at it at the con, but that they look at everything, and would send me a response, all of which I already knew. So that was one publisher down. On to the next.
I nervously went to Slave Labor. I didn’t find the same guy from the previous year (Dan Vado), or when I did, he looked busy, and I was too intimidated to get another review from him. I finally asked an underling about getting portfolio reviews, assuming I could send a package in, or maybe drop one off, if my package met with their requirements. This guy didn’t ever really smile, although he was friendly enough. He gave me the general submission guidelines I’d been getting at every review I went to. He insinuated the difficulties of getting results, etc. etc. I asked if he had a moment to look at my stuff, and when I showed him, I had the impression he was impressed. I had the impression he had assumed that I would be some talentless but nice enough schmuck, and when he saw my art, he changed his mind. Because he was an underling, he told me he didn’t really make the decisions, but that he thought the work looked good. He gave me his card, and I think I left a package with him, and I felt pretty good about it.
I paced around Top Shelf and Drawn and Quarterly, trying to blend in and not be too conspicuous, but they always seemed either too busy or too cool for me to make an attempt to go up and try to show them my work.
Meanwhile, I stumbled onto a company I hadn’t heard of before, called Idea Design Works. I thought their books looked like I might be able to fit with their style and genre. I kept walking by and trying to get a better look at things. I made eye contact with the gentleman manning the desk, and exchanged some pleasantries. I thought he was really friendly.
So this went on for the rest of the day, where I procrastinated and scoped things out, and felt too intimidated to just go up and talk to anyone. Finally, when the con was almost ready to close, I asked if I could show Idea Design Works my samples. Robbie Robertson was very encouraging of my work. I had the impression he thought my stuff looked really good, and he said he would get it on the desk of the man in charge. This made me thrilled.
I was so excited, I was ready to pass more packages out with confidence to the other publishers. But by then, I had been procrastinating too long, and now they were all breaking down their booths and packing up. It was too late to give something to Drawn and Quarterly or Top Shelf. I’d blown it for this year. But I could always send them something.
So I left the con with a bit of a high over the potential attention of Robbie at Idea Design Works. And not feeling bad about the interaction with Slave Labor either. But looking back in retrospect, nothing really panned out. I never heard from Slave Labor. I emailed my contact once, and never got a reply, and I don’t think I tried to write them again after that. I eventually just sort of forgot about them.
Fantagraphics sent me another form rejection letter, but this time I guess they didn’t think the work was good enough to bother with any personalized comments. Naturally that was a bit of a disappointment. It felt like I was going backwards instead of forwards. Shouldn’t I have gotten an even nicer, more detailed rejection letter the second time around?
I emailed Idea Design Works a few times, and Robbie replied to my letters, saying he remembered me and had put the samples on the President’s desk. He finally said that he asked the President, and the pages had somehow disappeared. I sent another copy, at their request, but nothing ever came of any of my inquiries after that.
So overall, with this con, there wasn’t too much to share, except that I was too nervous and shy, and nothing much happened, and I didn’t try hard enough with getting my work into the hands of publishers, or with following up afterward, and naturally, that led to not finding anyone interested in what I was doing.
I knew what I was doing, though. I was going to keep drawing Dr. DeBunko and Dick Hammer, but before that, I wanted to redraw “The Lump” in a more photo-realistic style.