WONDERCON 2006 Wrap-up
I was surprised how good I felt about having a couple $10 books on my table at this convention: the humongous Doris Danger “treasury”, and “Dead by Dawn,” a British horror anthology I did a four-page story for. The con didn’t feel very busy, and not many people actually bought stuff from me. But it turned out, making just a few sales with the more expensive books made it one of our most successful cons, earnings-wise. Enough so, that I found myself wondering if I should just start taking more time between projects, and putting out graphic novels. I’m so resistant to it, though, because I prefer the comic book format. I’m so much more attached to comics.
My plan, before this convention, had been to jump into my Limbo Cafe project, which will be seven issues at 200 pages. This new “expensive book” evidence, coupled with the seeming popularity of my monster book (popularity as a relative term compared to my other books so far) is definitely making me wonder if I should shelf Limbo Cafe long enough to put out another monster book.
One thing I learned is that I really do have to be more careful about people who come up to my table, because I lose track of faces, and I certainly never can remember names. My wife can attest how awful I am about remembering names. I don’t even know the names of any of her friends, for God’s sake. I just AM NOT GOOD with names. And on top of that, at the conventions, you see so many faces, one after the other, and the environment is so stressful. Next thing I know, I’m making a pitch to someone who’s already come up and heard the pitch and visited with me, and when they come up they think we’re friends, I treat them like a complete stranger and try to sell them books they’ve already bought, and then I just look like an asshole and they wonder why the hell they bothered to buy anything from this asshole to begin with. Remember when I talked about Dave Stevens not remembering me? That’s why it didn’t bother me. Because I’m humiliated at how much I know why he didn’t recognize me.
So that’s something I have to really try and be careful about, because it’s IMPORTANT. And for those few of you fans out there who I’ve done this to, or who I’m going to do it to, next time I meet you…I’M REALLY SORRY. I hope you won’t take it personally, and understand now that I’m just a uncaring punk.
Someone at the con was sitting opposite me in the food court, and it turned out he drew my portrait, which I plan to post at the website soon. We visited for a while, and he went into specific and lengthy detail of a story he had come up with for Speed Racer, and he wanted to publish it. I told him he’d better find out who owned the rights to Speed Racer, and that might be a good place to look for someone to give his pitch to.
When Elizabeth showed up for the second day of the con, we began for the first time telling all our comics acquaintances we’re having a baby. Other than phone calls to friends, this was my first real “coming out” experience, and Elizabeth loved doing it. You could tell by the way she told everyone. And it felt awkward and strange to me. I’m not used to telling people this.
A strange thing happened this convention. It may not sound as strange to you as it does to me. Because, after all, from the moment I began sitting behind a table, people started bringing me their portfolios to look at and give them advice. And people started giving me comics, or sample sketchbooks or zines they’d printed or made at Kinkos. But this felt different, this time.
First, I was approached by someone, who asked if I might do a commission for him, which he could use as a poster, I believe, for a film. Granted it was a student film. He teaches. I told him, I really haven’t done this kind of work before. But he came back and asked a second time. We exchanged contact information.
Later, a self-publisher I’d met at another convention gave me a copy of his newly-printed first issue, and said he had a story in mind that he thought I’d be great for, as the artist. More and more, people are approaching me, and asking me for this kind of stuff. More and more, people are asking if I want them to do a pin-up, to publish in my own book. More and more, I’m having to explain to them, Look, the pin-ups I put in my book are famous artists I admire, revere, who inspire me, who have contributed to comics history and to my development as an artist. I pay them to include them, and I hope their inclusion will get readers to look at my book, and give me a chance as a struggling artist. I’m not some famous publisher of some famous book, looking to scout talent. I’m not just putting pin-ups of everyone I meet into my book. It doesn’t matter how good the pin-ups are. That’s not the point of what I’m doing.
But I can’t blame them, because I’ve desperately tried pawning my books off on other artists and editors, hoping someone will see it and think it’s good. And I’ve come to realize probably most of the copies get left in hotel rooms, or brought home and thrown out, or at the least not looked at, or glanced through but not appreciated. I’ve tried offering my services, and who cares if it’s for free, if it could get me a little exposure. But it never leads to anything, because no one’s interested. I’ve met people I look up to and admire, and tried to seem cool and friendly, not only because I admire them so much, but because you never know if maybe they’ll think I’m okay, and just happen to need someone to spot their blacks, or happen to introduce me to their editor, who will no doubt be dying to see what kind of work I’ve been doing. It’s a desperate medium, and no one knows how to get in, and we’re all just trying any way we can think of.
I don’t tell them all that. They’ll learn, and either keep trying, or get frustrated and give up. What I tell them is, I’m flattered you want to be a part of things (and I am). I tell them, I’ve got so many projects of my own that I don’t have time to do, I don’t really have time to work on a project for them (And I don’t. And I’ve gotten this excuse from a lot of other artists, and I’m beginning to realize maybe it’s true and not just a blow-off.)
But what I do tell them is that I’m working on putting a links site together on my website, and if they have any interest, I’d love for them to draw me a sketch of a giant monster, and I’ll post it there, as a link to their email or website or whatever they want. And some of them seem disappointed that I’m not planning to print their pin-up in my book, or hire them to do work in my book, or let them hire me (I hope they at least assume they’d pay me, and not just think their story is so good I’ll feel honored just to be a part of their brilliant project for free). But most of them like the opportunity to be a part of that.
Overall, so far, of all the cons I’ve done, I seem to feel best (that is, the least negative and pessimistic) and do best with Wondercon.