We had two tables at this year's Baltimore Comic Con, as you can see in the photo above, where we're all set up and ready to go. And things got really busy, really fast!
First off came Poison Ivy and her friend in the Slimer shirt. Nice folk, and a great start to the show. Let me say right now that I'm amazed with the people in costumes at this show. Many are quite creative, all seem very friendly and fun, and patient! I seriously doubt that I could be that patient with so many people stopping you every few seconds to ask you to pose for a photo. Yet pose they do, and with a smile. :0)
It is hard to say if this year's show was larger than last year's. The layout was a little different, and unfortunately I did not get to spend too much time away from my tables. The crowd seemed pretty big at first, but come lunchtime it all but disappeared, only to pick up again. There was a big autograph session, though, that pulled quite a lot of people of the floor, but other than that the day was pretty busy. I met some great creators, awesome fans, and generally nice folk, and sales were better than last year. By the end of the day I was quite happy.
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| A close-up of some of our merchandise. |
Day 2, however, was another story. The morning had a different crowd, although I did have some great moments. One girl asked me to draw on a shoe, and another kid was so enthusiastic about my new comic book that I gave him a free sketch. A LOT of people seemed to enjoy the artwork this year, especially since I had the second table to display it. It was nice to see so many people stop for a laugh, and flattering, of course, when they bought a print.
The second table was very helpful in many ways, but expensive, especially when half of Sunday was full of dead time, where there were no people on the floor but us Creators. Now, I love the Baltimore Comic Con, and hope to go again, but the famous Costume contest, and the Art Auction, and several very interesting panels all took place upstairs, and required pre-registration. That means there were very few people walking the floor between 12 and 3:30. Honestly, that was painful. I did get to talk to some Creative people, and my friend Matt who came to help out, and things did pick up for an hour at the end, but hey... business is business. A few more sales would have made the trip more worthwhile. I almost wish the panels were evening events, or at least held at the end of the day.
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| The fine folk across the way! By the way, I bought the painting on the floor at right... looks like Big Ben meets Harry Potter. :0) |
Baltimore is the only show I've done so far, but from what I hear, it is a very friendly and accessible show. Personally I enjoy being able to talk to so many people, and frankly, every show should have an Artist's Alley like this one. It's almost like Diagon Ally, or some alien bazaar... with people selling everything from paintings and posters to T-shirts and skateboard decks, and everything in between. I hear some Artist Alleys only allow you to sell artwork, and not books or anything else. Here, though, it's very colorful and dynamic, and I'm glad to be a part of it.
Highlights of the show, for me, were seeing old friends again, and making new friends. Seeing a Ghost Buster carrying a HappyGlyphs bright yellow bag was very cool, as was finally meeting Johanna Draper Carlson of ComicsWorthReading. And seeing people of all ages laugh or smile at my work is always very rewarding.
I'm still absorbing everything that happened, and trying to figure it all out. I have to see how things go before deciding what to do next year. First, though, I am going to attend a few other events and conventions, which I will tell you all about later. Looking over the photos from this show, though, it looks like we all had a great time! I know I did. :0)
All the best, JOHN :0)
What I am listening to? A Fine Frenzy!
PS Ghost Buster photo by Matt Bucher. Thanks Matt!
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