First let me just apologize for the quality of these pics (which you’ll find below all my babbling). I clearly don’t know how to use a camera. Photography is not in my future. I think I’ll stick to cartooning.
So… what a weekend! What a FANTASTIC weekend! If you ask me, it’s the best way to spend a weekend. I am so happy that 5 weeks ago I signed up for this and dedicated the rest of those 5 weeks to getting as much merchandise together as possible. It was absolutely worth it.
When I got there early Saturday morning, the hall wasn’t even open yet. The first person I ran into was a guy on a Swedish comic forum I recently joined. We chatted a little bit and waited (impatiently on my part) for them to start letting us all in. Once we finally got in and registered I grabbed a table as quickly as I could. I learned soon after that there was a bigger room (The Big Room that I’d seen in pictures from previous years), but I was set to be in the smaller one. This bothered me a LOT at first because I thought the area I was in would be pretty much ignored. But I quickly accepted my situation (as more people started showing up and taking tables around me) and instead took joy in decorating my own table.
After a couple of hours things started to pick up fast. More and more people were showing up and soon there were so many that it was hard to keep track of what was going on. Most people just stopped by and read the example strips I had set up. Some picked up my book and flipped through it. Quite a few of them smiled and laughed. And I had a few strange experiences as depicted in my latest strip. Then, suddenly, I started selling things. And not just anything… books! I didn’t really expect to sell my books. But I ended up selling 20 by the end of the first day, which was more than I expected! Sunday was much quieter, but I still sold some books, and it was a better day for my buttons and bookmarks.
I think the most fun was meeting other cartoonists. My “table neighbor” was Karin Käll of “Den Bruna Serien” (The Brown Comic). It was great having such a nice, down-to-earth and fun neighbor. And I liked her comic too! Too bad for most of you guys, it’s in Swedish. Her comic is a basically just a clever take on life and relationships, some (if not all) taken directly from her own life. I bought two of her books, and have read all of the comics she’s posted online.
At one point I was able to take a walk around and check out what other people had to offer. It was a bit overwhelming but I did come across a few gems. One being Liz Greenfield’s Stuff Sucks comic. I talked to her briefly while I picked out which of her books I would buy. She flew over for the expo from the UK, which I thought was pretty cool. The comic is set around a record store in Amsterdam, and it’s beautifully drawn! And the book itself is sold in a little CD cover. How cool is that?
I met a few other cool people too, like Alberto Corradi who flew all the way up from Italy just for the expo! I also met a bunch of guys from that Swedish forum I mentioned (and from another Swedish forum I joined). They were all really nice and they all came over to my table and most of them bought a book too! Some stopped by a few more times to check out how things were going for me and to chat about whatever. I’m very grateful to them for making me feel so welcome.
Needless to say, it was an amazing experience. I can’t wait to do it again. It just sucks that I have to wait an entire year. But, this also inspires me to try to see if I can get in on some other conventions in other cities that aren’t so far away. Like the London Comic Con, for example. I have nothing planned, but at least I know now that I can totally pull it off!
Oh, by the way, I did a Tall Tale Radio interview with Tom today about it where I talk even MORE about the expo. So keep an eye out for when I post about when you can listen to that!
And now, without further ado – The (bad quality) pics!
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