Put-N-Play-Con: A Vlog with Some Swearing (Just FYI)

Ho dang, this one took a while to edit.

I don’t know why my creativity demanded I make this a video, but I did it. I hope you enjoy it.

In it, I talk about Put-N-Play (the last show I was at), the way conventions tend to promote their shows, and other behind-the-scenes convention secrets.

Here was my set up at Put-N-Play this year:

put n play con artist alley table layout

Sadly, as mentioned in the video, I barely made sales this last weekend. Which is a shame.

My next convention appearance is Kennywood Comicon on June 17th. Wear a nerdy shirt to get a discount on your admission ticket!

After that, I have quite a few more appearances: June 23rd I’ll be at The Big Idea Bookstore in Pittsburgh for Punk, Comics, and Feminism (a discussion group) at 5 pm. Then at 7 pm I’ll be at The Feminist Zine Fest Pittsburgh Zine Reading at the Irma Freeman Center. After that, on June 24th, is Feminist Zine Fest Pittsburgh!

That’s all for now. Thank you for watching and reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

Validation’s Final Push on KickStarter

Those of you who are on my email newsletter, as well as on Facebook and Tumblr, know that Validation’s Final Push launched June 1st.

This KickStarter campaign launched to get funding to help Christian and me make the final pages of the webcomic Validation.

Let me make one thing clear: yes, we have a Patreon page. But keep this in mind:

Christian has been paying me out of her own pocket to make comics every week for the last 5 years. The Patreon has helped give Christian a small writing stipend, but it’s not enough to cover the full cost of this comic (from paying me, to web hosting, etc.).

So, we started the KickStarter campaign to get us over the edge.

And over the edge we went!

Because holy dang, our initial asking goal was $500 and you met that goal within 2 HOURS of launch!

We made our first stretch goal of $1000 before the weekend started! As I’m writing this, we’re right on the cusp of making the $1500 stretch goal!

I think it helps that the rewards are fun. At least two of them include getting drawn in one of the final pages of Validation!

Another thing is that some of the prints available have been out of print. One of these prints is “In Her Wildest Dreams.”

This baby has been out of print for quite some time. But now it’s available for KickStarter backers as a reward.

If you’re interested in helping this KickStarter camaign, there’s still time to pledge. Who knows? Maybe you’ll be the one who helps us reach that next stretch goal!

If you’re broke, please share this campaign with your friends. Every share helps more than you know.

The campaign ends MONDAY, JUNE 11.

That’s all for now. Thank you for your support!

You. Are. Awesome.

YWCA Mini-Con 2018: The Best MiniCon (So Far)

ywca minicon artist alley table 2018

Saturday, May 26 was the second annual YWCA Mini-Con in Wheeling WV. And there were a couple of things I forgot from last year:

a) just like last year, this fell on the same day as a marathon happening in downtown. So my usual route to get to the YWCA was closed off. Oops.

b) there was AC, but the room we were set up to sell our wares in was large and didn’t circulate the air.

c) I had wall space!

I took full advantage of that wall space to hang up my clearance prints. I sold way more comics than prints, BUT I did sell two clearance prints. THAT helped.

In fact, a lot of my clearance stuff got sold out at this show. Thank you, peeps who bought those! You helped clear the way for new art and comics in the future.

If you’re interested in any clearance or limited edition things, here’s a link to my Storenvy shop. There’s TWO “Jamie and the Dragon” miniprints left! And FOUR “Faerie Queen” left!

faerie queen limited edition print

Back to the show, it was great to be there once more. Seeing all my repeat fans, getting to know peeps better, chatting with the pagans in attendance (Wheeling has a surprisingly large pagan contingent in the city). It was all fun!

By the end of the day, it was the most profitable one-day show I had done thus far. In fact, I made more than I made at last year’s show! I think the clearance items helped. So did having two new books and some new zines.

10/10. Would do again.

(Also there was pizza given to vendors. My “Smile! Pizza Loves You” shirt I wore that day was prophetic!)

And now, I’m going to rest before I restock and prep for the next show. I am, as the French would say, le pooped.

My next show is not until June 8 through 10, at Put-N-Play at Put-N-Bay. I have never been to this con. I’m only going because my buddy and Dance Around the Maypole collaborator Chloe talked me into it. Wish me luck!

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

P.S. River City Comic Con got cancelled. The organizer has fallen into ill health. Be sure to wish him well on the River City Facebook Page!

3 Rivers Comicon 2018 and How It Went

3 rivers comicon artist alley table 2018

This year’s 3 Rivers Comicon was a mixed bag. But to explain why, I need to split this into 3 parts.

PART 1: THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES DRAMA

Full disclosure: right now, when I’m not making comics, I work part-time at my local comic shop. It so happens that my local comic shop is a branch of New Dimension Comics, the same company that runs 3 Rivers Comicon. Because of that, I could talk for like an hour about some behind-the-scenes stuff regarding how gaming tables were pilfered at the last minute for use at the convention, but I’m not going to get into that.

I could also tell a funny anecdote about a behind-the-scenes debate concerning what food to provide convention guests (pb & j sandwiches or pizza??), but I’m not going to get into that either.

Instead, I’m going to call out the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fandom because it is a massive piece of shit. Continue reading “3 Rivers Comicon 2018 and How It Went”

The RathaQuest of RathaCon

rathacon artist alley table 2018

So…Many…Puns… But it was so worth it!

I almost didn’t go this year because RathaCon was the same day as the first day of Ohio Valley Pride in Wheeling. However, the RathaCon table was booked by the time I found out Ohio Valley Pride was happening, and I didn’t want to back out of my commitment because I know my fans down in Athens would have missed me.

I’m glad I went, though, because this was the most financially successful RathaCon I have attended so far! I think it helps, too, that my table buddy this year and I had a good chemistry – our jokes seemed to entertain the attendees, at the very least!

Yes, I had a table buddy at this year’s RathaCon – she goes by the online handle of Arcanineryu and this was her first selling-at-a-convention experience. I think she did great!

In fact, we both had REALLY good sales. One element that I think helped the most with that was the RathaQuest the convention organizers ran.

RathaQuest was a scavenger hunt: you went up to one of the convention organizers (conveniently cosplaying as a Sim with an exclamation mark over her head), and she would give you a card that listed a clue on it. The clue was either to find a specific table and ask a question, or to go to every table and say a password and they would give you a piece of a puzzle, or to go to a table for a clue hidden directly on the table. You bet your bottom dollar I was part of that scavenger hunt, and the guests and I had a great time with it. I was a clue holder: you had to find my table and ask, “What is Hexacon, and what are the duck-sized horses?”

(Hexacon is a convention that happens in Johnson & Sir: it’s a witches convention, and one of the attractions is the duck-sized horses. Unfortunately, at one point, they get loose.)

The RathaQuest was REALLY fun and I hope the organizers do it again next year.

There were some artists that felt the convention should have been had when the school year was open, because Athens is a college town (Ohio University is there). However, I feel a bit differently about it: see, when I was in college at Bowling Green State University, the anime club hosted a one-day convention called Animarathon. It’s a convention still held annually.

The problem is this: yes, attendance will grow enormously. Your sales will not. Because college students are notoriously broke.

I think I would rather go to a convention that’s geared towards the local community and happens in the summer, instead of going to a convention during the school year that attracts a lot of attendees who say to you, “I can’t, I’m too broke.”

But that’s just me. What do you think?

By the way, my next convention appearance is this weekend at 3 Rivers Comicon, May 19 and 20 in West Mifflin, PA. It’ll be at the Century III Mall. There’s free parking and food trucks, if that further entices you. And yes, I will be sharing a table with someone at this show, too, this time with Kampie from Classic Plastics earlier this year. I’m excited to be sharing a table with Kampie again! Also, Arcanineryu will be at the show, as well, so be sure to stop by her table, as well!

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.