How Did the Be Excellent Festival of Games Go?

my artist alley table at the be excellent festival of games in sylvania, OH 2024

So the Be Excellent Festival of Games happened on Saturday. How did it go?

Well…it was quiet for the first half of the day. It didn’t pick up until the second half. In talking with the other vendors, it made me wonder what the staff’s strategy was to get the word out about this event. This wasn’t the first show I visited that lacked attendees but charged $80 per vendor table.

For context, Genghis Con in Cleveland opened for applications and happens in December this year. They’re charging $70 for a full table and regularly turn out 4 to 5 times the attendance that Be Excellent Does.

Now, I know this is Be Excellent’s second year as a convention. And this is “post-pandemic.” But it does make me wonder about the longevity of some shows, especially local ones.

So there’s the issue of smaller attendance numbers. But there’s also my body.

The day after Be Excellent, I lost my voice for half of the day and was too worn out to do much of anything. This is very different from before. I used to be able to do three or four conventions in a month and, while rough, I still was ok.

Now? I’m pooped after one event that had no customers until 3 hours into the show.

I think it’s time I start to phase out of doing conventions.

Whether that means taking up a “day job,” or putting more eggs in online sales, commissions, gallery shows, etc – I need to stop doing conventions. It’s funny because pre-pandemic, I had serious thoughts of retiring from cons. Now, I think it’s time to start acting on that plan.

I’m going to be sad about this for a bit. Because conventions were a big part of how I made an income pre-pandemic. But the world has changed, so I need to do the same.

I’m still going to the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Fest and the Free RPG Day event. And if I get into Genghis Con, I will honor that. But I need to respect my body more.

Speaking of Ann Arbor, you can find me this upcoming weekend – June 15 and 16 – at the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival! I still have Caticorn prints and lots of stickers and books available, so be sure to stop by my table.

I still had fun at the Be Excellent Festival! It helped that my roommate and buddy Alex was with me. And also I saw a lot of friends and hung out with some very cool neighboring vendors. Would I do it again next year? Probably not. I need to be kinder to my energy.

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

You. Are. Awesome.

Find Me At Awesome Con!

As you’re reading this, I’m on my way to Awesome Con! It’s happening March 8-10, 2024 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Find me sharing table J-05 with my buddy Ben Wright-Heuman!

I have a ton of new mini-prints to showcase at Awesome Con, including some exclusives! Here are some sneak peeks at what I’m bringing with me…

Can’t make it? No worries – my Ko-fi shop will be open! Plus you can catch up on my YouTube channel, as well as my webcomics: The Legend of Jamie Roberts, New Punk Signal, and Vanita and the Demon King. That last one will have regular updates coming back March 24! Catch new pages on my email newsletter.

That’s all for now. See you at Awesome Con! And if you’re outside of DC, stay tuned, and thanks for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

HerdCon, Here I Come!

This Friday AND Saturday, March 24 and 25th, it’s HerdCon Weekend in Huntington, WV!

I’m only going to be there for Saturday – but be sure to go for the Friday events, including a 1 pm live show of Sawbones, the podcast from Justin and Sydney McElroy, yo.

But yeah, I won’t be down in time for the Friday events, since I’m coming in from Toledo – which is a hike, to say the least. I WILL, however, be there all day on Saturday. Find me in the Artist and Vendor hall.

WHAT WILL I HAVE?

I’m bringing my usual setup of comics. I’m also bringing…

  • Extra copies of The Stars of Fantasyville, my latest sketchbook,
  • misprints of The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 1,
  • The last of my pins from my (now closed) Pin Club,
  • Free stickers,
  • Clearance prints,
  • Lots of grab bags,
  • And a LOT more!

Any and all profits will help towards my move to a new apartment in May.

Heads Up – if it sells out at HerdCon, I WILL NOT restock it for RathaCon the following weekend.

Another Heads Up – My Ko-fi shop will be temporarily closed during HerdCon weekend. To be specific, the Ko-fi Shop will be closed all day Friday, March 24, until Sunday morning, March 26. Thank you for your understanding.

That’s all for now. I’m so excited to be going back to HerdCon in person this year!

Thank you for your support. Hope to see you there!

You. Are. Awesome.

This Saturday is FREE Comic Book Day

Here lies an illustration of a mermaid in white ink on black paper. Next to it are two 4 by 6 inch illustrations of a cat-dragon, and a pile of business cards.

This Saturday is Free Comic Book Day – and I’m making a guest appearance!

See, the fine folks at Superscript Comics & Games liked having me at the Genghis Con Mini Pop Up Event last month. (Me and a bunch of others, to be fair). They liked us SO much that they invited us to once again showcase at their Free Comic Book Day Event.

So Saturday, August 14, from 3 to 8 pm EDT, I’ll be showcasing my work! And lots of other folks will showcase there, too! (Superscript has been giving creator shout-outs on their Instagram. Go check it out).

Now, this event is SO big that the artists and vendors will be in Bottlehouse Lakewood across the street from Superscript. So keep that in mind if you’re able to be there in person. Also, masks will be available and encouraged, as well as social distancing guidelines.

If you’re a reader who met me through the Genghis Con Pop Up event – or you’re just local to Lakewood/Cleveland – I have a special surprise for you. I’m announcing it in a special edition Thursday email newsletter. So if you’re not on the newsletter yet, be sure to sign up. It’s free and I don’t sell your email to anybody.

As a gentle reminder, Friday is the LAST DAY for my Ko-Fi Clearance Event. Anything not sold will go with me to Free Comic Book Day – but the show is the FINAL day to get the clearance items. Anything marked for clearance will not be at any show after Saturday.

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

You. Are. Awesome.

Genghis Con Prep Time

It’s time for another livestream!

Today I trim minicomics for Genghis Con, while also talking about everything from freelancing (and what my freelance streams of income are); to goals I have for Fantasyville Productions.

The next stream will be Wednesday, December 4 at 1 pm EST. I’ll try to keep the stream short next time – I realize now that if I stream for more than an hour and a half, the first chunk of the stream gets cut off. That means that people who later watch the video as just a video will miss the first chunk.

You may notice that the livestream date for next week is on a Wednesday – that’s because I’m out of town the following weekend to visit friends (and go apartment touring) in the Toledo area.

That’s all for now. See you next week!

OR, if you’re in the Cleveland, OH area, I’ll see you TOMORROW for Genghis Con.

Thank you for watching!

You. Are. Awesome.