Comicpalooza 2022
Three men and a comic book
Writer Milton Lawson, Justin Prine, and I tabled together at this year’s Comicpalooza in Houston, and I thought it would be a nifty idea to collaborate on this week’s newsletter, so we decided to provide a dual update. Be sure to subscribe to Milton’s newsletter - he has some incredible project announcements coming up, including a Kickstarter that will be pure madness. I can’t wait for it. Justin doesn’t have a newsletter yet but he’s on Instagram - check it out. Here’s a little bit on our experiences at the show.
Nico’s Report
Comicpalooza last weekend was a great experience. It was by far the biggest convention that I have tabled at, and the shoulder-to-shoulder walkways on Saturday certainly drove that sentiment home. I never know what to expect at shows that are more pop culture centric rather than strictly comics, but my buddies and I were able to hangout with some friends and catch the eyes of new customers looking to support local comics. We also made some really cool connections and grew the network a bit, which will hopefully lead to some awesome stuff in the near future. All you guys were the MVPs.
A few things about the show were pretty strange especially for a comic convention of this size, but honestly, I really don’t feel like focusing on those aspects of the show in this post. Of course, the struggles of an independent creator are not fun knowing that many things are working against us at the organizational level, but overall I think the positives of the show outweigh the negatives (at least that’s what I’m telling myself).
There were a couple things that I did at CP that I had never done before:
1. A live art auction for charity. This was something that wasn’t even on my radar, but once we went to check it out, I absolutely loved the event. Artists took an hour or two after the show on Saturday and did an art piece that was then auctioned off with the benefits going to charity. It was super fun having artists in one room jamming on cool pieces. I ended up doing a Man-Thing sketch with pencils, inks, and watercolors (I wish they had better paper so that the paper didn’t distort after the colors, but hey, art is art!) The piece ended up going to an awesome horror fan who grew up in Louisiana. Here’s some photos from the event.
2. A discussion panel. I’ve always been a fan of attending panels at conventions. I love hearing other creatives talk about their lives, craft, and inspiration. Being behind the panel table was a little different, but it was a great experience. Thanks to the friends who came out and listened to us ramble on about this wild industry.
After the con chaos settled, I now feel pretty exhausted. The setting up and breaking down, the standing, the pitching, the constant interaction with people walking by for two straight days – it all adds up. But that’s just the nature of setting up at a show. Time to recover and get ready for the next one.
Throughout the show, I talked comics with people and asked what kind of books they like to read… Marvel?... DC?... Image? The answer, nine times out of ten, was indie. Creator owned books outside of the big two. As you’d expect, this was music to my ears and it was a trend that, frankly, I was not expecting. This is exciting and I feel motivated to continue making stories knowing that more and more people are giving non-big two stories a chance. Viva la revolución!
Next one up is Belle County Comic Con in a couple weeks. I need to hydrate and stock up. See ya soon!
Milton’s Report
Tabling at a convention is an exercise in sensory overload - and this year’s Comicpalooza was no exception.
While you’re on the show floor, you’re in a constant state of heightened awareness - scanning the crowd - observing thousands of people over a 48-hour period - looking for a connection. Maybe it’s an opportunity to compliment someone on their creative costumes, or maybe it’s an opportunity to bond over a shared interest as signified by a clever t-shirt or accessory. And, as comic creator looking for readers, you’re always looking for a chance to pitch someone about one of your books.
It’s mentally exhausting to be so “on” in various modes - part of your brain acting as salesman, part as fan, part as anthropologist observing the fascinating social ritual that is a comic convention.
This year’s clear winner among the fans is the fourth season of Stranger Things, and the character of Eddie Munson in particular. For a character who’s only been in the public consciousness for a few months, I saw as many Eddies as Harley Quinns.
As for me, I had a great time introducing the world to an ash-can preview of my next comic series: Home Planet Advantage (more on this soon).
I also had a blast sharing a table with a couple of Houston creators - Nico Rodriguez and Justin Prine. Our combined material offered readers with a wide array of genres and styles to choose from. We got really good at helping each other sell each others’ books and managed to make a single booth serve three creators well. Here’s the whole team in action, hawking our books:
I met some excellent people at the show, including comic writer/editor/podcaster Chuck Pineau, as well as Rob Saucedo, writer of the Where Wolf comic on Fangoria. Rob swung by my booth and picked up a copy of my comic “Roger Ebert and Me,” and gave a fantastic shout-out on Twitter:
The next day, some of Rob’s followers came by the booth and picked up a copy of the book. Moments like that make the many hours of preparation for these shows totally worth it.
One other highlight of the show was hosting a panel with Nico and Justin. The acoustics were strange, but we had a good turnout, and great questions from the audience.
Soon after the PA announced the show was over and attendees had filed out of the George R. Brown Convention Center, as we were packing up to go, they had a follow-up announcement, letting us know that next year, the show will be returning to its original time slot in the calendar year - Memorial Day weekend - which, in my opinion, is a much better spot for Houston. Look forward to seeing everyone next year!
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Love that Swamp Thing, Nico!!!