This past weekend, Unshaven Comics attended a bad comic convention. I’ll unpack that a bit in a few moments, but for now, just go on the ride with me. Comic conventions are a mandatory element of our industry. Conventions are the live events that draws together the widest breadth of potential customers to the budding indie creator. From behind an eight-foot table, a would-be artist can get answers to nearly every single burning question they’ll wind up having throughout their comics career. In short? The comic con is a living breathing microcosm of the industry writ large. So pay attention, because:

The Con can make or break you.

Let’s start with this past weekend to provide us a dead body to dissect. I’ll opt not to name the convention where my Unshaven lads and I failed to succeed… because pointing a finger of shame/blame is not only unprofessional, it’s wholly unnecessary. And to boot, the coordinator of the Artist Alley was fantastic to us, and our load in and load out of the show was smooth as silk (once we got our table assignment).

So why did it suck?

In short: The fans didn’t show up. And those who did, were not in the mood to buy. It happens. And when it does, we need to look at the data, the anecdotal evidence, and extrapolate our conclusions.  Continue reading “So Long and Thanks for the Fish, Man #008: Indie Comic Book Publishing 101 Part 8” →