Why I'm not going back to Baltimore Comic Con, SPX is better

Last weekend, after packing up my table in Artist Allery at the Baltimore Comic Con to head back to Dallas, I came to the decision that I had made a mistake. I had chosen Baltimore Comic Con over SPX (Small Press Expo) this year and I really should have stuck with SPX. Since the two conventions came just a week apart in the same city this year I had to choose. I couldn't justify taking almost two weeks off of work to attend both cons and because I had gone to SPX last year I decided to give BCC a shot.

I chose ... poorly.

Don't get me wrong, I still had a lot of fun at BCC. I met a lot of people and sold a ton of pins and sketches. The crowds at BCC were overwhelming and everyone I spoke to about it while at the con who had exhibited there last year agreed that there were far more people attending than last year. But, us indie folk in the Artist Alley, which ringed the convention floor, all saw mediocre sales. I could see it in people's eyes as they walked past my table, they were searching for things they knew. They wanted something familiar, something that matched the superhero logo on their t-shirts. The majority of people at the BCC were not interested in new unknowns like myself. Webcomics were not on their radar screens, they wanted a deal on a new copy of Watchmen and the latest Batman action figure.

SPX 2007 was such a different experience for me. The folks that went to SPX were hunting for new comics and cartoons. They wanted to feel like they were discovering something, they wanted fresh, weird and experimental. Webcomics were high on their agenda of things to check out. There may have been fewer attendees, but I sold a lot more books and got a lot of encouraging comments there. The crowd that goes to SPX are far more likely to open their wallets on something that they haven't seen before.

So, lesson learned. I'm sticking to the small press cons from here on out. I'll be at SPX '09 and giving Baltimore Comic Con '09 a miss. I've also got my sights set on STAPLE, APE, SPACE and MOCCA. All those cons seem to attract people much more interested in finding us indie cartoonists and tossing a few bucks our way. That's got to be the way to go.

Baltimore Comic Con 2008

I'm back from the Baltimore Comic Con 2008 and man, what a trip. This was by far the largest comic book convention I had ever exhibited at. You can see the full set of photos I took in my BCC 2008 photo set on Flickr.com.

I left last Friday from Dallas and flew into Baltimore with fellow cartoonist Grant Sutherland and our painter friend Scott. My brother, Ben, met us at the airport and drove us into Baltimore. After getting settled we wandered into downtown and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. We found a nice local bar called the Ropewalk Tavern and had some drinks. We finally settled into a cigar shop down the street from the Ropewalk and smoked cigars, drank some beers and just relaxed before the big show.

Saturday morning I arrived a couple hours before the Baltimore Comic Con opened to get my table set up. We entered through the back loading dock, but I saw that a long line was already forming in the front for the show. Doors opened around 10:00am and the masses rushed in. In no time the show floor, which was massive, teemed with comic book fans. I spent the day pitching and selling my books and sketches and pins and posters. I made a fair amount of sales on my latest comic books and the sketches and pins went really well too. Over all, though, I'd say sales were a little flat. People came by looking for stuff they recognized, big names like Spiderman and Superman stuff. An underground indie like me took a lot of selling an convincing to get people to part with their cash. The other artist alley folks around me seemed to have the same issues. I did hand out a lot of Hermit Hill fliers though.

After the Show on Saturday we went over to the Orioles game since the ballpark was right next to the convention center. It had been raining all day, so attendance was low. It was blue skies and clear when the game started, but by the 7th inning it was pouring again and the game got called. We had a good time anyway.

Sunday opened and the crowds returned in full force. I did a lot more sales on sketches on Sunday. I even sold a Superman sketch to someone dressed as Superman. How cool is that? Answer: very. I got away from my table a few times and left my brother to watch things. I went over to the HalfPixel.com guys' area to say hi. I got a copy of Dave Kellett's A Blizzard of Lizzards and he signed it for me and put a sketch on the inside cover, which was very cool. I got to chat a little with Brad Guigar and Chris Straub. I picked up some bootleg Mystery Scinece Theater 3000 DVDs and a Star Wars toy for my son. The big seller for me that day were my pins. I easily sold about 60 of those things. I also sold a sketchbook and some Bramble Vine Comics #1 & #2 comic books.

All in all, it was a fun show to go to. I met with a lot of people I admire, sold some comics and got the word out about Hermit Hill the Webcomic. However, while I sold about as many books as I usually do, maybe a little more, that doesn't really scale up to the number of people passing by my table. It was a real hard sell. I think I'll be sticking the independent publishing cons from here on out. The mainstream comics crowd just didn't seem very interested in trying an indie guy like me. Next year I'll hit the Small Press Expo instead.