Anime Central 2013 -- Post Con
Can you guys repost your blog and facebook con reports in here too?
Here's mine:
114 copies of Amala's Blade.
Booyah.
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SS#4: 0 copies (expected)
SS Digest 1 and 2: 5 each
OCP singles: 4 (plus 4 given away)
OCP trade: 10
Criminal Element trade: 10
One Last Thing: 7
Sketch cards: 4 for $23
My art: 8 pieces for $83
Marv's art: $30 (I owe you another check, @marvinmann)
The books from my own collection in the shortbox on the table: $205. And that's amazing, yet again.
You know what the solution to no new books is, right?
Still, that's growth - and growth is always a good thing. Below is my con report:
Last weekend was another awesome and amazing ACEN
– this third largest animation convention in the country, and my
favorite convention to attend as a guest. It’s also a very strong sales
show, and has a very enthusiastic fan base. This was my 5th year as a
guest at the show, and the experience just keeps getting better every
year.
THURSDAY:
After work, I headed over to the convention center from downtown
Chicago. During my walk from the train to the hotel I was recognized by
several fans and attendees, all of whom were in good spirits for the
impending fun that would occur this weekend.
Upon arriving at the show, I went to con ops to get my badge and room
keys, dropped off my stuff, and headed to dinner with the other comic
guests including Russell Lissau (Strawberry Shortcake, Shrek), John
Bivens (Comic Book Tattoo, Reading with Pictures), and his wife,
Mallory. Steve Horton (Amala’s Blade) showed up a little later. After
dinner, we headed up to V to enjoy some drinks with the other guests and
some of the ACEN staff. Then it was off to bed because – silly me – I
decided working out in the morning would be a fun way to start the day
on Friday.
Mallory poses with her delicious baked goods, celebrating Russell’s birthday
FRIDAY:
6:30am rolled around, and our alarm sounded. Since I’m in wedding boot
camp, I’m trying to go to the gym 2-3x per week so I’m…less skinny for
my wedding. Bivens was kind enough to join me, and we did a full arms
and shoulders workout for an hour. We were joined by Jessie Pridemore,
who handles the masquerade for the show every year – and has some
amazing cosplays!
After the workout, we showered and headed to breakfast – and then
headed to the floor to set up for our weekend of selling. There was some
confusion on our location on the floor, but after a quick conversation
with the appropriate people we were able to locate to the correct
location – which totally rocked! Sales were extremely high on Friday,
with volume 2 of my latest book selling insane amounts! Always a good
thing.
Russell Lissau is ready for commerce, baby!
After the floor closed, we headed off for a quick dinner before
heading to our panels for the evening. Russ and Steve had a Superman vs
Batman panel, which was standing room only and had a line waiting to get
in. During the panel, Steve’s wife showed up to celebrate their 10 year
anniversary in front of a crowd of a hundred people. It was really
cute, and I was glad to play a role in their special day.
After their panel ended, I headed to Bivens Drawing Comics panel
already in progress. Gabe had joined him, and the two were having a
great time giving an entertaining and educational panel about visual
storytelling and pacing. After their panel ended, I had about 20 minutes
before my Panel That Shall Not Be Named. This has been a convention
staple, and usually has a full room. This year the show gave me a very
large room for the panel, and it was pretty full for the entire duration
of the hour. The panel was a ton of fun, and a great way to end the
night on a high note.
After the panels the group headed up to V for more drinks and hanging out, and then headed off to bed.
SATURDAY:
Breakfast was the order of the morning, with some delicious gourmet
buffet-style with fresh fruit and juice. A solid breakfast makes for a
solid day, so after we headed to the floor to get to selling. Traffic on
Saturday was record-breaking for ACEN, with a huge number of attendees
coming in to shop and buy and check things out.
Between sales there’s always time to make silly faces
Friday sales had been so strong, Saturday seemed to lag a little –
which was surprising. However, this was more than made up later in the
evening after the panels. There was a lot of interest in the new books
on the table, including the launch of the Albert the Alien webcomic series. Lots of new fans and friends were made as books were flying off the shelf – including my remaining copies of Reading with Pictures volume 1 (now out of print).
Trevor, selling some comics
However, Saturday was a ton of fun – with the group getting a chance
to be goofy behind the tables, as well as checking out the fantastic
cosplays people put together for the show. Some seriously artistic and
creative people out there.
After the floor closed, we all headed to dinner – enjoying some 18
year old scotch and delicious food. We then headed off to our Making
Comics panel – which was an all comic guest panel Q&A about making
comics. Some excellent questions and hilarious jokes later, the panel
was over and it was off to quickly moderate my next panel – Making
Webcomics. The rooms for both panels were filled to the brim, and I used
the panel as another Q&A format to help answer questions people had
about their own webcomics – or the process in general.
After the panels, I headed up to V for a final night of hanging out
with good company. I got to chat with Brad Swaile until all hours, enjoy
some tasty beverages, and laugh until I had no voice.
SUNDAY:
Sunday saw a 9am press call, which was well attended and we got some
great questions. The group all had specialties to focus on, and input to
each of the questions. After the press call, it was time for our final
breakfast together- followed by a bum rush to the floor for the final
day of selling.
John and Mallory pose in front of their booth at ACEN 2013
Sunday is family day at shows like ACEN, and this is when Albert the
Alien tends to shine. I almost sold out of my entire stock, some from
families and some from panel attendees from the previous nights of the
show. I sold out of Junkyard Chase and one of my Albert books before the
end of the day. All in all, the show was fantastic.
After the show, Beth showed up to come get me and we packed the car
and headed out to dinner with the gang. We were joined by Sean and Sara
from Spinnerette and connected on how well they did during the weekend, on the next show we would all be doing together (Anime MidWest),
and on how we can connect outside of the shows a bit more (Ravinia has
Lord of the Rings the Two Towers in August with live orchestral
accompaniment).
Once again, ACEN sets the bar high for a fun weekend and a great
convention. I would like to thank the staff and volunteers for putting
together a phenomenal show; the fans I’ve made who continue to support
the work, tell their friends about me, and attend my panels; and my
amazing friends, without their support I would not be able to do what I
love so much. You guys all rock, and from the bottom of my heart, I
thank you!
Trevor stands by his books – figuratively and literally