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7.19.2005

The Small Presser, No. 6: "Beyond the Comic Con"

Not all comic-book shows are for small-press comics. There are special cons that are designed just for alternative and self-published comics, and even some of the large comic-book shows have small-press tables and artist allies that are small press friendly. But shows that are geared mainly toward collectors looking to find that last issue of Marvel's Godzilla to complete their set--forget it. Case in point: I attended a local comic show where I was given a free table. I didn't sell a single book cause it was mainly for the hard-core collector who isn't into home-made, digest-size, irregularly published comics. (I went in expecting this, so I wasn't disappointed; I just wanted to test it. And I admit that I pretty much took the free table to get into the show free to get some of those half-price and $5 graphic novels.)

There are also other places where you can sell your books besides comic-book shows. This weekend, I attended the Philadelphia Zine Fest and had a great time--and I had great sales, too. In fact, given that it was predominantly a literary-zine crowd into the underground scene, I expected to sell almost nothing. So it was a pleseant surprise! Of course, I had to adjust my sales technique. Since it was mainly a college-age audience (i.e., poor), I lowered my prices and even offered package deals on books of which I had a large stock. (For example, I sold Attic Wit #1-3, a complete story line, for $1). Boom. I sold almost everything I brought and even had folks give me their e-mails, asking me to notify them whether I had certain books in stock at home.

So, my point: Even a literary zine fest, art exhibit, flea market, library book sale or a underground political book store can be a great place to try to sell your comics (I've either sold them at these venues myself or know people who have). You'll open your work to a different audience, make some new friends, and hopefully make a few bucks as well.

P.S., I'm gonna post some photos from the Philly Zine Fest at my Web site later tonight.

Dembicki at 6:28 PM  |  link to this     

2 Comments

Let this be a warning to others! Not only did you not sell anything at that "local comic show," but I recognized Mr. Big from the City Paper article, and sent Bram over to meet you.

And, well, now you're stuck with us.

monica at 7/20/2005 4:48 PM   

yeah, and i couldn't shake 'em either! ;) monica and bram were the only other two folks who braved the snow storm for the first official D.C. Conspiracy meeting, which was held at Whitlow's! (Keep that nugget in mind for the D.C.C. history book!)

Dembicki at 7/21/2005 11:08 AM   

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