Vader vs Solo #1
The best thing about going to comic conventions is not only meeting the fans, but meeting people whose eyes light up when they see our work or hear about what we’re doing. The highlights are those moments when someone reads a strip for the first time and bursts out in laughter; Moments when a wide-eyed kid, barely tall enough to see over the table, exclaims how “AWESOME!” your wife’s art portfolio is, with all their raw honesty and exuberance; When the guy who commissioned a sketch returns to pick up Leanne’s work and his reaction is so enthusiastic that he literally gets goosebumps! Seriously, he pointed it out. Sure enough, hairs were raised! Wow!
These moments at a show are the things that stick with you for a lifetime and keep your tank from hitting empty during an exhausting couple of days under the oppressive bright lights and long, hungry hours of a comic-con. Having any kind of positive impact, on anyone, is a wonderful feeling. In this sense, comic cons can be that moment when personal motivation and self-assurance receive a boost. I’m not meaning to imply the show was some sort of praise-athon, because there are always negatives too, but hey! Certain moments are going to stick with you forever.
![526991_4570092012777_831825185_n Leanne Hannah](/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/526991_4570092012777_831825185_n-300x225.jpg)
Leanne Hannah, the infamous artist, poses with the inch-high Avenger, Ant Man
Leanne completed some really nice sketches while at the show. Included are a couple of Blue Milk Special related requests. We also debuted our new horizontal banner display, built using PVC tubes for the first time. The banner was courtesy of Beltsville, MD Signs By Tomorrow, who I can not praise enough for their generosity and professionalism. We did forget our blue table throw, so we were stuck with the default white table and white skirt. Not a big deal really. We’re not terribly serious about sales at any of the shows we’ve done. We both have day jobs that pay the bills and conventions are promotional investment as well as a chance to meet old and new friends. We have never had any financial goal beyond attempting to cover the table cost and some of our expenses. That said, many fellow exhibitors told us that Baltimore Comic Con 2012 seemed a lot quieter than last year and we could not help but agree. Some people had almost no business at all.
Why? I can’t really say. Last year was an amazing Saturday, but a dead Sunday. This year was an okay Saturday and a quiet Sunday. Was everyone broke? Is the economy hitting geeks a little harder this year despite supposed improvement elsewhere? Was it the bad weather on Saturday? We did okay, but I definitely feel like we need to find new avenues to explore and eventually Book Fairs (more on this in a couple of months re: our non-BMS projects).Don’t forget, we have an exclusive voting incentive strip in the left side bar. I noticed we hit #11 on Sunday. Whether we have held onto it by the time you read this, I have no idea. However, this is the closest we have ever come to cracking the top 10 and seeing our BMS banner display next to our name on their listings for the first time. While I’m not sure that TopWebComics is as large and influential as it once was, this would still be a MASSIVE achievement for us. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to vote for us on a daily basis. It’s another one of those small things that inspires Leanne and myself to keep up the work on Blue Milk Special.
Always glad to help out with the voting! Meeting the two of you at the NYCC two years ago was a highlight of the trip! Been a thoroughly happy reader since!
It seems to be a problem at most conventions. People have less money to spend, and many simply choose not to go at all anymore. I’ve had several small ones over the last year and a half or so that seemed to use up about half the space they used to as well. Exhibitors seem to be cutting back on expenditures as well as the conventiongoers.
You know, I don’t wanna think about pre-sith ep3 Ani’s behaviour about his daughter’s dating-relationships if he hadn’t become Vader :s
It was great to see you guys, get the great sketch of Biggs and Leia, plus to pose with Ant-Man! Thanks for being able to hang in there, and you’ll be in top form in no time! Thank you again! (FYI, I am not the goosebump guy! LOL!)
Lol. Love this strip. ๐ Vader being protective of Leia.
Btw. you are currently at 12 at Topwebcomics, and closer to top ten than Girl Genius. (Y’know, the Hugo award winning webcomic. So you’re doing great!)
Well, they are the two characters with a drug dependancy.
Leia smokes and Vader drinks coffee all day. ๐
That goosebump sketch gives me cyber goosebumps all the way in Ohio!
If they really want to torture Han, just show him the Holiday Special about 20X in a row. Kind of like Clockwork Orange, only without the nose extention. ๐
It was great to get to meet you and Leanne.
Baltimore used up more floor space this year then last and it felt a lot more crowded as well. I’m sad that you guys didn’t get as much business as you should have.
I’m also glad that the sketch Leanne did for me gave someone else goosebumps ๐
*Sigh* I’ll make it next year–I hope.
And vote, people! hilarious incentive strip!
BMS Vader is such a tender little guy! Especially after saving Solo’s life last time. I’m really looking forward to his scenes with Luke!
Nice one! And the incentive strip is even better!
Sorry, I missed the con. Sunday was out due to another obligation. Saturday had a lot of other issues.
Next year….
Sorry I’ve been away so long Rod and Leanne.
But now I’m getting up to date on the comic – fantastic stuff! There have been some real classics the last couple of months haven’t there?
I hope someday we get to meet you both.
John
Here’s hoping. Glad you’re enjoying the recent run!
No dip in quality and no discernible dip in enthusiasm! – which is amazing considering what you’re putting up with healthwise.
John
If the convention chairs are so bad and the experience brought so much pain, why go? Do you need to be there for monetary purposes?
… Admittedly, I’m kinda biased against cons.
Not only have all my (few) convention experiences been rather negative (how many noisy, sweaty, smelly people can you be stuffed in a room with and not go insane?)… but I read a lot of webcomics, and the number one disruptor of webcomic progression… is / are conventions.
On the whole, I believe conventions would be much more tolerable with freely available abundant alcohol. It isn’t the sort of thing I’d want to do sober ever again. I don’t like being sober around people at the best of times.
No offense, but a lot of your comments so far have been negative, much like your con experiences. Maybe that says something about the specific shows you went to, or about your own mood? We go to shows because the reward of being able to meet people in person who care about what we do, both the webcomic and our other projects helps stoke our creative fires and is a great experience. The fact I am in serious spine pain is just the reality of my life now. But I can manage single day shows pretty well with painkillers and care.
re: your earlier comments. Like I said in response to one of your earlier posts, this strip’s style, developed by Leanne with the three fingers and one thumb is part of what helps make this cartoon strip a parody and sets the right tone for the fact that BMS is not meant to be taken seriously, or examined under a microscope. It’s just a fun and irreverent little webcomic.
And drawing hands is actually one area many artists find a pain in the ass due to those fiddly fingers. Not sure if you are an artist or not, but I’m sure you could understand why less and simpler fingers just saves time when trying to hurriedly churn out a webcomic.