OCTOBER 27-28, 2006
I’d never been there, but I heard that the convention center, where the con would be, was a major, BIG place, so that made me hopeful that the convention would be an impressive size. When we arrived there, it took some time to figure out where the comic convention was. We couldn’t find any signs saying “Stumptown” or “this way,” or anything like that. I didn’t see anything to point out there was a comics convention here at all. It turned out that there was a convention center sign flashing all the events going on at the con, and if you waited about three minutes, you would get through the full rotation and see the comic con listed.
I jumped out at the main entrance, dragging my suitcases full of books, and poked around. Wandering the halls, it took some exploring, and finally I asked a security guard, who told me what elevator to take, and what halls to go down. I don’t know that I could have found it again.
The room of the con was pretty small, relative to some of the cons I’ve done. It was a tiny room tucked away. But we were located basically right at the front door, which seemed like a pretty great location.
All the comic shops up this way seemed really indie-friendly. One shop, Cosmic Monkey, glanced at my table, and it turns out they had ordered every one of my books over the last couple years, but didn’t realize that one person (me) had put all the different titles out, and that seemed to delight them. That was a nice feeling. Not only that a store was out there somewhere, ordering my stuff, but that they seemed to be enjoying it.
At Dan Cooney’s recommendation, I spoke with and got business cards from all the shops that I could find there. One shop kept eyeing my stuff, and said one day he was going to have to pick something up for the shop. I told him I’d give him a discount if he was ordering for his shop. Stores get a fifty percent discount from Diamond distributors, so I give the same to shops, if they approach me at conventions. The next day he came over, and he said, “I’ll take this one book. Fifty percent off, right?” And I’m thinking, Well, that’s what I said, but when someone says they’re going to order stuff for their shop, they usually get eight or ten books. I was kind of speechless, and I just said, Okay. So THEN, he says, “So do you just want store credit?” I was flabbergasted. I told him, “No, if it’s just one book, I’ll just take the cash.” So THEN he says, “Can I write you a check?” And we’re talking about FIVE DOLLARS here, for ONE BOOK “for his store” (and if he only buys one, it makes me sarcastically wonder if he’s just going to take it home and read it for himself) and I’m wondering if I should just tell him to forget the whole goddamn thing, because this feels like such bullshit. But I took his check, and thought to myself: He’s in this same pathetic, frustrating industry I’m in, and can use a deal as well as I can. And if I’m getting one book out there into new people’s hands, that’s all that really matters, and if it’s a store owner, he might like it and decide he’d like to pick up more for some of his clientele, so what the hell is my problem anyways? Sometimes I need to chill out.
Fantagraphics, Oni, Top Shelf and Darkhorse were all at this con. It surprised me how many companies were there, but all these companies except Top Shelf are “local” (within a few hours), so it makes sense. I wanted to discuss possibilities of working for some of these companies, so I walked by Darkhorse and Top Shelf and Fantagraphics, but didn’t see anyone I knew to talk to.
At Oni, I spoke with Randall, who I make a point to visit with every con, and who’s always really friendly. I told him I hadn’t spoken with him about it for a while, and just wanted to mention that I was tired of losing money self-publishing every issue I did, and what could I do to try and get work from them. I told him I already suspected they had plenty of writers, and that I was willing to draw. He said that was the case, and that, in fact, they were always in need of artists for all their stories. I was surprised at this statement, because it suggested to me I might be able to land work after all.
He asked if I wanted to draw in my Kirby style, and I explained that I’m happy to draw in all kinds of styles, and that for me, that’s half the fun of it, coming up with styles that work for a given story. I told him my favorite style to work in is noir, but with retro, thick-brushed linework. He then said that they actually have a couple noir projects coming up, and he’d send me a sample of the scripts to take a look at. I couldn’t believe it. Wouldn’t that be great to do a crime book for Oni!
I told him I knew I had kind of snuck through the back door, landing work through them with Sam Kieth’s Ojo project. (Sam hired me to do the work, and Sam paid me out of his paycheck, so all my dealings were with Sam, not Oni). Randall laughed and said he’s heard that the comics industry is likened to a castle, because no one can ever get through the walls, even though everyone’s trying. And then someone will find some crack to slip through, and soon as he’s in, the industry seals up that crack too, and it’s that much harder for everyone else on the outside. He nailed it.
While we were there, we watched Scott McCloud walk in, and start wandering around. My friend Dan told me that Scott had announced he was touring, so he put all his stuff in storage, and decided to go see all fifty states. I assume something brought him up this way, and he decided to pop into the convention while he was here. I said a quick hello, and reminded him I was the guy doing the Kirby-style giant monsters (I find you have to remind people who you are, or they won’t remember. In fact, even if you remind them, there’s a good chance they won’t remember) and let him know he’s inspired me to do a web comic of my own. He’s always real friendly and polite, but I get the feeling he isn’t particularly excited to hear what a complete stranger (me) is up to – and why should he?
While I was sitting around, I saw Eric Reynolds walk into the con, who I’ve been getting to know better because he’s usually manning the Fantagraphics booths. I called him over to my table, and he said he’d received a copy of Dr. DeBunko I’d sent him, but hadn’t had a chance to read it. I asked about the possibility of getting work at Fantagraphics. I told him I assumed Fantagraphics doesn’t hook artists and writers together, and basically is looking for people’s creations, ready to go. He said exactly. I said something derogatory about my Doris Danger stories. Something along the lines of “I know you weren’t interested in them” or “I know it wasn’t good enough for your company.” He sweetly emphasized that my stories are good, he just didn’t think they would fit in with the Fantagraphics line. I mentioned Dr. DeBunko, and he again said, He just didn’t think Gary (Groth) usually went for the parody stuff. This was a good insight, but once again I was surprised by a person’s perspective of my work. It had never crossed my mind that I’m just a “parody” guy. Sure, Doris Danger parodies the Kirby style, Dick Hammer parodies Micky Spillane’s hardboiled novels. But all this time I thought I was invigorating my parodies with so much depth and intellectual stimulation that they were surpassing mere parody. But not, apparently, in the eyes of Fantagraphics. And a lot of other people who look at my work, it turns out. That’s good to be aware of how people perceive what I’m doing.
On the second day, in walked Matt Wagner. He had told me he wouldn’t make this con, because he’d be going to a different convention the same weekend. I was surprised and excited to see him. I shouted his name and called him over, and of course since he hadn’t wound up going to the other convention, he popped in here, to see what was going on. I asked him, if we come up again some time, if he’ll have dinner with us. He said, “Oh yeah, of course!” and shrugged as if to say, You don’t even need to ask.
I think one of my favorite visits with an artist was Tom Orzechowski, a letter who’s been in the industry for years. I actually met him at Wondercon earlier this year. He was walking by and actually got a laugh mid walk from my Doris Danger treasury. He stopped to flip through it and visit. He had said then that he never had the opportunity to letter the King.
Now, at Stumptown, I asked him if he was still lettering, and he said he is, but he does it all on computer now. I asked what made him decide to make the switch. He said the comics companies told him, “If you want to keep working for us, you’ll buy this lettering program, and you’ll learn to use it.” So he was forced. I asked how he likes computer lettering. He said it’s just different, and he enjoys different aspects about each. He pointed out, if you give a bunch of people the same font, you can give a few pages to a few guys each, and get a full book lettered in a few hours. If different guys all hand-letter the same pages, the book won’t be consistent. That’s quite an advantage over hand lettering, if you’re on a deadline and in a pinch. Never really thought about that kind of stuff.
He said he tried lettering something by hand recently, and he just doesn’t have the chops any more. I really enjoyed hearing about the professional lettering industry from him. Goodbye (sniff), hand-made letters!
I was kicking myself all weekend, because I forgot to bring copies of the Lump trade paperback. I don’t know how I could have blown that, because it’s my newest book, and if I’d just sold a few of those, I think I could have done much better at the con. As it was, I made back my inexpensive table costs, but didn’t make back my inexpensive flight up. Everyone at the con agreed the weekend was kind of quiet. One of my poor friends there told me he only sold two trade paperbacks the whole weekend – both on the second day. That second day must have been hell, but that FIRST day must have REALLY been hell.
The guy who ran the con sent out a really nice letter after, pointing out all these weaknesses of the con, and said he’d try and do even better next year.
I still thoroughly enjoyed myself. The con had a great indie vibe, and I had a lot of nice interactions, and just maybe I’ll hit this con again.
