Hello fans!
I hope that all of you are remaining safe and sound during this unprecedented crisis. As you know, since all forms of entertainment have been temporarily halted, I am focusing more on promoting my comics online through book downloads, my Facebook live Audio Agenda, email blasts, and this blog. None of us know how long this will last, but let’s take a look back at how March treated Carter Comics, starting with the last convention I did earlier in the month, to when the entire world changed.
SAN DIEGO COMIC FEST: It’s weird to realize that this may very well have been my final show of 2020, just two-and-a-half months into the year. It took place from Friday March 6th, to Sunday March 8th (with a preview night on Thursday evening on the 5th), at the Four Points by Sheraton hotel. This is only the second year that this convention has been at this location, as it was housed in the Town and Country Surf hotel a few miles down the road since 2013. By taking place inside a hotel, this show embraces early comic con roots, with most conventions (specifically San Diego Comic Con), getting their start in hotels. Complete with comic and toy retailers, big-name artist exhibitors like Sergio Aragones and Scott Shaw, a large list of comics/animation panels, and two areas for emerging new artists and comic book creators: Artist Alley and Small Press, San Diego Comic Fest has pretty much everything you would want out of a comic/toy event, but at a much smaller and intimate scale, making contact with big-name artists and getting into panels a less stressful experience. This was my second year exhibiting at this show, and I chose a spot in the new Small Press area added this year, over the Artist Alley table I had last year. The difference: A 3-foot AA table space vs. a 6 foot SP table space. Not a difficult decision to make. Hot on the heels of my sellout first appearance at Amazing Comic Con Aloha just a week-and-a-half earlier, I did another sellout here (though this time it was just Damn Tourists #1), but I had alot of customers picking up multiple issues. I think alot of that had to do with me having my new fifth issue of DT, which filled up the table nicely, along with my always passionate pitch about a concept that anyone can relate to: annoying travelers, or being one without admitting it. I had twice as many mailing list signups that even at the Oahu show, as my list here was almost full. The challenge of this show though, is table set-up and breakdown. Since the event takes place in both the hotel lobby and hallways where guest rooms are located, the interior cannot be locked and secured, which means all vendors (except ones in the separate exhibitor hall building) must set-up and break down their tables each day. Even that was easier for me to do this year, as my trusty new handcart made it possible for me to set-up and break down my table in one trip! Overall, if this does turn out to be my last show of the year, I at least went out on a pretty high note.
THE COVID 19 EFFECT: And then, Wednesday, March 11th hit: While the virus known as Co-Vid 19 had begun its U.S. circulation in Washington state a week or so earlier (in fact, Emerald City Comic Con in Washington and South By Southwest music event in Texas were two of the first big events to postpone in the first week of March due to the severe illness and death in Seattle and other areas), it all really hit the fan for everyone on the 11th of last month. Starting with the suspension of the NBA Basketball season, to the postponement of large events such as Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals, Wondercon Anaheim, theme parks such as Disneyland, DisneyWorld, California Adventure, and all educational institutions. My day job has luckily been spared for now, as it is one of a handful of companies that are allowing employees to work from home. Other businesses, such as restaurants, theaters, and other entertainment venues haven’t been so lucky, resulting in massive cuts in work hours, furloughs, and even layoffs. While my day job is currently altered but still there, Carter Comics has been struggling with the loss of physical comic conventions. The postponement of Wondercon and several smaller shows I was booked for through late May are leaving me no choice but to pivot my promotion and sales to my online storefronts. Unfortunately, the bulk of my sales have always been in person, so it will be a struggle to replicate my success behind my laptop at home, instead of a 6-8’ table at a convention. Meeting customers, pitching my unique stories (especially my Damn Tourists book series), and signing copies of purchased books, is a great way to get to know new people, and for them to get to know me as a person, aside from my artwork and writing. That leads to me building a bigger and more loyal fanbase that will find me at future shows either to talk about how much they loved my previous books, or to purchase a new book I completed. Despite that challenge, I took this quarantine time to upload new downloadable book content from my “Damn Tourists” and “Cosmic Force” series to three of my online shops on indyplanet.us/carter-comics, allen-carter.squarespace.com/shop, and amazon.com kindle store. In additon, a few cancelled conventions that have refunded table fees to vendors, have also provided an online alternative to their shows, promoting websites of vendors that were scheduled to appear on their website. Wondercon Online was launched just a few days after the show was officially postponed and refund requests were processed. Now, vendors that were going to be in Small Press and Artist Alley on Easter Weekend will now have links to their online content listed on the comic-con.org/wca web page. A smaller local show set in late May that also postponed, EAST LA CAPE, is considering an online replacement of their event as well. And lastly, web-development-savvy creators have started small online conventions using the hot new web conferencing tool “Zoom” to replicate the face-to-face meetings between creative and attendee folk. It’s just another example of creators helping creators.
And that concludes both this month’s blog, as well as the surreal first thirty days of life in a pandemic world. Sadly, none of us (not even some health experts), know for sure when this will subside, but it will at some point. Life will probably never be completely back to normal the way it was before, but we will be back at some point. In the meantime, the virus can’t stop my audio agendas, email blasts, or blogs, so expect to see more of my words next month about how the April edition of self-quarantining went. I’ll make the most of it as I usually do, working on new comic projects, connecting with my fans through audio and text, and taking full advantage of streaming services. In fact, I’m in the middle of an MCU movie marathon. Take care, stay safe, stay inside as much as you can, keep washing those hands, and I’ll see you in May!
Regards,
Allen Carter
Carter Comics