Clattertron

[dc]L[/dc]ast weekend, a new comic convention debuted here in Lansing: Capital City Comic Con. I attended as a guest artist, but only on Sunday.

Hard Lessons

First year shows have it hard, and Capital City Comic Con, for reasons I’ll get into, had it harder than most—but, still made a show happen, which is a big accomplishment. While the first Capital City Comic Con was not the well attended show the planners hoped for, I still had one of my best Sundays ever, in terms of sales, and really enjoyed myself.

Full disclosure: As an invited guest, Capital City Comic Con gave me a free table.

Did a free table influence my experience? Yes, because I would not have gone otherwise.

Capital City Comic Con unfortunately fell on Free Comic Book Day weekend. This kept myself, and other artists, away as most of us had free tables at local Free Comic Book Day events. Saturday is the biggest day of every convention I’ve attended, which I would miss because I already committed to my Free Comic Book Day events. 

But, what’s done is done. I don’t want to focus on the negative here, but instead the good things and potential I saw.

I talked to the Capital City Comic Con planners on Sunday, and they owned up to the poor choice of the date and made the most of the situation. They learned their lesson, and are actively asking for feedback and advice after this year’s show. Capital City Comic Con won’t be held on Free Comic Book Day weekend next year.

That’s right–next year. Capital City Comic Con is coming back.

Potential and Growth

I saw good things at Capital City Comic Con. A lot of good things.

• After chatting with the planners on Sunday, I learned they have a multi-year plan for the show. One goal is to eventually move Capital City Comic Con out of Haslett High School, and perhaps to downtown Lansing.
• While the sign outside said high school gym, the look and feel was 100% comic con. Seriously. The gym looked like any other big comic con I’ve attended. The familiar black partition curtains on rails lined the aisles. Tables dotted the spaces, ready for artists and vendors. It was the real deal.
  
• As expected, attendance on Sunday was low. But, I could see the excitement in the guests as they engaged myself and others. People talked me—and better still, bought my art.
• Sunday at Capital City Comic Con was one of my best Sundays at a show—typically the slowest day of any convention–and one of my better days overall.
  
• The crowd, although small, was great. People wanted to be there, that much was clear. Cosplayers made the rounds. Kids and parents chatted with me. MI Geek Scene even recorded a video interview with me (I’ll post a link when it is online). I met vendors and artists when I had the chance, including AFK Games from Holt.
  
• I chatted with comic pals Adam Talley and Sherief AbouElSeoud, also guests, and they felt the same: a small crowd, but an excited and fun crowd.

In short, I’m really looking forward to next year’s Capital City Comic Con.

What Sold? I sold four coloring books, four random cartoons (two watercolor), a black and white commission, a copy of Chocolate Quest, a mini-watercolor cartoon, and stickers.

Coloring books (which I will get up on Etsy soon) and random cartoons¹ were the big hits of the day. Like on Free Comic Book Day, having the sample random cartoon by the sign got people to stop and look. Random cartoons made up more than half of the money I took in on Sunday, followed by coloring books.

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¹ Credit where it is due: As I’ve said before, and say at shows, I got the idea to offer random cartoons after reading about Dave Malki’s (Wondermark) Roll-a-Sketch. I do mine a bit differently, but that’s where I got the idea.