[dc]T[/dc]his year’s Free Comic Book Day Event at Clem’s Comics & Games in Lansing was, in a couple of words, a huge success.
Record Numbers
Not only did the comic book shop break last year’s attendance record, but I broke my own sales record. Yes, Free Comic Book Day was my best showing so far in 2014. I sold at least one of everything: my sketch cards, mini-comics, the Chocolate Quest comic books, stickers, prints, and sketches.
All in all, I did exceptionally well for only about five hours of selling and sketching.
Compare and Contrast? Maybe
On Free Comic Book Day, I took in more than four times what I did all weekend at the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (SPACE) last month. More sales in five hours versus two full days.
Practicing my artist alley table layout at home.
In a black and white comparison, sure, Free Comic Book Day was ‘better.’ You cannot really compare shows so simply though.
On Free Comic Book Day at Clem’s Comics & Games, I was only one of two to three artists in a small room. At SPACE, I was one of several hundred artists in a huge convention hall.¹
Yes, I made more on Free Comic Book Day, and in less time, but it was a more concentrated experience (plus, I priced most of my items differently than they were at SPACE²). Spending two days at SPACE allowed me to practice my talking with people and selling my wares—which paid off on Free Comic Book Day.
Free Comic Book Day also gave me a bit of a home court advantage too (and some people remembered me from last year). Being only one of a few artists at Clem’s allowed visitors to spend more time chatting with me (there is A LOT to see at a big show like SPACE).
Both events were great for their own reasons. I will happily do both again.
