Thank you SO MUCH to everyone that stopped by my table at the Bronx Heroes Comic Con! I had SO MUCH FUN meeting everyone and was thrilled that people liked my comics! Seriously, it's one thing when my friends and family say they like my artwork, but it's a whole other level of awesomeness when people I've just met like my work!
It was so fun that people wanted to take their picture with me! I'm very photogenic, so I totally loved it :) I felt like a celebrity!
Some young people also asked me to look at their portfolios. It was great to see everyone's different artistic styles! It was only 2 years ago that I was the one showing my portfolio around to exhibitors at comic conventions, so please keep at it, guys!
Some of my friends came to see me too! Rachel came all the way from Park Slope (seriously, it's a long way from Brooklyn to the Bronx!) You go, girl!
I loved when people wanted me to sign the mini comics they bought :) I made sure to sign them as "mindy indy" instead of "Mindy Steffen" (my real name).
You may notice some people with blue bandages on their arms - there was also a blood drive at the con. People were encouraged to donate blood and "be a hero" because it really does save lives. The con reached their goal of a lot of donors - I forget how many.... but it was totally reached!
I also have to say how awesome it was to be sitting next to Jim Salicrup - he ended up promoting ME more than his own company, Papercutz! When I first arrived at the con, I was put at a table outside, but all my mini comics and merchandise were flying away, it was SO hot and I was getting sunburnt, and the location wasn't getting much foot traffic. Not an ideal situation. I went inside and saw Jim (who I knew from before) and he offered the other half of his table, which was so much better! Jim even helped bring people to my side of the table and was really hyping up mindy indy! The way he talks can really draw attention! I probably wouldn't have met half the people or sold half as much stuff if he wasn't there. It was truly an honor to have his support.
To give back in a small way, let me say a bit about Papercutz! Papercutz publishes comics and graphic novels for kids and tweens, featuring classic characters like Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and even the Smurfs (it was a Belgian comic before the animation) and Tinker Bell (ok, I still love Tinker Bell and I just turned 28 :) Papercutz has a team of writers and artists that create new stories but also publishes foreign comics. Jim Salicrup is the Editor-in-Chief and always works super hard to bring these comics into the hands of young comic lovers. He was giving out tons of FREE Papercutz comics at the table! About half way through the con all the comics had gone, and Jim was just chatting with people about how great mindy indy is :)
Here's a close-up of my table. I just finished my new mini comic, The Misfortune Cookie! As you may guess from the title, it's about a fortune cookie that predicts bad things but in a comical way. I gave away free fortune cookies (the normal kind, not misfortunate ones) which was a great way to tell people about the comic. Last week I bought a HUGE bag of fortune cookies from a local Chinese restaurant, and it was very difficult for me to resist eating them before the big day! I was afraid I'd run out of cookies at the con, but I even had a few left over.
I absolutely loved people's reactions to The Misfortune Cookie! I sold 32 copies at $1 apiece, which was pretty good for the first time selling comics in my opinion. I'll be posting The Misfortune Cookie in the next blog post! I'm also excited to think of more misadventures of The Misfortune Cookie - I want it to become a regular web comic.
Also on the table was my Aer Head section. I sold 6 of those (a harder sell at $2 each, but the printing was more expensive for color). Some people were really interested for when the graphic novel comes out, and that makes me SUPER EXCITED! I'll work even harder to finish this 45 page craziness knowing I have the support of others :) Nobody bought the Aer Head prints (bottom left corner of the pic). Usually prints are good sellers at cons, but for some reason they just didn't fly. The Aer Head stickers were a big hit with the kids, though! I was planning to sell them for 50 cents each, but it was more fun to give them away. In the middle of the table I had my tally hall comics. Not one sold. Strange - fans of the band love it, but maybe "a band with musical super powers" doesn't have much universal appeal? I also wasn't promoting that as much as the others. The big draw was definitely The Misfortune Cookie!
Jim drew these cute signs :) Again, I can't emphasize enough how awesome this guy is!!
All in all, the Bronx Heroes Convention was a success for mindy indy :) I want to exhibit in more cons! People say it's addictive, and now I know why. I'm just glad I finally made another important step towards making my dreams come true :) Again, many thanks to everyone that visited me at the convention, and I hope to see you again! Feel free to leave a comment on this blog too. I added everyone to the mailing list that signed up, but a few addresses were hard to read. If you signed up on the list at my table and haven't gotten an email from mindy indy, you can always enter your email in the green box to the right and you'll be put on the list. Thanks!!!