Month: August 2011

For me, Comic-Con goes into full-swing two weeks before the show starts. To begin, I wanted a new Flesk catalog for the show. I designed it over a weekend, had it printed, and it arrived with us five days before the show started. Then late in the week prior to the event our new titles, Flesk Prime, Mysterious Islands and Bruce Timm’s Naughty and Nice Teaser were all delivered. At that point I had everything I needed and could concentrate on packing for the show. Fortunately I can drive to San Diego. I load up the truck early Tuesday morning and get there by the afternoon.

The Comic-Con staff makes it about as easy as can be for pickup trucks and vans to drop off material. By 2:00PM our books were headed inside. After my assistant James Walker and I grabbed our badges and were walking back to the parking garage we noticed a line of a few dozen people waiting to get into the show a full 27 hours before the doors opened. People had tents and coolers, and looked quite excited about the upcoming show. One of them jumped up to check out the Comic-Con bag that James was holding. I still remember those days when I was that enthused about attending. I still think it is fun event. But my goals have changed. When I arrive I am focused on setting up our booth and the work that follows, rather than what I will buy and who I will get autographs from. It’s not a vacation anymore.

Just as we were retrieving my truck, Mark Schultz called. He had just arrived at the San Diego airport. Since we were close by, James and I drove over to pick him up. Con mode started in the Midwest for Mark as a fan recognized him at his connecting flight and asked to flip through his originals. Mark said he politely asked for the individual to come by the booth during convention hours to give everyone a fair chance. The price of fame…

I’ve been arriving on Tuesday for the last few years to take advantage of the city of San Diego the day before we are fully engaged in work. Getting the chance to relax and spend quiet time with some friends beforehand really helps to be prepared for five days of talking non-stop. The Balboa Park gardens, museums and a nice local restaurant have turned into a yearly pre-con respite.

By Wednesday afternoon I was ready and anxious to get started. I altered the configuration of our booth this year by opening it up and creating a more obvious artist signing area. It worked out well in providing more of a walk in space for people, plus gave us extra table space and still allowed us ample room behind the counter. I took some video that will be posted on the new Flesk website once it is ready in a few months.

We stayed busy throughout the show. Every year I tell my helpers at the booth that I am going to go out and walk around, and then every year I don’t, except for 15-20 minutes at a time and never stray far. When I return it is inevitable that someone was there looking for me. I’ve accepted that the show is so big now that it’s impossible to see everything I would like to and talk to everyone I want to. In a conversation Craig Elliott he reminded me how fortunate we are to be able to do what we are passionate about for a living. As tough as the days get, we get to play for a living. Craig is one of the most positive and balanced people that I know. He helps remind me that we have to be grateful for everything we do get to do and not focus negatively on what we can’t.

I did get to spend some time talking to my favorite locals in my Comic-Con neighborhood (about a five aisle radius). Gary Gianni, Jim Keegan, Frank Cho, Steve Morger at Big Wow, Jim Silke and Mike and Christine Mignola, William Stout, Craig Elliott, Cathy and Arnie Fenner, Bill Carman, Geof Darrow, Richard and Wendy Pini, Brent Anderson (Who unfortunately had his car broken into and had over 100 pages of original art stolen!), Dan Brereton, Arthur Adams, Terry Dodson, Aaron Lopresti, and more. The one artist I was anxious to meet who I wasn’t able to find was Alan Davis. I still like getting autographs and art once in a while. I’m a fan, too.

I was thrilled to meet Jordi Bernet. He was the one individual who the other artists were anxiously seeking out and enthused to meet.  Gary Gianni told me how excited he was to meet him, as did others. Bernet is greatly admired by his peers. He’s a true master of the form. I don’t buy many comics, but Jonah Hex is a beautifully drawn comic-book and something I always pick up when Bernet is doing the art chores.

Thursday night I had the welcome opportunity to be invited to the Spectrum dinner hosted by Arnie and Cathy Fenner. Bill Carman, Arlo Burnett and William Stout rounded out the party for a pleasant evening of storytelling. Bill is probably one of the best tale weavers I know. His stories are fascinating and what makes them especially impressive is that they are real.

Our bestsellers for the show, in terms of units sold, were led by the Bruce Timm: Naughty and Nice Teaser, followed by Flesk Prime, Mysterious Islands, and Mark Schultz Various Drawings Volume Five. One surprise was my bringing five to ten more copies of each Gianni book that sold last year, the individual titles selling out by Friday and Saturday. You never know what will or will not be popular.

Every year I get a regular flow of book proposals at the show. In most cases these tend to be unsolicited. I think San Diego is both an extremely tough place to try and get the attention of publishers and also a good place. It is a good option since you can physically pin down a publisher and make a positive personal impression instead of sending an email into a black hole, but also a bad place since a publisher may not want to be approached without prior notice. As I write this I realize this is a long topic best suited to a dedicated blog. I’ll write more in the future. Send me your questions. What would you like me to cover?

What made this year a smooth one was the help of a few new helpers at my booth this year. Besides my good friend James being my right hand man, my pal Randy Dahlk chipped in, as did Laura West, Jocelyn Liang and Jackie Huang (all three being exceptional artists). Thanks to you all.

See you next year!

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Text and photos © 2011 John Fleskes

Links:
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Exhibiting at Comic-Con International continues to raise questions regarding whether or not it is worth the time and expense to exhibit at the show. The crowds continue to swell, the working hours are long, and the booth landscape continues to shift as does the audience. The events outside of the show continue to permeate the landscape in greater numbers. With the long waiting list for exhibitor space and show tickets selling out fast I see this sprawl as a growing trend. If you can’t get inside, then build events around the event to cater to those coming or going or who couldn’t get a ticket.

From a dealer perspective I see a few less of my old time neighbors with each new year. They are replaced by the latest TV cast from the latest TV show or some other pop culture phenomenon. I see less of the familiar attendees faces that I normally would expect to see each year. I see a smaller number of people who are there for the art books and comics. This is nothing new. A major shift began years ago, but it is growing more and more apparent and there are artists and dealers who have tired of the hassle and logistics of setting up at the show. Each year I wonder who will be next to drop out and call it quits. Some cling on knowing once they give up their booth they may never get it back.

The requirement for all exhibitors to wear a unique bracelet that was not removable for five days was a hot topic. Imagine showering, sleeping and sweating with this thing on for five days. I’m hoping that will be a one-time thing.

In terms of my setting up next year–I will be there. As exhausting and busy as the show is, I still think there is promotional value to setting up. I can come home feeling like we connected with many new people and that we were successful in spreading the word about our books and the artists I publish. I like to break even, but usually don’t. Exhibiting proves to be a good advertising and promotional tool so the costs and time away from the office is worth it for me. But, to many other dealers the number one reason is to make money. A comic or art dealer is not going to be happy coming home in the negative and will be rethinking why they are still there.

Something I would like to see, which I am writing the convention organizers about, is for the layout of the show to be adjusted to place all of the artists and comic dealers in one concentrated area where we can form a closer community and not be displaced throughout the show making people play hide and seek to find us as individuals for five days. I walked an aisle close to where I was set up to find an artist, game company, clothes seller, and a few booths I wasn’t sure what was going on. I felt the artist was stuck in the wrong aisle. When an artist drops out, the spot is filled with “dice guy,” for example. I actually don’t mind what people sell and like the diversity, but hope everyone can be grouped better to benefit each other in a community of like-minded items and people.

On another topic, the typical trends that I have grown used to over the last six years were thrown out the window this year. Wednesday and Thursday–typically our busiest days–were our slowest. The remainder of the show picked up steam as we ended up having a good year in terms of books sales. Better than the last. And we went through over 1000 catalogs and another few thousand postcard fliers which I like to see. But, the crowds seemed lighter in our area compared to last year.

One thing I will say is the people who run San Diego do an impressive job. Sure, I have my complaints, and there are things I would like to see changed, but if you look at the sheer amount of attendees, dealers and all their personalities and different things they are trying to sell, then come up with a way to make it all work, it’s a heck of a job. In addition, the organizers are privy to information I am unaware of. I can’t fully criticize their actions without being armed with more details. This doesn’t stop me from passing on suggestions and asking questions. Then I have to trust them to make it all work for everyone.

The show will continue. Whether it will continue to have people like me set up in the near future, I’m not sure. I sense dealers being tired and some changes coming. Whether they throw in the towel, or rally together to hold fast (What I’m rooting for), or something else, the future will tell.

Part two of my Comic-Con blog coming in a few days. I’ll write about our artists signings, books we premiered and some side stories.

Enjoy,

John

John Fleskes
Flesk Publications
Text © 2011 John Fleskes