Tempo Lush Launch Night at Gosh: Photos, Videos and Report

Thanks to everyone who came along to the Tempo Lush launch night at Gosh Comics last Friday.  There was an amazing turnout which made for a fantastic evening (for me anyway)!

GETTING READY FOR THE LAUNCH

So glad I was working with Rich Hardiman of Comic Printing UK who got all four of the new titles ready and delivered in time for the big day… 01Always important to compare a printers proof of your book with your cat…03Other things that needed to be done included practicing the musical section of the party with Bang! Crash! Whizz! artist Sally-Anne Hickman!  Much of this went down in Hyde Park.02THE LAUNCH NIGHT

So arriving at Gosh I knew I was in good hands as Hannah, Andrew and Steve, part of Gosh’s crack team helped get everything just right.  Nice to see the new books laid out on display!
04One thing I’d forgotten to organise was someone to take some nice event photos, so I was delighted and relieved that amazing photographer Mauricio Molizane De Souza was on hand taking some wonderful pics.  Unless otherwise stated, all the photos of the night in this post were skillfully taken  by Mauricio!

The shop soon had a busy and friendly buzz inside…
06 07 08 10I was thrilled that so many contributors to the new comics turned up for the occasion.  For those who couldn’t make it, we displayed their portraits, as drawn wonderfully by Keara Stewart (see below) so Francesca Cassavetti, Tim Hassan, Mike Medaglia and Aaron Murphy were certainly there in spirit!

After some fun mingling, Steve Walsh Of Gosh and South London Hardcore fame got the crowd’s attention…

11CHATTING WITH ALEX FITCH

Alex Fitch made me feel very comfortable chatting through the new releases as we stood on a make shift stage made up of two benches!
Nice to hear the people’s cheers as each artist’s work was displayed on the screen to our right.
Alex is such a skilled interviewer and comics and film journalist he makes it very easy to chat to him even in front of a crowd!12 13Pic below by David O’Connell…14ROSIE AND JACINDA: DEMON CLOUD

Here’s the amazing team behind one of the books launched on the night, the second volume of teenage fairytale Manga, Rosie and Jacinda.

Top row left to right: Jade Sarson (For the Love of God Marie!, Cafe Suada), Francesca Dare (Penny Blackfeather), Chie Kutsuwada (King of a Miniature Garden, Self Made Hero’s As You Like It), Van Nim and me
Far right: Zarina Liew (The Art of Sleep, Le Mime)
Bottom middle: Inko (Ketsueki (Markosia), Rachel Moves To Brighton)
15So proud to have worked with this lot!

Inkos’ cover looked amazing projected as a backdrop to the party!16Inko (left) and Chie travelled up from Brighton for the evening, with Inko cosplaying as one of the Rosie and Jacinda characters, Aaron!
That’s the first time anyone’s cosplayed as a character I’d co-created.  So cool!17Award winning creator, Jade made it to the event all the way from Milton Keynes.
28Here’s Francesca chilling with our good friend and Limehouse Comics associate Chantel Beaven.18Was touched that Francesca had painted me a lovely pic of the Pumfles (introduced in the new comic), to mark the event.  So cute!19BANG! CRASH! WHIZZ!

Also launched was my first creator-owned kids comic, Bang! Crash! Whizz! as drawn by the amazing Sally-Anne Hickman.
20Sally-Anne and me had great fun performing a musical version of the story, to a visual display of the illustrations.  Engineered with great skill by Richard Carter.21 22 23 24 Photo above by David O’Connell.

So nice that crowd seemed to enjoy it, no guitar strings broke, we remembered most of the words and we didn’t fall off the benches!   26TEMPO LUSH TALES

The biggest book launched on the night was Tempo Lush Tales, an anthology of stuff I’d written with no less than thirteen artists handling drawing duties!

Here’s good bud and artist Paul Shinn27 The talented Matt Boyer29Portrait artist  Keara Stewart30The cheery smile of Steve Walsh, writer of many fine things including the Tempo Lush Tales foreword31 Martin Eden chatting with comic creator Tammy Taylor and fellow Tempo Lush Tales artist Karen Rubins32Keara and her fella checking out the anthology…33Matt and Paul soaking in the launch party vibe.
There’s comic maker Anna Dowsland on the left!34Signing a copy of the book…35For the second musical performance of the night Sally-Anne and I were joined by musician and Tempo Lush Tales artist Steve Horry.  We only had two run-throughs (in the Gosh offices!) with Steve who had learned the song on the day, but being the smooth professional he is, he sounded fantastic.
Pic below by Inko.37

We performed the song Save Night-Time for my Dreams which Mike Medaglia had visually interpreted for the collection. You can see one of Mike’s pictures in Keara Stewart’s photo below.38What an honour to have all these talented artists work with me!
Top row left to right: Chie Kutsuwada, Karen Rubins, Paul Shinn, Matt Boyer, Steve Horry, Martin Eden and Steve Walsh
Bottom row left to right: Inko, Van Nim, me and Keara Stewart39Keara was kind enough to give all the contributors framed original drawings of the portraits she’d done.
My one is now hanging in my studio
40LUCY THE OCTOPUS: ANY LESS THE FREAK

Fun to see my artwork from the third volume of Lucy the Octopus projected in Gosh...42So the line up of creators working on the final comic released on the night is… just me!41 Excellent then that someone else had been up to something Lucy related.
Why it’s cake maker and blogger, Jess Cave!
43Jess made a big and delicious batch of Lucy the Octopus cakes!
Dr Pepper flavour no less!44 45Photo above by Paul Shinn.
The cakes made for a perfect combination with comics and music – my kind of night!
46SO THERE YOU GO!

Thanks to all the amazing people who were involved with the comics and the party!

Back row left to right: Karen Rubins, Paul Shinn, Matt Boyer, Martin Eden
Next row left to right: Zarina Liew, Chie Kutsuwada, Sally-Anne Hickman, Francesca Dare, Jess Cave, Steve Walsh
Next row left to right: Jade Sarson, Inko, Van Nim, Keara Stewart
Me in the centre
Richard Carter at the bottom
47You can buy any of the four comics plus other Tempo Lush stuff here!
Bang-Crash-Whizz-CoverCover-for-PromoR&J2-cover-for-promoLucy3Cover8updateI’ll leave you with one final Lucy cake that made it home.48Peace!

Hanging at my table at May MCM London 2014

I’ve done a half dozen or so MCM Comic Cons now and still enjoy them.

Always nice to see old friends, meet new folk and draw portraits, plus I’m still touched that anyone wants to buy my comics and prints!  The most gratifying thing is when people have already bought something at a previous show and liked it enough to come back and buy something else!

Here’s some pics, starting with with my table spread…
mcmmay14-01It was bigger than in previous years – no wonder some people come for 3 days…mcmmay14-02My lovely table buds Francesca Dare (check the feathers) and Van Nimmcmmay14-03 mcmmay14-04 mcmmay14-05 mcmmay14-06Van surprised me with a lovely sketch of Grace Park as Sharon from Battlestar Galacticamcmmay14-07My comic creator friend Karen Rubins treated me to these beautiful things…
mcmmay14-08Amazing how quick the weekend goes but I made the most of my table and found time to work on upcoming Lucy the Octopus strips…mcmmay14-09Speaking of Lucy I’ll leave you with some of the Lucy the Octopus style portraits I was commissioned to do over the weekend…mcmmay14-10 mcmmay14-11 mcmmay14-12 mcmmay14-13 mcmmay14-14This next one is my friend and soon to be collaborator, Manga artist Chie Kutsuwadamcmmay14-15 mcmmay14-16 mcmmay14-17 mcmmay14-18Looking forward to my next con…
London Film and Comic Con 2014
Earls Court 2, Old Brompton Road SW5 9TA
Friday 11 – Sunday 13 July 2014

Learn from my wisdom/mistakes! 14 tips for creators selling at MCM Expo (and other shows)

This past weekend I had a brilliant time, selling my wares at MCM Expo at the Excel Centre in London. Having been there a few times as a visitor and creator, I thought I’d note down some ideas to improve sales and the whole MCM experience, mainly to remind myself for the next one!

Most of these tips are relevant to other comic shows too.  Lots of this may be obvious to more experienced Comic con veterans but for those starting out, better not to learn the hard way…

1. PREPARE WAY, WAY, WAY IN ADVANCE
Book your table as soon as possible.  These events are often booked out months before showtime.
Plan ahead what stock you will need.  Allow yourself enough weeks / months to complete new products and promotional material and to get them printed.  (Printers often get busy near to big shows).
Nearer the time, make sure you know you’ve got your travel plans / journey time sussed.

Lucy-searches-for-Puffy-Final

Lucy the Octopus posters – No last minute panic printing these bad boys for the show!

2. MAKE A CHECK LIST
What you need to prepare / take?
It might be a little bit like this…

  • Stock to sell
  • Display stands
  • Promotional banners
  • Table cloth(s)
  • Price labels
  • Posher Business cards to give to prospective clients (also having a portfolio handy might be good)
  • Cheaper business cards / flyers for anyone to take
  • Blu Tack, masking tape, sellotape, safety pins, scrap paper, pens for making notes, last minute price labels etc. – all sorts of issues could come up!
  • Drawing paper and materials (If you do portraits / commissions)
  • Clothes (What to wear?  What to wear?)
  • Snacks / Lunch
  • Water
  • Charge up phone / camera
  • Train / Helicopter tickets
  • Lots of change.  Fivers and pound coins seem especially useful to me.
  • Proof of Registration / Pass!!!!
  • Price / Stock List (see below)

3. PRICE / STOCK LIST
Save a copy of your list of product prices, to tweak and print out at every show.  Then make a note every time you sell something.
Record how much money you have at the start of each day (whether you’re keeping it in a tin, wallet, cash box or Lilo & Stitch purse) and check that everything tallies up at the end of the day.
Before the show, make a note of how many of each product you have brought with you (so you can check if any have gone missing at the end).  Note down all that you sell (and swap)!
Make sure the list is easy to read and understandable. Then if you have to leave your table, a helpful neighbour will have no problems understanding it and selling things on your behalf.

4. DON’T UNDERPRICE YOUR WORK!
This is really hard to get right but…
Remember your sale prices should not just cover the cost of printing / manufacture.  You should also consider the cost of travel to shows, table hire and most importantly your time, skill and effort in making your comics/products.
What would you pay for a similar product in a comic/book shop? 
Think professional and act professional. Yay!
You can provide products in a range of prices.  If people have already spent too much on imported Japanese chocolates (fair enough) they may not have enough to buy your £15 comic collection today, but they might buy the £1 postcard or £2 mini-comic.  This could lead to them buying your pricier stuff at another show.

Table

My table at the start of the weekend – I tweaked the layout of my products throughout

5. KNOW YOUR SPACE
If the Convention organisers haven’t already told you, find out how big your table is.
Is there an electric point?
Is there wall space behind you and if so are you allowed to stick things on it?
At most shows the answer to both of these is no.

6. PACE YOURSELF
As well as being behind your table selling stuff, you’ll most likely want to check out the rest of the show, have comfort breaks, buy Buffy pencil cases (if you’re me), grab a coffee (not me) or Dr Pepper (me again), not to mention shmooze with other creators.
Here’s my recommended times to do all this at MCM Expo…FridayLeast busy day, so here’s when you’ll want to check out Scooby-Doo Cosplayers, try out Wii games and check out the stands selling Pokemon hats.  Also, anything you wish to buy is less likely to be sold out at this early point of the show.
You could also take the opportunity of a more relaxed atmosphere to chat to some creators, but as lots of them don’t turn up until Saturday and Sunday you may want to plan another Creator shmooze session on one of those mornings.
SaturdayBusy, busy, busy – brace yourself and knuckle down!
Sunday – Not as busy as Saturday.  Busier than Friday.
First thing in the morning is the calmest part of each day.  At the end of the day there may be slightly fewer people but often folk are looking for a last minute purchase before they head home.

7. FOOD & WATER
Humans on the whole, really dig these and comic creators are no exception.
Have a good breakfast and eat lunch early.  I got caught in a rush of folks wanting portraits done on Saturday so didn’t eat til 4pm. (See how I suffer for my art).  Better than stuffing Pringles into my mouth while trying to draw someone.
In all the fun, don’t forget to keep hydrated or you’ll get a headache the next morning.  So says Dr Richy.
The flip side of this is you’ll want to check out where your nearest toilet is.  As an exhibitor, you may be able to use your industry pass to get into nearby toilets that avoid the crush of thousands of visitors.  This could mean missing out on seeing a zombie applying their makeup though.

8. BRING ENOUGH STOCK
Make sure you have plenty of stock.  You don’t want to be lugging case loads of stuff you’ll never sell but it’s really frustrating for something to be flying off the table only to have not brought enough.
After a couple of cons you’ll get an idea of what sells and in what quantities, but best air on the side of caution.
What sells at MCM might not do so well at a Zine / Alternative Press Fair and vice versa.  Different markets.

9. CATCH EYES
Another reason for not running out of stock is you don’t want your table to look sickly and depleted.
Folk are not so likely to spot my tiny bear shaped mini-comics box sets if I only have a couple on the table.  If I have a tower of them, they’ll be noticed from further away.  So I build a tower of 7 bear boxes.  I might only sell 3 in an afternoon but that’s three more than if nobody had spotted them.  In other words I need the 7 there to sell the 3.

Even if you only have one comic to sell, keep your table enticing with lots of art samples.  It might also help to share the space with a friend, and double the eye candy.
If passers-by don’t like the look of your comic (or even notice it) they’ll keep passing by.  If they spot something else on your stall (even if its not yours) they may take an interest in your comic when they take a closer look at your table.
Banners are also handy.  Your table should stand out and catch the eye of people from across the room.  My own stand up banner advertising that I was available to do portraits was far too small but it was clearly something punters were up for when they were close enough to notice!

10. KEEP BUSY
Weird thing – if you sit behind your table drawing, folk will take an interest in your stall (especially if they can see what it is you are working on).  The audience there are into this kind of stuff!
Cutting up bits of bear boxes and putting them together shows people the hand crafted nature of the work and they value it more.
Likewise, the time I get the most portrait commissions is when people see me doing a portrait commission.

11. GENTLY DOES IT
I usually say hi to anyone who stops to look at my table to let them know I’m happy to chat if they’re interested. If they’re looking cautious about picking up a copy of something, I let them know there’s no problem doing so.
What I don’t do is run through all the items available like I’m working for a TV shopping channel. I’ve seen potential customers back off from creators who are over pushing their work.  No one should be pressured into buying your comic.
Often when someone says they want to have a look at everything in the show before deciding what to buy, you will see them back at your table later in the day.

12. LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR
Even if sales aren’t going well, a show can be brilliant fun if you have the right table mates. I usually ask for my table to be next to my talented creator friends Zarina Liew and Van Nim. Its great to have people you can trust to sell your work when you need a break.
When you know another creator’s work its nice to recommend it to a visitor.  You may get some recommendations back your way.
Not knowing the folk around you has advantages too, liket you get to know new creators.  That’s how I met Zarina and Van in the first place.
Goes without saying, be friendly and courteous to your fellow comic villagers.  Offer cups of tea etc if you’re heading off to get some or to keep an eye on their stall if they need to head off.
Chatting helps get everyone through the day, but be sensitive to a creator if a potential customer is looking at their work.  Give them space to talk to the customer and wait to carry on debating who would win a fight between Buffy and Wonder Woman (it’s Buffy by the way).  Same goes if a creator is desperately trying to pack / unpack their table.

13. AFTER THE SHOW
Get some sleep.
Check your stock sold and money taken matches up with what your noted on your Price / Stock list.
Follow up with any contacts you made.
Consider which items you should take more / less of next time.  Cat Zombies did well.  Zombie Cats didn’t shift at all.
Should you make more of a certain type of comic / product?
What else could you do to improve your sales next time?
Book and plan your next shows!

14. FINALLY… TRY TO LOOK COOL WHEN HAVING A PHOTO TAKEN WITH BELLE FROM BEAUTY & THE BEAST
And not have a stupid goofy grin.

I’m sure more experienced creators will have more advice to suggest, so please post a comment if you you do!

See some pix from MCM London October 2012 here!

X as Y

Here’s a drawing I did for the excellent X as Y blog – a genius idea from the mind of illustrator Haillie Bateman.  The purpose of the blog was for arty types to send in self-portraits of themselves as their opposite gender.

This was a challenge.  My brain throbbed as I contemplated the alternate gender version of myself.  Then I decided to just have fun with it…

Richelle – Myself as a lady!

Now the blog is going to keep going with regular changes to the dastardly challenges it sets for its contributors!  Will be interesting to see what develops…