Frank’s Soapbox #4
by Frank Santoro
Friday, May 21, 2010
SPX crowd
Howdy True Believers! Frankie The Wop here with a rant for your Friday afternoon. We’re in the middle of a pledge drive here at CC and we thought we’d keep you faithful readers peppered with some thoughts on our beloved little community (while you groan at the computer screen waiting for the pledge drive to be over).
I was over at Jim Rugg‘s house yesterday hanging out and talking shop. He’s got this cool new mini-comic called Rambo 3.5 and I asked him if he’d taken any by Copacetic Comics to sell. “I haven’t had time,” he said. “TCAF was a couple weeks ago, I’ve got this show in Indiana this weekend and Heroes con is coming up soon. I’m almost sold out of the edition just from doing shows. I want to sell them to stores but the shows are more important.”
A light bulb went off in my head when Jim said that the shows are more important. Since the late ’90s when SPX and APE and other small-press comics shows popped up, there has been this yearly schedule that many cartoonists operate under. I know I try and have a new book out by MoCCA (which used to be in June) or by SPX in the fall. Nowadays, there is a convention every few weeks. I think this is a good thing. But it makes me think about how getting work into comics stores has become less of a priority for many cartoonists. The shows are the priority.
Also, this is the part of the argument that I think is missing when we all wonder why there aren’t more serial alternative “pamphlet” comic books out there. Retailer Brian Hibbs often argues that if 20 to 30 cartoonists each committed to two or three releases a year, that a critical mass would form so that every week you walk into a comics store there might be something that tickles your fancy. I think he is correct but I also think the fact that there are so many shows nowadays that many alt cartoonists and fans of alt comics just do not go into comics shops that often anymore because there really isn’t anything for them. The fans of such work know that they can wait until SPX or MoCCA or TCAF or just order from the artists directly or through distros like Sparkplug.
The other reason, I think that there are less serial pamphlets is because the market determines the form. The Direct Market determined that the pamphlet form was THE FORM. Now, the form is whatever tickles the fancy of the maker and what they can sell at a show. I know 20 to 30 alt cartoonists who release two or three comics a year but they aren’t serials and they aren’t pamphlets. These works don’t engage in the Direct Market’s periodical model. These works reflect the demand of the market which is generally geared towards handmade zines or trade paperbacks that are not serialized.
Anyways, I could go on and on. I know there are a a lot of different factors that make up the current marketplace and that I’m missing some important points. But I just wanted to float this one out there. The Bridge is over. We live in the era of The Show.
Labels: Brian Hibbs, comics conventions, direct market, format fever, Jim Rugg
Something like this is happening in the fancy-art world where art fairs are more important to a lot of dealers than their gallery storefront.
I know a couple galleries that make the bulk of their moneys for themselves and their artists at fairs and the gallery is just a formality and excuse for opening parties.
Ugh, I hope this “era” goes quickly. I like going to stores and buying things, not feeling pressured by the sad, road weary faces of cartoonists staring at me from across a table. If selling comics switches to shows/online only I basically won’t be buying anything since I like to see it in person first.
The same thing is happening in music where large Fests are on the rise. Bands tour around Fest dates so towns get a deluge of bands at certain times of year and then less(especially in Europe but it’s beginning to take hold in the USA) for the rest. I try to ignore as many of the comic cons as i can and prefer a smaller art show over an art fair. But i know people have developed social networks at these fests(in all genres) that they really like(I have been to some pretty fun mega-music events). For my comics, i like bike riding locally and talking to Rob the owner of The Time Capsule, the best comic store in Rhode Island, better than hanging out at the T-NAZs(temporary nerd autonomous zones).
I have a kind of hesitance towards a full embracing of con culture. It works as far as creating a collective convention consciousness but gets way to cliquey and work can rise to the top based on social status instead of skill and talent.
I love seeing more interesting imaginative events in regards to comics, be it art shows, talks or whatever. I had more fun doing an animation night with Kim Deitch than seeing someone of his stature manning a table at a con. Conventions base comics in terms of economic functions and can be very limiting in regards to full artistic realization.
hmmmmmm….
The people who have the most to gain from the rise of the fair are the organizers of the fairs. its not a financial gamble for them.
For the self publisher or artist, You might not sell enough to cover the cost of your table….much less the air fare, hotel etc.
Its the same at the Armory fair or whatever where the galleries pay thousands of dollars to participate, its a gamble, and the rewards for the artists are pretty fleeting.
Subsidized festivals like Fumetto that focus on art installations are a very compelling model. I think Brooklyn Comics Fest should seek city funding to fly in guests, last a week, be in tons of locations all over the city, and rent horse drawn carriages for all the artists, games of live drawing and human chess matches, Marty Markowitz giving a speech about how much he loves Mat Brinkman….
T-NAZs R US
do comics ever transcend the medium in a way that garners a different model? it just seems like comics being show based is just a sign of how weak the medium is or something, if that makes sense. i mean i know it sounds cynical/disingenuous but shouldnt comics matter to people more than a few expensive shows? People should want to buy the album and then go to the shows, so to speak, but it seems like comics/cartoonists are insistent on the medium being a tight, somewhat impenetrable niche. that’s also why it kills me that cartoonists are self referential sometimes, what is the transcendent effect of referencing super hero comics or comics characters through history? Very few people get what is being communicated there.
Ive seen people get uppity over Marjane Satrapi or David B because they make these 00’s graphic novels or something that are ‘styleless’ and close to ‘not comics’, but to me they assert a model that has more impact or is more communicative with the outside world. People are scared that these comics are in Borders but to me there’s some power there.
re: Mr. Pelican’s comment above:
Do you really think there’s public funds available for comic festivals in America? I wish I thought it were possible. Gotta add that it’s definitely a financial gamble to organize a festival – on a different scale than an individual artist selling work.
I like what you’re typing about Frank.
Years ago i made a list of how many good living cartoonists I could think of and how many are actually putting out books. its nuts.
Personally comic stores are my thing and I find shows less of an event. but good comics are good comics.
You know with as many amazing unheard of old issues as there are it’d be fun to start some book club shits where every month a couple old and couple new books get pushed so there’s always something new to read for people that dont spend all day digging up shit. Zooniverse and ike garuuda and whatnot–
Hey Champ, thanks for checking in.
Yah, do a book club with Dragonring (awesome old Aircel series) one week and assorted Jon Vermilyea mini-comics the next week. And the week after that I’ll show them “Pillow Fight”!
Also, I’m not dissing stores, I’m just saying that I find it interesting that things are the way they are these days. That’s a fact, Jack.
I think reading anything from Aircel puts you on some watch list that you don’t want to be on.
Did I say Dragonring? I meant Dragonforce! Me? Aircel? No, not me, nooooo…(Richard Pryor voice) .
I made the mistake at looking at Blair’s site after he died. yeshhh. I felt like i stumbled across something that shouldnt exist.
Mr Inkstuds fears the love between young elves.
And yeah, I see your point.Frank. It is exciting to think of new ways the art form can/is going.
man this dragon force cover would make a good metal album.
http://media.mycomicshop.com/iss/300w/729/127291/4195201_1.jpg
Years ago when dave Coopers- Dan and larry came out i was doing porn comics serialized in the same Sizzle magazine as Mr Blair, It was amazing to compaire the
creepy underage elf comics the Robot in Coopers comic was drawing to the creepy underage elf comics the guy the robot was based off of was drawing. the only difference: more airbrush.
Shit, I forgot that DragonForce was an Aircel comic, haha.
One thing about Aircel books; lots of nice airbrush work.
Dragonring is my new “secret ingredient / swipe file” – Guang Yap wields a mighty airbrush.
I actually have a couple of Samurai pages and a Pat Mceown aircel page i got for cheap on ebay. the Samurai’s look like they were dipped in a pool of sharpies.
I got to say I am not crazy about a dark and grim con based comic book future. as someone who lives in minneapolis, it really blows. mocca or spx or tcaf stumptown or ape, or whatever, is really great for a cartoonist who is 1 days drive away, you and your friends get a table, you go for a drive, sell your awesome books, walk out with fat wallets and party after the con. it’s great except for us it still involves an expensive plane ticket. most of me and my crew didn’t go or aren’t going to anything this year because were all hurting for cash too much to make the investment. and never mind cartoonists, our fates are already sealed. what about fans? Minneapolis is home to Big brain comics. and it’s a fantastic comics shop. but if comic shops just went away then someone would have to get on a plane and fly out to NY to go to mocca just to buy the new power masters or the giant ass multi force or just about anything published by picturebox, and probably most things from fanta and D&Q.
I hear you, so what do we do about it? The thing about the Direct Market that works is that everyone orders from the same catalog. The thing about the Direct market that doesn’t work is everyone orders from the same catalog.
Maybe there will be a Previews for fringe comics that all stores will use, I dunno.
I’m not happy that the shows have taken over, I’m just sayin that this is how it feels to me – the shows are a sort of priority for cartoonists cuz we want to get work out there and make some money. I can make more at a show in a weekend selling Cold Heat than I can waiting for the small orders from stores to be paid off. We’re trapped! It’s over! Give up now! Just kidding, geez, I feel like I sounded a warning bell and that wasn’t really my intention with this post…
This year I’m doing about half a dozen shows (Emerald City, SPACE, TCAF, Summit City, Heroes, SPX, maybe a couple others like a small press/zine show in Philly). Part of the reason for a heavier show schedule this year is that I have a new book for the first time in five years. And shows are one avenue of promotion. As an exhibitor, it’s great how different these shows are – some are “mainstream”, many are a mix of different types of cartoonists and genres, some are very independent/small press/DIY.
What I’ve seen this year is a higher level of quality work and tons of new cartoonists mingling with a variety of veterans. The attendees are also more diverse than what I saw 5-10 years ago with crowds in Columbus and Fort Wayne resembling the mix I saw years ago at shows like MoCCA and SPX (i.e. age range from children to mid-60s, racially diverse, and men and women).
My conclusion is this – comics have finally passed any stigma once associated with the medium from both an academic (we now have a dedicated cartoon and comics museum in town, and I’ve attended comics-related events at local universities and libraries in the past month) and cultural standpoint. The cultural acceptance means more and more people consider comics a potentially rewarding creative medium – the talent pool is bigger than it’s ever been, and the result is that enough people are creating work that the regional cons can offer a lot of interesting comics to an interested group of attendees. The academic acceptance means more schools, criticism, and libraries are teaching and promoting comics to new readers and cartoonists.
To me that is all 100% positive.
As for stores, I have filled orders of Rambo to 3 different stores/distributors in the past couple weeks (keep in mind, it’s a quickly produced and hand-assembled mini-comic that I didn’t expect too many people to care about – so I’ve been a little behind on this one).
My goal is to make my work available to interested readers as conveniently as possible. This means stores, in person, over the internet (digital copy coming soon for handheld devices), and any other way I can think of.
These additional means of distribution are relatively new, and I’m especially awkward at adapting to it all, so some outlets aren’t being serviced as quickly as I’d like.
But again, my assessment of the state of comics is one of amazement. Anecdotally, it seems like more people are interested in comics than have been in a long time. And that many people are trying to respond to this interest and reach out to those interested. At the same time, more young talent is making lots of interesting work.
Surely there are growing pains, and all this crazy energy (and the results of lots of creative people working hard in different directions and with different goals and ideas) isn’t going to lead to 100% success for everyone. But as a comics reader/fan/artist/lover, I can’t imagine a more enjoyable time.
Sorry for the length of this comment. It started as a semi-rebuttal to some of the negative con comments above. I don’t love the con format. Trying to sell personal work directly leads to a lot of awkward situations for both sides of the table. But the great thing is, it also leads to plenty of good moments (like when you find a great new book or meet a new talent), AND ultimately it’s only one front of the rapidly growing comics world. I think a new talent could easily get their work into stores and reach readers without having to participate in cons if they really didn’t like that experience. And I think readers could find almost any comic they want without having to do so through conventions.
As if my last post wasn’t long enough, more thoughts, this time, FORM IS DEAD.
Frank wrote: The other reason, I think that there are less serial pamphlets is because the market determines the form. The Direct Market determined that the pamphlet form was THE FORM. Now, the form is whatever tickles the fancy of the maker and what they can sell at a show.
Format is no longer dictated solely by the creator. The readers now get to determine the format they want to read the work. I can create a comic book in whatever format I want. But if the work is good enough to receive a little attention, it will soon be available for iPad’s, iPhone’s, etc. Maybe the spreads will be intact, maybe they won’t. Maybe the color will be what I intended (I’m looking at you print device), maybe it won’t. Maybe the display will be 6 or 8 or 23 inches wide, maybe it will be 2-3. Eventually, if the work is a serial, it could be collected in print as a hardcover or trade, and some readers will choose to wait for that.
It is up to the reader to determine how he or she chooses to engage the work.
You may think piracy is wrong, but it’s happening. That moral debate isn’t something I want to enter here. I just want to establish that it’s a reality.
And today, readers have as much input on format as do artists. Like most things, it has good points and bad.
I think the shows (particularly the smaller ones) are just one spoke in a wheel when it comes to cultivating a grassroots alt comic scene/market that local shops (if they are smart) can benefit from. Meetups, events, free publications, shows, shops, distros, ect. I don’t really see these things competing with one another as long as they are smart about how they synergize. Gabe is a perfect example, he’s got Smoke Signal out there getting in front of new eyes, he’s got the Brooklyn show to attract the festival crowd, he’s got a slew of local cartoonists mobilized, and it all ends up centering back on Desert Island. I think local community leaders in the alt comics biz should embrace this multifaceted approach. Jason Leivian out in Portland is another great example.
[…] this tidbit this weekend about how indy comics are released and why we don’t see more of them in stores. […]
It’s the reality of now. Not even now, I’d say well withing the past decade or earlier. While there are a few great shops that actively order indie, it’s been my experience that most of the shops under order or ignore indie comics. For every shop like the Beguiling, in the DM there’s probably 5 that don’t carry indie.
Going one step further, most mainstream shows tend to not attract the audience that’d be open to buying indie. *Heroescon being one of the exceptions. The indie folks are forced into ‘hard sell’ mode to move anything off their table. Which is why I’ve dropped the two mainstream shows I did and now focus on shows like SPACE and MOCCA. I sell more stuff at the local Comfest that I did at the big mainstream show here in town.
*I’m pretty excited about trying Heroescon.