Possum Press

I’ll have some pictures from last weekends Toronto Fan Expo up soon (not to mention a video blog for last month’s San Diego Comicon), but until then, here’s part 1 of our video blog from April’s S.P.A.C.E. convention. 

The Possum and Spy Guy vs S.P.A.C.E. 2010 – Day 1 from Possum Press on Vimeo.

In this video, Mike and Blair travel to Ohio to take part in the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (S.P.A.C.E.). This time, they’ve got a pool, a hot tub and an espresso machine! (That’s sellin’ comics in style!) Also on this episode: snippets of The Cerebus Yahoos, reading Cerebus Live, and dinner at the sausage house.

S.P.A.C.E. Day 2 is coming soon.

Also, don’t forget to check out our video blogs from April’s Wondercon 2010 in San Francisco!

Howdy folks.  This Friday is the Toronto Fan Expo and Possum Press and Ultraist Studios are going to be there.  Look for us in the Artist Alley at table A74.  (We’ll be the ones with the cool Possum and Spy Guy stuff).

This is going to be the first Fan Expo that I will have attended, that I don’t have a new issue of The Possum to sell.  It’s been a very busy year (non comic work wise), and it was evident a few months ago that getting issue #5 finished for this weekend just wasn’t going to happen.  the new plan is to have issue #5 finished before the new year, and I’m planning on ramping up my speed and getting more serious about deadlines.  I’m going to take the “pay yourself first” approach, and make these comics a priority.

All is not lost this Fan Expo though, as I’ve got a new T shirt to sell (see photo below), as well as new buttons and a Spy Guy/Possum print that Mike and I are feverishly trying to complete as we speak….. or rather, as I type (more on that in the next few days). 

Come by our booth and say hi, and like all shows, we will be doing free sketches with any comic purchase!!!

Anthony Coffey, Mike Kitchen, Blair Kitchen, Troy Little, Jesse Labbe

Ever since I returned home from the San Diego Comicon, my mind has been thinking non stop.  Mix that with the fact that Dave Sim’s new edition of  ’Cerebus’ Guide to Self Publishing’ has just been released, (and I’ve been reading it non stop) it’s amazing that I can still sleep at night with all that is bouncing around in my head.

The highlight of San Diego was talking with all of the like minded creators and artists that Mike and I met (some very successful, and some who are just plugging away at what they love to do).  I loved discussing and hearing about what strategies or opinions everyone had about publishing and making comic books.  We talked a lot about the merits of finding a publisher such as IDW or Archaia and what those publishers had to offer.  Like all things, there’s some definite ups and some definite downs to going with a publisher as opposed to self publishing.  A big upside is the fact that people tend to take you more seriously.  A downside would be that I’ve talked to very few creators that have actually seen any money from the books that have been sold (only because the publisher has to pay for their printing costs first, and only after that is paid for does the artist/creator get a percentage).  I figure if I’m not going to be getting paid, I might as well have complete control over my books, but there’s something to be said about working with a publisher to establish a fan base and then keeping the option of self publishing future books open.  (It’s not something I want to do personally, though).

The other great thing about getting together with like minded people is seeing how much passion and how much energy everyone is putting into their work.  That energy is transferable, and I definitely feel inspired to work on my own comics now, more than ever.  I often wonder why there are so few successful self published titles (and by successful, I mean financially successful in the fact that self publishing pays the bills and you can do it as full-time work rather than doing it part-time, while your ‘day job’ pays for your self publishing, like most).  Are most self publishers not successful because they quit, or do they quit because they can’t be successful?  Dave Sim talks a lot about the need to have your comic come out on a regular schedule and not make people wait too long between issues.  This is such a hard thing to crack with print comics, because of the cost of printing and the need to pay for it.  It’s a huge accomplishment for most people to find the time to draw the comics between their ‘day job’, but it’s another thing to squeeze in extra ‘day job’ freelance work to pay for the printing of the comic work.  If you want to avoid going into debt, until your comics start making some money you really have to hold down three jobs (your regular job to pay the bills and feed the family, drawing your self published comic, and freelance work to pay for the printing bills, etc.)  Is it wise to dive headfirst into this business and take a year off, go $80,000 in debt and put out 12 comics in 12 months and hope to eventually start making money off each comic (treating it as getting a business loan), or is it better to plug away at a webcomic, where the costs to publish are much less, but there’s no physical comic right away?  Can you do both at the same time?

One thing for sure is it takes discipline, hard work, and commitment.  There’s so much to think about, but thinking will only get you so far.   I’m going to put a big sign up over my drawing desk that says “Draw comics every day!!!” and I’m going to do what the sign says.

drawing by Dave Sim

I got this in the mail today!  I wish Visa, Ontario Hydro, and Cogeco sent me mail that was this cool.  (Take note if you’re reading this Visa, Ontario Hydro and Cogeco).

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Well, Comicon is over, and it’s back to the grind…….. Man it was a busy and exhausting 5 days, but well worth it.  I always come back from these conventions pumped up and ready to make more comics!  Mike and I met a lot of really great new friends, and got a chance to hang out with some old friends too.  (pictured above is Mike and I with Jesse Labbe and Anthony Coffey,  of Berona’s War fame).

A special shout out goes to Troy Little, who was nominated for an Eisner award this year in the ‘best graphic novel for teens’ catagory, for his comic Angora Napkin!  Although he didn’t win, he had my vote.

Like all conventions, we did a bunch of free sketches for the fine folks who purchased Spy Guy and Possum comics.  Here’s a few of them:

As always, Spy Guy was drawn by Mike Kitchen, and The Possum by yours truly.

We took a lot of video during the convention as well, so keep an eye out for a Comicon 2010 Video Blog coming soon, much like our Wondercon Video Blog.  (There’s also a S.P.A.C.E. Video Blog that is 99% finished too, which should be online shortly as well!)

The San Diego Comicon is just around the corner, and Possum Press and Ultraist Studios will be there!  Look for us at table K05 in the Small Press section.  The convention kicks off on Wednesday night (July 21st) for Press and special pass holders, and officially begins on Thursday, July 22nd. 

click on image above for a closer view

See you in San Diego!!!

PART 1

In this episode, Blair meets the Legendary Sergio Aragones and Mike fends off tumbleweed from behind the Possum Press/Ultraist Studios table in Artist Alley, at Wondercon.

Part 2

The exciting conclusion, where business picks up, and stormtroopers read The Possum.

Last March, Mike and I purchased a handy Flip HD Video camera with the intent of filming our exploits at conventions. The first convention we attended since then was Wondercon in San Francisco, which you can view above. Since then, Mike’s been to Mocca in New York, and we were both at SPACE in Ohio. The footage from MOCCA has been edited (which is up on the Ultraist Studios blog and will be up here shortly), and SPACE is being edited as we speak. In July, we’re looking forward to the San Diego Comicon, which should be a lot of fun, and that will be followed by the Toronto Fan Expo in August, and Toronto’s Word on the Street shortly after. Keep an eye out on this blog for videos from those shows too!

If you’d like to read them in paper form, you can get ‘em here: www.possumpress.com/store

Last summer Possum Press studios acquired a 1 1/2 inch button maker.   (So what is one supposed to do with a button maker you ask?……………)  Make buttons!!

Collect all 2!!  (There’s sure to be many more on the way soon!)

*Buttons are for sale at conventions only, at the moment.

I know, I know….. Wondercon was weeks ago.  Well….. better late than never I guess.  Here’s some stormtroopers reading a Possum comic to make it up to you:

This was a really fun show to be a part of, and as always, I ended up meeting a lot of really nice people (comic artists and comic fans).  On Friday, we met up with Javier Hernandez, creator of El Muerto (the comic and the movie).  After the show, the 3 of us went out for a bite to eat, and had a great discussion about comics, politics, and everything in between…… good times!

Here’s me, Javier and Mike, looking cool.  Ha!  I just noticed that the drawing of Spy Guy behind Mike looks like Mike has a super muscular comic book arm going behind Javier.  (Mike’s pretty tough, but not that tough).

Saturday was by far the busiest day of the convention, and was really good for sales.  We did a lot of sketches that day.  Here’s a few of the sketches from the weekend:

Click to enlarge.

I also got to meet Sergio Aragones, who I’m a huge fan of.  I got him to do a sketch of Groo for me, and to my delight, he even incorporated The Possum into his drawing!  (I was a very happy guy).

It’s always a real treat when you finally meet someone you look up to, and they turn out to be a really, really nice guy.  I gave Sergio my first 4 comics on the Friday, and when I talked to him on Sunday, he had read all 4 comics (and talking to a Possum reader whose Possum drawing I had printed in the letters page, Sergio recognized his drawing in the letters page and actually pointed it out to him, meaning he even read the letters pages), Sergio had all sorts of really great advice for me, and spent a good 20 minutes with me pointing out where I could improve, and even going through some of his comics, talking about comic pacing.  When you give your comics to people, it’s just nice that they read them, let alone take the time to comment on them and follow up their comments with practical advice.

Here’s a drawing that I did for Sergio:

Mike and I brought our Flip video cameras and shot a bunch of video footage that we are planning on editing into a short video convention blog of our trip.  If all goes well, hopefully we will continue to shoot each convention we attend and have a video blog for each one………… stay tuned.

Sergio Aragones at Wondercon 2010

An all new 4 page Possum story called ‘Criminal Mind’ is now available to read (for free) at ComicsXP in conjunction with the Small Press Comic Expo.  Just click to download.  There is a new Spy Guy story in there too, so be sure to check it out and let us know what you think.

Hokey Smokes!  I was just looking at my calendar, and realized that in two weeks, Mike and I will be heading to San Francisco for WonderCon.  If you’re in the San Francisco area, make sure you stop by and say hi.

This will be our first WonderCon, so I’m really looking forward to it.  (look for pictures to follow).

We will also be attending the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (S.P.A.C.E) in Columbus, Ohio on the weekend of April 24 & 25.  This will be another ‘first’, so if you’re in the Columbus area, you know the drill…….. (stop by and say hello!)  I also did a 4 page Possum story for the SPACE Anthology, that will be released online, really soon.  I’ll keep you posted as to when you’ll be able to read it.

In other Convention news:  Mike will be attending Mocca this year (April 10 &11) without me, but I’m sure I’ll be able to sneak some Possum comics in his bag, so at least The Possum will be making an appearance.  With WonderCon and SPACE, and it being my daughter’s birthday this month, I figure I should be home for at least one weekend:)  Hopefully I can make it for next year. 

Issue #5, page 1…….