I had been racking my brain about what my first blog post should be about and I had a dozen ideas zooming around in my head. After having an amazing time yesterday at the SGV Comic Expo I decided I would write about the event from my limited perspective behind the table. I just want to put it out there I am not the comic artist or writer of the comic zines you will see. The creative mastermind is my husband Oflodamonstro http://oflodadraw.blogspot.com. I was there for moral support, chatting up customers, and managing the table so he could have a bathroom break and check out other artists work.
This wasn't the first table he has had this would be his third event and by far the least stressful since we had learned from our previous tabling experiences. This time we had plenty of change, zines, prints and homemade bags to put the purchasers goodies in. We were more outgoing saying hello and smiling at anyone who walked by his table, encouraging people to look through his zines making small talk. It was exhausting but so much fun and the organizers of the event the Nuvein Foundation did such an amazing job. There was plenty of parking the venue was the perfect size and there was plenty of table space and chairs. I am always so grateful that my husband is asked to do these events. The indie comic and zine community has been so welcoming and supportive. Every single artist, vendor and visitor that we have met has been so encouraging. Even the attendees who weren't interested in the wares on our table were polite.
Our day started off in a rush it was hectic, Oflodamonstro and I had procrastinated he finished putting together his latest comic Ninja Cat from Space (which is awesome by the way) at 4am on Saturday morning. He only got an hour sleep before he had to get up get ready and drop of our 19 month old son with his sister (thank you so much Jenny and Milton you guys are life savers!). While he was out I sewed some bags out of brown packaging paper to put his sold items in. I must give credit were credit is due blogger, youtuber, and crafter Whitney Sews http://whitneysews.blogspot.com inspired the bags. I had seen her video a while back on how she makes her own envelopes for her packages and thought to myself this is perfect! Once he got back home he took a quick cat nap and then we were off. We got to the event about half an hour early, while setting up Javier Hernandez the talented creator of the El Muerto comics stopped by to say hello, and I have to mention my husband would not have tabled at any of the events if he Javier had not asked him to participate in the Latino Comic Expo last year so thank you Javier! We finished setting up the table quickly and we really liked how the set up worked out.
We were fortunate to have great table mates. We were seated next to the very supportive family of the creator of Aztec of the City comic book series. The creator unfortunately could not participate but the ladies tabling were lovely and passionate about representing his comic. Luckily they were down for a trade so we got the latest issue, and I must say the story is engaging I will have to catch up on the previous comics in the series.
So many people came out to see what the SGV Comic Expo was about some cosplayers even stopped by. My husband being a big Star Wars fan had to take a picture with this Tusken Raider who came by our table.
The event was very family friendly and the organizers had a crafts and comic book work shop for the kids, face painting, food trucks and a photobooth. My sister in law came by with the kiddos and they got to make some super hero masks and capes.
My son was napping but woke up long enough to say hi and see how his folks were doing, big sis couldn't make it this year either. It felt a little wierd not having them there since they had gone to the previous two tabling events my husband did but I think it worked out well they would have gotten restless after a while. There is always next year and hopefully both the kiddos can go and enjoy all the fun activities the SGV Comic Expo has to offer.
There was also some awesome panels and speakers that unfortunately neither one of us were able to attend. I personally would have loved to have gone to the Women Making Zines and Comics but there is always next time. I was however lucky enough to meet two of the panelists Aurora Pringle http://www.auroralady.com and Kim Burly Leanord http://www.thealphablonde.com They are so talented and sweet. As I didn't have any zines of my own to barter with, I did luckily for no reason whatsoever bring some monster pouches I had sewn (again thank you Whitney Sews for the awesome youtube tutorials) and they were gracious enough to trade with me. I was able to procure a beautiful original art print, a button, and a zine Miss California by the equally enchanting Aurora, and from the lovely Kim Burly Leanord I got Mom Jeans and M. Theo Kearney Raisin Prince of my Heart zines and a button, that my remaining little robot monster devoured for safe keeping.
It was a nice surprise to see Suemi Guerra the author of the wonderful Suicidal Goldfish zines, and her talented musical friend Lisa Vasquez come by and visit. I was happy to see these two as it had been almost a year since we had met. These lovelies were our table mates at the Eastside Zine Market in 2013, we have seriously been lucky when it comes to table mates. It seems that every event my husband has participated in we have struck gold or maybe it's just that every zinester and indie comic artist is just that awesome. I don't know but I am leaning towards the latter. I have kept in touch with Suemi via social media so it didn't feel like a year, and Lisa is so chill it seemed like it had only been a week since we last saw each other. Just a little info on Lisa not only is she a talented musician and super cool she also happens to host the radio show "West Coast is the Best Coast" at her school's radio station, SCAD Atlanta Radio, it's all about California bands you can check out her DJ stylings at www.scadatlantaradio.org. Might I also add that these best friends have started a Summer Writers Group, check out Suemi's tumblr for more info on the group and her zines http://loveandplaster.tumblr.com
Thank you to Suemi who took the photo below we look like normal people no one is making a funny face!
All in all I have to say the event was a smashing success! There was a lot of chatting on my part so much so that now my throat hurts. I really need to start charging Oflodamonstro for my tabling services. All kidding aside I love going with him and helping him pursue his creative endeavors. Whenever we go to these type of events wether it be as attendees or if it's tabling, the best part is always seeing people walk around and appreciate all the amazing artists and the hard work that they do. By far the most memorable example of this was a gentleman who came to our table and picked up Oflodamonstro's autobiographical comic, he then proceeded to read the comic laugh out loud and when he got to the last page started stomping on the ground while bursting with laughter. He ended up buying two comics teary eyed and telling my husband to never stop doing what he's doing. Best sale ever!
People also really liked the bags I sewed that morning I am not gonna lie I was surprised and pleased at the response. I will definitely make more for any future events he participates in. They were simple bags and perfect for his merchandise, but he really turned them into special by drawing on them. Some customers even said they wanted to frame the bags.
So that's pretty much it, we spent our day selling comics and prints, chatting and meeting awesome people and had the opportunity to read and see new work that we otherwise might not have seen. I can't wait to read and review all the goodies we got. All of the comic zines that Oflodamonstro made will be available for purchase online soon, take a look at the covers below!
