Broken Frontier

The 2010 MoCCA Art Festival was better than I expected. Not that I was predicting a disaster, but last year’s show didn’t go too well and I know a lot of people who said they weren’t coming back for this year. Also, they moved the show up 2 months, putting it in April instead of June without, what seemed to me, a lot of publicity advertising this change. And to top it off, the cost for a table at this year’s show had increased from $350 to $400. I was expecting the fallout from all of this to be a shift towards larger publishers, albeit still artsy, and less true small press participation.

And while it turned out that there was a noticeable drop in exhibitors, as exemplified by the entirely unused section that was filled with tables last year, I didn’t observe the decrease in small press that I had expected. There were many independent creators with their minis or self-published graphic novels. In fact, the biggest no-show was DC’s Vertigo imprint. They’ve had a pretty strong presence in years past, including sponsoring last year’s show. I’m not quite sure why they dropped out - perhaps the increased table price was too much for them. Just goes to show that large companies can be more frugal than indie creators who’ll pay anything to help realize their dream.

The only negative I can really pin on the show was that it opened late, again. Last year was a real mess as it opened 2 hours late. This year, on Saturday, the first day of the show, they only opened 40 minutes late. There wasn’t an actual announcement or explanation, but to those of us inside the exhibitor space, it was pretty clear. At opening time, the head MoCCA table at the entrance still hadn’t been set up yet. As a matter of fact I had one of the pieces of their booth’s wall drying it’s wet paint right in front of my table, blocking passage in the aisle, until about 11:30.

Then Sunday was even more interesting. For some reason, they decided to schedule the opening time for the second day at 10:30. It seemed like a fairly arbitrary decision to open half an hour early on a Sunday. If anything, most cons would have a later opening on the second day. But it turns out that the joke was on us. When we showed up at 9:30 on Sunday, there was a handwritten sign on the door that said the show would open at 11:00. And in fact, they didn’t even let exhibitors into the show until 10:00, so that made us feel pretty silly for getting there early.

However, none of these problems - the earlier date in the year or the late openings - seemed to keep attendees away. The show was very well attended, and the crowds stayed straight through both days, even until the end of the show on Sunday.

Business was crisp. I didn’t quite make table, but I am willing to put a good amount of the blame on the fact that my primary selling point was a book that doesn’t exist yet. I did have a sketchbook for American Terrorist as well as a print, which both sold better than I would have expected seeing as they’re both specialty items. And my Adrenaline graphic novel was its usual steady self; nothing spectacular, but it did spark the interest of a few readers and a few copies found nice homes. 

And not to sound like an eternal optimist, but the success of the show can’t be judged solely on sales made during it. I’ve had so many people come by the table who were really intrigued by American Terrorist, but just didn’t need the sketchbook or a print. They wanted the story, which I can’t blame them for. I can’t wait to get it out there.

Hopefully some of those people will go find the digital issues available through comiXology or pre-order the book through Kickstarter.

On a more personal, or should I say comic fan level, the two biggest hits for me where Jaime Hernandez’s new artbook, which I got him to sign and do a sketch in. And as for new talent, I ran across this amazing new book called, The Anthology Project put together by a bunch of friends from art school. Their work really impressed me. And the production quality of their hardcover was spectacular. I’ve got to get the number of their printer.

 All and all, I’d say that the organization of the show still needs some work, but the show itself manages to remain strong thanks to the great quality of exhibitors and attendees that show up each year. I may not have made enough to cover the cost of the show for me this year, but thankfully the festival organizers have had the good sense to lower the table cost for next year, returning it to it’s 2008 price. If I manage to get my next graphic novel printed, I just might be able to cover the cost next year.

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Tyler Chin-Tanner started his own publishing company, A Wave Blue World, where he wrote and drew layouts for Adrenaline, its flagship series, Adrenaline and wrote its latest graphic novel, American Terrorist.

© 2010 Tyler Chin-Tanner.  All rights reserved.

Email: tyler@awaveblueworld.com


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