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Post by jporcellino on Feb 10, 2023 23:02:47 GMT
The shows are lining up for this year, including a couple that have been on hold since COVID struck in 2020. I'm in a weird place with shows right now. Even before COVID, I think I was "show-ed out." I wasn't having fun behind the table anymore, and my body was physically rebelling against the travel and long hours and bad food and no sleep.
Right now I have four "local" shows on the horizon:
April 8 ICE Cream (Iowa City)
April 22 Madison Print and Resist
May 20 Chicago Zine Fest
June 3-4 CAKE (Chicago)
True to form, Milwaukee Zine Fest was booked for the exact same day as the Madison show, so I'm skipping MKE. I'm kind of panicking over the decision, but I think I'm going to skip CAKE this year as well. It's my favorite comics show of them all, but I'm still not feeling comfortable breathing people's breath, especially over two full days. (I don't wanna get COVID, natch, but I'm more concerned over getting it and spreading it to my mom (Stage IV Cancer patient) or Steph's dad (Elderly asbestosis sufferer), or to Steph herself (MS)).
Combine that worry with all the sadness I listed earlier, and it's not feeling worth it. I think I may do Iowa City and Madison, because they're small shows, one day only, relatively short hours, and see how I feel. I have a hunch I'm going to skip CZF, too. I don't know if any of you have been to that show, but it's HUGE.
I'll miss seeing friends and readers, but I'm not feeling it.
I'd love to hear any thoughts you all have, but feel free as well to turn this into a catch-all 2023 Shows thread!
EDITED TO ADD: The reason I felt compelled to write this is I feel bad, almost GUILTY, about not attending these shows.
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Post by mikesheawright on Feb 11, 2023 1:46:46 GMT
I'll be at TCAF this year! Hyped, even though that's a pricey trip. Got accepted into VANCAF but not sure I can afford to go to both in the same year. Hoping to do some smaller New York area shows this year, did a couple small ones last year that were super fun.
Definitely enjoying the more low-key kind of craft-fair vibe almost more than the big ones, although Short Run was a highlight of 2022 def. Would love to hit something on the west coast during the Summertime if possible.
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Post by bakertoons on Feb 11, 2023 2:42:20 GMT
I'm returning to conventions this year (my last was in December 2019). Pretty excited (and I'll make sure to wear masks)
My next con is FLUKE in March, then SPACE Expo in June, and Kids Con in November. I may get into others between all that.
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Post by BubblesZine on Feb 11, 2023 14:09:18 GMT
I want to do CAKE, I was waitlisted in 2020, so I guess we'll see.
I'm trying to use this year to see some new cities via tabling. So I'm skipping TCAF and instead doing FLUKE in Athens, GA and GRAF in Barcelona. Excited for both.
I got into VANCAF but I don't think I can afford to get there. The plane ticket is almost as much as it cost me to fly to Spain. I'd like to see Vancouver but might not happen this year.
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Post by mikesheawright on Feb 11, 2023 15:40:34 GMT
I was at CAKE in 2017, super fun show! Went straight from the airport to Wrigley, bought a ticket from a guy on the street who said I could check my bag at this random spot down the street. It had all my clothes and comics and stuff in it and I was super nervous about it but the people were super chill and overall great experience. The vibe at Wrigley was amazing, it was the year after they won the World Series. They got their asses kicked tho haha. Chicago is cool town, overall worth the trip.
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Post by awfulquiet on Feb 11, 2023 16:15:28 GMT
I'm doing two local-ish shows even though they're more of the standard pop culture Con type thing, but they're close by. And bakertoons I just hit you up on Instagram about Kid Con. Is it the one in Maine you're doing?
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Post by whitecomics on Feb 11, 2023 16:38:02 GMT
Doing more than, say, three shows in a year has always felt insane to me. I know some people like it, I know some people rely on shows financially, but the few times I've tried to do more than that I've started to hate and dread the shows. I don't want to feel that way.
John, I don't think you (or anyone) should feel bad about skipping shows. They really are exhausting. Plus COVID considerations, which I hope we'll all continue thinking about in the first year where most shows appear more or less to be going back to normal.
I did apply to CXC this year, might do Mocca or TCAF as well. Plus SPX which is local for me. So that's my three show threshold met.
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Post by bakertoons on Feb 11, 2023 17:37:16 GMT
And bakertoons I just hit you up on Instagram about Kid Con. Is it the one in Maine you're doing? Yeah, Portland ME!
I went to Kids Con years ago in Connecticut and had fun there.
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Post by cartoonysam on Mar 2, 2023 16:18:32 GMT
I'll be tabling at Tampa Zine Fest from 6-10PM this Saturday, so if any of you guys are in the area, please stop by!
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audra
New Member
Posts: 8
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Post by audra on Mar 2, 2023 20:21:57 GMT
NOICE 2023 already happened in Norfolk, VA and it was my second time tabling and having a really positive experience. I like the venue (Smartmouth Brewing) because there's a good mix of street traffic and people specifically there for the comics. This is also one of the many reasons I love CXC; the Columbus Metropolitan Library attracts the same kind of mixed audience. Other reasons include the exceptional programming and proximity the the Billy Ireland.
I wanted to try for either of the Chicago events before I realized they were likely not going to open the 2023 shows to new vendors. I plan to attend SPX as a fan rather than a vendor because I haven't really enjoyed my experience the past two years. It hasn't been bad, per se, but compared to a one-day show time drags on. At SPX 2022 I made $404 over two days and my table cost $195, my hotel $133, and the cost of gas to drive from Philly to Bethesda and back. Not that profit is a motive, but if I am only gonna do a few shows each year, I am leaning toward one-day events with no or cheap table fees that put the most money in my pocket. I understand that the shows need to sustain themselves, especially those that bring in special guests and run programming in large venues, but as a cartoonist this is the most logical choice to me... less time tabling means more time drawing, and more money made with comics means less money I need to make at my day job to support making comics. All that to say I decided in 2023 I would ideally do one multi-day show and a few one-days.
So NOICE aside, I applied to CXC in Columbus and would like to table at Philly Comics Expo again. Also interested in Printed Matter in Durham, NC; I have heard good things about it, and I have family nearby. Hoping to be able to get the full, Angouleme-like CXC experience this year by coming in a few days early should I be accepted into the show.
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Post by wigshop on Mar 8, 2023 0:17:08 GMT
I'm super excited to be putting a thing together in Denver with cartoonist Karl Krumpholz and Strangers Publishing. We're calling it DeCAF and it'll take place on April 29 at a cool venue called the Town Hall Collaborative. We're hoping it's a hit, and then it can be an annual thing, and then maybe it can be a part of these kinds of discussions down the line.
(If you're in the Denver area: mark your calendar, tell your friends!)
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Post by mikesheawright on Mar 8, 2023 21:24:47 GMT
I'm super excited to be putting a thing together in Denver with cartoonist Karl Krumpholz and Strangers Publishing. We're calling it DeCAF and it'll take place on April 29 at a cool venue called the Town Hall Collaborative. We're hoping it's a hit, and then it can be an annual thing, and then maybe it can be a part of these kinds of discussions down the line. (If you're in the Denver area: mark your calendar, tell your friends!) DeCAF is such a great name, hope to get out there someday!
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Post by bakertoons on Mar 8, 2023 21:46:53 GMT
I'm super excited to be putting a thing together in Denver with cartoonist Karl Krumpholz and Strangers Publishing. We're calling it DeCAF and it'll take place on April 29 at a cool venue called the Town Hall Collaborative. We're hoping it's a hit, and then it can be an annual thing, and then maybe it can be a part of these kinds of discussions down the line. (If you're in the Denver area: mark your calendar, tell your friends!) Good luck!
Anyone here going to FLUKE in Athens, GA later this month? I'll be selling my comics there
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Post by benjaminlclark on Mar 10, 2023 19:47:54 GMT
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Post by jporcellino on Mar 11, 2023 0:28:14 GMT
Looks like the Madison Print and Resist Festival is going to be my one and only show of the year! It's a good one... radical politics, punks, zines... fb.me/e/3uKUowVEJ
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