Artemis Draws

Just had some time to sit down and write about my experience at my first ever Comica Comiket on Saturday, 21 April. I had never attended a comics festival either as a casual visitor or exhibitor, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. A few years ago, I wasn’t even aware such events existed. Since I had a book published, it seemed like a great way to gain some exposure and maybe (fingers crossed) even peddle some books to the unsuspecting public. I booked my spot a few weeks ago, thinking a third of a table would suffice but when I arrived at the Bishopsgate Institute, I was a bit taken aback for it resembled a schooldesk, cramped up against another row of chairs behind it. It didn’t seem possible to lean back without colliding heads with the person sitting behind. There weren’t any spaces between the tables and the only way to get to my seat without climbing on the table or crawling underneath was to move the table out into the narrow aisle, squeeze oneself in and then gingerly move the table back again (without knocking anything over). It gave one the sense of being trapped all day.

On the day itself, I felt oddly nervous and woke up at 6am, my head buzzing with equal measures of anxiety and excitement. It had been a while since I had been back at Liverpool St station so early in the morning and it felt like little had changed. So hard to imagine that not too many years ago, this was my daily grind and I would work at buildings scattered in a tiny orbit around the Bishopsgate Institute without imagining that someday, I would be sitting inside there, earnestly flogging my books along with scores of other artists and cartoonists.

I was sandwiched between two long tables; to my left was John Allison, someone well known but unsurprisingly, I hadn’t the faintest clue who he was as I was an interloper in the comics world. To my right were the Mayburys, an affable couple selling an array of items ranging from T-shirts to multiple collections of mini-comics, ‘The Erotic Adventures of Space Babe 113’. I set up my stall quickly with a striking red table cover, my poster and a little stack of books. So it was going to be a pretty mixed bag, and indeed, judging from the range of customers who came past the doors, reading tastes were probably extremely varied too. The drawing parade started promptly just past 11am but it didn’t seem too easy to see the screen in bright light and the music as well as the constant din made it impossible to concentrate on very much at all. I did enjoy Maarten vande Wiele’s live drawing work though, very stylish and oh so Franco-Belgian in flavour, which has always been my artistic inspiration in comics.

A lot of people came by to browse but the middle aisle was so crowded that often, people had to squeeze past each other to get through, and my table did not get much notice. To avoid putting off potential customers, I tried to read a magazine or stared far off into the distance to avoid looking at anyone perusing my books, lest they get spooked that I was going to ask them to buy it. I don’t know if this tactic worked at all or if some potential customers found it off-putting that I didn’t seem to care at all if anyone looked at my table.

At the end of the day, I sold 4 books… not an impressive number, but I had set out expecting to sell fewer than that, so it wasn’t too bad at all and most importantly, a lot of people came by to flick through the book and comment that it was a really interesting idea. Yes, it wasn’t the best place to sell self-published books without any marketing, especially one as thick as mine, but I hope the book will intrigue more casual browsers in Foyles. After all, Foyles is where I hang out myself when searching for new graphic novels to read.

But I have a new book of short stories in mind with a railways theme; I just have to buckle down and work more diligently on it. More on that later! So Comiket was not a wholly spectacular experience but it was certainly very interesting and I learned many valuable lessons. I hope I gained some exposure as well, as it was my first ever foray into the big bad world with my offerings. Roll on, Comiket November….