MECAF 2019 ROUND UP

A man and his robotic creation.

So MECAF 2019 went down this past weekend and it was a blast!

I’m sure I‘d have enjoyed it more were I not recovering from whatever cold/flu/plague swept through my household the week before. Nevertheless, I got up, loaded Ol’ Lazarus the Subaru and got my ass there five minutes before opening and setup in record time!

It was good to see new folks and reconnect with others. These seem to be part reunion part showcase. I sold some books and comics and gave away a lot of free stickers and stuff. I wish I could’ve sold more but hey this is the way for the creator of an independent comic.

A few things made it all worthwhile.

The first was a kid of about 13 or so with a bunch of punk rock band patches on his jean jacket. We got to talking, and he told me a tale I’ve heard before which has been told by many: boring small town, nothing to do but draw and make art. I told them that exactly, and it seemed to help. Then they showed me their sketches, and I encouraged them to keep drawing. I love to show them that Here I Am this 50-year-old newbie in the comics game and that they’re doing the work now which will benefit them later.

The second was a younger kid of 10 maybe who came up to the table, flipped through the first issue of Bunnyhead and said, “Oh, I‘ve read this.”

“Oh yeah?” I said. “Where?”

“At my doctor’s office,” he said. And inwardly I cackled with glee.

I put several issues of Bunnyhead in the waiting room of some doctor’s offices around town, knowing that the kids waiting there would pick them up. Sure enough, my man R had done so and here he was! His dad bought him all three issues, and he grabbed a sticker, too. So why do I love this so much? Well, young R. connected with my comic for one. Two my marketing plan worked. And three it‘s always awesome when young kids like my comic. 

The other thing was a great conversation about horror films with a guy where we both told each other about great movies the other needed to see. This was cool because while M was clearly a bigger horror fan with more knowledge than I, they still didn’t know about (A Dark Song, if you‘re curious).

And then talking to all the other creators, fans and artists. Connection, connecting, connections.

One big takeaway is streamlining my table so I can display my wares, promote myself and also make my setup and breakdown so much easier. 

Until then I’m binge watching the Sopranos and trying not to think of the brownies cooling on the counter.

Until then be well!

- CHANG