Monday, February 27, 2006

Adelaide Zine Fair

...was saturday. And being my first zine fair, i'm calling it a success.
It was myself, Jing and Owen plus a couple hanger ons.

A couple of things worked against us, I was 20 minutes late but Jing turned up on time but still all the good spots near the front and in the shade were gone. So next time- get there early.

We had a dozen titles to sell from various people.
Jing had - Angry Comic Shop Guy (which she sold using the sales pitch 'i die in that one!', The Bear (her 24hr comic which is quiet cute), Pretty Zombies, Fist full of comics (the results of the monthly panels and gutters comic drinks) and Kipper Comics (another 24 hr comic).
Owen "sold" 5031 #1 and #2 and How to save the World: A beginner's Guide. I say "sold" because he would get flustered at the idea of selling it to anyone and would hide under the table sketching.
Me - I presented and sold

Ozcomics #4 x 2
Ozcomics #5 x 0
Ozcomics #6 x 1
Pop Culture and 2 minute noodles #0 x 1
Pop Culture and 2 minute noodles #1 x 1
Pop Culture and 2 minute noodles #3 x 0
Pop Culture and 2 minute noodles #6 x 0
First time I fetched water x 5 (sold out)
Meus Officium est Abyssus x 1
9v x 5 (sold out)
Pirates x 6
Martin/Molloy x 2
Martin/Molloy x 1
Martin/Molloy x 2
Once upon a time x 1
Eat Comics x 1
Batrisha x 0
History of Oztaku x 0

A couple of things, the cheaper low-fi comics sold better; Michael Li's flew out early (i think i could have sold double the 5 copies i had, maybe even triple with beautiful art like that)and stuff like Fist full, Pretty Zombies did ok. Where stuff like Dillon's stuff (martin/molloy, early pop cultures) which have colour covers and 'look' like comics didn't get many flick thrus. Though Batrisha and Pop Culture #6 which are not standard formats did get a lot of pick ups but i think the price kept people away. Pirates, being the most expensive book at $6 did well, its got a great hook "its pirat-licious!".
Otherwise, a lot of people asked for 'experimental' stuff, which i didn't really have, all i could do was point out the 24 hour stuff, the fistfull of comics zine and "once upon a time" anthology. It also solidified my theory that anthologies are a hard sell unless there is a cool, easily pitched idea behind it (though i still think anthologies are an integral part of building a market/scene). Finally the solid red cover of Angry Comic shop guy did have a lot of interest and it sold well.

all good info when i start publishing my own stuff.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I find an attractive girl's arse on the cover helps with anthology sales ;-)

Daren

Anonymous said...

I won't deny that's accurate, but, in my defence, I should point out that it was never my intention to sell anything. Jing just said to rock up and drop my stuff on the table and she'd sell it, but that she would be less bored if people hung around. Hanging around is what I'm good at.

Besides, I figured a hyperactive talkative girl would be better at selling stuff than a sullen hungover boy. And then it was you who sold most of my stuff anyway, so it was a moot point.

Mark Selan said...

daren - so what you are saying ass sells, hmmmm. it also helps when you have quality stuff behind the arse.

owen - fair enough. tho next year i'm forcing you to do free portrait sketches for buyers.