CONVENTION DISRUPTION

Amanda and I do about six to ten comic conventions a year, to meet people like you, make a little bit of money to supplement our income and pay the people working with us, and make sure we get our asses off our writing and drawing boards for a change of pace. Yeah it’s about promotion as well, but isn’t that what the internet and this is about?

 Now, what a lot of you don’t know about conventions is just how much planning, work, and exhaustion is involved in the entire process from the day we leave our house till after the convention when we fly back. I am sure some can speculate a bit, but I would love to break down the process today. Out of the gate for us is having Patrick or myself getting the offers in the first place to do conventions and trust me, they come from a friend of a friend, over twitter and Instagram and where they supposed to come from, the contact information on the Paperfilms.com web site. We get a lot of offers and some are just either too time consuming, bad timing or shows that really have no idea who we are but need to fill a table. Thank God most are from the other comic book fans wanting to put on a good show.

Once we get a serious and checked out offer and not some person wanting us to come hang out at their home for a few days, Patrick and I get together and start looking at them, How the dates work with our work load, an important one, and how they are taking care of us… and last where the convention is, mainly because if its somewhere we never have been before, we are more than likely, if the other things line up, grab that convention no matter the size. Amanda and I love to travel, so if it is in a place we have never been before, it is extra fun for us to add a day or two to see the area.

The last part of the information is about the actual cons themselves, their reputation when dealing with the fans and the people that run the shows. This one is super important for a number of reasons and we always talk to other professionals to get their review of the show and showrunners. This feedback is key. If they treated us well we are encouraged to go back and if they didn’t, we make a note and make sure we never do their shows again and sadly there are a few of those out there. Between us, Amanda and I have been making comics for others for over 70 years- key word “between” here.  We do expect to be treated decently and respectfully and sadly not everyone sees it the way we do, but let’s focus on the positive.

Conventions are slowly learning two things, first, they are the main reason special guests are charging fees on top of flight and hotel and second, we- professionals and fans – talk and rate cons and their treatment and as a group we are slowly learning to stay away from some.

Honestly, if you ever made it to any con Amanda and I attend, you already know we work the full weekend, panels and all till everyone gets their books signed or has some time to talk to us. We love our fans and since I have this place to show my love to the fans, here is a variety of photos from over the years with us enjoying YOIUR company.

Enjoy… and I hope some of you see yourselves in these. Let us know.

JIMMY