For several days before Stumptown I was feeling nervousness and dread, and I was convinced that no one would buy “Hereville.” On the drive to Stumptown Saturday I felt so anxious about that, I worried I might vomit.
So things went better than I expected. :-)
I sold 65 copies of Hereville at Stumptown, which was enough to cover the costs of printing. In fact, between Stumptown sales and some other sales, the first printing of 100 copies is nearly sold out. (!) (But — I feel obligated to mention — you can still buy them here, if you want.)
Saturday night, Hereville won one of Stumptown’s treasured Trophy Awards, for “outstanding art.” (The winners are determined by a vote of Stumptown attendees.) That made me very happy. My friend Erika received three well-deserved awards for her excellent, funny, sweet, but adults-only strip Dar! The Trophy Awards are great, because the con organizers buy used trophies and relabel them. Mine is a female bowler with — get this — a cross on the pedestal! As you can see, it’s gone straight to my head mantle:
(On the Hereville webpage, which I don’t want to use for non-relevant political debates, I blurred out the Nader button. But I’m putting the unblurred pic here on “Alas” because I think it might amuse people.)
I also met some neat new people and saw some old friends, although less than I would have liked. (Onyxrising has a funny LJ entry about seeing me at Stumptown.) I didn’t get much of a chance to see the convention, because I spent almost all my time at my table pitching Hereville, but I really enjoyed it.
I also got to be a total mooch on my friends, who I relied upon for a lot of free labor. So thank you Jake Squid (ride to the con, day 1, plus setting up), Chris Baldwin (ride home), Kevin Moore (ride to the con, day 2), Jake Richmond, Katie Moody, & Ivy McCloud (sitting in for me when I was away), Charles Seaton (ride home, plus breaking down), and Kip Manley (more rides). (Can you tell I don’t have a driver’s license?)
And I have to shout out to the awesome Rachel Edidin, of the also awesome org Girl Wonder, because several people bought Hereville because she told them to! (She also told me she’ll be reviewing Hereville on her blog sometime soon.) Plus, there’s the knitting… but I think that will be a post of its own, when the time comes.
Finally, I have to sincerely thank the folks whose tables were next to mine — the McCloud family, Larry Marder, and especially Jen Sorenson — for restraining themselves from strangling me after hearing my Hereville pitch hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times. (Jen and I were joking that when she went home, she’d bewilder her husband by mumbling “it’s about an 11 year old Orthodox Jewish girl” in her sleep.)
(And one more thank you — Photo of me by Jenn Manley Lee!)
Congrats, Amp. Hereville deserves recognition.
Well where’s my damn copy then. My daughter is asking about the “girl with the sword comic and you’re going to read it to me”. You’re crushing the hopes and dreams of an adorable moppet!
Well, OK, you’re not, because I haven’t mentioned it to her yet. But hypothetically, you could be. You bastard.
I had just this minute finished penciling Stephanie’s drawing — this is true — and was going to move to the other room and finish it. But I thought, “might as well check the Alas comments before walking away from the computer.” And then I read your comment.
Now I’m going to erase the sketch you asked for and replace it with a sketch of Stephanie’s dad kicking puppies into a trench full of angry snakes. Hope she likes it!
I sold 65 copies of Hereville at Stumptown, which was enough to cover the costs of printing. In fact, between Stumptown sales and some other sales, the first printing of 100 copies is nearly sold out.
Well, get to work on the second printing. How are those of us who are terminal procrastinators ever supposed to get our copies if you insist on selling out quickly?
Now I’m going to erase the sketch you asked for and replace it with a sketch of Stephanie’s dad kicking puppies into a trench full of angry snakes.
At least she’ll recognize me. But it’s usually gay orphans of color, not puppies. Conservatives like puppies.
Mazeltov, Amp! Who can resist Mirka’s allure? Not I.
I especially love the inscription: “To Robert — you asked for it!” And the drawing is priceless! I wouldn’t normally imagine that Mirka would thrust a sword hilt-first, but hey, it’s it’s all in illustrator’s eye. Or, in this case, in Robert’s … well, you know.
I am very glad it went well. Hereville deserves it. I doubt this is a secret to anyone, but the art in your comic is head and shoulders above a lot of the commercially published comics. Hell, it is better than the art of at least two of my favorite series (not talking about web comics, either)
By the way, I love the way the book looks in the photos. Can’t wait to get my copies. (Which does not mean that you should rush the sketches!)
Petar, I actually finished the drawings in your copies today, and hopefully I’ll be able to swing by the post office tomorrow.
Conservatives like puppies.
For lunch? (Got to get the conservatives-eat-meat-liberals-are-vegetarians stereotype in there somewhere.)