Greetings fans, and welcome new subscribers from this past weekend's Monterey Park Artwalk! Thanks to you, the Artwalk staff, and fellow vendors, it was a fantastic second year for me with three times the customer interactions and sales than last year when I first did this event. It was a feeling of accomplishment given the threat of rain that was originally scheduled for at least a portion of the show, but luckily it never materialized, and all we got were some cloudy skies and some cooler weather (which I had no problem with, considering the scorching temperatures last year). A big thanks to fellow artist Bobby Timony for letting me borrow his canopy in case we got rained on, and another thanks to Javier Solorzano and family for helping me set up and take down said canopy. While it ultimately didn't end up protecting me and my work from the rain (which didn't get beyond a few stray drops), it did help to make my setup more professional next to the other canopy tents, which in turn drew alot more customers to my booth. Or maybe it was just my work itself. Who knows. All in all though, what could have been a literal washout of a show, ended up becoming a cloudy and cool success.
My next show this Saturday, will also be my last show for the year. I have done 16 shows since 2018 began (down from the 24 I did last year due to finances, exhaustion, and needing more time to produce more books), and show number 17 will be: Comic Book Invasion at the City of Commerce Public Library on Saturday, October 20th. Hours are from 10 am - 3 pm, and admission is absolutely FREE! In addition to selling my self-published books and original comic book art in the vendor hall, I am also scheduled to host a drawing workshop primarily focused on creating your own superhero characters. Nothing has been confirmed as of yet, but I will let you all know when it is.
As for the rest of the year and any 2019 shows, I will be attending LA Comic Con of Saturday October 27th to visit and support my fellow artist alley friends, working on my first batch of trading cards featuring all five members of the Cosmic Force, Damn Tourists issue 5: "East Coast California," and "Damn Tourists: The REALLY BIG BOOK," my name for the first trade paperback that will feature the first four issues starring our clueless travelers. In regards to shows for next year, I am confirmed to be an artist vendor at Santa Clarita Comic and Toy Expo on February 24th, and at Comic Con Revolution in Ontario (California) on Saturday and Sunday, March 18th and 19th. I am still waiting for table confirmation on the following shows I applied to: Wondercon Anaheim March 29-31, a new show in Baldwin Hills called "Los Angeles Black Comic Con" on Saturday February 23rd, and my first east coast convention in Washington DC called "Awesome Con. As with all of my comic/artwork/convention/artwalk happenings, as soon as I know of any updates, you'll know.
Have a great week everyone!
Regards,
Allen Carter
Carter Comics