Greetings fans!
I hope you all had a great February and first few days of March! We've had a return of an actual winter with alot of rain and a record month with cool high temperatures that never even hit 70 (which I'm enjoying), but closer to the world of Carter Comics, we've got some exciting stuff going on as well in the form of completed and upcoming conventions, a podcast appearance, progress on Damn Tourists #5 with the first DT Trade Paperback, and some '90s R&B Awesomeness at Microsoft Theater last night! So, let's get started:
Two weeks ago was the 5th bi-annual Santa Clarita Comic and Toy Expo at College of the Canyons, that went down on Sunday February 24th. It was my best showing at this event, which is a small local show, but with a crowd that gets larger with each new event. While I usually sell about 3-5 books with a $30 profit, I sold 10 books with a $50 profit. While it's not much of an increase, any upward movement in sales is a welcome change for me. More importantly than that though, this is a small show that has a crowd that really enjoys itself and wants to be there, and that means more to me that any sale. The show's promoters Razmik and wife Lisa Simonian have announced that next year's show will be on Sunday March 8th, 2020 (changing their bi-annual schedule of shows due to renovation of the gym that houses the convention). They will be doing the 2020 show for a single year going forward, and at a bigger venue: the larger gym across from the current one.
Also going on last month was my completion of Damn Tourists issue five's first ten pages in pencil form. This coincides with my photoshop coloring progress of the first Damn Tourists Trade Paperback (which will contain the first four issues starring our annoying travelers). While putting together existing pages from the books that I've finished is part of the process, I am also designing new chapter breaks that will be inserted in between stories (four in all), just like I did for my Cosmic Force TPB.
And there's no way I couldn't mention my attendance at a show that even rivaled seeing Elton John back in January: Toni Braxton, with special guests Babyface and SWV at Microsoft Theater last night. For three hours (with intermissions in between act changes), the best in 1990s Soul rocked the venue, with yours truly seated a mere foot from the stage! While I love all three acts, my favorite is Toni, who is the soundtrack to my high school years. She even waved at me while she sang my favorite song of hers "Love Shoulda Brought You Home," though I was so frozen in amazement I didn't realize she was looking at me and didn't wave back, just smiled. SWV (Sisters With Voices) opened the show with a medley of their hits, which included a cover of soul legend Patti Labelle's "If Only You Knew." Babyface's set nearly rivaled his protege Toni's, going through not just songs from his own albums, but songs he wrote and produced for such acts as Boyz II Men, Johnny Gill, Bobby Brown, The Whispers, After 7, The Deele, and more that couldn't be included due to time constraints. As a bonus, I got to meet up with a good artist friend of mine who had box seats upstairs during the first intermission and after the show. Needless to say, the entire experience was worth the high ticket price for being so close to the stage.
Well, that's about it for the month of March. Before I go, I will leave a rundown of my scheduled events for this month. See you back here in April, and I hope to see you at the following shows below:
San Diego Comic Fest (THIS WEEK PEOPLE!)
Four Points Sheraton Hotel
March 7th to March 10th (Thursday - Sunday)
website: sdcomicfest.org
Anacon
Anaheim Central Library
Saturday March 16th
website: https://anaheim.net/4743/AnaCon
The Fanbase Weekly Podcast Appearance
Airs Monday March 25th on their website: fanbasepress.com
Wondercon
Anaheim Convention Center
March 29th to 31st (Friday - Sunday)
website: comic-con.org/wca