Motor City Comic Con '10

This makes my third year attending the Motor City Comic Con, and I have to say that it feels good having another one under my belt. Again, I had the pleasure of sharing a table with Jason Westlake for a second time, as well as Brandon Cox, a first-timer to the comic convention scene. Both are former Kendall College classmates of mine and all-around real good guys, too, so it made for a very comfortable visit of drawing and chatting during the show. Sadly, while Adam Withers and Comfort Love (creators of the self-published series, 'The Uniques') were unable to attend, we were able to see some other familiar faces from the Grand Rapids area, including Gina Verdoni, Scott Wygmans, and Damian Goidich. It was very encouraging to visit with each of them for a bit.

convention table setup, early Friday

Jason with his spread of sketch cards

As has been the case from personal experience in past shows, Friday was an expectantly low-key day. Business was slow, but Jason and I did manage to drum up a little for ourselves. As for Brandon, he wouldn't be joining us until Saturday due to work obligations. Even with just the two of us, the table and display boards were pretty well covered with our artwork, a good sign in this artist's opinion. During our downtime between the occasional sale or visit from passerbys, I kept myself busy hammering out some drawings of my own to sell. If I've learned anything, it seems that original artwork tends to sell better than prints. Jason did rather well for himself last year doing this, and likewise this year with the sketch cards, so I try to follow by example. Figuring out what works and what doesn't was a big part of why this year was more profitable for myself.

The Joker - $15 USD (plus $3 for S&H)

Captain America - $15 USD (plus $3 for S&H)

Doctor Octopus - $20 USD (plus $3 for S&H)

Thor - $30 USD (plus $3 for S&H)

Granted, none of these particular drawings sold at the show, but they are available for purchase through this site. What was fun about this was trying my hand at monochromatic markers, which gave the 9x12"inked drawings a very distinct look. Definitely going to get my hands on a set before next year comes around. Jason was kind enough to lend me his set during the convention.























What turned out to be a smart addition to my goods and services was offering caricatures, which was a big success. I've done a few children's art classes on caricatures and worked as a caricature artist at a graduation open house before, so I know firsthand that they tend to go over pretty well with people. As it turned out, caricatures made up over half of my sales this year. Those aside, the Fast Food Mafia prints were well received and it was interesting talking to some of the individuals who came by and commented on it. You can wager that I will explore further into both of these venues.


















Saturday was drastically different from Friday, with patrons of comics and pop culture alike filling the aisles. While I did not wander about the previous day, deciding to spend my free time sitting and drawing, Saturday was one where I couldn't afford to leave my seat. Indeed, Saturdays have always been the busiest day during the Motor City Comic Con weekends. And as such, it is always the most lucrative. Compared to last year, you could see that people were much more willing to shell out for artwork. Given the situation with the economy in recent years, it would seem that we're finally starting to turn the corner on this depression. Good news, especially for us freelance artists.

Sunday, surprisingly, actually turned out to be busier than I had anticipated. The first year that I had set up table at Motor City, Sunday was all but a ghost town in regards to attendees. Last year, my second, was better but about on par with the Friday trend. This time around it had an even better turnout with more attendees, and business, than Friday. I can only hope that this Sunday crowd will remain constant or continue to incline. So while I was kept occupied off and on with occasional sales, I managed to spend the last hour of the show wandering about, visiting a couple other artists of particular interest to myself, namely Scott Wygmans and Guy Davis, and browsing through the discounted graphic novels. Aside from the two graphic novels that I purchased, the rest of my Motor City goodies were free.

'High Roads', 'The Marquis' pin and convention sketch, 'High Moon', and a pair of stickers by Scott

See also: Motor City Comic Con '09