Comic-Con/The Box Lid

So this past weekend I decided to go down to San Diego for this comic book convention...well, actually, not just any comic book convention...the Comic Book Convention, a.k.a. Comic-Con. This tough decision would not have been possible without the Rational Confident Me winning a small interior disagreement over the Hopeless Manic Me. It went down kinda like this:

Rational Confident Me: "I should just go, learn from the masters...because really, what do I know about comics?"

Hopeless Manic Me: "Don't waste your time. Your comics suck. You drew better at age 12, and you're getting worse."

RCM: "That may be true, but I enjoy doing these comics way too much to allow your soul-crushing cynicism to ruin it for me."

HMM: "But you know I'm gonna win out in the end..."

RCM: "Okay, fuck you. You know what? I'm gonna go. Not only that, but I'm gonna print up some copies of a sample comic to distribute...you know, publicize, and get this site more than two readers a day, goddamnit! Plus, if there is anything for me to learn from this medium before spending increasing amounts of my time experimenting with it, then I reckon the place to absorb it is Comic-Con International."

HMM: "Fine, go ahead, but I'll be mocking you the whole time."

So I printed off 75 copies of a more polished, zine-style Real Peceptive Magic, and drove on down to San Diego, a donut-box-esque cardboard box beside me, ready to be walked around the convention and held much the same way as one of those barmaid cigarette seller chicks holds her box of packs, only I wasn't offering the welcome drunken inhale, but rather, a feeble representation of my vast and desperately lonely online creative kingdom...

RCM: "Hi. Would you like a copy of my comic?"

... and all I was asking for in return was a smile of encouragement -

HMM: "...and that they wait until your back is turned before throwing the crusty thing into the nearest trash can."

Although I didn't see any trashing going on behind me, I did get an attempted grammar/usage lesson from some grammatician guy behind some booth (anxiously waiting for fleeting opportunities to save the members of the Comic-Con public from their own villainous grammatical deficiencies):

Me: "Would you like a copy of my comic?"

Grammar Guy: "Hmmm...'Real Perceptive Magic.' Don't you mean 'Really Perceptive Magic?'"

Me
(thinking): What a dick!

Me
: "No, actually, the title is referring to 'real,' as opposed to 'fake.'"

GG
: "Ah...okay."

Me: "But that was real good of you to point that out, man." (walks away from booth)

Anyway, looking back on the experience, I don't really care if this site gets any new readers. For me, Comic-Con was a huge success. After offing all 75 of my copies, I spent my time browsing the many indie comics I couldn't afford and buying up the ones I could (mostly from small self-published geniuses who have not yet been discovered by the snobby yet savvy Drawn & Quarterly). I came away with so many new ideas, and now they are all racing around in my head, unaware of any semblance of a finish line. Like I said, huge success.

Here is a souvenir of my uncharacteristically bold New Goo marketing effort. It took me awhile (try 4 hours) to get into the convention without paying, so during my wait (after the initially fascinating people-watching became slightly repetitive) I decided to doodle over the Fedex-Kinko's logo on my cardboard box because I was still mad at the souless corporate monopoly for confusing me with its money-grubbing copy machines (another [sad] story). After the logo had been properly defaced, I kept going...so here it is:

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5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I know I'm her Dad and all, but Delia is a studette.

9:34 PM  
Blogger the IMAGINATIVE ACTION REGIME said...

ms. delia,

i love corporate mermaid. fantastic.

11:11 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think Manic Confident Delia is sexy...

and that shark/plane hybrid creature is pretty scary

6:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

it's a good thing rational & confident won out, because your free sample comic is the only reason i'm reading this now. i loved it!

5:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yay for confidence, if you write/draw it they will come.

1:29 PM  

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