Yesterday I had my first comic con tabling experience at the South Shore Comic Con, held in Cohasset, MA. It was a small, gentle con, filled with kids and their parents. I didn’t make the table cost back, but I did sell a few of my books, and made a few observations.

While I was there, I made a few observations that will help with future cons:

Know your audience

Having not been to the con before, I didn’t know how child-centric it would be. My work largely skews older, due to language and themes surrounding mental health. Parents weren’t super interested in supporting my work, but older teens and young adults were.

Mark whether comics are child friendly

This, I found, is the biggest question that potential customers asked. They wanted to make sure that they could give their children my work. Kitchen Witches is my only all-ages piece at the moment, but my husband and I are working on a children’s comic for a con in April. I’ll be sure to color code or otherwise denote which pieces are kid friendly for future cons.

Colorful covers sell well

This ties back with knowing the audience. I found that people expect a higher level of production value, even with indie cartoonists. I’m not confident in my digital coloring skills, but it’s something to work towards in creating eye-catching work.

Fan art of licensed characters sells well

This really isn’t for me. Unless I’m drawing a Captain America book, I probably will not sell prints of Cap. Stickers maybe, maybe a sketchbook, but not full out prints.

I also had a great time buying pieces and supporting local artists! Check out my haul.