George WebberArtist - Cartoonist - Illustrator

Japan Relief Fund Sketch Card Auction 

So a few days ago I posted this sketch card up for auction on Twitter and Facebook hopefully to raise some funds for a Japan Relief Donation.

I started the bids at $25.00, pretty reasonable for a hand drawn,  one-of-a-kind, signed and framed sketchcard I thought.

And while I was initially a bit disappointed in how few bids came in, in the end I'm happy to say it sold for the price of $50.00.

Oh, but the story doesn't end there.

I gave the money to one of my in-laws who works for a company that is also doing a fund raiser and they are matching all employee donations 2 for 1 !

So, that $50.00 is now $150.00 ! 

I sleep a little better tonight knowing I have done some small good in the World ... how about you?

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APE - The Alternative Press Expo - 2010 

As much as I love APE and this year was especially great, I really wished they didn't charge such a huge price for their tables.

I mean I really do love doing the show, but just once I'd like to go and think maybe I can come out ahead instead of at a loss. 

It seems like they treat all the tables as "Small Press" and price it almost as much as a Small Press Booth at a bigger show.

Me, I'm just a cash poor artist trying to make it, so where's the "Artist Alley" pricing for tables at APE?

Seems like theres non, I don't know why don't they have something more affordable given that it's just not that big of a show ... and no I don't mean a "Half Table" which anyone that's had one knows it's pretty useless.  

Sure a Half Table is cheaper, but what have you got space for? one sign, two stacks of books a couple of drawings and maybe a few buttons and if your doing sketches that four foot table gets really cramped.

Anyway ...   There's no doubt about it, this year APE was huge!   So let's look at a few silly photos and talk about it, shall we   First off I think my table looked pretty good, even better when I hung up more art on the wall display.   (Grid Wall Display from ACME Display here in San Francisco)   There where far more exhibitors than ever before and what seemed to be a larger than usual turnout of long time fans and new people alike.   No, it wasn't the huge throng of geekery that we all love at WonderCon and other big shows, but still, for APE it was bigger and better attended in my opinion.   Saturday and Sunday both had great turnouts even with the bit of rain we had on Sunday. The flow of people while not always huge on Sunday was there all day long.   All I really remember was so busy doing sketches, talking to artist, friends, fans and first timers, that I only got to leave my table for a few minutes a day and hardly had time to look at anything myself.   A few exhibitors I know seem to agree that this was a great year to be at APE.  There was so much new stuff to see and so many new artist to meet, plus APE put together such a  great list of guest artist and panels that it almost felt like it needed to be three days instead of just two.   From what I've heard (and saw) people came from all over the World to be at APE this year, either as exhibitors or fans.   I know for myself, several fans and friends came pretty good distances to stop by and show their support.   One example of that is friend, fan and fellow motorcycle loving cartoonist Rob Campbell who came from Hollister.   He stopped in to so we could meet for the first time as we've only known each other through our "internet artist lives".   So it was great to finally meet him face to face and talk about bikes and art for a bit.   There ain't nothin' better than talking about bikes, broads and cartoons ... oh ya' good times.   Oddly I didn't have opportunity to do that many full-on Commissioned Con Sketches at this year's APE.   So when I was asked to do a sketch of Capcom's Felicia character, I got to go pretty hot and heavy with her. I'd never draw her before although I've been wanting to for some time, so it was great fun to work on.   I'm just glad I remembered to bring good paper and my Copic Markers !   Kinda' wished the photo had come out better, some nice grayscale shading on her, oh well.   And we're not done yet, check out the photos down below for a few more fun moments at APE 2010.
There was quite a few people in costume this year at APE both behind and in front of the tables.   Just wished I had more time to get more photos.   I did manage to grab some shots of Wonder Woman and the Huntress walking by, both had great costumes.   And one more photo below ...
Ok, so she's not the tallest Amazonian I've ever seen, still as Wonder Woman she was completely in the character ... oh, bondage, fun.   Her Golden Lasso makes anyone tell the truth and the truth is, Hell ya' she's cute!   Can't wait for 2011's WonderCon, APE and all the other shows, I think 2011 is going to be a blast.

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Comic Conventions & Trade Show Tips 

Before I was doing Comic Book Conventions to sell my books, prints and buttons, I worked in several other circuits like Custom Car & Motorcycle Shows, Multi Media & Software Shows and even Stage Shows for local bands.

If you do enough "on the road" type shows you learn a few tricks that really help.

So, I thought I'd share some of my tips and rules learned from my experiences in hopes it might help shorten the learning curve for new people that are wanting to try doing Trade Shows.

So here's a few of my best tips.

1. Two Heads are better than one :

While the old "Two Heads" adage my seem silly, the fact is having two people work a Convention Table is better than having just one.  It doesn't matter if the other person in a general helper or an out right "Booth Bunny", the fact is having someone else there to handle the table while you run off to lunch or the rest room or other emergancy is your best option.

2. Girls RULE :

I don't mean to come off sexist or something, but the fact is that; Girls, Women, Ladies, Hostesses, Booth Bunny's whatever you want to call them, Females can generally pull people ( male and female ) in and drive sales better than us guys.   You'll see it and any type of show you go to, the booths with women pull in more potential buyers.

So if your helper is female use her to your advantage, be sure she knows your products and pricing! Also keep in mind, she doesn't need to be a sexed up "Playboy Bunny" type for this to work ( though admittedly it does help ), she just needs to be a open personable type. Some of the best sellers I've seen at shows are Husband & Wife (or Boyfriend/Girlfriend )Teams, the wife gets them in, chats them up and the husband rings up the sale whiel she hooks the next one.

They say that sex sells, but it's far more than that, why do you think most Navigation Systems have Female Voices? 

3. Practice & Preparation Makes Perfect :

Always have everyone practice the Table Setup, the Presentation and Sales Pitches as a group before ever taking it on the road. Getting firmilar with your overall persentation well before hand help keep the "goof ups" to a mimimum. At the same time it's important to remember, doing presentations on the road isn't like doing it in your practice space.

Remember, things can change suddenly, you never really know in advance if you might need to alter in your setup or presentation to fit a situation, so try to prepare for surprises ahead of time.

Putting together and having a general "Game Plan" from the practice sessions really helps. I've go so far as to setup my Convention Table in my living room to see if everything looks and works right and to come up with a "Plan B" if things are not as expected at the location. Trust me, this happens a lot, so be ready to make alterations.

4. Prepare for Surprises :

Setup a "Show Kit" generally this is some boxes of stuff like:

Pens, Markers, Clamps, Blue Painters Tape, Duct Tape, Heavy Duty Extension Cord, Plug Adapters, Fliers, Pamphlets, extra Business cards, Equipment Check List !!

These are all the odds and ends that can and will save your butt when things go wrong .... and they will go wrong.  They can also help you help other people around you that might not have perpared as well and helping others at a show is always a good thing.

Like the Boy Scout and Girl Scouts .. "Be Prepared"

Personally I have a couple boxes like this marked "Show Kit" with a list of what's in them on the box and I never take those items out for other uses, so those are ready to go whenever I am.   You don't want to have to look for stuff at the last minute as you head out the door, nor do you want to not be able to find what you need when you need it, so marking things is important.

5. Control the Environment :

Never assume there will be a wall to project a presentation onto or hang artwork, graphs or whatever on.
A standing screen, easel or some type of folding wall is a handy thing and it's fairly cheap to buy or even make.

Be aware of how well your projector or other equipment will works in different lighting situations, you never know if you can control the lighting or not.  The same is true for Sound/Audio, a microphone/speaker ( Mini PA ) for the people speaking may seem like overkill and in some places it is or isn't even allowed, but not everyone has a strong speaking voice or there maybe other outside noise that can't be controlled.

Your presentation is best when it can be seen and heard clearly!

The same is true for SIGNAGE ! , I have three diffrent types of signage because every table, booth and show location is going to be different.  I have a four foot wide over the table drape (and my own eight foot table cloth) with my Company Logo on it, I have a six foot wide over head Banner and two 24 x 84 inch Stand Up signs.   It's pretty rare that I'd use these all at once, but I put them all in the truck so I'll have what I need when I need it.

Speaking of Signage, as much as I like Batman, Wonder Woman or Coke-Cola, I'm not out to sell those products at a show, so I wear t-shirts that promote MY products or Company, not someone elses. You should do the same.

6. TIMING :

I personal show up at shows, at least 40 minutes to an hour before people are supposed to come.

This gives me time to coordinate with location staff and cover any issues if any, setup my table and products, setup any hardware and TEST EVERYTHING !!

Hardware is what will ALWAYS give you the most trouble. I can't tell you how many times I've had to fix a problem right before show time. So yes, I even test my drawing pens and drawing position before the show starts.

If this is all timed right you even have a moment or two to take a breath before you have to start greeting people

6. How Did We Look :

As a independent artist selling comics I don't think anyone expects or even would want some super slick extravaganza like HP or APPLE might put on, but a little gloss does go a long way.   A table presentation that looks good and runs smoothly inspires confidence in the people and products, thus making sales easier.

A little "Gloss" is simply good presentation and being in control of problems and fixing them before anyone knows there was a problem.

My Motto for this has always been : "If you look like you know what you're doing even when you don't, people will believe in you".

So that's about it for now, good luck and see you at the next show !

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"Monster"

Fund Raiser for Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

A fund raiser for CBLDF with a "Monsters" theme!?!

 Come on now, you just know I had to get in on that, right?  I mean, with the CBLDF calling "Any Artist" for a "Open Monster Theme" Donation, I figured here was my shot to put most everything I like in one sketch card ... Humor, Monsters, Hot Rods and Babes, Oh My !

Besides with the crap I draw there could come a day I'll have need the CBLDF to bail me out so some 4th dimensional neither-verse prison or another.   Hey, it never hurts to have a lawyer or two in you corner, right?

Anyway, as I understand it the donationed artworks will be available for purchase or auction at the 2010 APE (Alternative Press Expo) Oct 16 - 17 in San Francisco and at several other shows including New York ComicCon.

I'll be at APE too at table # 737 so look me up !

For more details on the CBLDF Fund Raiser go to > Comics Alliance

> To view all of the Monster Art donated.

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March of Dimes - 5Finity

"Female Persuasion" Sketch Cards

So this year I got to be part of 5Finity's sketch card set "The Female Persuasion", which is part of 5Finity's fund raiser for The March of Dimes.

As a long time Pin-up artist the "Female Persuasion" card set gave me a lot of opportunity to go fairly wild and draw an assortment of characters and styles.  I even went so far as to include a few real life models that I have ongoing relationships with.

One good example of this was the sketch card that I did portraying the lovely Natasha Yi (see first sample image) in a sexy cute "situation".

Both Natasha and I were excited to learn later that her card sold for $100 !

As near as I could tell my cards alone seemed to raise about $ 1000 dollars or so and word is the event was quite successful, raising over $ 33,000 dollars for March of Dimes.

I only have time to do a few charity events a year so it's nice to see those efforts rewarded, it makes me pretty happy to be involved in such a successful fundraiser.

I'd like to say thanks to everyone that was involved and to everyone that bought cards to support the March of Dimes!

The artist lineup for Female Persuasion (subject to change):

Al Milgrom - Amanda Conner - Amber Stone - Amy Clark - Ana Sanchez - Andrew Pepoy - Anthony Hochrein - Arie Monroe - Arley Tucker -Axebone - Ben Glendenning - Bill Galvan - Charles Holbert - Dan Schoening - Daniel Campos - Danny Kuang - David Namisato - Dean Yeagle - EJ Su - Fernando Ruiz - Frankie B Washington - Gary Barker - Gary Carbon - George Webber - Glen Fenandez - Guy Davis - Hanie Mohd - Howard Bender - Irma Ahmed - James Lyle - Jason Worthington - Jay Fosgitt - Jeff Shultz - Jeremy Treece - Jessica Hickman - Jim Kyle - Joe Pekar - Jose Jaro - Josh Howard - Justin Chung - Justin Ridge - Justin Wayne - Katie Cook - Kristin Allen - Lynne Anderson - Luke Smarto - Mark Bloodworth - Mark McHaley - Michael Dooney - Michael Duron - Mick Collins - Nicole Goff - Norm Breyfogle - Patrick Finch - Paul Ballard - Remy Mokhtar - Rhi Owens - Rich Koslowski - Ryan Kincaid - Scott Christian Sava - Scott Rorie - Sean Pence - Thomas Tuomey - Tim Seeley - Todd Nauck - Tom Fleming

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Zine Fest 2010 

Zine Fest isn't a huge show, but it's been around a fairly long time and it seems to be growing and it's always a kinda fun show to do too.

Being that it's in Golden Gate Park and it's free for people to get in unlike most shows, this makes for a pretty diverse crowd coming in to see what's going on.  During the course of the weekend we had punks, hippies, bums, little old ladies, artist, hipsters, tourist and pretty much everyone else you can think of too.

Saturday at Zine Fest started out pretty quite as you can see by the photo, lots of artist but not too many people. 

But it wasn't long before Saturday was crazy busy and it almost seemed like  a Friday at SuperCon or WonderCon for a moment or two.

I (and many others I'm sure) however wished that translated to big sales, but that never happened.  Is it the economy?, is it just an off year?, Did I not brinf the right stuff? it just wasn't like last year ... at least not for me.

I mean it's not like I have huge sales at Zine Fest to start with, but it seemed very off to me.

I did sell quite a few buttons from my new line of buttons (which I'll be posting on the site later), so that was a positive note for the day.

And maybe it's very telling of the way people are feeling around the city that the most popular button was my "Fuck It" button.

Overall I think my table looked pretty good and wasn't overly crowded.

I had my usual group of books, prints, postcard sets and buttons along with a few sample of my Sketch Cards.

This year I opted to not use my big standup banners and go with a leaner look, which I think works pretty well for smaller shows.

I also had some pretty friendly people on either side of me, which is always nice (Bit by Zeus & Crud Dude Comix) and chatting with other artist is always a great way to pass the time when it's slow.

When I met this couple and just HAD to make them into characters, I mean really, these guys where really nice and are just perfect for a grind house style horror / slasher comic.

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IT'S OFFICIAL !

I'll have my latest book TIKI TALES! at ZineFest (for sale here in NCC book store).

I'll also have a table at ZineFest San Francisco - September 4th & 5th

for more info about ZineFest go here!

Also, I was recently interviewed by Marc at Non Sport Trading. He's a nice fellow that enjoys following and writing about Non-Sports related collector, trading and Sketch cards. He also does news and video reviews on cards and ofther related stuff, so check him out. Till then click to read the interview here!

Marc de Groot

NonSportTrading.com

Facebook/NonSportTrading

Twitter.com/nonSportTrading

And last but not least, for a little sexy something...
Here's a couple of pinup girl cards I did for 5finity featuring my lovely friend Natasha Yi
-- Click to View ! you know you want to! (no nudity)

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Post Show Words for WonderCon 2010

I just finished up WonderCon 2010 and I'm both jazzed up from all the cool stuff and beat down tired from hauling my boxes of stuff home.

Mean while ... I'm thinking Miss Pirate Bootie over here may have to be the Star of my next drawing for the Pirate Girls Series ... anyone care to vote on that?

What a good time I had, Saturday was SOLD OUT! so tons of people, lots of great costumes (see more photos in my Photo Gallery) and I had great table neighbors like Scott Aleric from HellHasFoundMe.com and Alicia "Kat" Dillerman from KatGirl.net

Many of my fans came by to say high and get prints or the new books and loads of people expressed interest in seeing the second issue of Toxic Funnies with Baby Jane get finished. So I guess I need to really get crackin' on that book and get it finished.

Did plenty sketch book drawings for people and a Con Sketch or two as well as a commissioned Sketchcard of a sexy Bride of Frankenstein, now that was fun! Sadly i don't have a photo of it, so if I'm lucky maybe the girl will see this and send me a photo of it.

Met several friends, artist and industry people athough quite briefly as everyone was busy.  My freind Jason of Super Real Graphics had a big batch of new books that he and other artist had just finshed up, so I picked up Toxic Candies Zombie Tramp 1 & 2 (good stuff).  The guys from 5Finity Productions drove fifteen hours to meet and greet with a bunch of us that have been doing sketch cards with them and then drove another fifteen hours to get home...crazy, but very cool.

Chatted a bit with Nei Ruffino the fantasic colorist for such comics as "Escape From Wonderland", "First Wave", "Hack Slash", "Blackest Night" and many many more fantastic comics.

I also got to trade books with the fantastic Dean Yeagle (Mandy) and chat with him and his wife just a bit . They a re a great couple and really enjoy the fans of Mandy.

Saturday night I went out to dinner with my good freind Brian Kolm (Atomic Bear Press), Lex Fajardo (Kid Beowulf) , his publisher and a host of other fun folks. We had a huge feast Buca di Beppo and stuffed our selves to the gills.

Buca di Beppo also gives you a giant cupcake within 7 days of your birthday and a bunch of us are all April Babies so we had five of these HUGE cupcakes.

So for me, WonderCon was better than EVER! thanks to my fans and friends new an old.

Next Years WonderCon can't come soon enough, hope to see you all again!

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CAM-JAM # 1 for 2010

 Ok, CAM-JAM # 1 for those who don't know, was a meeting of a group of San Francisco based cartoonist many of whom are loosely members of The Cartoonist Conspiracy group in SF who got together at the Cartoon Art Museum (CAM) to get crazy and JAM on some art. 

Brian Kolm who's a sort of the unofficially elected by everyone else’s lack of desire to lead; leader of the group gave us a basic theme of Samurai Superheroes and using computer generated Haiku poems as a base for the story lines. Personally I like these a lot as they where very open to interpretation and pretty darn funny/odd as well.

We had fourteen or more artist on hand so we all broke down into smaller groups of three or so and started working out the rough details of our short stories.

Ok, maybe not so short, as some of us hit ten or more pages for our stories and we ended up with FOURTY pages of art at the end of the day.

In fact we did so many pages that we didn't manage to get the book printed in the same day as Brian had planned as it took so long to mock up all the pages into book form.

But that was Ok, Brian just mailed them out to everyone a few days later and the finished product came out better due to nice clean scanning instead of so-so photocopies.

We also had a Guest Speaker, I think that's a first as well. Kristin Barrett of General Pencil Co (a local company) was with us and gave us a little demo and handed out samples of many of their art based products, Water Color Pencils, Layout Pencils, Erasers and more.  They have really nice products and it was great to have her with us for the day, I hope we can have her again sometime.

All in all for a rainy day I had a great time and feel like I did something productive and fun.

So big time thanks to :

Heather Plunkett and the staff of the Cartoon Art Museum and Bookstore for their support, space and help.

To Kirstin Barrett for sharing her products and the wonderful art supply samples.

To Brian Kolm who leads us even though he doesn't always want to (I can't blame him for that).

And of course a big thank you to all the artist who participated…

Cameron Forsley, Maggie Tran, Lindsey Stapleton, Eric Haddad, Aurora Sofia Alcantar, Jeff Nevins, Rick Lucey, George Webber, Pat Tong, Mike Scagliotti, Audry Soffa, Jeff Plotkin, David Mann, Rena Simon-Igra, Alan Groening, and Cathy Notter.

If you want to see our strange little book,

you can see it here for free (Flash Player is required)

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WooHoo WONDERCON 2010 ! ....

Oh Crap WONDERCON 2010 !

Can he get TOXIC FUNNIES ISSUE 2 and ALICE'S WONDERLAND done in time !?!

Will he be able affored to get it printed if he does ?!?

Can he earn some money and keep working on these books at the same time !?!

Will VISA finally close his account for being a screw up !?!

Will his Wife kill him in his sleep for the insurance ?!?

It's a race to the finish, join the adventure !!

Artist Alley Table # 42 WONDERCON 2010 ! APRIL 2nd thru 4th,

come see if he get's the Glory or Crash and Burns.

Death or Glory

- gWebber

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