First Comicon since 2020

Rule no.1 in my mass email and blogs is this- make it worth opening. Entertaining, insightful, ugly...make it worth reading. More so than the others that just dryly plug new work or appearances.

So the short story here is that Arsenic Lullaby will not be at Comic-con International this year but will return next year to celebrate an important anniversary.

There are a host of reasons why this year is a no go for A.L. being at CCI. When is comes to comicons and and most everything else, I have a different game plan and different challenges than most comic books pros. I am a comedian first and an illustrator second, And yes, I am a master of the craft as far as illustration but that is by necessity. I learned the techniques and fundamentals of comic book storytelling because you can't tell a joke with a splash page. But I have different logistical issues and attendee scenarios that need to work out for me to be successful. Because I am focused on growing a brand, selling one 200.00 commission is less valuable than selling 10 single copies of my book.

And opportunities outside of the industry itself, that can help grow the brand more so than any single comicon must take president over any single comicon.

So understand that none of the reasons I will not be at CCI this particular year have anything to do with the show or it's management. It is a fantastic show, they do an amazing job, and everyone in the comic book industry should drop to their knees and thank them for figuring out how to survive even though they had no means of generating revenue for two years.

Make no mistake all of you...if CCI had fallen, the comic book industry would be done. The publishers, the pros, who use that show to bolster themselves would fall...the mainstream media would raise hell about how it is the death knell for the industry. Can you imagine the playing field if there was news story after news story about how the premiere comic-con has fallen? The paper tiger that is the comic book industry would have wilted. Comic books would be done for if CCI had not managed to stay alive. By staying alive they saved an entire industry.

You know by now how keenly aware I am of what bad optics can do, you see the lifeless bodies behind me of entities who would not listen to my warnings ...Mad Magazine, NEC (the Tick) American Publishing (Casper), and others. Listen to me, do nothing but raise hell and praise CCI.

And if you are going, spend your money at artist alley, the independent publishing section or the independent press pavilion. because that is the future. Those are the people with new ideas, and more pragmatically, those are the people with 4k of hard core followers as opposed to 100k follwers who clicked "follow" but don't actually gaf. This is not 2010 anymore, not all "clicks" are created equal. 100k boomers and gen X ers are a joke compared to 1k Gen z ers. Because 1k gen Z ers have more reach and momentum. and that is simply the way it is.

Having said that, and due to circumstances beyond my control, barring some unforeseen variables, my first Comicon since 2020 will be C2E2 in Chicago.

https://www.c2e2.com/en-us.html

C2E2 was that last show I did since...you know...

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It seems fitting to bookend the whole fiasco with that show. Everyone had a different series of mire to wade through these past years, so I won't bore you with mine. I'll just say here, for your ears, I had some very very very important things get kneecapped. It has been a heartbreaking ordeal. I won't lie to you...making a career by turning one problem after the next into a win, left me keenly able to get a few laps ahead of those who didn't live with their head on a swivel. Career wise, I'm in a far better position than I had been.

Everything outside the career bubble, well...I won't bore you with the details

a side note for a moment that may seem off the point. My car got stolen a little while ago. It was a 1996 Honda, with almost 400,000 miles on it ( that is not a typo, 400,000). It was the best car I ever owned. In days past I had a 77 Cutlass with custom racing stripes and an engine I rebuilt myself, that made you feel like you were strapped to a rocket when you mashed on the gas pedal. The Honda was better. It was completely inconspicuous and never stranded me, not once. It got stolen and I got, what any reasonable person would describe as, a far better car. It looks a-1, everything on it works, all the windows roll down, and you don't need to press the brakes in a specific rhythm to get the car to stop.
Everytime I start it...I notice that it doesn't sound like the Honda...because it's not the Honda. The Honda got smashed in a chase with a cop car, and then eventually pounded into a cube to be used to make toasters or whatever else they still make out of steel.

The point is, new and better is great if you were looking for new and better. If you weren't...it's tough to not dwell on it.

SO...aside from a list of practical reasons why doing CCI this year was not going to work for A.L. this particular year, there is the X factor of ME interacting with about a thousand people a day. That is not easy. It takes a certain attitude, charm, and patience. It's fun but it is not easy. It is surreal, actually. Average person...maybe talks to a dozen people a day. If they have a job dealing with the public maybe a hundred. A comedian, low to mid level, talks to an audience of a couple hundred on a good night. CCI has thousands coming past my booth every single day. Each of us (me and my team) has about ten an hour to come take a look...usually each one ends up talking to me because I write the book, four times ten times ten hours...400 people a day...for four days.

That's fucking weird.

When I was doing stand up comedy, the largest audience I ever performed in front of was maybe 400 people, and I didnt have to make them all laugh individually.

It never seemed that strange to me before, but you take a fews years off of doing that show and it starts to sink in. It's weird. It's like you're a comedian that has to go into the crowd and tell each individual audience member three or four jokes.

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I am not so filled with hubris that I think I can go from zero to 400 and not have it become a catastrophe, especially given that...I have some...residual anger over the knee capping of important things that...meant the world to me.

It will be years and years before we truly know if anything we did in 2020 -2021 even mattered. I hope it did, because we paid a huge price. You know what I would like...if each of us got merit badges for what we went through. Like...lost a business, lost a marriage, became an alcoholic, had to homeschool kids, had our schooling screwed up, lost a job, struggled with depression...a badge for whatever price you paid. Then I would have a better understanding of who I am talking to and what state they might me in. I could begin with "I am sorry that happened to you" or if maybe they only have a "6 hours of Netflix a day" badge...FUCK...YOU.

...you see how maybe me being thrust into the largest comic-con in the U.S. probably ain't a fantastic idea right now. I have a few things to work out yet.

But C2E2 should be good. It's big but not too big. It is not awfully far away from the club I performed stand up at when I lived there. Maybe I'll go back there and catch a show and think back to a time when telling jokes to strangers was terrifying. These days, a single issue of Arsenic Lullaby reaches more people than most comedians will in an entire year of touring...but currently...I do miss the spotlight in my face blocking me from being able to see who I am talking to.

That disposition may change...let's hope so.

Next time, some sneak previews of new work I'll have at C2E2

As always, homebase is here

https://www.arseniclullabies.com