I recently learned I will be at another convention next month! (Early April) This one is smaller than Manga ichiba at Fanime. In my focus with getting The Harbinger’s Path ready for Manga Ichiba, I forgot that I applied to this second convention. Similar with Manga Ichiba, I applied to this one at the suggestion of my indie comics friend. It’s very likely I wouldn’t have applied to either if it wasn’t for her encouragement. Many thanks again to Theresa! :D (Who recently finished her successfully-funded Kickstarter for her comic memoir – which I think you can still support as a late backer!)
For this second convention, I was surprised last month when I learned I was accepted. I had a brief few days where I was scrambling to see if I could finish the print version for The Harbinger’s Path in time for this early-April convention. After looking into logistics, I decided I did not want to rush Harbinger. I planned Harbinger’s print schedule around Fanime’s timeline. That’s in late May, compared to the second convention in early April – nearly a two-month difference in time.
After mentioning my concerns to my friend, she mentioned Duskbirds might be a better fit for for this convention. This is specifically a small, indie comics con, compared to Fanime, which has a much stronger emphasis on fanworks. While learning this was a relief – in that I could continue with my original timeline for Harbinger – it created the new situation where I now had to format an entirely new comic I hadn’t been planning to. ‘
I started layouts last month, but finally had a chance to really dig into it today. I was surprised how many comics I had to sort through – I have 42 finished comics for Duskbirds. I culled most of the early ones – many were too messy for what i want to show – but even after doing this, a single document ran up to around 40-45 pages. About 5 of these were due to a “bonus illustration” section I was considering adding.
This was too unwieldy for what I essentially want to print as a small “zine.” Today, I decided to try splitting these comics into 2 volumes – one for the more “lighthearted” comics, and the other for the more “slightly more serious” comics. The latter which I’m currently referring to “introspective” comics. This is similar to how I categorize them – I have a notebook full of Duskbirds ideas which are separated into “fun ideas” and “serious ideas.”
It gives me a good excuse to use this artwork of Elsium as the cover for the second volume, as I’ve always been bemused by how distressed he looks in this image, haha. I’m also amused by how retro this font looks with this cover. It’s the same font I use for The Harbinger’s Path cover, which doesn’t give me this feeling at all. I’m guessing it’s the combination of the dark background and larger font size.
So, which convention is this second con?
It’s the Peninsula Libraries Comic Arts Fest (PLCAF) this April 4th! If you’re in the area, please feel free to stop by and say hello.
Okay, now back to book layouting for me!