jasonfranks

 
I'm just about recovered from the Armageddon expo now, just in time for the book launch tomorrow night.

KAGEMONO: TOOTH AND CLAW arrived the day before the show, thanks entirely to the heroic efforts of Baden Kirgan of Jeffries Printing. 

I showed up on Friday to set up and then worked the whole con, 8 til 8 on Saturday and 8 til 6 on Sunday, on the verge of exhaustion and sporting the worst haircut I've had in about 10 years.

Traffic seemed light this year and volume-wise I sold less books than I have in a long time... but the new KAGEMONO sold as well as any new book I've brought to a show and I did manage to walk away with a profit (if you don't count the money I spent buying other comics).  I shared a table with Bobby N, a local creator who is developing a firm reputation as the secret weapon of the Melbourne indie scene. (Check out Bobby's con report, which is, as usual, much more detailed than my own and contains photos: http://bobbynsblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/normal.html). 

Caught up with a bunch of other locals at the show, including Trev Wood, Colin Wilson, Tom Taylor, John Retallick, Matt Emery, Brendan Halyday, Luke Pickett, Andrew Fulton, Avi Bernshaw, Paul Bedford, Henry Pop, James Andre, Chris Sequeira, Ben Stenbeck and Ben 'BMB' Byrne. I actually managed to speak to some of the guests: Nicola Scott and Greg Rucka, both of whom were charming and supportive despite me being a graceless noob trying to foist his work on his betters.  Lovely people; it was an absolute pleasure to speak to some pros whose work I've really enjoyed on my own home turf.

-- JF