Welcome Back
I’m usually worried when I send this newsletter out an hour or two late, but what about a full 24-hours?!
As we were heading out to the Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick, I knew there was no chance of me getting a newsletter together for my usual deadline. Instead, I opted for this note:
And yes, as
notes, the red backpack gentleman is indeed grabbing a handful. I didn’t notice this as I posted (and summarily got asked to moved along by someone trying to take photos as I crafted the post).It’s a cliché, especially from me, but we need a vacation from our vacation after this trip. We spent most of the time travelling between Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick with little time to sit back and relax. Right up until the end, we were in a hurry, making it just a few minutes before boarding our plane back to Toronto.
This wasn’t just a vacation though. This was a working trip as I visited the East Coast Comic Expo for the first time. Last week, I talked about how TCAF left me feeling a little bit empty. Though I got to reconnect with a lot of friends and meet a couple of new ones, the weekend weighed on me a bit.
This was an entirely different experience.
Before I tell you how, let’s talk some business…
Worklog Updates
With everything we had going on out East, I didn’t get much work done. I had high hopes, but here we are.
This week, I:
Spent the weekend at the East Coast Comic Expo
Signed on as the Indie Authors Canada - Community Engagement Coordinator
This is the plan for next week:
Finalize the KS page for From Parts Unknown #4
Setup store on pestocomics.com
Setup pulpwriterly.com
Get call for entries going on bigsmokepulp.com
Hit word count goals for Project Hollywood
Project Updates
Still just the two projects to watch, but now that I’m back and settled into things, this list will be growing rapidly.
From Parts Unknown #4 will now launch on July 2 to give it the biggest launch possible (and buys a little time for a couple key pieces of art to be finished!)
We’re two followers shy of 100 followers at the time of this writing.Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1 is available on KU from now through August.
40 incredible stories from 40 excellent authors - including yours truly.
Role Updates
As I mentioned in the Worklog, I’m the new Community Engagement Coordinator for Indie Authors Canada.
This role means that I’ll be arranging the writing meet-ups that are hosted year-round in Toronto as an extension of the Toronto Indie Author’s Conference. I’ll be working with the team to get our first meeting together soon.
In the meantime, if you’re an indie author and you’re interested in attending the Toronto Indie Author’s Conference or one of our meetups, you can join the Discord today!
With that, let’s talk about the weekend that was at the East Coast Comic Expo.
Main Story
Somewhere New
Last year, I went far and wide to push everything Pesto Comics. That send me as South as San Diego and on the other side of the world at Thought Bubble in Harrogate, England.
I didn’t want to stop that trend this year, but decided to keep it a little closer to home. I’ve been meaning to check out more of our beautiful country and tabling at a convention was as good an excuse as any to do so. Fortunately, Kevin and the team at the East Coast Comic Expo made it a very easy.
The Good
One of the first things I noticed about those positioned around me was that a lot were familiar faces from other conventions. There was, of course,
Strilchuk who I run into nearly everywhere. (She was actually upgraded to a guest level table, which led to some very exciting developments she’ll share in the future - I recommend checking out for more on that.)Emilia’s gain was ours too as former Torontonian, Brian Hoang, and I got to use her table space to expand our own. Brian has been doing this for a lot longer than I have and not only shared a few great tips, but also had a lot more to fill the table (along with an extra table cloth).
I also got to meet the wonderful Meg Leader and her dad, Derek. She brought so much life to the weekend. Pure extrovert energy and a very talented artist. I’m looking forward to hanging out with her again soon!
Stephanie Cooke is another Toronto local who found herself out East. I feel like we’ve been crossing each other’s paths for months and haven’t had the opportunity to officially say “hello” to each other until now.
Funnily enough, we even crossed paths at the airport and didn’t get to connect until we met at ECCE itself. I’m glad to have finally done so as she’s even more fun to talk to than people told me she would be. Stephanie is very easy to find as she’s regularly a guest on the con circuit, so I’m sure we’ll be crossing paths again soon.
Brian was on one side of me, to my other was the first-time tabler, Raymond Arifianto, with his book: First-Chance Exception.
He was kind enough to swap copies of Naked Kaiju Woman and Crazy Latte Thing Called Love in exchange for his book, which I can’t wait to dig into. In a former life, my dream was to become a game dev. (My math skills, or utter lack thereof, had me focusing on English instead. A story for a future post.)
All that said, this book is right up my alley. Raymond didn’t need to sell it to me beyond the cover, but the more we spoke about it, the more excited I got to read it. I’m really looking forward to it.
Unlike most cons I’ve attended over the past couple of years, this is one of the few that I can say I made table - and then some. A lot of this is thanks to the very reasonable table rates. I didn’t break the bank, nor did I cover the cost of the trip entirely, but knowing that I, at least, cover the cost of the event itself made it a lot easier to relax.
Not to mention, this was the best-hosted event I’ve been to as an attendee in Artist’s Alley. We were treated to meals, drinks and a mid-con party - something I haven’t seen replicated at conventions in Ontario. This is up there as one of the best shows I’ve been to so far.
The Not-So-Good
If I had one nitpick about the con, it was having a Friday/Saturday schedule versus the usual Saturday/Sunday. It led to a very quiet Friday, with only 3 hours of non-VIP time. From what I could see, it was mostly people who bought weekend passes that showed up on Friday.
I’m sure there are reasons for it, but if I could change anything, it would be that.
Otherwise, it was honestly a great show.
As far as the week itself goes, I have to warn against wasting your time at Magnetic Hill. I feel like such a tourist for having gone.
Pick a random parking lot, throw it in reverse and save yourself the $10 entry fee.
I didn’t opt for any lobster on this trip either as I found it all to be Disney priced. They saw us coming a mile away and, if dining in Italy has taught me anything, it’s more about the preparation than the location.
I could likely get a slightly-less-fresh lobster roll in Toronto for a fraction of the price. (I’ll be seeing you at Buster’s Sea Cove soon.)
Looking Forward
The buzz is back.
I’ll definitely come back to the East Coast Comic Expo. I had such a good time and the buzz I was missing from TCAF came back with this experience. Most of it was getting to connect with fellow creators, but the fans were also a lot more friendly and open than most recent shows I’ve been to.
It’s an open-question as to whether I extend it into a vacation again. We missed out on a dinner with new friends as we had to hit the next location, so I think next time we’ll take it a lot slower.
I also had the pleasure of having my wife as a table-mate. She didn’t stick around for long, instead taking in the city with the occasional stop in, but it was nice having her with me. She also has the gift of the gab when she cares to turn it on, so she was great at breaking the ice with a lot of folks. We’ll see if I can drag her out to future far-flung events.
All in all, we had a great weekend in the Maritimes. With this being the only full-fledged convention until the Fall (that’s confirmed, at least), it’s a great way to end the first phase of the convention season.
Here’s hoping the next round is just as fulfilling.
Until next time…
Have you been to Canada’s East coast?
Anything I missed?
Anything I should look out for next time?
Let me know in the comments.
Upcoming and More
Coming Up on the Substack
Saturday June 21
Pesto Comics (Paid)
The Truth Behind Tabling
Hello! Come Say Hi! Please?!
Wednesday June 25
Pesto Comics (Free)
Post-Mortem: From Parts Unknown 3
An in-depth look at the eighth Pesto Comics campaign.
Wednesday July 2
Pesto Comics (Free)
The End: From Parts Unknown #4
Wrapping Up From Parts Unknown with a double-sized conclusion!
Upcoming Appearances
Release Calendar
Instant Ink Comic Book Podcast
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