Hello and welcome to Pesto Comics.
So I’m still in San Diego. I’m recording this before I leave, and if you listen closely, you can hear my voice is shot. Not from celebrating or screaming or anything -- it’s the con crud.
I got some cough syrup from CVS to try to fight it, but I could be doing better.
All said, though, I think it was worthwhile. I think this is a trip that I’m going to do every year.
Why San Diego Is Worth It?
I really enjoyed my time in San Diego as a professional for the first time, and being on a panel.
But more importantly, this time was a lot different than the first time I had come out. So I’m going to share a little bit about that, and I’m going to share one of the main things that has been going through my head all weekend.
It’s something that a lot of people have talked me off the ledge about. Because although it’s very invigorating and very inspiring to be here, I felt a little bit of the opposite as well.
So let’s get into it.
The Central Meeting Place
What’s great about San Diego? I did a couple of shorts, and I talked exactly about it. The big thing that I love about being here is it’s the place where you can find everyone.
I actually ran into a lot of people, even from Toronto, that were here -- people I wouldn’t have seen at home, but I managed to see them here.
There’s also a bunch of people that I know basically only online, or only that I’ve seen at other cons, and everyone ends up coming to San Diego at some point.
So I really do think that it is the central meeting place. It is the place that people who work in comics, people who love comics, people who want to be around comics people are.
I had a great time meeting everyone that I haven’t met before and getting to see all the people that I haven’t seen in a while, and I think this is just going to become a regular thing.
I’m going to try to come out here as often as possible. Hopefully I continue to qualify for a pro badge from now on, because that definitely opens some doors that I wasn’t able to get into before.
The first time I was out here, I only had limited badges. I was only able to get on the floor Thursday and Sunday. This time, I was here the whole week -- preview night through all four nights.
So I had a really great time. I think it is very worth it. If you’re into comics, definitely try to get out to San Diego at least once. It’s a must-do, absolutely.
But there was one thing I did find on the floor.
Feeling the Pressure on the Floor
The one thing that was stressing me out more than anything was seeing how far I have to go to consider myself a success.
Now, a lot of people will look at everything that Pesto Comics has become and how far we’ve come. It hasn’t been that long, realistically -- we’ve been doing this for just about three years now.
But I still feel like I have a lot more to go, and a lot further that I’d like to get to. And we just hit the direct market. We just got the third issue of From Parts Unknown in stores.
So my expectations might be higher than they deserve to be, but I was feeling a little bit down. Just feeling like, “My goodness, the competition is stiff.”
I don’t know if I am good enough to be around these folks. There’s so many amazing people, so many amazing works, and they were struggling for attention, trying to get everybody to walk by and actually buy some books.
And I’m saying, “If they’re having a hard time, what’s going to happen with me?”
Keeping Perspective
Fortunately, the comic community is amazing.
Everyone I told this story to -- everyone I said, “Hey, I’m feeling like, my God, what am I doing here?” -- everyone was saying, “You’re doing the right thing. Just be patient.”
And I think that’s one thing I forgot.
I’m looking at people who have been doing this for a decade. People who’ve been doing this for 15, 20 years. People who have made this their craft and something they’ve developed.
I’m still a newbie. This is my first time as a pro at San Diego. It’s my first time doing a panel at San Diego.
So to look at other people who had four panels scheduled through the weekend, or to look at people who had a table and were making thousands of dollars hand over fist, and to say, “Why am I not doing that?”
I know why. Because I’m just starting out.
We just got three books on the shelves. We’re doing well on Kickstarter. We have the 13th campaign with Naked Kaiju Woman out there, and that’s doing well.
That’s one thing that everybody reminded me about too. They’re like, “Dude, you are doing well. Don’t discount everything that’s happening with Pesto Comics and with the comics career that you’re trying to put forth here.”
So my point is, I’m trying not to be too negative. But there were certain points on the floor -- I think it was the fatigue, I think it was the sickness, I think it was a little bit of everything -- that had me really thinking, “Man, it’s tough out there.”
But the main point I have to say with this is: yeah, we have to really look at it in perspective.
I’ve come very far from where I was even just two years ago, even just a year ago. And hopefully, if I continue on this trajectory, I’ll be like these other guys on the floor eventually, and I’ll be doing just as well, if not better.
Keep Going
Who knows? But at least I’ll have the opportunity to see and to try if I keep going.
And that’s my message to you guys. Not only come out to San Diego and check it all out, but even if you can’t -- whatever you’re doing in your creative career, whatever you’re trying to make happen -- when you’re feeling down, when you’re comparing yourself to people who have been doing this forever, don’t.
Just keep doing what you’re doing. Keep pushing forward.
It’ll work out eventually. Sometimes the hill looks so much steeper and higher than it will at other times, but you can’t let that beat you down.
You just have to keep doing what you’re doing. And if what you’re doing isn’t working, adjust -- but keep going forward.
That’s something that I’ve really taken to heart, and that’s something that I’m going to keep doing.
What’s Coming from Pesto Comics
I’m very excited for all the books that we have coming out with Pesto Comics.
We’re going to have a huge catalog. We’re going to have a bunch of stuff in the direct market, and I’ll be able to announce so many more projects than we have.
I always talk about how I have four to five projects on the go at the same time, and that still remains true right now. Some of which I’ve shared with you, including Crimson Frontier -- which, by the way, we might change the name. I’ve been thinking about it. I might change the name of that.
But we have Crimson Frontier with Daniel Caval coming out. He’s been sending me pages. They look amazing.
And we have the rest of SNIP, which will be hitting the direct market. Then I have a couple other projects I haven’t announced yet that are going to be really cool. I’m very excited to share those with you.
So lots to come. Lots of cool things.
And yeah, it’s all part of it. It’s all part of getting to that next level and to that next stage, so that next time in San Diego, I have even more to talk about. And maybe I’m even more of a person that has something to say.
Right now, I’m here as someone who’s starting out and figuring it out, and that was my role on the panel -- talking about how do you get out there, how do you do social media.
That’s really what we talked about more than anything. But how do you put yourself out there as somebody who doesn’t have connections, who didn’t have a way in?
It was a lot about that. It was a lot about: I just put myself out there. I recorded socials. I do shorts daily. I do a lot of things that not everybody is doing, and it’s working to the benefit of Pesto Comics and to the great people that have worked with me in making sure the comics get out there.
So I’m going to keep doing that. And again, if you’re in a creative career, make sure you keep doing whatever you’re doing.
I had a great time. I’ll definitely be back. But my goodness, I need to take a break, because my voice is done.
I’ll talk to you back when I’m north of the border, and we’ll go back to our regularly scheduled programming. Hopefully I’ll sound a little less like a frog when we get there.
With that, I want to thank you for being here. Have a great one. We’ll talk very soon.
