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The other day we mentioned that the hugely popular team behind Harley Quinn of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti had imposed a sensible signing limit for shows, which makes sense because they are two of the busiest people we know. For instance, Palmiotti is currently running Kickstarter — his ninth—for a standalone graphic novel in […]

With so many shows to prep, art to make and projects to work on, it has been a challenge to keep up with blogging. But I wanted to jump back in here and post a recap of all the shenanigans that has been going on with our business and the many things to expect from us in the future. So here goes:

Following a prosperous if somewhat grueling marathon run of Knott’s Berry Farm Holiday Village that took up all of December, Shawn and I took a much needed hiatus from the business for a couple weeks. We took a road trip to Denver to visit Shawn’s family. After we returned, it was back to prepping for the first show of the year, Salt Lake Comic Expo. This was a much smaller event in relation to Salt Lake City Comic Con in September but our sales were only down by a little. Still, we had fun, ate great food and made some new friends.

Long Beach Comic Expo, I will have to admit, was a bit disappointing. I always try to be open and honest about my experiences at various cons. Many times I hesitate to publicly talk about the shortcomings of a given Con and will debate with myself as to the best way to describe an unsuccessful show without bashing it. But because I strive to be more transparent about my experiences running an art business, I will go ahead and share my experience. Long Beach has always been a tough area for me to cultivate a following. I am not sure why that is. My first Comic Convention was Long Beach Comic Con. That was 3 years ago. While in most shows my sales and fan base expends every year, in LB it seems to stay at the beginning level of that very first show. Last years LBCE was surprisingly good for us and that gave me a glimmer of hope it would improve for many years to come. However, I think that the show expended too quickly, adding significantly more vendors without bringing the attendance that would justify that expansion.  Again, I can only speak from my own experience. Although I spoke to many friends at the show who also saw a significant drop in sales.

Spookshow at the Halloween Club in La Mirada 

This was a fun, free one-day pop-up Halloween themed event that took place in the costume store parking lot. This has definitely become one of my favorites and I hope they continue to bring this show back every year. Despite the warm temperature that day, the turnout was pretty damn good and everyone was having a great time. Our sales were up from last year. It’s free for vendors with a $25 deposit that got returned to us a week later. The crowd was just really great and enthusiastic.

Emerald City Comic Con and Mosnterpalooza

Double show weekend for Shawn and I. I fly out to Seattle for ECCC, while Shawn tables at Monsterpalooza in Burbank. Like last year, this was one incredible weekend of sales for both of us. What can I say… Emerald City Comic Con is really great show for both vendors and attendees. The people Pacific Northwest seems to have a healthy appetite for unique and original art. Monsterpalooza is more of an industry show. It feels a lot more like a trade show that has evolved to include a healthy mixture of artists, writers and horror themed artisans.

Next Up: WonderCon in Anaheim. Dealers Table DSL- 10. Hope to See you there!

And now for more great news:

1. You might have already heard, Shawn and I are changing the business name to “Ghoulish Bunny Studios”. This new business will include my artwork, plus Shawn’s writing and videos.

2. We are working on a picture book. Me illustrating and Shawn writing. We will be setting up a kickstarter for it.

3. More new art. I am trying really hard to finish work that I have started a while back. And I try to produce at least one new piece for each show.

4. We are phasing out certain products to make room for more. Many of the mini prints we offer will be retired so that we can make room for…

5. Sketchbooks. I already put my first one out this year. my next one will have more pages, more drawings and a better quality print.

6. Spooky stores from Shawn. He as been working on his writing and coming up with some great little short horror stories. We are going to put together a book of his work that will also include illustrations from me.

7. New website and online store “Ghoulish Bunny Studios” where you can shop directly from us. More products will be added, more artwork available and Shawn’s stories and videos.

So far this is as much as I can share at this time. We are always expending, changing and evolving. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over the years. We strive to produce quality work and products for our fiendish friends.Thanks for reading!

The post Convention Recap and the Start of Ghoulish Bunny Studios appeared first on Diana Levin Art.

MAD Event Management, the company behind Long Beach Comic Con/Expo adds a third show to their series. New Jersey Comic Expo will take place November 21 & 22, 2015 at the New Jersey Convention & Exposition Center in Edison, NJ.

President of MAD, Martha Donato told convention scene:

“The success of films and television shows based on comic book characters originates with the creators. The comic shows we produce are first and foremost produced for anyone who has an affinity for comics, animation, games – really any type of pop culture that values content and its creators. We strive to create an environment that brings together a group of people who want to celebrate a culture and a lifestyle. And most of our team who produces the shows are based in the NY/NJ area, so this is a great place for us to do a home show.”

Both of the company’s southern California shows are not only tailored celebrations of the arts, but they put an emphasis on the creators behind the stories. Their most recent show, Long Beach Comic Expo, was widely covered by independent and mainstream media for introducing the Dwayne McDuffie diversity award.

For more information, including upcoming guest announcements and ticket sales, visit www.newjerseycomicexpo.com.

The Long Beach Comic Expo February 28-March 1st and just announced a great line-up of guests, which you can see below. They also released the cover of the program guide by Travis Hanson, creator of the Eisner nominated story The Bean. It’s a nice mash-up of some creator owned icons.

“What makes Long Beach Comic Con so much fun is it’s dedication to Creator-owned properties as well as mainstream icons,” he told The Beat. “So when asked to create the cover for this years spring show, I felt that I needed to showcase a couple of creator-owned characters, demonstrating that comics cover not just superheroes but fascinating stories of Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Supernatural, Horror, and everyday life.  Showing that it is important, like these creators demonstrate that there are still many stories out there that need to be told. I am grateful for the shows out there, like LBCC, that are dedicated to both indy and mainstream storytelling.”

(Incidentally, Hanson’s kickstarter for volume 4 of The Bean was just funded in less than 24 hours.

Long Beach has announced its guest line-up including Guests of Honor Chris Claremont and Ethan van Sciver; Special guests Arthur Adams and Rachel and Terry Dodson, and some other guesty guests:

• Cecil Castellucci, the young adult novelist (TIN STAR) and writer of the influential YA graphic novel THE PLAIN JANES;
• Steve Ellis, the artist of the young adult webcomic THE ONLY LIVING BOY and MAGIC THE GATHERING cards;
• The Four Horsemen Studio, influential toy designers of Mattel’s Masters of the Universe, The Dark Knight, Harry Potter, DC Universe Classics and Man of Steel toy lines, among others.
• Stan Sakai, the writer/ artist of the award winning USAGI YOJIMBO graphic novels;
• Greg Weisman, acclaimed animation writer and producer (GARGOYLES; YOUNG JUSTICE) and author of the fan favorite RAIN OF GHOSTS YA novels;
• Brian Wood, writer of the influential graphic novels DEMO and THE NEW YORK FOUR.

And programming, which once again spotlights ALL levels of comics and entertainment, not just the obvious blockbusters.

* One-on-one creator spotlight panels with Chris Claremont, Sandy King Carpenter, Gerry Conway, Katie Cook, Terry & Rachel Dodson, Stan Sakai, Richard Starkings and Ethan Van Sciver hosted by EAT GEEK PLAY.
* Publisher panels hosted by Jesse Snider, including the 40th anniversary of X-men celebration, Lion Forge & IDW Publishing Presents Miami Vice: Remix, and much more.
* Panels for Buffy The Vampire Slayer Comics and Star Wars Rebels: Kanan the Last Padawan comics.
* The Dawn of the Rise of the Devastator: Funny Books for Humans panel, with writers from Cracked, CollegeHumor, Funny or Die, The Meltdown and The Onion.
* #MakeComics workshops where aspiring writers and artists and fans can learn the entire process of making comics from comic book greats all weekend long. Topics include How to Build a Portfolio, Breaking Into Comics, Writing and Marketing.
* The first ever Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity event with keynote speaker Reginald Hudlin.
* Amazing animation panels: DISNEY AFTERNOON, GARGOYLES, GI JOE, and YOUNG JUSTICE, featuring major voice actors.
* Major media panels including Rotten Tomatoes and Screen Junkie’s Honest Trailers & Movie Fights
* A special screening of the upcoming Magnet Releasing film THE DEAD LANDS.
* GeekFest Film Fest films at Long Beach Comic Expo, the only Los Angeles area venue to host the full slate of programming for the world’s 1st traveling film fest of “geek” films.
* The Dollar Baby Film Festival.
* The comic book convention premiere of the SHE MAKES COMICS documentary.
* Publishing panels devoted to YA & crime novelists.
* Kids programming including How To Draw My Little Pony.
* Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, will commence its celebration of 10 years of the groundbreaking Graphix imprint and participate in a panel with acclaimed cartoonists Jennifer L. Holm and James Burks and other creators.
* A Saturday night Cosplay Contest and Cosplay panels.

I’m especially psyched for the winner of the inaugural Dwayne McDuffie Award to be announced because—disclosure—I was on the judging panel.

Long Beach is one of the nicest settings for a friendly, intimate con on the West Coast, and this is shaping up to be a fun one.

IMAGE CREDITS:
Macgregor from HIGH MOON copyright 2007-2015 Bottled Lightning LLC.
Usagi Yojimbo copyright 2015 Stan Sakai.
Herobear copyright 2015 Mike Kunkel.
The Bean copyright 2015 Travis Hanson.
Midnight Tiger copyright 2015 Ray-Anthony Height.
Mary from The Massive copyright 2015 Brian Wood.