Olympia Comics Festival

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted anything, the main reason being that I’ve been preparing for the Olympia Comics Festival!  The exhibition is this Saturday from 1:30-6:30.  If you’re in the area, I would love to see you there!  Check out the other events, too!

Preparing for my very first festival has been a huge learning experience for me.  Trying to figure out which of my materials make for good “stand-alones,” how/where to print (my god who knew what a trick pagination was!), pricing (thank you M.K.!), etc. etc.  But I feel excited (though nervous) about the event now that it is here.  Getting my work out there is one thing—but I’m especially excited to meet other comics people in the area. The festival feels like a big step on this new path I’m on (though I am trying also not to get my expectations high—big steps, but slow steps; slow but determined steps).

One of the biggest issues that I’ve encountered over the last couple weeks has revolved around a small comic that I made specifically for the event.  The story went through a number of iterations (at one point, it was about a robot!).  What I realized was that I was making the comic to be sold rather than allowing it to come out of me because it was something that I needed to put on paper and needed to process.  I decided not to make it (to stick with the two I already had) and, as often is the case, once I turned my mind away from it, a new story appeared.  One that I believe in strongly.

I’m still not sure about how the story maps out.  I was convinced that I was going to sit on it, reconsider, and not bring it with me tomorrow.  But after talking it through yesterday evening with good friend Mandolin over chocolate-battered peanut butter cups, I’ve decided otherwise.  Yes, they were delicious!  Here it is:

More comics coming soon.  <3