rAge2012!

Hello all!

Wow,  I just can’t believe that it’s been a whole week since rAge started. This time last week we were grinning hopefully at customers from behind our table at the #LegionInk Artist Alley.
I think it’s about time I wrote my little report on the event as just about everyone else has beaten me to it. Hah!

Okay, first off… =Ben-G-Geldenhuys and I were lucky enough to undertake this awesome journey with the likes of #Hello-SouthAfrica admin Clarence Musson and the very awesome Sir Kevin Gibson. For good measure, the lovely, multi-talented Dorianne also joined us on the flight up, providing infinite coolness points to our posse.

In JHB itself, we had the privilege to stay with #Hello-SouthAfrica admin Ky Goulden and his amazing partner Damien, who is an extremely talented moulding specialist.
Can you tell we really enjoyed this trip?? We were surrounded by creative, fun people from start to finish.

On to the actual event:
Day 1 saw us selling a comic in the morning to our very first customer. As I take out my super special EF Golden marker to sign it… the pen promptly explodes golden ink everywhere. We’d forgotten about that thing that happens when you take containers of any kind from CT to JHB on a plane… the pressure inside is higher, and things tend to, well, explode when you open them. SO, here we are with our first customer, and the pen won’t stop gushing (expensive) golden paint everywhere. It made a HUGE LAKE OF GOLD on this guy’s comic, and on our sales book, and all over my hand, and just… everywhere. Luckily not on the other stock or on the table cloth (phew). I keep trying to equalise the pressure in the pen but just as soon as I think it’s over, it starts again. Kind of like a stomach virus really. Except in gold.
Anyway, all the while I apologise profusely to the customer, who seemed to be super chuffed with the fact that his comic is now utterly steeped in gold. He refused the offer of another comic to replace the messy one, saying that this one is probably the most unique comic out there. Which is true. So, if you are that guy and  are reading this… thanks for being cool about it! 

Day 2 got off to a bit of a crappy start because some LegionInkers had noticed that some of their stock had grown legs in the night… Personally we also had a few things go missing as well and that was really not cool.  There was a suspicion that it was other expo participants, as the LANers are stuck in their LAN cage and the public had no access to our goods at the time when things had gone missing. Security was alerted and they’d promised to do what they can to prevent this from happening again. The problem is that there are only so many guards for the massive expo floor, and they can’t be everywhere 24/7. We’ve all taken a lesson from this. So next year, we’re locking our stock into their carry cases and taking home whatever can’t be locked away.

Day 2 was also the longest day, with by far the most foot traffic. We’re talking THOUSANDS of people. Lizelle‘s MLP chubbies pretty much sold out that day, and we moved a whole load of stickers as well. There were some unpleasant customers too, but luckily those were in the minority.

I really wanted to go around to the other tables and chat with the other LegionInkers, but somehow I just didn’t get the time, there was always something happening that got in the way. I did manage to chat to my friends Taran and Ronald though, even if it was only briefly. So thanks to all the other stallholders who popped by for a chat, we really appreciate it!

The cosplay contest was also on the Saturday, but sadly we were too busy being glued to our table to serve customers (I held in my pee like nobody’s business that day) that we couldn’t even break away to go and watch. There were also some issues with the speaker system, so sadly we didn’t even know that the contest was on until it was half over! The outfits were AMAZING though, and you can go read more about the cosplay event here: [link] and here: [link] and NAG’s official article: [link]

Here’s a pic of Saturday’s throng, taken from our table, across the rest of the CT contingency (somehow all the Capetonians all chose tables on this specific stretch!) – including the boys from #VelocityAnthology and ~TheyDidThis– both of whom were launching new comics publications at rAge 2012.

And for more photos of the expo, you can have a look at the LegionInk facebook group album: [link]

Clarence also did a lot of interviews on this day, to include in his documentary of rAge2012 for . He’s posted a short compilation of bloopers/antics so far, and it has us in stitches! Can’t wait to see the rest, it’s going to be awesome. We spent so much time just laughing and having fun on this trip.

Day 3 saw rAge winding down. Oddly enough our prints sales picked up. People were coming back for things that they’d spotted earlier on in the weekend and had waited to see if they had any money left after buying things elsewhere. There was one girl who’d been at our table multiple times studying a canvas print I’d made of  – and who’d come back and bought it, having made absolutely 100% sure that it was what she wanted. I was really happy because it meant that she’d compared my canvas to everything else on the expo of the same value, and decided that she’d rather buy that than anything else. What a great feeling! 
After the expo had closed and we were packing up, we’d managed to secure a few helium balloons, and were doing the hamster-voice thing… and yes, Clarence had filmed a lot of it, so keep your eyes peeled for videographic evidence! It was hilarious.

Ky also took a pretty photo of the #Hello-SouthAfrica admins: 

back left to right:  *ZeroExile =Kyrelimit *Kitty-Cat-Angel *CaptainUnobservant
front left to right: =dwuff =Ben-G-Geldenhuys

And now, for some more pictures:
 (photo by Chanel Rossouw.)

And last but not least, the wonderful (and tuckered-out!) people that made it happen:

Thank you to every single one who was involved in making rAge 2012 AWESOME. You know who you are! 

Danelle

CO/MIX AND RAGE!

Hey guys!

As you may know by now, Ben and I took our nautical nonsense to the Co/Mix event on the 22nd of September.

The event itself was a success. The talks were great, there were some huge names like Jaques de Loustal, Shapiro, Anton Kannemeyer,Andy Mason, Moray Rhoda, Su Opperman, Pete and Elaine Woo, Daniël Hugo (who is also the artist behind the gorgeous image used for the Co/Mix event poster) and many more. Brett Murray also made a turn, and had a few words to share about The Spear.

The turnout was pretty cool too, there was a really good mix of people – some had come because they loved comics, some had come to hear the speakers, and some had come because they know next to nothing about comics and wanted to learn more. There were a few people who told us that they had gained a new insight into the comics industry,  which is an excellent achievement for the creative community in South Africa.

There was quite a bit of press coverage on the event, including this article by Sean Ritchie: [link]

Here are a few pics from the article:

The only drawback was that we only sold about 10 comics. I heard that a lot of the other stallholders struggled with sales, too. I blame several factors. 1 – it was faaar too close to payday for comfort. The 22nd isn’t exactly the time of the month where people have extra cash to throw around. 2 – it was networking- and information-orientated, instead of retail-orientated. People came to see and listen, not to spend a ton of cash on comics and prints. 3 – it’s the very first time Co/Mix was made a part of the Open Book Festival! It can hardly be expected that festival-goers would know what to expect (and how much money to bring!) if the event is unprecedented.

The good news is that at least we got all our comics done and printed in plenty of time for rAge, and it was a good warm-up session. Pity that I got rather sick the next day from all the people-germs! That is a little concerning for me as I really don’t want to get sick after the first day of rAge. So I’m drinking my vitamins and got something from the pharmacy called Airmune. Apparently it’s even better than Linctagon, which is what I was chowing through to get over that stupid old head cold. The pharmacist said that I could start drinking it today even, in preparation for the onslaught of over 20,000 germy people who will infuse the air around me with their organic by-products. (Noah is refusing to read this. He walked away in a huff as soon as I said the word “germs.”)

So yes. Stress list is shrinking, at least, and things are coming together for rAge. We still have some last-minute things to do, as always, but Ben and I are feeling a lot more in control of things than this time a week ago.

As you have also probably noticed, the comic is on hold until rAge is over. Sorry guys.  Ben had to work extra hard to be able to get the time off, and that meant overtime, and the little time that we HAVE had off was filled with rAge preparations and contract work. Eish!
If you are in JHB this weekend, you simply HAVE TO COME TO RAGE. The cosplay event is going to be huge! It’s got a foncy sponsor and everything! And the #LegionInk Artists’ Alley is going to be rocking some amazing work. Velocity 3 is launching there, there are at least two new other publications that I know of, there will be merchandise, figurines, paintings, prints, comics, graphic novels, clothing, stickers, you name it! And, of course, let’s not forget all the cool gaming and entertainment stuff that will be on show in the rest of the expo.  But the Artists’ Alley is really where all the cool people hang out. So make sure you’re one of them. 

Thank you as always for all your love and support. It means the world to us!

Ben & Danelle

Hey everyone!
With the rAge expo coming up, Ben and I are reprinting Chapter 1 of our watery webcomic.

This time we are doing a print run of 250.

So, to help cover costs, what we are selling is the following:

 The comic is in A5 format.
 Your ad will be on the inside of the back page.
 There are 2 x A7 blocks (the green and fuschia blocks on the photo) at R700 each, or 4 x horizontal strip banners of 2.5 cm (the dark/light strips across the page) at R300 each. 
 Your ad will feature in this run of 250 print editions.
 The target market/typical readership for our comic includes: those interested in art and comics, game developers, publishers, etc.
 Your ad will be in full colour (although if you want it black and white obviously you can do that, but it won’t make a price difference).
 At this point the adspace is only available to South African residents, sorry! We need the capital in ZAR to be able to make up costs.

Besides rAge, we will be selling these at the Open Book Fair in Cape Town on the 22nd of September, where top local writers and publishers will see your ad.

Please respond in this post if you are interested in buying adspace. The cutoff payment date for adspace is the 14th of September, as we plan on printing soon after.

Thank you!
Danelle

Hello there, salty dogs!

It’s been a while since we’ve updated the blog, eh.. >.> That’s mostly because there has been nothing really major to report until now…
We have booked and paid for our table at the rAge 2012 expo!! Much excite!

For those who don’t know, the rAge expo is held every year at the Coca Cola Dome in North Riding, Johannesburg, South Africa. The whole thing centres around a huge-ass LAN hosted by NAG magazine, where about 2500 gamers LAN for three days… nonstop. This means they don’t bathe and they subsist on junk food, but then, that is standard for some gamers anyway. ;D (no hate, we’re gamers too!) In any case, it is pretty epic. And this year rAge celebrates its tenth anniversary! All the more reason to go, there will most likely be celebratory specials and whatnot.

We’ll be a part of the LegionInk.com artists’ alley. LegionInk is a South African forum dedicated to local artists as a platform for networking and promoting their art, writing and other creative talents.

Another super awesome part of rAge is of course the cosplay! The crowd gets bigger every year and is one of the most popular parts of the expo. Come on over and enter the contest – there will be shiny prizes! 

We will be at stall number 12, with our awesome friends  and  next door to us at stall number 13. They will be representing ‘s Cape Town division. They’ll be doing loads of interviews with local artists, expo-goers and fellow stallholders, which will be loads of fun. Look awesome and be ready to smile for the camera. 

We are planning on selling more issues of Chapter 1 there, of course. We’ll be doing a whole new print run especially for rAge. We still have about 30 numbered editions of the first print run, though, which you can order as normal by sending us a note. Regular copies are R35/$5 and sketched copies are R60/$10. Mailing costs depend on where you live, and the shipping options you choose. PM =dwuff or email the admins to order!

We’ll post more info as we get it. There might be some other lovely goodies and surprises for rAge… so watch this space. 
~Dwuff

The Cottonstar crew at Free Comic Book Day 2012

This past week was a mad scramble to get our comics printed, sketched and to make sure everything else is ready for the Free Comic Book Day event which was held on Saturday (05/05/2012). Held annually on the first Saturday in May, FCBD has become rather a big deal to local comics- and illustrated arts fanatics. It was fantastic to see the crowd this one pulled! The Cape Town event (the one we attended) was hosted by the Reader’s Den comic shop (link in our “people we like” section) in Stadium-on-Main. We got there at 07:30 to set up, and the queues were already getting long. The event officially opens at 9, and by that time, the place was packed.

WHEW, what a day. There were several new comics being launched, at tables which Reader’s Den so generously offered to us FOR FREE, such as Parklife and Li’l Five by TheyDidThis:, Juvies by Jarred Kramer, Nagapie by Willem Samuel, The Passengers by Marc Day and Anthony Hodge, Apocalypse Chef by Chris Beukes and of course, the ever-increasingly awesome Velocity Graphic Anthology (winter 2012 issue) published by Neville Howard and Moray Rhoda, and all their contibuting artists, which include the talents of Pete Woo, Daniël Hugo, Lynton Levengood, Paul Loubser and many more.

There are plenty of photos available on our Facebook page!

We met so many cool new people and also spent some time with familiar faces. The energy among the artists and writers was great. But most of all, it was just so fantastic to see the amount of enthusiasm and excitement with which the local productions were greeted. This kind of enthusiasm is unprecedented in my experience and it can only bode well for local artists and writers! The quality of the publications was also very high, which is pretty awesome.

It was so much fun. Hard work, but fun! Watch this space, I think the South African comics scene is about to explode.

To everyone who came by to buy a comic, chat with us, exchange business cards, and/or pull generally encouraging faces, THANK YOU. You are helping us make our dreams a reality.

love
Ben & Danelle

Thanks to the awesomeness that is John Murray, we now have a swanky new WordPress site. Thank you, John!

Things will probably still move around a bit but the basics are there.

Thank you for reading!

Ben & Danelle