So! Wow! SF ZineFest! Lets TALK!
I've never been to one of these before, and the reason for that is usually because they're happening at the exact same time as Sac-Anime Summer. I don't mean to sound bias, but usually when presented with the choice of entering SF and NOT entering SF, I choose to not enter. I would literally rather drive two hours before setting foot in that demon city.
This year, however, as you'll recall from my last entry, Sac-Anime had it's summer con a lot earlier than usual, because they wanted to have it before construction on the convention center officially began, which left me wide open for Zinefest. I guess I was feeling courageous, and decided maybe, jsut maybe , I'd give SF another serious go, and I gotta tell ya, I almost backed out of this con like three times before I finally GOT here.
I really wanted Sac-Anime to be my last con of the year because I've been SO busy this year and felt like I desperately needed a break. BUT I had already put in my applications for Crunchyroll Con, South City Comic Con and this one, and was just kind of hoping that they'd be rejected. I got my wish with Crunchyroll, I guess they filled up too early, but both South city and Zinefest both said yes. i was heavily considering dropping out of both cuz I wanted to not go, but I sucked it up, knowing that they'd be good for me.
Now, something weird must have happened between being told I was accepted into Zinefest and the couple days before it. Either I didn't fill in an application correctly, or I closed a window too early or what, but in either case, I was PRETTY SURE that when I got the acceptance email, I paid for my table right then and there. I had it in my head that it was paid for and I was ready to go. I put it out of my mind, trying my best to focus on getting actual THINGS ready for the con instead. BUT! To my surprise, i got an email just a few days before the day of saying "sorry! you didn't pay so we gave your space to someone else!"
This seemed impossible at first. i emailed them to make sure a mistake wasn't made, cuz I was so sure I had paid already. but when they emailed me back and told me there was NO mistake, I went back through my bank activity and my Paypal receipts. Sure enough, the payment I thought I sent wasn't there.
I was frustrated and exasperated, but I was willing at that moment to say "oh well... guess I'll chill at home instead." I PMed a friend and let them know what happened and he said "well, you're welcome at MY table if you want, but you should email them and see is you can get in on a last minute wait list." It seemed improbable, but I went for it, thinking at the very least, I could hang out with my friend, take the con easy, and not stress too much about how much it cost to be there, and if I was making my money back. They sent me a message back, I think the very next day, saying that someone else ALSO dropped out and the table was available to me if I wanted it. I figured this was too good an opportunity to pass up, and crapping out now would be stupid, so I took it. I had done so much to prepare for it anyways.
So, here we are, the day of the con. They gave me some pretty simple instructions to follow, and i checked out everything on google maps ahead of time so i knew where to park and all that stuff, you never can be too careful about that in SF. Sadly, I apparently could have stood to be MORE careful about it. The address they gave me, 1199 9th street was actually just a wall. i parked where i could and got out my car to look around, seeing if I could find a driveway or a walkway, or ANYTHING that would lead to the actual building the con was supposed to be in. The GPS I was following kept on saying it was just beyond the wall I was parked next to, but for the life of me i could NOT find a way to GET there. I hopped back in my car and started driving around more in an attempt to investigate. i was thinking I must have just overshot it somehow and the parking lot I was looking for was somewhere off in some direction. After circling aimlessly around for about 20 more minutes, I discovered that the parking lot I THOUGHT I saw on google maps was in fact a loading zone, and the gate to it was closed, that's why I kept driving by it. The only other way I could get to the county fair building I was supposed to be in was by driving down this precarious winding road and jsut... pray for street parking. I drove for about 2 miles, getting farther and farther away form where I was supposed to be. By now i was already like half an hour late and this dreadful feeling came over me that if I was late enough, they might give my table away AGAIN! i started getting extremely stressed out and considered once again turning around and going home. I was blessed, however, to have found a space to park in, a space i had to block traffic for as I made a VERY illegal U-Turn in the middle of the street. Honestly, you do what you have to in this demon city.
I got outta my car, unpacked everything and started walking. my dumb ass didn't even bring my rolling cart because I was so sure I could park in this very close parking lot that didn't exist. so I hupped my big box of books on my shoulder, and with my backpack and art bag strapped on, I began the long two mile walk to the convention center.
Now, I consider myself a strong person, but that box of books is just too much. I can carry it short distances, like down to my car from my apartment, or to and from my table at cons, but two miles is TOO MUCH. I got about 1/16th of the way before I collapsed. I was considering calling a Lyft to take me the next mile or so, but I knew my friend Joen Jien, who had said they would meet me at the con might be in the area. I called them is a desperate plea to get to the con safely and more or less on time. We made it, after again, blocking some traffic for a short while, and creating a little bit of a scene in the middle of the road, BUT... I got a chance to rest, calm down and get to the building without having to carry that 100 pound box or whatever (I've never actually weighed it, I know know it's heavy as fuck).
Once I got inside and was able to set up, all the anxiety finally melted away. They knew who I was as soon as I came in, someone helped me right to my table, no further mess. It was a half table only, so I had to get kinda creative with my arranging choices. After all was said and done, I got everything important on the table.
Now, I don't usually have high expectations for one-day shows. In my experience, they're not usually that well attended, and my sales, as a result, are only kinda okay. I assumed this show would be similar, but boy oh boy how wrong was I? Joen Jien got a chance to talk with one of the floor organizers at the show, and she said that we had well over 2000 people come in today, and it REALLY reflected in my sales. To my delight, the one thing that people kept on reaching for was my graphic novel. People were really into it! More than one person exclaimed upon seeing it "oh wow, you don't see a lotta graphic novels at Zinefest!" They told amazingly well. They sold so well, in fact, that for a moment i was worried I might sell out, and not have any left over for South City in two weeks. No way in the world I'd get reprints done in time. Thankfully, sales kinda petered out in the last hour and I didn't actually sell out of anything. I should be just fine for South City. But still, sales were impressive for a one-day show. So much so that I'm worried now that all other one-day shows are going to pale in comparison. this is going to be a hard bar to clear, for sure.
On top of the impressive sales, I got a chance to see a lot of old cartoonin' friends. I kinda got a crew up in Sac and another crew down here, and since i find myself in Sac so often, I feel like I don't get as much time to see the Bay Area crew, but it's always nice when I can make it happen. Lotta friendly, familiar faces. I also reconnected with someone I knew from the System of a Down forums from like 20 years ago. THAT especially was a treat, I never imagined something like that would happen, at a con no less! I also met a lotta cool new strangers, whom I hope may become friends over time.
So the moral is, even after all the stress and disappointment and all the times I almost said fuck it and cancelled the show, it was ten thousand percent worth it to go. I've never had this much trouble getting into a con, and i was so worried there was no way it was gonna be worth it, but in the end, I was grateful for every step I took towards getting here.
I'll be back atchya in a couple weeks with my review of South City Comic Con!
in the mean time, check out the Patreon to see the new story that I'm uploading!
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