Guest Post, Eric Lide: Small Press Expo 2012 Review

Eric Lide, the awesome artist behind comics such as Station Square and Monster Country, made the arduous journey to SPX (Small Press Expo, an indie comic convention) this year, to debut a perfect bound copy of his tremendous webcomic.  He was kind enough to write up a review for me to post here and share with you guys!

Hey all, this is Eric Lide, droppin' by to talk about my experience at SPX! This was my second time both attending and exhibiting the con, and I'd say that overall I had a much better experience than the first.

This year I exhibited with Jonathan Griffiths, Tim Sparveno and Jonathan Gray. We had a pretty diverse lineup of books which attracted all sorts of people to the table. It was interesting because in many cases you could tell who'd be into each of our stuff just by looking at them.

This was an important show for me because I was debuting my first actual book, Station Square Volume 1. Before this I had only been selling self-made minicomics at conventions. One thing I picked up on was that it was definitely easier to move books than minis. I can understand it, I tend to gravitate toward books myself over minis because they seem less disposable.

The actual con itself seemed to have a much better atmosphere than last year. This year it seemed like people were in a much better mood, more approachable and fun to talk to (although it could be that I've become more outgoing myself).

My favorite part of SPX is the fact that it is within a hotel, so after the show is over the cartoonists all congregate in the halls and hotel rooms. It can be kind of intimidating for me to try to talk to new people, so I found myself sticking within my own circle of friends. Quite honestly though, the hotel aspect of SPX is what makes it my new favorite con, and also makes me wish it was a little longer because it goes by so quick.

Overall SPX was definitely a step up from last year both in attendance and sales for me, and I look forward to next year's show!