There went Twist V!

Hey! Twist V happened! Last weekend! It was my and my table-mate Mark Velard's first show. It was a learning experience. We felt like we were starting out at Level 11- Twist is, from what I can tell, the biggest and hippest art/ craft show in the area and we did a lot of work making sure that we had a good number of substantial stuff to sell at our table so that we didn't look like we broke in a threw a bunch of crap on the table. I think we did a good job, but the show wasn't a great fit for us. I originally applied to it because the marketing material remind me of the Atomic Holiday Bazaar in Sarasota FL, which would fit us like a glove. But Twist was actually a bit more jewelry-oriented. And while I hate to generalize, suffice it to say that people out shopping for jewelry don't often decide to impulse buy a comic book. As I said all weekend "This is a classy, girly show and we're selling trashy, not-girly stuff." BUT, we got our books into a few hands that were really excited about them, and that felt great. There was a lovely woman who did her thesis on horror movies, an artist gentlemen who was looking for some "vague, dark shit" (thanks for coming up with Dead Man Holiday's new tagline!) and even a little kid who is really into monsters. Even better was the stoned gentlemen who threw down Mark's Future Space, casually decrying "I don't get it" and the overweight family trapped in front of our table looking at our wares as if they were slowly driving by a car accident. We didn't win financially, but we feel pretty equipped to take on any size or type of show, and we made some great connections and friends. In the end, it was totally worth it. I would like to thank the Twist staff for selecting us to be a part of the show- we were deeply honored, had a blast, and were happy to freak out so many passerby. On to pictures!

The Mysterious Transmissions table. Unfortunately, our mascot (the "Little Man") on the front of our banner (better view here) failed to hypnotize people into buying our books, but his unblinking gaze did manage to mildly entrance Rob Cartelli Ceramics across the aisle from us.

Closer view of our wares. From left to right: Dead Man Holiday collections, Mark's Refractor Industries poster, our collaborative A Dream of Sheep poster, Twist exclusive Dead Man Holiday poster, Mark's Future Space mini, Mark's Talk Show two pager, Mark Velard buttons and Dead Man Holiday single issues. This was before the shipment of Bosnian bootlegs of Mark's book Bang! Pong! Pow! (titled Rang! Pong! Pow!) arrived.

A closer view of the middle of the table.

Mark showcasing his winning smile and hobo beard that managed to sell so many books for the camera. Notice our port neighbors Rachel Pfeffer Designs, who did a great job not smacking me every time I complained that we were "selling comics at a jewelry show".

My sales pitch: "Uh, sir, look over here? Please?" The lovely and amazing ceramicist Karissa Chase visible in the background.

Hanging with our starboard neighbor, the great t-shirt artiste Miss Wit! I don't often wear T-Shirts, but come on. (Photo ruthlessly stolen from Deb Klein.)

And don't forget to top it all off with a trip to the best Italian restaurant in Mexican restaurant clothing, Joe's Cafe! (Photo mercilessly poached from Deb Klein.)

It's over! I have a life again!