Hello! I am back, having survived an expedition into London to attend the UK Web & Minicomix Thing 2010 as an exhibitor. This was my first ever convention/expo/show thing, and it was pretty exciting.

Under the Flag of Convenience I was sharing a couple of tables with the charming and debonair Pete Vine of Hard Graft, who was as fine a comrade as I could have hoped for.

On my table I had print copies of The Well of Stars, Hearts of Dragons, and The Kobold and the Dragon minicomic, as well as some shiny 1-inch buttons – all of these will be available in the Dark Places store, incidentally. I’ll let you know when they go up.

The morning was very quiet, but things picked up over the course of the day. Lots of people were doing a scouting lap of the hall to see what was there, then a purchase lap in which they’d actually stop and buy the stuff that stood out to them. Quite a few people took a look, then said they’d come back once they’d checked everything else out. Those who actually did come back to buy stuff, you rock.

Sales were pretty good over all, and I got to practice and refine my comic pitch over and over and over. If you were there and stood still long enough to hear it, thank you. If you then bought some of my stuff, THANK YOU. Hope you enjoy it.

By the end of the day I’d juuust about broken even, which for a first-time exhibitor is pretty freakin’ great, I feel. Huge thanks to everyone who contributed to that. I love you guys, and it was great to meet you all.

I’d also like to say a big thank you to Lizz and Timothy who organised the DINO-SAW-US convention passport sticker-collecting game thing. Outstanding idea, and it really encouraged people to stop by the table and get their passport stamped. Bravo!

I didn’t get a chance to take too many photos as I was behind my table for most of the day, so if anyone spots any more on Flickr or Facebook then do let me know. Meanwhile, here’s the view from the Flag of Convenience outpost in the early afternoon:

Just a quick note to say that I’ll be taking part in the DINO-SAW-US sticker-collecting game at the UK Webcomix Thing – I’ve ordered a Dark Places rubber stamp, so bring your passport along to table 63 and I’ll stamp it for you.

On Saturday March 27, Dark Places will be going to the UK Web & Mini Comix Thing in London – its very first convention! I went as a volunteer helper last year and was blown away by the atmosphere, and am looking forward to attending this year as a vendor. I’m pretty excited, it must be said, and getting more excited as the date approaches.

I’m sharing a couple of tables with Pete Vine of Hard Graft and Rose Loughran of Red Moon Rising [EDIT: Rose can't make it, alas, due to the prohibitive cost of travelling from Scotland. Boo to you, geography! ] as part of the ad hoc Flag of Convenience collective. Our spot is straight ahead of you down the aisle as you come in through the front doors, like so:

Click for larger image.

I’ll be getting stuff ready over the course of the next couple of weeks, and in addition to print copies of The Well of Stars the Thing will see the long-awaited print debut of Hearts of Dragons. It’s going to be awesome. There’ll also be a few extra bits and bobs that I’ll announce closer to the day.