I have a month to prepare for the next Frankenstein's/Comix Thing fracas. Comic book related matter has been presenting itself in surprising ways.
Like this stuff - I totally forgot I had set this aside to sell. I had a lot of things in front of the bookcase so I wasn't paying attention to what was on the shelves. I have a feeling these will find someone to love them.
Only a couple of the titles available!!
I have a lot of original art too. I have no idea what it's worth at this point. But it doesn't belong stacked in a basement. Someone made this art for someone else to reproduce, distribute and enjoy.
I made good on my goal to clean up that corner of my living room and now you can see the fruit of my labors:
Stuff has been breaking, falling, getting lost this past week. The shower sprayed water all over the bathroom because the head was coming loose. My house key's loop broke so it won't stay on the ring anymore. I can't find my drawing materials so I can work on my next page for Vision Quest #5. I hope I didn't leave them at my parents' house in Olympia.
Oh yeah, and this happened three nights in a row:
One side of the bed kept falling off completely, one time with me in it. I thought I had given it a good temporary repair, but no dice. After getting rid of the carpet, I'd been scooting the bed around a bit more and it has a heavier mattress on it now. The futon is soooo heavy, it's much harder to move than the other mattress was. The books in the photo are there in my attempt to prop up the slats and rails so I could put the legs and side rail back on. I finally got some metal brackets and secured all four corners of the bed inside and out. It's been a few days and it seems to be ok for now.
Between stripping the bedroom carpet and being ill a few weeks ago, the rest of the house has become a bloody fright. My aim for today is to get some semblance of order back into the common area.
Yesterday was another full day at the East Portland Eagles Lodge with Frankenstein's Comic Book Swap from 11 to 6, and Comix Thing from 9 to midnight. The highlight of the daytime portion was when these two old guys, who have been my customers since the earliest Frankenstein's shows, bought all of my cutout color newspaper strips. I threw in the plastic containers for free. I gave them a great deal because I like them, and also I was hoping someone would want to take all the strips at once. Win-win!! The highlight of Comix Thing was getting to DJ again! One of my friends asked me to DJ an upcoming event for this year's Portland Zine Symposium last night, so it seems I have a future. The evening had an awkward moment when a man tabling next to me suddenly began critiquing my playlist and demanding to hear the Rolling Stones, in the midst of an anti-Republican rant. Also he did some air guitar stuff to Stereolab, which is never ok. But all in all it was super fun and I've been invited to DJ the next Comix Thing.
I guess that's all the news I have right now. I'm kind of tired of music for today, understandably, so I'm listening to this at the moment. Happy Easter!
I did the Twilight Rummage Sale last night at the Eagles Lodge. It happened a week earlier than usual for reasons yet unknown, and the Bite of Oregon festival probably stole a lot of our potential visitors. I did all right though.
The crowd there is totally right for the kind of stuff I keep bringing. A lot of fans of film noir, British spy films/TV, horror of all kinds, and sci-fi B-movies. Not doing so great: dramas about failing marriages in the 1970s, documentaries, or action films. Here's a tip for you shoppers: when you set something down, you better make sure you pick it up again when you're still standing there. I had a woman place a box set aside thinking I knew she wanted it, and another guy nearly nabbed it. A guy who I see everywhere, who I used to think was J Mascis, left his UFO or Die 7" on my table and went home without it. Don't worry dude, I'll hang onto it until I bump into you again.
I spoke to the guy who DJs the sale, who also happens to be one of my regular comics customers and a pretty nice person overall. He showed me the equipment I'll need for when I DJ at the next Comix Thing happening in November. I know it's super soon to be thinking about it but it turns out that I need a mixer, which I don't have. I have everything else I need. Another guy who works at the Lodge has offered to help me practice setting up and trying out everything. When I worked at the radio stations they had everything there you needed, plugged in and ready to go, so this is the first time I have had to set up almost from scratch. I have trouble figuring out how to set up my stereo at home so you can understand the head start I'm giving myself. I know a lot of DJs and they are all so friendly and helpful, there are no snobs among them.
Yesterday was a little victory in terms of clearing out the basement mess with Frankenstein's Comic Book Swap and Comix Thing. Andy, the owner at Cosmic Monkey, bought all my remaining boxes of comics-related magazines for his stock so I didn't have to put them back in storage. I had everything priced lower than ever so that really helped me. Now I have a couple empty shortboxes to use for my own collection. I was having trouble finding all the right sizes so now I'm all set.
This is what a shortbox is, in case you don't use comics-speak. I don't know the guy I just linked to. I'm just appalled that he got all this in one go. I agonize over getting a handful of half-sheet sized zines, even if they're made by friends.
Speaking of which, I did purchase a copy of I Never Promised You a Rose Garden: Part One: My Own Private Portland by my friend Annie Murphy. Instead of going to bed last night after getting home I read the whole thing from cover to cover. The best books are the ones that hurt you when you're reading them and long after you're done, that's what Annie's stuff is like.
I have a deadline of June 27th to get the flat file cleaned out and the contents ready for another edition of Frankenstein's Comic Book Swap that very day. So, I really need to be ready the night before, but if it's anything like last time, I'll be scooping things into boxes the morning of. Oh, and then that same evening is Comix Thing, just like last time. I'll update my links as we get closer to the actual day of the events.
Stuff I've found in the file drawers is blowing my mind. In addition to assloads of comic art miscellaneous:
A thick wad of ancient Zip-A-Tone sheets, multiple patterns
The Mummy figurine I'd been searching for, to go with a treasure chest of some kind I already had sitting around. I'm still missing the base but it's probably in a drawer I haven't looked in yet.
I have less stuff to prepare for next month's events but the boxes seem heavier. Everything that was piled on top of the file is going with me to Frankenstein's. And, not to disparage Dylan, but he sure jammed a lot of stuff into these drawers at crazy angles.
I spent the weekend away and now I'm tired and feeling behind on everything. My living room looks like a living nightmare and I have moths. At least the ants have abated.
I spent a whopping 14 hours in comics thralldom on Saturday, February 28th, at two different events. The first one, Frankenstein's Comic Book Swap was organized by my friends Tim and Andy of Cosmic Monkey Comics.
I was there with the bulk of Dylan's comic book collection, which I had rather painstakingly organized in my nonprofessional way. I borrowed a car and got everything there in two trips. The location was the Eagles Lodge at SE Hawthorne & 50th, so I didn't have far to go. I made it for the early bird hour and we were really off and running.
I did really well but was surprised that the overall volume of stuff I had to take back did not decrease by much. I took most of the boxes back with me at 6pm, but left some things for the next thing on the schedule: Comix Thing. That went from 9pm until midnight. I had my own stuff and I was also selling work published by Sparkplug Books.
Comix Thing
Here are some important things I learned about my years working at swap meets:
Use the space under the table(s) if you can. Don't limit yourself to the tabletop.
Get an extra table or set of shelves if you have the room and put more stuff on it.
Box lids are really great for holding things together. Use them like trays!
I try to bring a variety of things to swap meets. Even at comics swaps I have art and dvds. I don't just want to see a sea of comics.
Labels, even crappy ones, really help people find things and help you organize the table.
Be ready to negotiate, because it's better to get a little less than the marked price if you can shift the thing you're selling. You get paid and someone else gets something they like, and the comic (or whatever) isn't hiding in a box in your garage. Everyone's happy!
...But don't be afraid to stand your ground or ask for more if necessary. A guy offered me a price for a bulk deal and I told him I needed 2 1/2 times more, and I got it. The worst anyone can say is no.
Customers at these things can be messy. Let them drag things around but stay on top of the disorder.
Both shows were super fun and I got to see so many friends and make some new ones. Yay comics!
