I shared a table with Kyle Burles at the Annual Calgary Horror-Con this past weekend! Although it’s a niche convention, I found the attendance and traffic very pleasing as a vendor, despite competition with the Red Deer Expo on the same weekend. On Saturday, Kyle and I were doing sales– he, VERY much so– before we’d even finished fully setting up our table. It was amazing! The first two hours were like a buying frenzy. Sunday was a slog, being almost dead for the first three hours with sporadic, intermittent sales. Things didn’t really pick up for me until about three in the afternoon.
I like this con because the audience is so targeted, but even within that there is diversity and variations on theme that allow someone like me– whose inventory includes but is not geared towards horror– to enjoy sales as well as those more devoted to the genre. For example, one of my top sellers was a shirtless picture of my Mage character, Mr. Punch– beefcake sells anywhere, I guess! My next best product was the “Krampuspresso” stickers and mugs– People enjoy parody, and feeling subversive, I think.
While I wouldn’t get my own table at this con, sharing one with Kyle makes it fun, attracts “sideshow” sales from his more genre-specific stuff and allows me to defray costs enough to create a decent profit. It is a smaller con than anything with “expo” in its name, but the audience is loyal, and strong.
This weekend, a family bought Twilight Detective Agency to read. And their seven year old boy DEVOURED it. I was told he was entranced, that he and his Dad read the comic together (and he read some to his Dad, and vice-versa) and he took the comic and put it in his special spot for his treasures afterwards. Man, you cannot buy a feeling like that. A seven-year-old just gave me the highest praise you can pretty much get from a kid who reads. Many thanks to Deanna Chalack Jones for this amazing story.
Keep an eye out this week for a smashing reveal of new comics!
To say that Calgary Expo was a success would be an understatement. Two Gargoyles Comics broke its previous year’s sales record, and the comics and art were well-received.
In terms of merch, much was made of the 
“Twogargs” is an independent publisher of comic titles, including the genres of superheroes, comedy, horror, and urban fantasy… with more to come.
You can read all about each title and individual issue on this site using the main menu above. You can purchase digital copies of these comics right here on the site, and print copies at Indyplanet, or at DriveThruComics.
Two Gargoyles Comics is based in Alberta, Canada, and appears live at conventions in Western Canada and wherever else the winds take us!
