Indie Comics will fill your heart

The convention seasons begins!

Apr 28, 2025

This weekend I attended my first convention of this year’s comic con season. Four State Comic Con in Hagerstown, Maryland. It was a pleasant, leisurely start to the front facing part of this job, which can be challenging for a introvert-leaning dude like me.

This show as unique for me though. This is the first time I attended a show with my new creator-owned comic on my table. Something I haven’t done in a very, very long time.

Normally folks come to me for signed Batman, Deadpool, etc. They kindly support my work, but the work I do for clients.

This time out, I had some Hysteria: One Man Gang comics with me (made possible thanks to the wonderful folks who backed the Kickstarter!) It made for a new feeling for me, a strange nervousness about “pitching” my book to folks when they’re expecting a new Batman comic from me.

Some times people would give me a funny look. I subtle disbelief that I’m doing this instead of, you know… more mainstream comics.

Then I let go and talk about the comic. I catch myself sounding… proud?…maybe?

Hysteria was how I started my career. It’s the comic I self published at the birth of this comics life, the book I wanted to draw my entire career. A plan that changed as I was fortunate enough to get dream gig after dream gig. But Hysteria never left my mind.

So, here we are with me making this Kung-fu-anti-colonialism love letter to my mother’s homeland, P fu%$ing R.

Look, I know this is a stretch. It may not work. I know that. But I need to try this. I got into comics to be a cartoonist, an artist that draws his own stories.

I’m purposely making this as indie as I can. I haven’t pitched, I haven’t tried to get a rep, I’m not even selling it online… yet*.

I want to hand sell these things, I want to look in people’s eyes as they react to seeing the comic. No one between me and them. I want to feel their excitement.

So, I hand-sold these things all weekend. Shyly at first. All the shit I’ve done in my career and all of a sudden I’m scared to share a comic again!

As the weekend went on, I got over my silly shit. People wanted to know more, so I told them. I handed out stickers, comics, posters, all with a heart full of love.

Thank you to everyone that came buy and bought a comic. We *just* about sold out of what I brought with me.

I want to hug you all :-)

* Oh, by the way I’m going to launch a site to sell the comic soon. So if you can’t make it to a show I’m at, hold out hope my friends! Thinktankcomics.com is coming soon!

Oh, and while at the show I also sold plenty of my mainstream comics, art, prints and more.

I didn’t get a pic of every sketch I did, but here are a few.