Free Shipping on New Titles!
I did some number crunching this morning. I’m trying to find out how I can make distribution affordable, which means knowing the true cost of production (down to each staple). To make any profit on Lovf via wholesale distribution, I’m going to have to raise the cover price by a dollar. There’s no way around it: the store takes a cut (usually 50%) the distributor takes a cut (in my case, 10%) and then I have to cover shipping!
This doesn’t really affect how I price things in my web shop. But I don’t like the idea of my books costing different prices in different places.
So here’s a solution I’ve decided on. I’ll raise the price of Lovf to $9. BUT, shipping is free when you order from my store. And I’m extending free shipping to all my new books (The Complete Deep Girl too!) Head over to the shop to enjoy the discount!
And, retailers, please contact Tony Shenton to order Lovf or Deep Girl.
New Comic on Narrative.ly!
I made a short comic about cat sitting, and it’s up on narrative.ly!
Did you know I’m a professional cat sitter? I started shortly after arriving in New York. Now I have about 20 semi-regular clients. I’m a cat person, and this help pas the rent. If you’re curious, you can check out my Cateye Kitty Care website.
Stumptown Weekend
I didn’t go to the Stumptown Comics Fest this weekend 
But Jesse did, and Lovf was for sale! Hazel took these pictures for me. Also pictured is Tom Kaczynski (top) and Stephen Betts (bottom). Handsome men, all!
But I didn’t waste the weekend! I’m working on a new comic. Here’s a picture of me walking in Williamsburg (note the hipster).
Unpronounceable on Narrative.ly
I did something recently that I do rarely: drew for fun and profit. Melissa Mendes is the comics editor at Narrative.ly, and that must be why the quality of their illustration is so high. Go take a look, you’ll see what I mean! Melissa helped me get a little gig illustrating an article by Alissa Fleck about unpronounceable names.
Right now I’m working on a comic for them. Whata a cool site!
Looking at this illustration, I think I may be at a turning point. I’m drawing button noses now, not the manga inspires Betty and Veronica type.
ChARTer Tech Workshop
I took a day trip to Atlantic City to offer a workshop at ChARTer Tech High School for the Performing Arts. What a great school! I was invited by their animation teacher, Kyle Warren, who is a regular CCS workshop attendee and fellow cartoonist. Check out his amazing animation classroom! These are some lucky students. And smart, funny, and talented.
Students work on a pacing exercise after learning about page composition and thumbnails.
This attentive student did a spot-on portrait of me.
The casinos were pretty sad on a weekday afternoon. But I liked bumming on the beach.
Just for kicks, I spent $25 on the slot machines (my bus ticket gave me a free voucher). I won about $1.50, and it was the most boring 15 minutes of my life. Was I doing something wrong? Because I don’t understand why people do this on purpose.
Comic Book Lovf-In, and an Update to the Shop
Lovf New York: Destination Crisis was profiled on the Vice website! Check out the write-up on Nick Gazin’s Comic Book Love-In #85.
Says Gazin: “If this comic looks like it was drawn by a crazy person that’s because it was. Jesse Reklaw had a crazy period and this full-color zine presents his sketchbook pages from that time.”
AND, you can now buy Lovf in the shop! It’s $8.00, plus $1.00 shipping.
MoCCA Recap
In 2013 MoCCA got classy! I like how the Society of Illustrators managed it. If they can get the table cost down I will be a loyal fan.
I had a good time with my table mates Jesse Reklaw, Ariel Bordeaux, Rick Altergott, and Ellen Lindner. I wouldn’t mind if the attendance had been higher–a lot of familiar face were absent. In general, the energy felt a little low. Still, a good time was had.
Of course, it was the LOVF debut. I was able to hand deliver copies to a few Kickstarter backers who were attending. It was also the debut of some new crafts! Those turned out to be the big sellers, especially the light switch covers.
Folks, if you’ve written off MoCCA, give it another chance in 2014! We missed you this year.
