DC Conspiracy[dots pattern]

7.21.2005

Here's the Thing... #5 - Image

Last time, on Here’s the Thing…

Wow – one weekend at Comic-Con and I have enough column ideas to fill a book. I think I’ll start with a little something called image (not the company). It’s been talked about a million times before but I think I want to go a little further with it.

Comic-con International, as it is now, is leaning more towards Hollywood and Video Games than comics. We didn’t get a lot of foot-traffic by our booth and we had a good location. Most of the people were sampling movie trailers and playing video games on the other end of the hall.

Due to the increased emphasis on Hollywood and Hollywood’s increasing interest in comic books, the people that came to our booth inquiring about Hoarse & Buggy as a company were a pretty even split between comic professionals and aspiring creators and various Hollywood types (agents, managers, producers, screenwriters, assistants, actors and assorted fakers). And, so you comic-guys know, a lot of the screenwriters are viewing comics as a back-door pitch. They want comic work; they are becoming your competition.

The screenwriters and other Hollywood types – they left an impression, I remember them. The comic guys, image-wise, just couldn’t cut it in this environment. They were mainly faceless entities, no difference from one to the next, lacking in confidence comparatively and even more lacking in proper networking and self-promotional skills.

They all had the t-shirts and the jeans and too many of them were wearing sun-glasses indoors, quite possibly my biggest peeve and I know I’m not alone in that regard. I like to look someone in the eyes to see if they’re lying; If you’re wearing sunglasses and don’t need to be, I assume you’re lying automatically. Aside from clothes there were the clumsy sample packs, the flimsy business cards and the bad hair. My lady’s exact comment was, “Comic guys are either overweight or have bad hair, huh?” And that’s not how you should be perceived even if it is true (and, as I’ll say later, I am a bit overweight and balding, myself).

Here are some of the comic guys I remember from the con:
1 – Slayer shirt – seriously, who the hell wears a slayer shirt?
2 – Pantene Boy – long hair is fine but don’t poof the bangs, dude.
3 – Mustard stain – if you’re wearing a white t-shirt, hold the hotdog away from your body, plate underneath it.
When you present yourself as a talent, you present a whole package. A marketable entity that our company can send out and have faith that you will not diminish our brand while making money for us. And you know what? If I know nothing about you, appearance is the first thing I’m going to notice. And I don’t put a lot of faith in Pantene boy in a Slayer shirt with a mustard stain representing my company without much else to go on.

Now, I’m somewhat over-weight and balding slightly, forcing me into the traditional comic-guy buzzcut. It’s functional and better than a comb-over. Not having much to work with here, I try to bring other elements into my style to make me look professional.

Button down shirts – nice ones (I actually buy a new shirt for every day of a con so I never get photographed at a con in the same shirt twice). Some really nice jeans. Clean sneakers or popping shoes. And then my defining article – my Mets’ hat and a snazzy belt buckle. Professional and at the same time, two articles that act as a hook for somebody that might not remember my name. “You mean the guy with the waffle buckle?”

Image isn’t just style, however. It’s how you present yourself. Shaking hands (nobody shakes hands, what’s up with that?), handing out business cards, smiling. Good god, SMILE, people. Show an interest in us, not just yourself.

That’s an important one. I can think of maybe two comic guys out of the fifty or so that talked to us that actually asked what we had lined up next. Everyone else:
a) Bought a book.
b) Asked if we were looking for talent.
c) Left an awkward sized sample packet.
d) Ran into a pole because they couldn’t see with their sunglasses on.

The Hollywood guys – they looked professional. They had business cards and nothing else. Most of them didn’t wear sunglasses. They had confidence in the fact that we want to work with them – it was in our best interest. And almost every single one of them flipped through that preview book we had on our table. They flipped through the books we were selling. They asked us about Speakeasy. They asked us what we had coming beyond the preview book.

There’s so much more there than ego-stroking. That’s a person that looks at us as an investment. They don’t want to just end up with any old comic company. They want the best, they want to make sure that the people they invest in (and time is an investment) are going to produce a worthwhile return. That we’re going to get them where they want to be. Looking back at my worth article, you can project the worth you perceive within yourself with enough confidence.

Work on your image or else the industry is going to leave you behind. There are people coming that are already two steps ahead of a lot of you.

Jason at 11:59 PM  |  link to this     

8 Comments

Nice, nice article.

I've read some of this before, but the stand out suggestion is the Mets cap/belt buckle comment. Hundreds of dudes pass in front of publishers, presenting yourself in a clean, decent, but MEMORABLE fashion is key.

Jorge Vega at 7/22/2005 10:15 AM   

Yeah, I went into it knowing a lot of it was repeat but trying to put the urgency of "Hollywood is coming" into it.

Jason at 7/22/2005 10:51 AM   

I usually shave the cranium and buff/lotion it to get a nice shine. At last years WW Chicago, I rocked a variety of subdued short-sleeve polos with some khakis and flipflops.

Is the chill Daddy Warbucks look enough?

jorge vega at 7/22/2005 1:04 PM   

If you're flip-flopping you gotta replaced the khaki's with draw-string linens - that's fresh.

Jason at 7/22/2005 1:09 PM   

See? Now that's why every would-be creator out there needs to be reading this column.

Linens... genius.

jorge vega at 7/22/2005 1:12 PM   

Just make sure your linen pants are off-white or darker if the con in question is between Labor Day and Memorial day.

Just kidding.

Jason at 7/22/2005 2:32 PM   

This is about me wearing short shorts and no underpants all week, isn't it?

Good article, and well put.

It's funny how after doing so many shows you can actually pick out the Hollywood people from the rest. They walk up, and you just know.

Fialkov at 7/23/2005 12:47 AM   

Great article, Jason.

I was having a problem reading it though...... until I took my sunglasses off...... bastard....

Jason Copland at 7/23/2005 12:28 PM   

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