Off To The 2010 Licensing Expo

The 2010 licensing Expo, it is what I believe to be the largest expo of this kind. No I have never been to this licensing extravaganza however I am very excited. I am that person who loves to attend conventions and other events of this type. Usually I will attend as many conventions or expos as is humanly possible, and usually they are directly linked to the comic book industry. The licensing expo is a new adventure for me and as I stated earlier I could not be more thrilled about attending.

My brain is like a sponge and it desires to be soaked in all things entertainment, well not all things, but most anyhow. Today’s adventure also includes meeting with a gentlemen to sign what will hopefully be an agreement that will allow Blackline Comics to offer some of the best printing prices you have seen in a very long time! It is our goal to make it affordable for all creators to print their titles without having to sell one of their children to do so. Selling one of your children might sound like a good idea to most but if you were to sell your child then who would take out the trash?

Now on a more serious note the comic book industry is plagued with printing companies that completely and knowingly gouge creators when it comes to printing costs. This trend is killing comics as we know them and is part of what is fueling the digital aspect of comics. It makes sense, if I as a creator cannot get a major publisher to pick up my book and facilitate the printing, and my only alternative is third party on demand printing companies like Indi Planet that charge an arm and a leg, then I might as well say forget printing it and make it a digital comic. Any monkey with opposable thumbs and a key board can create a blog then create a comic on napkins with magic marker and with the help of a scanner, they now have a digital comic.

This unfortunate event lends itself to a completely different and huge problem, but that is for another day when I have more time to babble. Off to the Expo!
Upward and Onward