Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Allen Carter. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Allen, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
In life, we all have those “what if” scenarios, whether the situation is good or bad. When it comes to starting Carter Comics along with promoting and selling my work at comic book conventions, I’m always glad that I started getting my artwork and books out there at the time I did. My very first convention as an exhibitor was Anime Expo in July 2010, at the start of social media, YouTube, and online print-on-demand services. I don’t think that I would have been able to get Carter Comics started even five years earlier, due to most of those services either not being as accessible, or not existing yet.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Allen Carter, and I am an independent comic creator. I write, illustrate, and promote two comic book series (Damn Tourists, Cosmic Force), which I sell at various comic book conventions, art festivals, and in-store comic shop signings. My inspiration for creating a self-published line of comic books, comes from my childhood days of watching Saturday morning cartoons, and a writing workshop I participated in at age six. I feel that my passion towards my work, along with the unique premise and eye-catching title of my travel parody comic “Damn Tourists,” really helps me stand out in a row of other creators at a convention. What makes me the proudest has recently been two big decisions I made regarding my products. Following my return to exhibiting at comic conventions once co-vid became more manageable, I decided to focus on promoting and selling “Damn Tourists” more. That meant raising my book prices from $5 to $8, create bundle deals that would be attractive to customers, and ending my other series “Cosmic Force,” which does not sell as well compared to “Damn Tourists.” In addition, whenever I set up shop at a convention, art festival. comic shop signing, etc, I always want to make the customer feel welcome, and treat them like a person instead of a sale. A simple greeting, along with noticing body language are how I interact with show attendees. Whether they’re looking at my art portfolio, books, or even my booth setup, I still engage in conversation about whatever catches their eye. It doesn’t (and won’t) always end in a sale, but they will leave my table with a positive experience, have learned something about my comic process, and will have one of my signature orange plastic business cards in their hands.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Having exhibited at numerous conventions, art shows, and the like in the last 13 years, I have learned that it is so important to support other creators as well as yourself. This can be done by simply informing another creator about a new show you just did, or sending a customer toward their table at a show. What the public can do to support “creative folk,” is to have more smaller local events that showcase new artists and writers. All of the products that have been household names for decades all had to start small at some point, so you never know what new creator or product that you see at your local art festival will hit it big later on. Comic Conventions are great for exposure and networking for creators, but only a select few of those big events either have favorable floor space for art vendors, or a sizeable portion of their attendees that are open to new products and people. Many local art festivals, and especially artwalks, can draw a larger portion of that audience through free admission, shorter commute, and no need for lodging. The combination of all that saved money, along with an excitement to view anything homemade by a vendor, usually results in a lot of sales for anyone setting up business there.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
We all become better people by first taking the time to understand each other. In the case of creators in comic convention areas such as “Artist Alley” and “Small Press,” I believe that non-creative attendees need to know that what we do there is work. It may sometimes look glamorous when we get a lot of customers to our table, and sometimes it may seem like we are not doing much when show floor traffic is slow, the simple act of standing at a vendor table and greeting customers for 8 or so hours over a three-to-four day convention will drain you both physically and mentally. Nothing in life comes easy or quickly, we all have to work hard at what we want to do in life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cartercomics.squarespace.com
- Instagram: @cartercomics1
- Facebook: facebook.com/cartercomics