"True Fans" DO exist!

On Saturday evening, February 7, we had a CARTOONISTAS Live Art event at GEEKS Comics.

Monday afternoon I went to GEEKS to talk to Sal, the owner, to find out how the event went overall. Well, to my extreme delight, he told me that on Sunday a guy came into the shop looking for stuff 'from Javier Hernandez' (that's me!) and was directed to the El Muerto comics. He already had them but ended up buying the EL MUERTO DVD, and he also bought my ROM, SpaceKnight and Demolition Dove artwork! (You can see pics of them in the Live Art post below). He bought everything of mine in the store that he didn't already have!

A few weeks ago, I had a discussion on JAVILAND (my roundtable podcast) about 'True Fans'. True Fans are fans that will buy everything you make. The theory being that if you can have at least 1,000 fans, and each spends about $100 on your products, then you can make $100,000 a year! Now believe me, I take that theory with a grain of salt, because there are no guarantees of anything, and there are innumerable variables in every situation. But just having fans that enjoy your work enough to support it with actual purchases, well then, that is something to nurture. As the artist, I have the responsibility to create things from a sincere and honest starting point (in other words, try to avoid a completely, artless, crass attempt at shaking down fans for money), but also I believe, strongly, that I have a responsibility to myself to use all my gifts to make myself a living. That includes a genuine sense of artistic creativity and professionalism, as well as a business ethic and marketing savy.

In my previous post about the Live Art event, I also talked about the young boy who bought my El Muerto comics several months ago, and this last time bought the movie as well. These two situations reinforce for me the theory of the True Fans. Heaven help me, it may just very well be true!

Boy, it's times like these that makes me glad I stick to my stubborn way of thinking! Like I said, this True Fans paradigm only works if I bust my butt and do my part to create, and to create with quality and imaginatively. I can't take anything, or anyone, for granted. Including myself.

Thank you, True Fans!