Evacomics at AFA 2019 (Anime Festival Asia C3AFASG)

This was my 4th time boothing at AFA and as you can see, with more books, the table became a little bit more cramp...

I was surprised to see my ex-students on Friday because one of them was competing in the Art Duel. They are a bunch of really energetic and hardworking students and I sincerely wish them the best although I am no longer teaching part-time 😊

I think this was the first time I met so many Patreons in a single event, old and new 💗 They are... Esme Khoo (in beautiful costume and always bought my merch), Andy Johanly (who bought my painting), Brown Wong (who bought my books), Midori Kame (who helped me in the Butler Cafe and Makeover stories in my book, and also always buying my merch) and Hans Lum (who had been pledging for 3 years now and gave me goodies from Kumamoto). Thank you all for the pledge!

I also managed to sell to some new readers and also met some of my FB/IG fans :)

Some fans date back from a very long time. Such as Angel and Kogin, whom I had known since they were single till now engaged💕 Also met my Indonesian fan, Raisa, who gave me some snacks from Indonesia 😋. Kah Hui, who collected her pre-order Tee. Thu Thiri, who also gave me tons of souvenirs from Japan. Jessica Gunawan, whom used to be my fan club moderator.

This is the first time I received so many fan gifts, thank you all!

Especially Thu Thiri's specially curated Japanese snack pack, hand made washi-tape selections, wax-sealed envelopes and also this gorgeous fan art! It's beautiful! Thank you so much and I will treasure them all!

Actually sales was a bit slow on Sun despite the large crowd and my assistant told me that I should put up a sign to indicate that the author is at the booth as it is not obvious that I'm the artist. Indeed after the sign is up, sales picked up immediately. Lesson learnt, is to put up a sign... 😑

While preparing to pack up on Sunday, a Dad came by and was surprised to see a comic artist, because AFA artist alley had always been mainly fan art and illustrations. Long story short, he was just wandering around to kill time while his kids check out the anime booths. So he supported me by buying 2 of my books and pre-ordered 2 Tees. However, as an avid fan of Wonder Woman, he requested me to draw her in my style.

As a privileged last customer (because you know, we really dread bringing any heavy books back home), I accepted the challenge and drew this without a pencil draft. I think it is not bad, considering I never drew any DC or Marvel character before, especially during an anime festival... 😅 Thanks Winston!

Last but not least...I must thank my wonderful assistant, Emmanuel, for helping me out from morning till night for all 3 days. Colin, who is also my patreon, helping me on Friday. Zenus, also my patreon of many years, helping me on Saturday. Steffi, another patreon, who helped me tend the booth in previous years. Hui Ching and Albert, whom is another couple I'd seen from single till married, helping me on Sunday. Thank you all!

A grand total of 185 books were sold. I made a mistake of not ordering more of the latest book and should have ordered less of my first book. Some of you also asked me for a Kyoto Travel Guide but it depends if the Tokyo Travel Guide sold well first 😅

Thank you all whom came down and told me how my book changed their lives and encouraged me to continue. I will continue to draw and upload my comic strips online, free for everyone to read. As for boothing, I will probably not continue as my health has not been good these years and all the costs had been increasing. However, I might be conducting workshops instead and try out YouTubing, so if you are interested, remember to check out my FB and choose "See First".

💖With that a big THANK YOU! 💖