BEAUOLOGY 101 :LOVE/HATE as well as BEING IN THE middle

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Beau Smith, Middleweight Champ Of picture Comics

by beau Smith

Love/hate connections are strange. For many years I had one with working conventions for the different publishers as well as companies that I worked for: Eclipse Comics, picture Comics, McFarlane Toys, Todd McFarlane Productions, as well as IDW Publishing. The Love/Hate part was working the booth.

Working the booth started with making sure whatever got to the convention site, taking care of what didn’t, setting up the booth as well as displays, greetings as well as meetings with the convention, selling merchandise, doing panels, as well as tearing down the booth when the show was done.

Beau Smith with the infamous Eclipse Neon indication 1988

I did this a great deal as well as for a great deal of years (1987 with 2000), sometimes twice a month traveling all over the country. I loved the excitement building up to the show as well as that exact same excitement was the fuel that helped develop the booth as well as set up the displays. likewise keep in mind that I was younger then. It was always a excitement to be setting up your booth as well as see all your buddies as well as rivals there setting up their booths. By rivals I mean friendly ones. That’s the method it was during the pre-internet-had to pick a side days. I can keep in mind many a time helping the competition set up their booths as well as them doing the exact same for me. That was truly useful when not all of us that worked for the exact same business got in town at the exact same time. I always liked to get in early to head off any type of prospective problems that may come up. When I worked for Eclipse Comics we had this beautiful, big neon indication that stated “Eclipse Comics” as well as no matter exactly how well feline Yronwode as well as Dean Mullaney would pack it, it almost always got to the convention busted in some way. After a while, Dean would pack replacement parts with it as well as I learned where all the shops in that town were that fixed neon signs. I ended up discovering more about neon signs that I ever believed I would.

Image Comics Days 1994

In the early days, the booths were quite simple. sometimes it was a couple of tables as well as a few stand up displays. As time marched on as well as the companies as well as conventions got bigger, so did the booths. While with picture Comics during their glory days, we had to hire professionals to come in as well as construct our “booths”. (They were more like mini-cities at that point.) I believe about a few of the contraptions that we had during those days as well as my head almost explodes. a few of you may even keep in mind the big rocket ship-like screen that extreme Studios had. It was eye-popping as well as amazing. folks loved stepping into it as well as checking it out. Hell, I was always like a little youngster as well as I had been in it a lot of times.

Todd McFarlane & his henchman beau Smith At toy Fair

One year at Todd McFarlane Productions/McFarlane Toys, we actually had an underground town as our display. It was an enclosed maze system that displayed all our Spawn stuff in addition to the present line of McFarlane Toys. Please remember, we likewise had the real-life Spawn Mobile as well. Al Simmons utilized to haul that thing all over the country all year round. lucky for me, by that time I was VP of advertising for picture as well as McFarlane, so I didn’t have to filthy my hands with the manual labor part anymore. I had a ton of “important” meetings to go to to. I have to admit, even I got caught up a little in the rock-star environment of the times. Unlike a great deal of my fellow employers as well as employees, I comprehended that this wouldn’t last permanently (and it didn’t).

The 1990’s were some extremely wild times in comics/toys. things were growing so extremely quick then as well as this was all pre-internet. I can’t picture what the landscape would’ve been like if we had today’s innovation at the exact same time when 50,000 copies sold were a reason to cancel a book. during those times, I loved traveling all over as well as not having to concern about setting up the booths as well as taking them down. however I hated the truth that as an industry, we were starting to lose a few of that camaraderie that truly made all of us in comics a family. Everyone’s time became less as well as less. It was lost for the most part with useless meetings on when to have the next useless meeting. There were more distractions than storage tank tops as well as short shorts at Hooter,s only not rather as pleasant.

I started discovering myself missing tearing down the booth with the only concern being getting whatever packed up as well as on a truck (and exactly how much money to slip the union guy).

Young Ted Adams Pre-IDW publishing 1990

After I left Todd McFarlane productions since things were just getting as well big, I got my desire for the simple life in my next task as VP of advertising with IDW Publishing. I discovered myself back with a business that had about five people working for it as well as we had one book, The Art Of Ashley Wood. The booth was when once again little as well as just a few of us might set it up. whatever was back to being grassroots as well as I have to say, it was nice. It was like my electrical plug had been discovered as well as shoved back into the AC outlet. Yes, we went with some extremely tough times, however we did it together as well as truly took pleasure in every accomplishment that came with it since you knew you worked difficult to get it. IDW CEO- Ted Adams as well as I got to do what we did when both of us started out at Eclipse Comics as well as it felt great. Ted had partnered up with Robbie Robbins, Kris Oprisko, as well as Alex Garner, all of whom he worked with while at Wildstorm Studios, as well as it wasn’t long before IDW started to grow strong. That’s extremely obvious today as IDW has just ended up being a Premiere publisher with diamond Distribution.

I left IDW publishing a few years back to work on my freelance composing career. I still do some advertising within comics as well as the toy business on a freelance basis, however my primary work is with composing these days. Granted, it doesn’t pay rather as much as when I was doing  advertising full time as well as composing part time, however life is what it is. That said, I must admit, a part of me does miss all the traveling, the business credit history card, as well as never having to concern about paying for my meals, bar tab, as well as hotel. Okay. I admit it. I miss that part A LOT! I even miss setting up the booth as well as tearing it down a little. Not a lot, however a little. You never understand when all of that will change. You may see me setting up a booth for one more publisher again. I never rule anything out as well as listen to all offers. I may even be able to pay for the next round of beers as well. I’d like that. I’m guessing you would too.

Your amigo,

Beau Smith
The flying Fist Ranch
www.flyingfistranch.com