So I'm starting a Co-Op...
No, I'm not moving to Eureka/McKinleyville and competing with the local. I've decided to start a Non-Profit Co-Op to help independent artists who attend and exhibit at San Diego Comic-Con every year, San Diego Comic-Con Marketing Cooperative.
Basically, long story short, it'll be an effort to bring together independent exhibitors and give them a collective voice, and, more importantly, collective buying power. The aim is to provide members with resources to lower cost (local to San Diego) printing of their comics, replication of their DVDs, and reproduction of their art so that ultimately independent artists can afford to make some money off of the goods that they sell at the Con every year instead of just hoping to break even - small run printing does NOT have to be expensive. Additionally, it would offer collective advertising for members who opt-in (no fees to join, but obviously nominal fees to cover costs if you want someone else to advertise for you), from high quality flyers blanketing inside and outside the Con to online advertising campaigns and whatever other media opens up for us. Additional services such as basic legal consultatation sans charge, etc will be offered.
The goal is to get indepedents to stick together and stay independent and instead of competing against each other, to collectively compete against the larger publishing houses on (well, a little more, at least) even ground during Comic-Con. Independent art is the breeding ground of true creativity and it's sad to see it get pushed to the side more and more every year as major studios and publishers take over the industry, so let's take it back, a little at a time, and show that being an independent artist, scraping by month to month doing what they love, is something to be proud of.
If you'd like to help with organization of this new Co-Op, please contact me directly via email with your phone number and I'll be happy to make the time to meet up with you at Comic-Con this year.
Otherwise, keep an eye out on http://www.sdccmc.org for more information in the near future. I've also setup a forum there which you're welcome to join and share ideas in, or advertise your pop art goods in the interim.
(Full Disclaimer: I do have a relatively extensive background in Non-Profit work / coordination / setup, as well as being a part owner of a Graphic Design firm in San Diego, CA but primarily I'm an active Videographer)