We sold out of issue #1 and all but 1 copy of issue #2.  Copies of 3 and 4 moved fast, with the remaining books already sold off to local and not-so-local stores. A lot of familiar faces stopped by – people I’d met at last year’s NYCC when I didn’t even have a table, people from MoCCA Fest, people from Twitter (justifying the ridiculous amount of time I spend on it).

But most of the business was from new fans. A few instances were people who bought issue #1 on Thurs-Fri, then returned Saturday for 2,3, and 4.  One guy did all of that, then came back Sunday to say how much he liked the book, and asked if I wanted to be on his podcast (details to follow on that). A couple other journalists stopped buy to buy the book (they said they prefer to support indie creators with their money, and if they like the book, review it), and likewise popped back to ask about reviewing it etc.  One girl even came back to ask when she could get #5.

A good number of new fans were guys and girls in their early-mid 20s. People born too late to remember the Mixtape era firsthand, but who grew up listening to 80s/90s alternative rock because their parents were into it and played it on a lot of long car trips.  One guy in his 40s, there with his kids, was checking out the books, and when I told him what it was all about, he fished his money out and said “finally, something here that’s aimed at guys my age”.  Same as one who was there with a couple of friends. He looked bored, but when he asked about Mixtape and realized what it was, he bought a set because his friends had an extra ticket and dragged him to the con even though he’s not interested in “comic book superhero stuff”.

Overall a lot of the new readers just saw the banner with the name Mixtape on it, and came running over to ask what it was about. The fact a cassette tape features in the design told them music was involved, and when they learned there was no “twist” of superheroes or whatever, that it was just a slice of life book about the alt rock era, they were sold.

But the best thing about the whole NYCC experience wasn’t the books sold, or the numbers; it was the people. I had so many conversations with people just about music – older music, newer music (a lot of people are looking forward to the new Arcade Fire album, myself included), but also about the diversity of the comic book business. NYCC literally had something for everyone, and as it happens a lot of people were looking for a black and white book about a fabled, almost mythic time called “the 90s”, when MTV played music videos, when you had to go to a record store to buy music, and when if you wanted a mix of songs you had to record it to cassette.

Now to catch up on sleep.

Mixtape has arrived on iTunes!  issue number 1 is available right now, with #2 and #3 arriving shortly (and #4 due next month). You can buy issue #1 here (and if you like what you see, please let me and everyone else know).