If you want to get a strong dose of antimarketing, one place to go is the Small Press Expo—this year’s event was held last Friday and Saturday in Bethesda, MD, bringing together publishers of independent print or illustrated media. Since supply and demand in this community is controlled by nerds who generally don't respond well to flashy ad campaigns, the artists and publishers who populate it join online communities, attend conventions, trade web links and slowly build networks among themselves and their readers. Some, like Questionable Content's Jeph Jacques and Canadian graphic novelist Von Allan, are savvy enough to realize that a nonessential product and a limited audience offer their own opportunities. Guerrilla, small scale viral marketing is sustainable at that level, and can build a supportive fan base without damaging artistic credibility. And if you're talented and lucky enough, you can earn enough money from merchandise to quit your day job—like Jacques—or get complimentary write-ups in Wizard Magazine and IGN, like Robert Venditti's tremendous graphic novel The Surrogates. At the very least, you can be Joe Komenda and attract women in bars with cartoon poultry. (Look at the art if you don't get it.) By my standards, that's still winning.

—Posted by David Kiefaber