"Fun with statistics" or "Here's to all my fans in Luxembourg"

Let's make one thing clear: I don't like to obsess.  I don't!  But I suppose that's the nature of obsession - it's uncontrollable.  Take, for example, my recent compulsive need to check the viewership statistics of this very blog.  Along with being obsessive, I am apparently also oblivious as I was just recently made aware that the dashboard page of this blog includes a link that lets me track general statistics on how many views certain postings of mine get, and what countries those views are from.  This may seem like a minor tool in the grand scheme of the Teddy and the Yeti blog, but it's something I find extremely fascinating to the point that I CAN'T STOP CHECKING IT.

In spite of its collaborative nature, making comics is a lonely venture at many points, and so, perhaps, is comic blogging.  Commenting on most of my posts is a rare thing indeed, and I can only assume that stems from the fact that my posts are so chock full of information as to make any questions redundant.  This does at times, though, make me think that absolutely no one is reading what I have to say (blasphemy!), but thanks to the "stats" function on this site, I'm happy to say that I have proof that the keywords I have used in titles and tags have tricked dozens and dozens of people from all over the globe into checking out the Teddy and the Yeti blog.

For example, check out these telltale numbers (click on the pictures to get a better view).  It's obvious that most of this site's page views would come from the United States, because that's where I'm located, and where most of my friends and family are located.  That the UK is second is also understandable, as that's the home of Teddy and the Yeti artist Duane Redhead (though it's a distant second.  Pick up the slack, Duane!).  What really comes as a surprise is that every so often, someone from Luxembourg wanders over to the site and checks it out.  Luxembourg?  Really?  Why not, say, Latvia or Liechtenstein?  Not that I don't appreciate the attention, Luxembourg - I do, and greatly.  I'm just a little surprised.  Based on its size, the people of Luxembourg have more Teddy and the Yeti fans per capita than anywhere else in the world.

Similarly surprising are the individual posts that have had the most recent success in getting seen.  Pop! Culture Connection, the vintage toy store in Greensburg, PA (a fantastic place to visit, by the way) does not, I believe, have a dedicated website of its own.  So when people search for the store, they apparently find my blurb about it from April.  I wonder if people are disappointed when they click on the link - I mean, if I remember what I wrote, it does have all of the necessary information with which to find the store, and the write up ain't bad, either.

Other lessons learned: putting the words/phrases "crochet", "FUBAR", "Joe Sinnot" and "Garmin" (that one was a surprise...I suppose people are trying to figure out what commercial that yeti holding a teddy was from) in the subject line is a surefire way to get consistent page views months after the initial posts, and at least 27 people have wondered, just as I have, just what the heck those "beats for reading comic books to" ads were all about.

Next, many thanks go out to Xavier at his Paper Heroes site for posting a link to this blog, as I've benefited from it in recent weeks.  And also thanks to...uh...Google...for apparently directing nearly 400 people here recently.  In fact, Google (in one iteration or another) is on the "referring sites" list three separate times.

Lastly, we have the "search keywords" list, which apparently tallies up the search terms people are entering that lead them to this blog.  Thankfully, "Teddy and the Yeti" heads that list, followed by..."blogger"?  People are just typing in "blogger" and finding their way here?  Well, I'll take it.

From looking at the list of popular posts, I expected to see searches for Pop! Culture Connection, FUBAR and even the Garmin commercial on this list, and the few Brownsville Telegraph searches weren't shockers, either.  To the three people who searched for 2099: Manifest Destiny, though: I'm sorry that all I wrote about in my post regarding that book was how difficult it was for me to find.  That probably didn't help you at all.

I'm telling you what - I eat this stuff up.  It's like everything I never knew I wanted and needed to know about this web page was now available to me...like magic or some form of Divine intervention.  Now, if I got some comments from people in Luxembourg as a result of this entry, I think my week might be complete.

Dinner and a (Slide) Show

Monday's Free Comic Book Day-inspired comic book panel went off, if I do say, without a hitch.  There were comics, presentations, door prizes and - oh yeah! - free chicken nuggets.  I'm not sure what more you could have asked for.  I suppose that last statement was hyperbolic.

There ended up being around 75 people, not including comic store workers or comic creators, at the New Hanover County public library for the two-hour presentation.  A lot of that time was spent listening to illustrator Tom Fleming recount his career, which was really interesting.  Tom's really had a varied career, designing paint cans, costumes for World Wresting Federation characters, comic book playing cards and Cracked magazine covers, to name a few.  The stories he told went beyond just a list of what he's done - I think everyone there was interested in hearing more.

I gave a 15-minute presentation after Tom was finished, and I talked about writing for comics and questions I hear every so often - a lot of it was based on an article I recently wrote for the Brownsville Telegraph - and I think that it went over well.  A few of my jokes (okay, most of them) fell flat, which was actually pretty funny in itself, but I heard good things about it afterwards, so I imagine that at least a few people took something from it.

After the presentations, those there from Fanboy Comics - sponsor for the event - held a raffle to benefit the creation of a graphic novel section in the library, and then chicken...glorious, delicious chicken.  If you haven't been to a Chick-Fil-A yet, do yourself a favor and go (RIGHT NOW)!  They had chicken nuggets and chicken salad sandwiches, and I had...let's say more than my share.  Delicious.

The event ended with several local creators selling and signing books.  I sold a few issues of Teddy and the Yeti - someone even came by to buy a whole set - and talked with a number of people about T&Y and comics in general.  In the picture above, you can see me talking to a young comic fan and his mom.  She looked at the books and said "Wow!  [Young child], would you like me to buy you one of these books?" very enthusiastically.  The kid hung his head, frowned and said "NO!"  Oh well, maybe next time, fella.

In my opinion, the turnout was great, and I can't thank the folks at Fanboy Comics enough for sponsoring the event.  Certainly, it was nice to make people aware of Teddy and the Yeti (which I mentioned during my presentation more than a few times), but in general it was just nice to get to talk comics with a few dozen fans like myself.  I even had a couple friends show up unexpectedly to hear my talk, which I appreciate to no end.  There was talk of putting together a comic creating workshop for some of the area kids, which would be lots of fun.  I'm sure it'd go off without a hitch - "hey kids, who here likes Teddy and the Yeti?"  Kids: "BOOOO!"  Me: "What the hell is wrong with you?!?"  Good times, good times.

Teddy and the Yeti @ the Brownsville Telegraph

It's hard to believe that the town of Brownsville, Pennsylvania was one a bustling center of commerce, one that famously threatened the successful development of nearby Pittsburgh (back before it had the "h").  Brownsville was on the fast track to become a destination point along the Monongahela River before its major industry (coal mining) left town for good.  Granted, this was decades before I was born, but I still sometimes wonder what could have been if only the old factory workers and miners stayed and collectively decided to develop some new form of progressive industry.  Perhaps a wind farm!

In any case, Brownsville was once home to the now defunct Brownsville Telegraph newspaper.  A friend recently brought back the Telegraph, repurposing it as an online tool for community news and organization.  As the Telegraph was kind enough to cover my recent signing at Evil Genius Comics with a string of pictures, I thought it only fair to write an article about Teddy and the Yeti for the site.  The fact that the article serves as a nice marketing tool as well is purely coincidental.

Somewhere in the process of writing the article, it changed into something of a manifesto, detailing my thoughts on the comic industry and how one might put a comic book together if one were so inclined through a series of hypothetical questions.  It ended up being longer than I had anticipated (not an uncommon experience), but overall, I think it reads well.  You can read it yourself by clicking here.  There's also a separate page devoted to a preview of the book here, complete with comic book-y font and borders.  Check it out!