When I applied to have a table at the 2025 Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF), I honestly didn’t think I would get in. I had very few comic pages done, only 3 mini zines, and had primarily fanart and slightly old artwork in my portfolio. So, when I got the email saying I was waitlisted, I was shocked and motivated to continue my work. Just when I thought I wasn’t going to get off the waitlist (about two weeks before TCAF), I got the email saying I was in! Needless to say, I was freaking out and incredibly grateful for the opportunity!
For those who don’t know, TCAF is one of the world’s largest independent comic arts festivals!! Hundreds of artists and thousands of visitors every year; the best part is that it’s free for the public to attend! It’s incredibly inspiring and fun to attend! As someone who had just gotten into making comics, getting into TCAF was a dream come true ❤
Leading up to the weekend, I made sure to create some new mini zines, order my stickers, prints, and business cards, and put together my first-ever coloured comic, “KIP”. It was all such a blur; I just remember freaking out at one point since I believed that I needed more pages to be added to KIP, so I just kept creating more comics for it. I wanted to make sure that I had my first comic at my first table at TCAF, and I did!! I’m so happy with how my little comic came out!
On the first day, my partner and I shared a table in the basketball court with Jerome Cabanatan (https://www.instagram.com/jroamcab/), a really cool comic artist who had sold his comics at TCAF in previous years. Here are some highlights of Day 1:
- Got to talk to someone who worked at the Toronto Public Library, and they ended up buying one Kip comic AND my partner’s zine, which he had made just a couple of minutes before. You can now find “Kip” at the Toronto Public Library in their zine section!!
- Got to see some friends and people whom I haven’t seen in years.
- Sold a lot of my original artwork, which was so nice to see!
- Learned that a lot of people know the Canadian House Hippo.
- Got to talk to some other artists and made some connections!
By the end of Day 1, Jerome had noticed an empty table that no one had claimed the whole day. So he decided to go for it, and moved his comics to that table so that both he and I would have our very own 6ft tables for Day 2. I was so excited yet so intimidated for Day 2, since I was able to bring more artwork, but my partner wouldn’t be there to help me, and I’d have a whole table by myself.
I got to the basketball court early on Day 2 since I had to create a new setup for the new artwork I was bringing in, and to figure out who to make my art look good. My table was located at a corner, so I had to make sure my comics and my artwork stood out. Grateful for the years in retail, merchandising products, and my customer service skills finally paid off! That day felt even busier than the first! I met new people, made connections, and actually sold out of my “Fish Everywhere” mini zine and my Canadian House Hippo sticker!! I even ran out of business cards and had to tape my last one down onto my table so that people could take a picture of it. It was honestly crazy. Even now, looking back, I just can’t believe I tabled at TCAF. I TABLED AT TCAF!! I SOLD MY ART AT TCAF!!! WTF!!!!
When I first started tabling, my goal was to one day make my way into TCAF. Less than a year later, I’ve achieved that goal! I am very happy that I was able to experience TCAF on the other side of the table now. It motivates me even more to get into making comics and just having fun with my art! I hope to attend future TCAFs!
Date: June 7 to June 8th, 2025
Event: Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2025
Day One Setup
Day 2 Setup
- THE FLOOD OF TCAF 2025
- During our first day at the basketball court, a section of the ceiling started leaking A LOT. The two rows of artists who were underneath got moved to the side of the court. I’m glad it didn’t get any worse!!
Noemi’s Corner 