Fantagraphics Signing Schedule

SPX and Intervention Join Forces With Free Pass Cross-Promotion

SPX and Intervention have decided to be friends and to celebrate, the first twenty-five people to purchase two-day attendee badges to SPX will also receive a free weekend pass to Intervention.

Intervention will also be giving out twenty-five SPX full weekend passes at random to Pre-Registered Full Weekend Intervention registration holders, or to full weekend at-door registration purchasers.

So come by SPX early on Saturday morning for a chance to have a unique independent-comics-filled weekend like no other at SPX and Intervention!

Announcing a Special SPX Limited Edition Print Set!!!

As a totally cool reminder of SPX 2010, we are pleased as punch to bring you a special limited edition set. The set contains a copy of the Raina Telgemeier poster, signed and numbered by Raina, as well as 11″ x 17″ prints of all of Kate Beaton’s SPX banner ads, Lisa Hanawalt’s badges, Metaphrog’s flyer, Vanessa Davis’ program cover and a T-shirt designed especially for SPX by Julia Wertz. All of these items are only available in the set, nowhere else and only the poster will be sold separately. The set is $40 and there are only 35 sets being assembled, so be sure to stop by the Registration Desk for your copy!

Small Press Expo Announces Richard Thompson, Nate Powell and R. Sikoryak as guests for SPX 2010

The Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons is pleased to announce that Richard Thompson, Nate Powell and R. Sikoryak will be guests for SPX 2010, to be held September 11 and September 12 at the Marriott North Bethesda Hotel and Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland, across from the White Flint Metro stop. These guests are in addition to the previously announced Jamie Hernandez, Vanessa Davis, Keith Knight, James Sturm, Raina Telgemeier, Jim Rugg,  Kate Beaton and Emmy Award Winner Dean Haspiel.

Richard Thompson writes and draws the successful syndicated comic strip Cul de Sac and drew the weekly Washington Post cartoon Richard’s Poor Almanac, best known for the George W. Bush parody “Make the Pie Higher.” Thompson was nominated for the National Cartoonist Society’s Reuben award in 2009, and his illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker and the Atlantic Monthly.

Nate Powell is a novelist, publisher and musician who owns the DIY record label Harlan records. He received the 2009 Eisner Award for Outstanding Graphic Novel for his work Swallow Me Whole and also received the 2009 Ignatz Award for Best Artist. Visit his web site at http://www.seemybrotherdance.org.

R. Sikoryak has been producing comics adaptations of literary classics, turning familiar cartoon imagery and tropes into quirky and insightful parodies, starting with his early appearances in the groundbreaking series RAW. He has published drawings in The New Yorker and Esquire among others, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He currently teaches illustration at Parsons in New York City

Small Press Expo Announces A Fort Thunder/Monster Debut Event with Brian Ralph and Paul Lyons

From 1995 to 2001, the Fort Thunder artists’ space and performance venue in Providence, Rhode Island was a fertile creative center. Work produced by artists living at the Fort – both at the time and individually in the years since the space was shut down – has been enormously influential in the worlds of fine art, music, and comics. In addition to a wealth of posters, prints, artists’ books and individual comics, two publications served as the venue’s de facto comics anthologies: the mini-comics series Monster and the comics newspaper Paper Rodeo. Nine years after the Fort’s closing, a new issue of Monster will debut at this year’s SPX.

The oversized (10” x 14”) book, featuring offset-printed interiors and a silkscreened cover, will include new and previously unpublished work by Fort Thunder alumni including Mat Brinkman, Brian Chippendale, Jim Drain, Paul Lyons and Brian Ralph, as well as work by friends and colleagues including Keith Jones, Michael DeForge, and Chuck Forsman.

To mark the occasion, SPX Programming Coordinator and Parsons faculty member Bill Kartalopoulos will moderate a special panel event titled “Return of the Monster: The Fort Thunder Legacy” on Saturday, September 11 at 5:30 as part of the festival’s larger schedule of programming events. The panel will feature artists and former Fort Thunder residents Brian Ralph and Paul Lyons. The discussion will also include Tom Devlin, who has published work by Fort Thunder artists both through his own former publishing company Highwater Books and now as creative director of Drawn and Quarterly, and PictureBox publisher Dan Nadel, who has extensively interviewed Fort Thunder artists and currently publishes work by Fort co-founders Brinkman and Chippendale. Please join us for this special consideration of a landmark contribution to recent comics history.

Small Press Expo Announces Programming Slate for SPX 2010

Bethesda, Maryland; August  26, 2010 – The Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons, is pleased to announce its slate of programming for SPX 2010. SPX is presenting a program of some of the most insightful, thought provoking interviews and panel discussions in comics today, assembled by comics curator, teacher and author Bill Kartalopoulos.

Spotlight one on ones will be held with James Sturm and Jaime Hernandez, as well as discussions on comics with Gary Groth, Kate Beaton, R. Sikoryak and Emmy Award winner Dean Haspiel, amongst others. The Center for Cartoon Studies will again hold a comics workshop and there will be a panel on Comics For Younger Readers with such notable creators as Raina Telgemeier and the Metaphrog team.

Below is a complete description of all of the Spotlights, Panels and Workshops. The schedule in grid form may be seen at the SPX web site at http://www.spxpo.com.

SPX will be held Saturday, September 11 from 11AM to 7PM and Sunday, September 12, noon-6PM at The North Bethesda Marriott Convention Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Admission is $10 for a single day and $15 for both days.

To request an interview, please contact Warren Bernard at warren@spxpo.com.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE

Comics and Worldbuilding

1:00 | Brookside Conference Room

This panel will consider the challenge of developing original settings for comics, individual artistic processes, and how the medium of comics is particularly well-suited to creating convincing invented worlds. Evan Dahm will lead a conversation with Liz Baillie, Aaron Diaz, Carla Speed McNeil and Spike Trotman.

Spotlight: James Sturm

1:30 | White Flint Amphitheater

James Sturm is the author of several comics and graphic novels including The Golem’s Mighty Swing, Unstable Molecules, James Sturm’s America, and Market Day. He is also the founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies, a unique two-year degree granting institution dedicated to cartooning. In this spotlight presentation, Sturm will discuss his work and answer questions from moderator Chris Mautner.

A Conversation About Daniel Clowes

2:00 | Brookside Conference Room

Daniel Clowes has long been one of America’s premier cartoonists, and his work has caught the public eye again with the 2010 publication of his graphic novel Wilson. Ken Parille and Isaac Cates, co-editors of the recent anthology Daniel Clowes: Conversations (University Press of Mississippi) will discuss Clowes’s art and career with moderator Bill Kartalopoulos.

Carousel at SPX

2:30 | White Flint Amphitheater

The long running slide show series, Carousel, returns with some of today’s finest comics artists, graphic novelists, and pencil pushers reading and presenting their work. Hosted by R. Sikoryak, this special SPX edition of Carousel will feature Kate Beaton, Dean Haspiel, Lizz Hickey, and more!

Critics’ Panel: How We Judge

3:00 | Brookside Conference Room

The accessibility of online publishing alongside traditional media has enabled a diversity of critical voices who are addressing the broad spectrum of comics being published today. A diverse group of critics will discuss the disparate bases for their own critical opinions, and the extent to which they regard different kinds of work in different ways. Join moderator Bill Kartalopoulos for a discussion with Johanna Draper Carlson (Comics Worth Reading), Gary Groth (The Comics Journal), Tim Hodler (Comics Comics), Chris Mautner (Robot 6), Joe McCulloch (Jog the Blog/Comics Comics), Ken Parille (Blog Flume), and Caroline Small (The Hooded Utilitarian).

Center for Cartoon Studies Self-Publishing Workshop

3:30 | White Flint Amphitheater

Robyn Chapman, Jon Chad and Alec Longstreth join us from The Center for Cartoon Studies, a two-year college for budding cartoonists in White River Junction, Vermont.  Alec will offer a short presentation chock full of self-publishing tips.  Afterwards, each participant will draw, fold and bind a comic using the Hidden Book format.  This simple process allows you to create an 8-page comic with a single piece of paper.  No matter what your experience level, you’ll leave this workshop with your own handmade minicomic!

Remembering Harvey Pekar

4:00 | Brookside Conference Room

When comics writer Harvey Pekar died in July 2010, he left behind an influential legacy of independent autobiographical comics that highlighted the forgotten moments and ignored people of everyday life. In this special panel event, a group of Pekar’s former collaborators will discuss their experiences of working with the creator of American Splendor. Heidi MacDonald will moderate this conversation with Vanessa Davis, Dean Haspiel, Jeff Newelt, Rick Parker, Ed Piskor, and Sean Pryor.

Spotlight: Jamie Hernandez

4:30 | White Flint Amphitheater

The 1982 publication of Jaime, Gilbert and Mario Hernandez’s Love and Rockets #1 by Fantagraphics virtually created the model for the post-underground alternative comic book series that characterized art-comics for nearly two decades. In the intervening years, Jaime Hernandez has emerged as one of the most distinctive visual stylists and compelling storytellers in modern comics, as he crafts the still-continuing saga of Hopey, Maggie, and his other post-punk Locas. Publisher and editor Gary Groth will ask Jaime about his art and life in this special spotlight session.

Comics for Younger Readers

5:00 | Brookside Conference Room

Book-length comics for younger readers are increasingly following graphic novels for adults into the bookstore and library shelves. Johanna Draper Carlson will discuss the pleasures and challenges of creating comics for younger readers with the collaborative duo Metaphrog, Aaron Renier, Raina Telgemeier, and Drew Weing.

Return of the Monster: The Fort Thunder Legacy

5:30 | White Flint Amphitheater

From 1995 to 2001, the Fort Thunder artists’ and performance space in Providence, Rhode Island was a fertile creative center. Work produced by artists living at the Fort – both at the time and in the years since it was shut down – has been enormously influential in the worlds of fine art, music, and comics. A new issue of the de facto Fort Thunder anthology Monster debuts at this year’s SPX. To mark the occasion, Bill Kartalopoulos will moderate a discussion with artists and former Fort Thunder residents Brian Ralph and Paul Lyons and publisher/editors Tom Devlin and Dan Nadel.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 12 PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE

Telling Stories

12:30 | White Flint Amphitheater

How do creators shape inspiration and life experience into memorable stories and characters? Join moderator Heidi MacDonald for a lively discussion about vision and process with a panel of cartoonists including Meredith Gran, Roger Langridge and Jon Lewis.

Teaching Comics

1:00 | Brookside Conference Room

Comics have increasingly gained a berth as the subject of courses within the academy, and classes about comics production are increasingly a part of studio art departments. What do students need to know about comics? To what extent do studio art students need to know about comics history and theory, and to what extent do humanities students need to know about the practice of comics production? Professors Marc Singer and Isaac Cates join Center for Cartoon Studies founder James Sturm for a conversation moderated by Bill Kartalopoulos.

Kate Beaton and Julia Wertz in Conversation

1:30 | White Flint Amphitheater

Two of the most popular and entertaining cartoonists of their generation, Kate Beaton and Julia Wertz have both attracted dedicated audiences online with their uniquely humorous comics. This special conversation moderated by Dustin Harbin will investigate the similarities and differences between the creators of Hark, A Vagrant! and The Fart Party.

Brave New Comic Strips

2:00 | Brookside Conference Room

The newspaper industry, long the home of American comics’ first popular dedicated format, faces an existential crisis presented by the emergence and proliferation of digital media. Against all odds, artists interested in the daily strip format continue to produce work with an eye for print. Mike Rhode will discuss the present and the future of the newspaper comic strip with Marguerite Dabaie, Keith Knight, and Richard Thompson.

Developing Iconographies

2:30 | White Flint Amphitheater

Distinct from drawing as an art discipline with its own self-ratifying purpose, artists in comics create pictures as part of a visual language. Moderator Ken Parille will investigate the ways in which comics artists develop visual iconographies in individual works and throughout bodies of work. Cartoonists Eamon Espey, Kevin Huizenga, and Tom Kaczynski will participate in this discussion, illustrated with slides of the artists’ work.

Autobiography in Pieces

3:00 | Brookside Conference Room

How do you tell the story of a life that’s still in progress? Is “story” even the right way to think about it? How do you winnow down the manifold details and data of your life? Cartoonists Sarah Becan, Gabrielle Bell, Vanessa Davis, and Jesse Reklaw will discuss alternatives to the memoir with moderator Isaac Cates.

R. Sikoryak: Adaptation and Parody

3:30 | White Flint Amphitheater

Comics chameleon R. Sikoryak inventively adapts canonical Western literature using the visual styles and characters of historical American comic books and comic strips. These works have been collected in his 2009 book Masterpiece Comics (Drawn and Quarterly). Sikoryak will reveal his intensive working process and will discuss the history of parody and adaptation in comics in a discussion with Bill Kartalopoulos, curator of the recent exhibit  “R. Sikoryak: How Classics and Cartoons Collide.”

Commercial Eruptions

4:00 | Brookside Conference Room

Jim Rugg (Street Angel, Afrodisiac) and Frank Santoro (Storeyville, Cold Heat) have produced auteurial work that shows the influence of commercial comics, and have brought an independent sensibility to work for publishers like Marvel Comics. In a conversation moderated by Tim Hodler, the two cartoonists will reflect on what they have learned from the contents and processes of historical commercial comics and how they reinterpret their influences when working for corporate publishers.

Comics and Printmaking

4:30 | White Flint Amphitheater

Comics have historically been a medium of work made for reproduction, but the means of reproduction have often constrained by technical and commercial limitations. Even as new digital technologies have broadened technical possibilities, a number of cartoonists are exploring the possibilities of reproducing work using traditional printing techniques including silkscreening and etching. Noel Freibart, Lizz Hickey, Brian Ralph and Jon Vermilyea will discuss the relationship between comics and printmaking with moderator Bill Kartalopoulos.

Small Press Expo Announces Jaime Hernandez, Vanessa Davis and Keith Knight as guests for SPX 2010

The Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons is pleased to announce that Jaime Hernandez, Vanessa Davis and Keith Knight will be guests for SPX 2010, to be held September 11 and September 12 at the Marriott North Bethesda Hotel and Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland, across from the White Flint Metro stop. These guests are in addition to the previously announced James Sturm, Raina Telgemeier, Jim Rugg,  Kate Beaton and Dean Haspiel.

Jaime Hernandez is the Harvey Award winning and critically acclaimed creator behind the long running LOCA series from Love and Rockets. He has also done work for The New Yorker, as well as album covers for such bands as Los Lobos and Michelle Shocked. He drew the cover for Strange Tales Vol.2 #2 from Marvel, due in November and there will be a new installment of Loca in Love and Rockets: New Stories #3, to be released in September from Fantagraphics.

Vanessa Davis is known for her work for such magazines/web sites as BItch, Vice, Tablet and Bust. Her latest book, Make Me A Woman from Drawn and Quarterly, is premiering at SPX.  Make Me A Woman is a collection of her diary series that spans her life from her Bat Mitzvah to the current day. Check out her website at http://www.spanielrage.com/.

Keith Knight is the creator of the hit newspaper strip The Knight Life and will be on hand at SPX to sign the first compilation of that series, entitled The Knight Life: Chivalry Ain’t Dead from Grand Central Publishing. Keith is a multiple Glyph Award winner and has drawn for such publications as Mad and ESPN Magazine. His (TH)ink and K Chronicles series have been critically acclaimed and may be found on his web site at http://www.kchronicles.com/.

2010 Ignatz Award Nominees

 The Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons, is pleased to announce nominees for the fourteenth annual presentation of the Ignatz Awards, a celebration of outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning.

The Ignatz, named after George Herriman’s brick-wielding mouse, recognizes exceptional work that challenges popular notions of what comics can achieve, both as an art form and as a means of personal expression. The Ignatz Awards are a festival prize, the first of such in the United States comic book industry.

The nominees for the ballot were determined by a panel of five of the best of today’s comic artists, Anders Nilsen, David Kelly, Rob G, Joshua Cotter and Trevor Alixopulos, with the votes cast for the awards by the attendees during SPX. The Ignatz Awards will be presented at the gala Ignatz Awards ceremony held on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at 9:00 PM.

Outstanding Artist
Eddie Campbell, Alec: The Years Have Pants (A Life-Sized Omnibus) (Top Shelf Productions)
Al Columbia, Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear Days (Fantagraphics Books)
Mike Dawson, Troop 142 (self-published & http://troop142.mikedawsoncomics.com)
John Pham, Sublife #2 (Fantagraphics Books)
Sully, The Hipless Boy (Conundrum Press)

Outstanding Anthology or Collection
The Hipless Boy, Sully (Conundrum Press)
Lemon Styles, David King (Sparkplug Comic Books)
Masterpiece Comics, R. Sikoryak (Drawn & Quarterly)
Red Snow, Susumu Katsumata (Drawn & Quarterly)
Ten Thousand Things to Do, Jesse Reklaw (self-published)

Outstanding Graphic Novel
The Complete Jack Survives, Jerry Moriarty (Buentaventura Press)
Market Day, James Sturm (Drawn & Quarterly)
Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear Days, Al Columbia (Fantagraphics Books)
Summit of the Gods Vol. 1, Yumemakura Baku and Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
Years of the Elephant, Willy Linthout (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)

Outstanding Story
“John Wesley Harding”, The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book, Joe Daly (Fantagraphics Books)
Market Day, James Sturm (Drawn & Quarterly)
Monsters, Ken Dahl (Secret Acres)
“Turd Place”, The Hipless Boy, Sully (Conundrum Press)
“Untitled”, Mome Vol. 16, Laura Park (Fantagraphics Books)

Promising New Talent
Rina Ayuyang, Whirlwind Wonderland (Sparkplug Comic Books & Tugboat Press)
Rami Efal, Never Forget, Never Forgive (Studio Namu)
Blaise Larmee, Young Lions (self-published)
Sully, The Hipless Boy (Conundrum Press)
Matt Wiegle, “The Orphan Baiter”, Papercutter #13 (Tugboat Press)

Outstanding Series
Ganges, Kevin Huizenga (Fantagraphics Books)
King-Cat Comics & Stories, John Porcellino (self-published)
Sublife, John Pham (Fantagraphics Books)
Summit of the Gods, Yumemakura Baku and Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
Troop 142, Mike Dawson (self-published)

Outstanding Comic
Blammo #6, Noah Van Sciver (Kilgore Books)
Eschew #2, Robert Sergel (Sparkplug Comic Books)
Flesh and Bone, Julia Gfrörer (Sparkplug Comic Books)
I Want You, Lisa Hanawalt (Buenaventura Press)
Sublife #2, John Pham (Fantagraphics Books)

Outstanding Mini-Comic
Don’t Drink from the Sea, Lilli Carre
Rambo 3.5, Jim Rugg
Stories by… Vol. 1, Martin Cendreda
Troop 142, Mike Dawson
Water Column #3, Josh Frankel

Outstanding Online Comic
Callahan Online, John Callahan (www.callahanonline.com/calarc.html)
I Think You’re Sauceome, Sarah Becan (www.sauceome.com)
The Lesttrygonians, Stephen Gilpin (www.sgilpin.com/2010_site/Weekly_Comic_Strip/Weekly_Comic_Strip.html)
Reliable Comics, David King (www.reliablecomics.com)
Troop 142, Mike Dawson (troop142.mikedawsoncomics.com)

Small Press Expo Announces James Sturm, Raina Telgemeier and Jim Rugg as guests for SPX 2010

Bethesda, Maryland; August 10, 2010 – The Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons is pleased to announce that James Sturm, Raina Telgemeier and Jim Rugg will be guests for SPX 2010, which will be held September 11 and September 12 at the Marriott North Bethesda Hotel and Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland, across from the White Flint Metro stop. These guests are in addition to the previously announced Kate Beaton and Dean Haspiel.

James Sturm is an Eisner and Xeric Award winner as well as being a co-founder of The Center for Cartoon Studies. His latest graphic novel, Market Day, published by Drawn and Quarterly, drew critical acclaim from such media outlets as The New York Times and NPR. James is the creator of the equally well received The Golem’s Mighty Swing, as well as co-authoring Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow. He just completed a long stint off the Internet and e-mail, which was documented in a series he did on the subject for Slate.

Raina Telgemeier’s latest work, Smile (A Dental Drama) published by Scholastic Press, led to excellent reviews by both Publishers Weekly and the New York Times. She drew four graphic novels for Scholastic based on the best seller series by Ann M. Martin, The Baby-sitters Club. Raina has won the Eisner, Ignatz and Kimberly Yale Awards and is the artist for this years SPX poster. Raina’s website is http://goraina.com/.

Jim Rugg is an illustrator and cartoonist from Pittsburgh. His graphic novels and comic collections include Afrodisiac (Adhouse Books), Street Angel (SLG Publishing), The PLAIN Janes and Janes in Love (DC Comics), One Model Nation (Image Comics) and The Guild (Dark Horse Comics). He has also produced short comics for VH1, New York Magazine, True Porn, Meathaus, Cinema Sewer and Project Superior.

Small Press Expo Announces Kate Beaton and Dean Haspiel as guests for SPX 2010

Bethesda, Maryland; August 3, 2010 – The Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons is pleased to announce Kate Beaton and Dean Haspiel as guests for SPX 2010, which will be held September 11 and September 12 at the Marriott North Bethesda Hotel and Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland, across from the White Flint Metro stop.

Kate Beaton is the winner of the 2009 Doug Wright Award for Best Emerging Talent. She recently had her first cartoon published in The New Yorker, and drew a poster for Janus Films. She will be part of the next issue of Marvel Strange Tales, due out in October. Her History Comics takes an irreverent and comical view of history and historical figures, this leading to coverage in Wired Magazine, Bitch and Macleans. Kate is responsible for a number of the banners on the SPX site, for which SPX has received rave reviews. Kate’s work can be viewed at her web site http://harkavagrant.com/.

Dean Haspiel is the one of the founders of the renown web comic cooperative ACT-I-VATE , as well as a having collaborated with the late, great, Harvey Pekar on The Quitter and American Splendor. He has worked for such outlets as New York Times, Marvel, DC/Vertigo as well as Dark Horse, where he illustrated Michael Chabon’s The Escapist. He was recently nominated for an Emmy for his title design for the HBO series, Bored To Death, for which he also drew a seven page comic called The Birth of Super Ray, available on the Bored to Death web site. See Dean’s work on the ACT-I-VATE web site at http://act-i-vate.com/.