We are locked and loaded for SPX 2012, to be held September 15 and 16 2012, at our favorite place, the North Bethesda Marriott Hotel and Convention Center.

The registration form is now available and tables are being sold, first come, first serve.

Tables rates and ordering information are all in the registration form.Do not forget to order additional badges if your table is being shared by more than 2 people.

Dustin Harbin hosts the 2011 Ignatz Awards!

The Ignatz Awards, named for the character in the classic comic strip Krazy Kat by George Herriman, is a festival prize that recognizes outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning. The ballot is created by a panel of five cartoonists and is then voted on by the attendees at the event. This offers a unique reflection of the views the professionals and their fans.

SPX 2011 – Navigating the Contemporary Publishing Landscape from Small Press Expo on Vimeo.

In the early 2000s, corporate publishers nearly raced to acquire graphic novels. Now, as the mainstream publishing industry faces severe contractions and as online media assumes many traditional functions of publishing, cartoonists face a rapidly changing publishing landscape, one that includes a resurgent small press. Johanna Draper Carlson spoke with Domitille Collardey, Mike Dawson, Meredith Gran, Roger Langridge and Julia Wertz about publishing options today.

Outstanding Mini Comic

• Ben Died of a Train, Box Brown

Outstanding Anthology or Collection

• I Will Bite You, Joseph Lambert

Outstanding Online Comic

• Hark! A Vagrant, Kate Beaton

Promising New Talent

• Darryl Ayo Brathwaite

Outstanding Story

Browntown, Jaime Hernandez

• Outstanding Series

Everything Dies, Box Brown

Outstanding Comic

• Lose #3, Michael DeForge

Outstanding Graphic Novel

• Gaylord Phoenix, Edie Fake

Outstanding Artist

• Joseph Lambert, I Will Bite You

Special thanks to Dustin Harbin for being a great host! We should have video up soon!

Comics have increasingly expressed personal experience, but have focused largely on inner life, depicting the human form via traditional, synthetic cartoon figuration. Moderator Craig Fischer speaks with Robyn Chapman (Hey 4-Eyes!, Make), Jennifer Hayden (Underwire), Gabby Schulz (Monsters), and Jen Vaughn (Don’t Hate, Menstruate!, Heavy Flow) about the ethics, erotics, and extremes involved in representing the external experience of the body.

Dan Nadel had a chat with SPX Executive Director Warren Bernard about our new Library of Congress Collection. Check out the article here and learn more about the program here.

Jeff Alexander and SPX have had a long and happy relationship together; in 1998, he joined Chris Oarr as part of the Ignatz Awards Committee, and became the Ignatz Awards Coordinator in 1999. In his time as coordinator from 1999 through 2006, the Ignatz Awards added several new categories (Outstanding Online Comic, and splitting Outstanding Graphic Novel or Collection into the seperate awards of Outstanding Graphic Novel and Outstanding Anthology or Collection) and became an important award within comic book circles.

When Jeff stepped down as Ignatz Coordinator, it was to become the Assistant Executive Director of SPX for 2007-2009, and in 2010 he served as the Executive Director of the show. Jeff was always a familiar sight doing whatever needed to be done, from cash pulls to crowd control. Jeff also did a lot of behind the scenes graphics work for the show. He created an Ignatz Awards comic strip every year for the program spotlighting the nominees, created the retro-pulp posters for the parties and receptions, and designed the badges for Ignatz Award Nominees to wear proudly.

Jeff Alexander was also a cartoonist in his own right, with his comic Literary Grafitti published a few years ago. Jeff had talked about taking his extra free time to get back into comic creating again, and hoped to build up enough before long to justify his own table at SPX.

Jeff was funny and sarcastic, able to crack up a stone-faced audience with a single rejoinder. Every year he swore it would be his last helping with SPX, and as soon as the show was over he’d say, “I have some great ideas for next year’s show.” Over the years he built friendships with hundreds of our artists and exhibitors, and he often said the worst thing about working on the show was that sometimes things had to get done when you really wanted to stop and talk to all of the great artists. He had a wide range of interests, from anime and Doctor Who to mahjongg and paintball.

Jeff Alexander wasn’t just a fellow volunteer/board member, he was a good friend, and all of us at SPX will miss him terribly.

2010 Ignatz Award Nominees

The Ignatz is a festival prize awarded at SPX to recognize outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning. A panel of cartoonists developed the ballot listed below, which was then voted on by SPX attendees at SPX 2010. Recipients were announced at the Ignatz Awards on Saturday, September 11, 2010.

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)

2010 Jury
Trevor Alixopulos
Joshua Cotter
Rob G
David Kelly
Anders Nilsen

The Ignatz Awards, named for the character in the classic comic strip Krazy Kat by George Herriman, is a festival prize that recognizes outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning. The ballot is created by a panel of five cartoonists and is then voted on by the attendees at the event. This offers a unique reflection of the views the professionals and their fans.

The award winners were announced at the Ignatz Awards gala on September 26th, 2009 at 9pm.

SPX Ignatz Awards 2009 from Small Press Expo on Vimeo.

2009 Ignatz Award Nominees

Outstanding Artist
Tim Hensley, Mome (Fantagraphics), Kramer’s Ergot #7 (Buenaventura)
Nate Powell, Swallow Me Whole (Top Shelf)
Richard Sala, Delphine (Fantagraphics/Coconino)
Josh Simmons, Mome (Fantagraphics)
Carol Tyler, You’ll Never Know, Book One: A Good and Decent Man (Fantagraphics)

Outstanding Anthology or Collection
Abandoned Cars, Tim Lane (Fantagraphics)
Against Pain, Ron Rege Jr. (Drawn & Quarterly)
Drawn & Quarterly Showcase Book 5, T. Edward Bak, Anneli Furmark, Amanda Vähämäki (Drawn & Quarterly)
Fuzz and Pluck: Splitsville by Ted Stearn (Fantagraphics)
Kramer’s Ergot 7, ed. Sammy Harkham (Buenaventura)

Outstanding Graphic Novel
Acme Novelty Library #19, Chris Ware (Drawn & Quarterly)
Disappearance Diary, Hideo Azuma (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
Drop-In, Dave Lapp (Conundrum)
Nicolas, Pascal Girard (Drawn & Quarterly)
You’ll Never Know, Book One: A Good and Decent Man, Carol Tyler (Fantagraphics)

Outstanding Story
“The Carnival,” Mome #14, Lilli Carre (Fantagraphics)
Disappearance Diary, Hideo Azuma (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
“Seeing Eye Dogs of Mars,” Acme Novelty Library #19, Chris Ware (Drawn & Quarterly)
“Untitled,” Drawn & Quarterly Showcase Book 5, Amanda Vähämäki (Drawn & Quarterly)
“Willy,” Papercutter #10, Damien Jay (Tugboat)

Promising New Talent
T. Edward Bak, Drawn & Quarterly Showcase Book 5 (Drawn & Quarterly)
Colleen Frakes, Woman King (self-published)
Hellen Jo, Jin & Jam #1 (Sparkplug), “Diamond Heights,” Papercutter #9 (Tugboat)
Ed Luce, Wuvable Oaf (self-published)
Amanda Vähämäki, Drawn & Quarterly Showcase Book 5 (Drawn & Quarterly)

Outstanding Series
Danny Dutch, David King (Sparkplug)
Delphine, Richard Sala (Fantagraphics/Coconino)
Interiorae, Gabriella Giandelli (Fantagraphics/Coconino)
Reich, Elijah Brubaker (Sparkplug)
Uptight, Jordan Crane (Fantagraphics)

Outstanding Comic
Danny Dutch #1, David King (Sparkplug)
Dead Ringer, Jason T. Miles (La Mano)
Interiorae #3, Gabriella Giandelli (Fantagraphics/Coconino)
Reich #6,  Elijah Brubaker (Sparkplug)
Uptight #3, Jordan Crane (Fantagraphics)

Outstanding Mini-Comic
Claptrap #2, Onsmith
Just So You Know #1, Joey Alison Sayers
Stay Away From Other People, Lisa Hanawalt
Stewbrew, Kelly Froh & Max Clotfelter
Xoc, Matt Dembicki

Outstanding Online Comic
Bodyworld, Dash Shaw
Danny Dutch, David King
Thingpart, Joey Alison Sayers
Vanessa Davis’s comics for Tablet
Year of the Rat, Cayetano Garza

2009 Ignatz Jury
Lilli Carre
Vanessa Davis
Robert Kirby
Scott Mills
Laura Park