Small Press Expo Announces New Yorker Illustrator and Syndicated Cartoonist Richard Thompson as a Guest for SPX 2008

Oh yeah, and I'll be interviewing him on Sunday I'm told...

Small Press Expo Announces New Yorker Illustrator and Syndicated Cartoonist Richard Thompson as a Guest for SPX 2008

For Immediate Release
Contact: Warren Bernard
Phone: 301-537-4615

Bethesda, Maryland; September 23, 2008 - The Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comic books, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons, is proud to announce New Yorker illustrators Richard Thompson as a guest for SPX 2008.

Richard Thompson is a long time contributor to The New Yorker and a first time guest at Small Press Expo. Richard contributes a weekly political/social strip to The Washington Post called Richards Poor Almanac. Richard is also a contributor to The Atlantic Magazine, National Geographic and U.S. News and World Report and won the National Cartoonists Society's Magazine and Book Illustration Award. He is also a syndicated cartoonist, whose strip Cul De Sac is now in over 100 newspapers. Richard will be signing copies of Cul De Sac: This Exit, the first Cul De Sac collection at SPX.

Richard Thompson is in addition to previously announced guests Joost Swarte, a fellow New Yorker contributor, Ben Katchor, Bryan Lee O’Malley and Hope Larson.

Please stay tuned for additional announcements about SPX 2008.

This year, SPX will be held Saturday, October 4 from 11AM to 7PM and Sunday, October 5 noon-6PM at The North Bethesda Marriott Convention Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Admission is $8 for a single day and $15 for both days.

For further information on the artists or to request an interview, please contact Warren Bernard at webernard@spxpo.com.

SPX, a non-profit organization, brings together more than 300 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers and distributors each year. Graphic novels, political cartoon books and alternative comics will all be on display and for sale by their authors and illustrators. A series of panel discussions will also be held of interest to readers, academicians and creators of graphic novels and political cartoons.

SPX culminates with the presentation of the 12th Annual Ignatz Awards for outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning that will occur Saturday night, October 4. The Ignatz is the first Festival Prize in the US comic book industry, with winners chosen by balloting during the SPX.

As in previous years, all profits from the SPX will go to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), protecting the First Amendment rights of comic book readers and professionals. For more information on the CBLDF, go to their website at

http://www.cbldf.org/.

Founded in 1994, SPX is North America's premier alternative comic-book and graphic novel festival. This annual event brings together comic creators, publishers and fans together to celebrate the art of visual storytelling.