Showing posts with label Small Press Expo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Small Press Expo. Show all posts

Monday, September 17, 2018

SPX 2018 day 2 in photos

Here's some more local people as well as others I bought from.

Dana Jeri Maier

Chris Artiga-Oliver

Nate Powell and Erin Nations at Top Shelf booth

Mollie Ostertag

Mike Holmes

Aminder Dhaliwal
Matthew Thurber

Matthew Thurber drawing


Maki Naro

Rebecca Sugar

Ellen Forney

Der-shing Helmer

Teresa Roberts Logan

Charles Fetherolf

Josh O'Neill, publisher of Locust Moon Press

Erin Lisette

Shan Murphy

Saturday, September 15, 2018

SPX 2018 day 1 in photos

SPX was completely unaffected by the hurricane, but the hotel renovation did mean the restaurant was closed. I began the morning interviewing Michael Cherkas and Larry Hancock whose series The Silent Invasion is reissued from NBM with new material being done to bring the story to the present. The interview will appear later this week. The con seemed to be well-attended to me (although I did get at least one comment from an artist that it seemed slow). I appreciate receiving a press pass, and plan to be back tomorrow to see what I missed. It's always fun to see people again too. I'd also recommend stopping by Lost Art Books and picking up the Incomplete Art of Why Things Are, a collection of Richard Thompson's Washington Post cartoons that I edited last year.

Michael Cherkas and Larry Hancock with The Silent Invasion from NBM. 

The floor minutes after the doors opened

Chris Pitzer of Adhouse Books

John Patrick Green and Dave Roman

Jason Rodriguez and Liz Laribee

GE Gallas

Dale Rawlings' t-shirt at DC Conspiracy taable

Andrew Cohen, Mike Cowgill and Evan Keeling of DC Conspiracy

Art Hondros

Terry Nantier of NBM, Hancock and Cherkas

Megan Kearney

Jamie Noguchi

Jared Smith of Retrofit / Big Planet

Liv Stromquist

David Small
My friend Chris and Eric Colossal

Thursday, September 13, 2018

How to see Rebecca Sugar at SPX 2018






Rebecca Sugar at Small Press Expo 2018
SPX is VERY excited to have Rebecca Sugar at this years show. Given her stature in the world of TV animation, to accommodate the expected interest in her panel at this years show, admission to The Universes of Rebecca Sugar panel on Saturday at 3pm in the White Oak Room will require a pink wristband for entry.

  • Wristbands are free with admission and available first come, first served when picking up your admission badge on Saturday morning, until they are gone

  • When picking up your admission badge, you must ask for a pink wristband

  • Wristbands are limited to one per person

  • You must be present to get a wristband, someone else cannot get a pink wristband for you.

Lines for admission badges will form in the exhibit hall foyer beginning at 10:00AM Saturday morning. This applies to both e-ticket admission redemption or admission purchased at the door; you must be in the admissions line to request a wristband.

E-ticket holders who do not want a pink wristband will have the opportunity to be checked in from their place in line by floating volunteers to avoid long wait times for admission.

Exhibitors/volunteers/VIPs and members of the Press that have already registered may queue in the admissions line beginning at 10:00AM to pick up a wristband.

The line to enter the panel will form downstairs outside of the Linden Oak Room beginning at 2pm. Volunteers with signs will guide you into the line.

All panels are recorded and available on the SPX youtube channel a few days following the show.

Rebecca will also be doing two books signings, Saturday from 1:00PM-2:00PM and Sunday from 1:00PM-2:00PM. The signings will be at table W85, with a line forming outside the doors to the ballroom closest to her tables.
Small Press Expo (SPX) is the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels, and alternative political cartoons. SPX is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit that brings together more than 650 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers, and distributors each year. Graphic novels, mini comics, and alternative comics will all be on display and for sale by their authors and illustrators. The expo includes a series of panel discussions and interviews with this year's guests.

The Ignatz Award is a festival prize held every year at SPX recognizing outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning, with the winners chosen by attendees at the show.

As in previous years, profits from the SPX will go to support the SPX Graphic Novel Gift Program, which funds graphic novel purchases for public and academic libraries. For more information on the Small Press Expo, please visit http://www.smallpressexpo.com.
Small Press Expo
P.O. Box 5704
Bethesda, Maryland
20824
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Monday, October 02, 2017

SPX Oral History - Joel Pollack

Rhode & Pollack at Baltimore Comic Con 2014
by Mike Rhode

Joel Pollack founded  Big Planet Comics in Bethesda, MD in 1986, and is still behind the counter a few days a week. The chain has grown to four stores, as Joel's former employees have opened their own stores. Joel was at the beginning of the Small Press Expo and jotted a few notes down.

I was involved in the first ten or so. The first was a collaboration between Jon Cohen (Beyond Comics), Lou Danoff (Zenith Comics), and myself with moral support (and much feedback) of Dave Sim (Cerebus) and Jeff Smith (Bone). It was planned for a Thursday evening before a Diamond Comic Distributor trade show. It was held at the Ramada Inn in Bethesda. Retailers were invited to set up.

What was your role? How did it change over time?

I'd like to think that I was a bit of a moral compass. I believe my greatest contribution to SPX was disallowing retailers from setting up, starting with the second SPX. I felt that it was a show about creators, and that creators shouldn't have to compete with retailers selling their products. As time went on, my role quickly diminished, and ultimately became the one task of procuring the park for the Sunday picnic/softball game. I actually umpired a few of the games.

Where was SPX when you worked on it?

Mostly Bethesda, though I believe I had some small role the one year it moved to Silver Spring.

What were some memorable events?

One of the big ones was Chris Oarr's tenure as executive director. I believe it was Chris who introduced the Sunday picnic/softball game and pig-roast. I believe it was Chris' idea to create the Ignatz Awards. Chris created the template for the current SPX.

What were your favorite parts of SPX?

The feeling of camaraderie amongst exhibitors and staff. The great volunteers that SPX attracted. The opportunity for creators to meet their fans, and sell their creations which were generally unavailable in comic shops.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

A BCC Interview with John Patrick Green

by Mike Rhode

For years now, John Patrick Green (as he now styles himself to avoid confusion with the young adult writer John Green) has been a regular at the Small Press Expo, usually accompanied by Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier. This year, I caught up with him at Baltimore Comic Con where he agreed to answer a few questions.

What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

I'm the writer/artist of HIPPOPOTAMISTER and the upcoming KITTEN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY early-reader graphic novels, both from First Second Books, and also the artist of the TEEN BOAT! and JAX EPOCH series' with writer Dave Roman. I also do a lot of freelance graphic novel and type design for other publishers like Scholastic Graphix.

How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?

I do a combination of traditional and digital. I still like to draw by hand onto actual paper, and then scan the work into the computer for colors. For inking often what I'll do is sketch out my pencils, scan and compose them into proper layouts in Photoshop, print the pencils as "blue lines" onto bristol, then ink over the printout. Then I'll scan those back into the computer for coloring, and the leftover blue lines can just be turned off, without having to erase graphite from the page like with classic inking over pencils. Depending on the project I'll do my balloons, captions, and letters by hand or in computer.

When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?

I grew up an '80s kid on Long Island, NY.

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

I went to School of Visual Arts (SVA) in Manhattan for graphic design, but I took a number of comic book-related electives. I pretty much grew up making comics, starting around 4th grade or so, and was always taking as many art classes as I could in school. I'd say I'm mostly self-taught, but my college experience was invaluable.

Who are your influences?

My earliest influences would be newspaper strips, like Garfield and later Calvin & Hobbes. Favorite painters would be Van Gogh, René Magritte, and Norman Rockwell. As for comics, my biggest influence as far as my own sensibilities go is probably the original Spider-Ham series (yes, I said "ham.") I was definitely more of a Marvel kid than a D.C. kid, but I was also inspired by a lot of indy books like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Usagi Yojimbo, especially. And being an '80s kid, of course Star Wars was a big part of my youth.
  
If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?

I wouldn't say I have any regrets, but possibly the one thing I'd do differently is stay at Disney Publishing. I worked for Disney Adventures Magazine for almost 10 years, and I loved working for Disney, but I'd gone freelance before Disney bought out Marvel and Lucasfilm. So being huge fan of those things as a kid, I occasionally wonder if I'd stayed at Disney just a little longer, would I have a hand in those properties now?

What work are you best-known for?

Probably TEEN BOAT! It's the only graphic novel about a boy who can transform into a small yacht. It features the angst of being a teen and the thrill of being a boat!

What work are you most proud of?

That's tough! I don't know if I'm necessarily more proud of any one project of mine over another. I guess I'd probably go with HIPPOPOTAMISTER because it's gotten a lot of positive responses from librarians and kids, and the recognition certainly feels good. But that doesn't make me like any of my other books less. I am proud of my KITTEN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY book, but that doesn't come out for awhile, so I'd say I'm more nervous about how people will respond to it.

What would you like to do  or work on in the future?

So many things that it's hard to narrow it down! I'd love to finally finish NEARLY DEPARTED, this video game I've been designing for years, but technology moves so fast that every time I get around to working on it, most of my effort goes to rebuilding it for modern systems. That's more of a hobby project, but it'd be nice to put it to bed. Same for getting the final volume of JAX EPOCH published, as that's been completed for a few years and hasn't been released. As for my next book (after finishing the ones already in my queue), usually the thing I'd "like" to work on is whatever a publisher gives me the green light for! When there are half a dozen book ideas I want to do, but can't do all at once, it can be a big help to have someone else say "do this one!"

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?

There isn't really one specific thing I do. It could be anything, really. Sometimes I'll just zone out. Sometimes I'll pace around. Usually I'll just preoccupy myself with another project, or watch some TV, or play a video game, or cook some food, or do some chores, like wash dishes or something. So my strategy is basically "do something else and come back later." I guess that's also known as procrastination.

What do you think will be the future of your field?

The future is now! There are already a lot of things going on in comics and the book industry that I'd call futuristic. Digital versions with sound effects and motion graphics, things like that. Having a social media presence be so much a part of an author's profile. The Kickstarters and Patreons and the like being new or alternative funding and distribution models. But as much as things change, I think there's still a place for people who just want to write or draw. It certainly helps to keep up with the changes in the industry, but the basics aren't going to completely go away. Until the robots come for us, that is.

How was your BCC experience? How often have you attended it?

This was my first time at BCC and it was great. I've exhibited at big shows like San Diego Comic-Con before, and this show is in a similar vein. Lots of wonderful fans and the convention was well-run. And I got to see a lot of other creators that I haven't crossed paths with in awhile. I look forward to doing it again in the future. I haven't spent much time in Baltimore, but it seemed like a great city, so I hope to be back soon.

Do you have a website or blog?

My website is www.johngreenart.com, but I am absolutely terrible at keeping it up-to-date. Probably the best way to be informed of my projects and appearances is to follow me on twitter: @johngreenart