Dear Creators, Publishers, and Friends,
We hope you've had a great 2013! As we look ahead to next fall and the SPX 2014, we need to update you on a few things. We'll be making some changes to our registration process and we want to walk you through them.
The rush for SPX tables last year revealed that simply moving our long-time "first come, first serve" rules to a digital format was not the right solution. Beyond the website issues that plagued us (A pox on your household, Bluehost!), it was clear from the overall feedback that we needed to rethink the entire process. So back to the drawing board we went.
We Have a Plan
We've given loads of thought to how best to manage the show given its recent growth and taking into account what's going on in the independent comics community we exist to support. After a great deal of careful consideration, we've made the decision that for 2014, SPX is moving to a split registration system. Half of our tables will be awarded by an open Lottery and half byinvitation.
About the Lottery
Here's a crazy notion: SPX has literally doubled in size since 2011. We are now able to accommodate a larger and more diverse group of creators than ever before. And we're committed to keeping SPX open to all, whether you're just starting out or have been honing your craft for years. Moving to a table Lottery allows us to meet these goals while removing the potential for unfairness and unquestionable inconvenience that had crept into our "first come, first serve" process.
Going forward there will be total transparency to how people get their tables and how the wait list works. We'll have a simple initial registration and a lengthy window of registration so you won't be dealing with website crashes. This will be a truly random and fair process to reserve your tables.
About those Invitations
Let's get the "C" word out of the way up front. SPX has no interest in broadly "curating" our show based on content. Whereas other shows use this method quite well, we prefer a different path.
On the other hand, each year we try to put together thematically consistent groups of guests. We begin working on guests a full year in advance and that work continues up until a few weeks before showtime. We need to ensure that we have the appropriate table space to offer our featured creators. This is not a major change from year's past but by acknowledging these folks as invited, the process is more transparent.
Along with our annual guests, another group that is just as important are the creators and publishers who have continuously supported SPX over the last half decade or more. These folks have been instrumental in creating the community that we cherish. Without these stalwarts, SPX would be utterly unrecognizable and the growth of the last several years would have been impossible. With our 20th Birthday Party approaching, we would not want to have these friends miss the festivities.
As to how this will work, practically speaking, prior to the Lottery, SPX will reach out to those legacy supporters of SPX offering them a window of opportunity to commit to their table(s). If the table space is declined, it will then roll over to the Lottery pool and be available to all Lottery participants.
What to Expect
1. By early January we will notify all of the SPX Legacy members so everyone knows whether they need to register for the Lottery or not.
2. In mid-January we will send out via both our exhibitor e-mail list and social media the start and end dates for Lottery registration. A web site will be provided to enter your information as well as further details on the registration process. We will also announce the final size of the number of tables in the Lottery pool.
3. There will be a 3 week window to register for the Lottery, so we can avoid the crazy, mad rush to sign up online that plagued us last year. Weekly reminders will go out via our e-mail list and social media to be sure that this is kept on everyone's radar.
So There it Is
We're growing - this community is growing - and with growth comes change. Given our experience last year, we're sure these changes to our registration process are for the better.
We're committed keeping SPX an open, welcoming event and to using a transparent, democratic process that ensures new creators have an equal opportunity to participate.
With our 20th Birthday coming up, we want to have a really happy party crowd!!!
Any questions, do not hesitate to send us a note to EXHIBITORS@SPXPO.COM and we will get right back to you with answers.
Thanks all,
Mike and Eden and Dan and Sam and Sarah and Bill and Catherine and and Nate and Warren and Greg and John and Rusty and Joe
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
SPX 2014's lottery system for tables
Sunday, December 22, 2013
The Post quotes the LA Times on Internet animation
This article is in the Dec 22nd Post as Animation guru predicts 'golden age' online.
Fred Seibert foresees 'next golden age of animation' on Internet
Seibert, producer of the online series 'Bee & PuppyCat' for YouTube's Cartoon Hangover, is responsible for some of the most successful animated TV shows of the 1990s.
By Richard Verrier
December 18, 2013,
The Simpsons, Math and The Post's review
Simpsons and a Slide Rule [online title: Mathematics and Homer Simpson]
By Jordan Ellenberg,
Washington Post December 22 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2013/12/20/ef1bfaa6-5b9a-11e3-bf7e-f567ee61ae21_story.html
Those darn comic strips
Good commentary, but bad tax advice, in the comics
Glenn Easton, William F. Baxter
Washington Post December 21 2013
Happy Holidays from ComicsDC
Michael Pohrer whipped us up a holiday card this year. Happy Holidays from all of us at ComicsDC.
Justin Aclin interview on Post's religion blog
Atheists battling supernatural villains: Q&A with Justin Aclin [S.H.O.O.T. First]
By Kimberly Winston | Religion News Service,
Washington Post's On Faith blog December 20, 2013
Friday, December 20, 2013
Montgomery County launches comic book ad safety campaign
Comic book style graphic to tell pedestrian safety storyline
County Executive launched English and Spanish pedestrian safety campaign
Montgomery County Department of Transportation
The Post reviews new dinosaur movie unfavorably
This prehistoric chatter matters ['Walking With Dinosaurs'].
By Stephanie Merry,
Washington Post December 20 2013
Fantastic Forum today - Neil Gaiman interview
Ulysses E. Campbell says,
Watch an ALL-NEW episode of FANTASTIC FORUM in Montgomery County, MD today at 5:30 PM on MCM Comcast channel 21; RCN channel 21; Verizon FiOS channel 21. On location from Victory Comics in Falls Church, VA! Host Sherin Nicole and panelists Ben Taylor, Jon Skovron and Josh Sheridan Talley discuss the DOCTOR WHO 50th ANNIVERSARY. Featuring Producer/host Ulysses E Campbell's interview with author NEIL GAIMAN and Sea To Net Productions's DOCTOR WHO TARDIS PHOTOBOOTH!
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Fluggenock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Well, Waddya Know?"
"Well, Waddya Know?"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1425
Am I the only one out here who's sick to goddamn' death of seeing the US Left wasting its time getting its panties in a twist over this whole phony-assed "is Santa Claus white or black" controversy? Am I the only one out here who's fed up watching the US Left letting some bimbo at Fox News push its buttons with the same old standard-issue Culture War horseshit?
Is Santa Claus white or black? Ask me if I give a shit. Honestly, with all the really important stuff going on, why is the US Left wasting time fighting with Megyn Kelly over this crap?
Get a grip, willya? Idiots.
--
________________________________________________________________
Mike Flugennock, flugennock at sinkers dot org
Mike's Political Cartoons: dubya dubya dubya dot sinkers dot org
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1425
Am I the only one out here who's sick to goddamn' death of seeing the US Left wasting its time getting its panties in a twist over this whole phony-assed "is Santa Claus white or black" controversy? Am I the only one out here who's fed up watching the US Left letting some bimbo at Fox News push its buttons with the same old standard-issue Culture War horseshit?
Is Santa Claus white or black? Ask me if I give a shit. Honestly, with all the really important stuff going on, why is the US Left wasting time fighting with Megyn Kelly over this crap?
Get a grip, willya? Idiots.
--
________________________________________________________________
Mike Flugennock, flugennock at sinkers dot org
Mike's Political Cartoons: dubya dubya dubya dot sinkers dot org
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Marvel and Hello Kitty are tracking kids
Marvel, Sanrio accused of ignoring privacy rules meant to protect children
By Hayley Tsukayama, Washington Post , December 18, 2013
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/disney-hello-kitty-maker-accused-of-flouting-new-kids-privacy-rules/2013/12/17/5c93f98a-6735-11e3-ae56-22de072140a2_story.htmlOriginal Christmas ornaments by cartoonists
Barbara Dale had a few people over to her house after a tour at Geppi's Entertainment Museum. After pizza, she coaxed people into decorating ornaments. Here's the one-of-a-kind ornaments now on my tree with a Thomas Nast's Santa Claus, a Cliffored Berryman's teddy bear (from the Smithsonian) and a couple of Snoopy's (from Hallmark's Peanuts line).
Carolyn Belefski
Joe Sutliff
Barbara Dale
Steve Artley
I kept getting this glowing nose on Artley's ornament - Christmas is magical after all...
Carolyn Belefski
Joe Sutliff
Barbara Dale
Steve Artley
I kept getting this glowing nose on Artley's ornament - Christmas is magical after all...
The Grim Quacker
Death is Good's The Grim Quacker, a toy done by a DC-area cartoon writer. He's got a book of cartoons out too, and sells t-shirts based in this character at local cons.
Senator Coburn doesn't approve of Superman's government service
Senator Coburn (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released "Wastebook 2013," highlighting 100 examples of wasteful and low-priority government spending totaling nearly $30 billion. Of interest to us is the cover and Chapter 2: "It's a Bird. It's a Plane. It's Superman! – (National Guard) $10 million.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Wow, the GPO has an interesting choice for a Christmas illustration
I'm a fan of their blog. I just wouldn't have chosen this illustration for an article about Christmas trees....
http://govbooktalk.gpo.gov/2013/12/17/oh-say-can-you-tree-american-christmas-tree-traditions/
As you can see, it's Uncle Sam and Columbia bringing the blessings of liberty to less-enlightened peoples in the wake of the Spanish-American War. My guess is that it's a scan off the Library of Congress site. Yes, here it is, from 1899.Oh, say, can you tree? American Christmas tree traditions
by Michele Bartram, U.S. Government Online Bookstorehttp://govbooktalk.gpo.gov/2013/12/17/oh-say-can-you-tree-american-christmas-tree-traditions/
'Cartoon Picayune' #6 is available
Local cartoonist/small press publisher Josh Kramer has a new issue out of his Cartoon Picayune anthology. The "Small Worlds" issue (No. 6) is now available to order (40 pages; $4). Josh has also lauched a subscription drive to help continue to fund the series: $10 for one year (and two issues) or $20 for two years (and four issues). Shipping included. As a bonus, subscribers will now recieve a limited edition screen print by Dakota McFadzean, while supplies last.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "Selfies!"
"Selfies!"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=1421
The past couple of weeks have seen many memorable moments in all the pomp and ceremony marking the passing of Nelson Mandela, but none as memorable as this indelible image of three world leaders keeping it classy at the Mandela memorial service last week.
And now, Mandela has finally been laid to rest in his ancestral village -- and not a moment too soon, as I don't know if I could've stood much more of the hypocritical spewage from the leaders of the nations who funded and armed the apartheid regime and conspired to keep Mandela imprisoned for nearly three decades.
Some of the most breathtaking spewage had to have come from that inimitable mass murderer and concentration camp operator, our very own Barack "Dronemeister" Obama:
"We will not likely see the likes of Nelson Mandela again. So it falls to us as best we can to forward the example that he set..."
President Sparkle Pony has actually said something truthful here, if only by accident. If the likes of Mandela were emerging today, he'd likely have made it onto Obama's "Disposition Matrix" if he hasn't already been smeared in a drone strike while he attended a friend's wedding. Either that, or he might be rotting in Guantanamo right now.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25322260
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/12/05/statement-president-death-nelson-mandela
--
.
"Though I could not caution all, I yet may warn a few:
Don't lend your hand to raise no flag atop no ship of fools!"
--grateful dead.
________________________________________________________________
Mike Flugennock, flugennock at sinkers dot org
Mike's Political Cartoons: dubya dubya dubya dot sinkers dot org
Jennifer & Matthew Holm: 2013 National Book Festival
Jennifer & Matthew Holm: 2013 National Book Festival
Jennifer and Matthew Holm appear at the 2013 Library of Congress National Book Festival.
Lynda Barry: 2013 National Book Festival
Lynda Barry: 2013 National Book Festival
Cartoonist Lynda Barry appears at the 2013 Library of Congress National Book Festival.
That darn Doonesbury
Letter to the Editor: Some commentary doesn't belong in the comics [in print as No commentary in the comics].
Alan S. Miller, Alexandria
Washington Post December 14 2013
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