Thursday, September 14, 2017

SPX's expanded programming schedule

Local creators are Liz Reed, Ann Telnaes and Matt Wuerker.

September 16, 2017

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm White Flint Auditorium

1001 Knights Roundtable: An Artist Discussion About Work And People Positivity

Artists from the 1001 Knights anthology join curators Annie Stoll & Kevin Jay Stanton to discuss their work and process in relation to the journey of the 1001 Knights books.  This is a safe, creative, and positive space where artists Shannon Wright, Zack Clemente, Alice Meichi Li, Barbara Perez Marquez & Deandra Tan as well More Info »
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Glen Echo Room

Comics Workbook Hangout with Juan Fernandez

Join the Comics Workbook team for an hour of comics-crafting. Learn about color and line, explore the rhythm of the grid, and take your comics-making game to a new level. Simple exercises will push you in mind-bending directions. Juan Fernandez organizes the Pittsburgh Comics Salon, teaches and writes for Comics Workbook and facilitate the CreatorsMakersTeachers network in More Info »
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm White Oak Room

Gilbert Hernandez & Jim Rugg in Conversation

With Love & Rockets, legendary cartoonist Gilbert Hernandez helped create one of the most lauded comic series of all time. Pittsburgh cartoonist Jim Rugg has built a loyal fanbase with Street Angel, a beloved indie comic about a sword-wielding skateboarder and her heroic adventures. Join these two celebrated cartoonists as they discuss craft and practice, More Info »
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm White Flint Auditorium

Architecture Of A Page

Architecture of a Page is a panel that's all about LAYOUTS! Moderator J. A. Micheline chats with four cartoonists–Tillie Walden, Sloane Leong, Iasmin Omar Ata, and Chris Kindred–to discuss their thought processes when it comes to page layouts, how structure can contribute to emotional content, and their major influences/go-to inspirations when constructing a page.  
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Glen Echo Room

Clay Sculpture Characters with Liz Reed

Make miniature clay sundae characters with Sweet Competition author/sculptor Liz Reed, who with her husband Jimmy are the creators behind Cuddles and Rage. Learn different techniques on how to apply realistic texture to your sundae and how to create facial expressions that will bring your delicious creation to life. For kids of all ages.
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm White Oak Room

Kick-Ass Annie-versary: Koyama Press Turns Ten

Annie Koyama has championed the work of emerging cartoonists for 10 years. As a leading publisher of underground comix, her roster features the work of many of today's top names in the indie comics scene, including Michael DeForge, Aidan Koch, Alex Schubert, Daryl Seitchik, and many more. Join KP artists Patrick Kyle, Eleanor Davis, Dustin More Info »
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm White Flint Auditorium

Barometer Of The Free Press

Tom Spurgeon moderates political cartoonists Ann Telnaes, Matt Wuerker, Keith Knight and Ben Passmore as they expand on Telnaes' keynote speech in Ottawa. They will explore the role and responsibility of being a political cartoonist in a time when the freedom of the press is under attack.
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm White Oak Room

Fukushima Devil Fish: Susumu Katsumata's Anti-Nuclear Manga

Critiques of nuclear energy in Japanese manga did not begin with the Fukushima Daiichi meltdowns in 2011. One of the regulars of the legendary alternative manga monthly Garo in the magazine's heyday of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Susumu Katsumata (1943-2007) has the curious distinction of having risen within the world of political cartooning More Info »
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm White Flint Auditorium

Genderfluidity, Technology and Futurism

Moderator L.Nichols will explore the recent movement in comics toward exploring genderfluidity within a science-fiction context, with an emphasis on technology and utopian ideals. Panelists Jeremy Sorese (Curveball), Carta Monir (Secure Connect), Kevin Czap (Fütchi Perf) and Rio Aubry Taylor (Jetty) will each discuss how their own work fits into this bold new vision of More Info »
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm White Oak Room

Emil Ferris: My Favorite Thing is Monsters

SPX is proud to feature cartoonist Emil Ferris in a rare east coast appearance. Her book, My Favorite Thing is Monsters from Fantagraphics, has garnered a lot of positive attention in the comics community and beyond. Legendary comics creator Art Spiegelman even dubbed her "one of the most important cartoonists of our time." Washington Post More Info »
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Glen Echo Room

Comics with Gilbert Hernandez – moderated by Frank Santoro

Sit at the feet of a master – glean some comics-making tips from one of the founding fathers of the alternative comics scene. Whether Gilbert talks about Love & Rockets, or the early days of punk rock, you won't want to miss this amazing opportunity. All ages.
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm White Flint Auditorium

Shock Humor, Farce and Satire

In a world that seems increasingly difficult to satirize, come see how cartoonists Tommi Musturi (Simply Samuel), Aaron Lange (Trim), Sabin Cauldron (Maleficium), and Katie Fricas (The New Yorker) use different comedic tools to address the absurd, the awful and the just plain ridiculous. Moderator Heidi MacDonald will assist in keeping track of each artist's More Info »
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm White Oak Room

World Building From Reality

Compelling environments, idiosyncratic details, atmospheric flourishes… The ability to build worlds is often discussed with genre/fantasy stories, but what role does it play for adult comics grounded in reality?  Ethan Rilly (Pope Hats), Noah Van Sciver (Fante Bukowski), Gabrielle Bell (Everything is Flammable), and Chris Kim (Herman by Trade) discuss their personal approaches to building More Info »
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm Glen Echo Room

Comics with Connor Willumsen

 One of the rising stars of the comics scene, Connor Willumsen, will lead exercises in comics-making. As someone who walks the line between alternative and mainstream comics, with work published by Koyama, and Breakdown Press, as well as Marvel and DC, Connor brings loads of talent to the table and he's eager to share. All More Info »
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm White Flint Auditorium

Filling In The Pieces: Comics Biography

When doing a comics biography, how do cartoonists approach the material they have at hand? For Box Brown, who did a biography of Andre the Giant, he struggled to find material that might reveal the wrestler's inner life. Anais Depommier had to sift through a mountain of material for her biography of Jean-Paul Sartre, a More Info »
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm White Oak Room

Science Fiction and Marginalization

Science fiction is a realm of exploration and for marginalized voices, a place to imagine and redefine futures where basic power structures are deconstructed and societies are decolonized. Moderator Sloane Leong will lead a discussion with cartoonists Alexis Zirrit (Space Riders), Albert Monteys (Universe!), Alex Alice (Le Troisieme Testament) and Carla Speed McNeil (Finder) who More Info »
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm White Flint Auditorium

Trump Presidential Library

Celebrants and detractors alike are chewing on the fact that Donald Trump was elected president. Shannon Wheeler and Robert Sikoryak will help you swallow. In their books Sh*t My President Says from Top Shel and The Unquotable Trump from Drawn & Quarterly (respectively), these two cartoonists illustrate Trump's words for comedic effect and insight. There will be More Info »
September 17, 2017

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm White Flint Auditorium

Balancing World-Building and Character In Kids' Comics

Laura Terry (Graveyard Shakes), Ben Sears (Volcano Trash), Janet Lee (Return Of the Dapper Men) & Lucy Bellwood (Baggywrinkles) all create elaborate worlds for their  colorful characters to dwell in. They will join moderator Isaac Cates to discuss how to balance the immersive quality of world-building with the development of character and story, particularly as More Info »
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm White Oak Room

Spinning With Tillie Walden

Tillie Walden, in her short cartooning career, has created some stunning, critically acclaimed stories. On a Sunbeam, her unconventional science fiction webcomic, was recently nominated for an Eisner for Best Digital Comic. Tillie's newest project, Spinning from First Second, focuses on her decade spent in competitive figure skating. This emotional graphic memoir, along with her More Info »
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Glen Echo Room

Comics with Alexis Ziritt

No one can draw Space Rider like Alexis Ziritt – come see how he does it and pick his brain about using color and line in his unique way. Alexis Ziritt is originally from Venezuela but has lived in Florida for the past decade. He's been published in Complex Magazine, Heavy Metal, BOOM! Studios and Dark Horse More Info »
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm White Flint Auditorium

The Serious Business of Humorous Memoir

Panelists Keith Knight (K Chronicles), November Garcia (Foggy Notions), Glynnis Fawkes (Reign Of Crumbs), and Jennifer Hayden (The Story Of My Tits) will explain to moderator Marc Sobel how their focus on the funnier side of their lives doesn't stop them from discussing serious issues as well. Indeed for some of these cartoonists, humor is More Info »
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm White Oak Room

Eleanor Davis & Jillian Tamaki In Conversation

Jillian Tamaki (Boundless) and Eleanor Davis (You And A Bike And The Road) are two of our generation's greatest cartoonists. Both create beautiful imagery while telling incredibly poignant stories which are thoughtful and evocative. Join moderator Jim Rugg (Street Angel) for an in-depth talk about their storytelling approach, inspiration, and process.      
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Glen Echo Room

Comics Workbook Hangout w/Sally Ingraham and Audra Stang

Take a crash course in comics making – for kids big and small. We will bring the grids, the markers, the know-how – you bring your personal spark. Discover the comics-maker within you and let them out! Sally Ingraham is a cartoonist, educator, and journalist in Pittsburgh, and Audra Stang is a cartoonist currently located in More Info »
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm White Flint Auditorium

Troubled Teenagers and Modern Times

Panelists Mardou(Sky In Stereo), Charles Forsman (The End Of The Fucking World, This is Not Okay), Sean Knickerbocker (Killbuck), Melissa Mendes (Lou, The Weight) and Nate Powell (Any Empire, Swallow Me Whole), led by moderator Craig Fischer, will discuss how they are able to realistically and empathetically create vivid teenage characters who are struggling with More Info »
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm White Oak Room

Reading Without Walls

Gene Luen Yang has distinguished himself as a prominent voice in youth-friendly literature through his books American Born Chinese and Boxers and Saints. He continues to inspire young readers by championing diversity as the recently appointed National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Join us for a very special conversation with Gene as we spotlight Reading More Info »
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Glen Echo Room

Comics Workbook Free Draw

You never know who you might bump into at this Comics Workbook hangout session. Everyone needs a place to chill out as the show starts to wind down – we might be working on comics when your favorite pros show up to hang out towards the end of the day! Come one and all.
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm White Flint Auditorium

Good Minnesotans and Mirror Mirrors: Ten Years of 2dcloud

Join moderator Jared Gardner, publisher Raighne Hogan and an array of 2dcloud artists as they celebrate and recount the history of this cutting-edge indy publisher and look toward its future. Panelists Xia Gordon (Kindling), Margot Ferrick (Yours), Fifi Martinez (Deep Affection), and Laura Lannes (Mirror Mirror II) will all be debuting new comics at SPX. More Info »
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm White Oak Room

Koyama & DeForge: Lose, Everyone Wins

For nearly a decade, Annie Koyama (Koyama Press) and Michael DeForge (Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero) have been wowing readers with their strange and darkly humorous, ongoing anthology series, Lose. Join us for a special conversation with a celebrated, master cartoonist and an award-winning publisher as we take an insightful look at one of small press More Info »
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Glen Echo Room

Comics with Sacha Mardou

Sacha Mardou will talk about scripting and planning processes for longform graphic novels, and will give a reading from her new graphic novel, Strange Kind of Love. Dig into process and research techniques. All ages.
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm White Flint Auditorium

Mental Illness, Motherhood and Memoir

A new trend in memoir comics is an exploration of motherhood and the ways in which mental illness and societal forces have a profound effect on the experience. Keiler Roberts (Sunburning), Luke Howard (Our Mother), Tyler Cohen (Primahood: Magenta) and Summer Pierre (Paper Pencil Life) will provide their perspectives on the topic, both from the More Info »

Comic Riffs on what might have been

This is the cover the New Yorker planned to use if Hillary Clinton had won

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog September 13 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/09/13/this-is-the-cover-the-new-yorker-planned-to-use-if-hillary-clinton-had-won/

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

PW talks SPX

More To Come 278: TCJ vs Craig Yoe and Upcoming Comics Festivals

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/podcasts/index.html?channel=2&podcast=761

Dembicki family featured in Small Press Expo article

Aspiring cartoonists are drawn to the Small Press Expo

[in print as Are you drawn to create comics? Look here.]


Washingtom Post September 13 2017, p. C10

Adam Dembicki attends the Small Press Expo in 2012 in part to sell his comic book "Wi-Tron." (Matt Dembicki)

Xavier Atencio, Disney ‘imagineer’ obituaries from The Post

Xavier Atencio, Disney 'imagineer' who wrote 'A Pirate's Life for Me,' dies at 98 [in print as Xavier Atencio, 98; Early Disney animator, 'imagineer']

Washington Post September 13 2017, p. B6
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/xavier-atencio-disney-imagineer-who-wrote-a-pirates-life-for-me-dies-at-98/2017/09/12/d5b7f726-97c4-11e7-b569-3360011663b4_story.html

X Atencio, the Disney Legend behind Pirates and Haunted Mansion attractions, dies at 98

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog September 12 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/09/12/x-atencio-the-disney-legend-behind-pirates-and-haunted-mansion-attractions-dies-at-98/

The Post interviews Sandra Boynton

Hippos, birdies, T. rexes, pigs: How Sandra Boynton built an empire and won your child's heart [in print as 40 years of whimsy from the barn]

Washington Post September 13 2017, p. C1, 9
online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/hippos-birdies-t-rexes-pigs-how-sandra-boynton-built-an-empire-and-won-your-childs-heart/2017/09/12/9f99a0b6-95c8-11e7-89fa-bb822a46da5b_story.html

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

SPX Announces Philadelphia Free Library As Recipient of Graphic Novel Gift Program

SPX Announces Philadelphia Free Library As Recipient of Graphic Novel Gift Program

For Immediate Release                    
Contact: Catherine Fraas                                            
 
Washington, DC; September 12, 2017 - 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 the Philadelphia Free Library is the 2017 recipient of the Small Press Expo Graphic Novel Gift Program.
 
This program, the first of its kind in the United States, is an outright gift of graphic novels to the library as selected by the library's collections specialists, who this year selected 87 titles comprising 310 individual books.

To date, the Small Press Expo Graphic Novel Gift Program has given away over 1800 graphic novels and comics to library systems from Virginia to Pennsylvania.
 
There was a formal presentation of the books to the Philadelphia Free Library by Small Press Expo Graphic Novel Gift Program Director Catherine Fraas on Saturday, September 9.
 
The books were selected by the library's collection staff from the offerings of publishers Fantagraphics, Top Shelf, Drawn & Quarterly, Cartoon Books, Adhouse Books and Koyama Press, all of whom support this program.

 The artist Kris Mukai designed a special bookplate that has been placed in all of the books to be donated by SPX.

SPX's Graphic Novel Gift Program is an expansion of the philanthropic and charitable endeavors that are part of its corporate charter, and is in addition to SPX's annual support to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. The targets of this program are public and academic library systems in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area as selected by the Small Press Expo.
 
The goals of this program are:
 
- to facilitate the availability of graphic novels to readers of all ages utilizing public and school libraries,
- to promote learning and literacy through the availability of graphic novels at local libraries, and
- to provide library systems with additional resources by which they can purchase graphic novels and comics.
 
SPX will be held Saturday, September 16 from 11am-7pm and Sunday, September 17, 12-6pm at the North Bethesda Marriott Convention Center in North Bethesda, Maryland. Admission is $15 for Saturday, $10 for Sunday, and $20 for both days.

Mike and Maggie Jenkins on NBC News tonight

They'll be on talking about the lunch bags that Mike has drawn for his daughter for years now. Mike says, " NBC Nightly News airs here at 7:00. It'll be near the end of the broadcast, 7:20ish."

Favorites of mine who'll be at SPX

Local friends of ComicsDC include my co-author Matt Dembicki, Christiann "Sticky Comics" MacAuley, Steve "Hurricane" Conley (if his power comes on), Retrofit Comics, DC Conspiracy, Teresa Logan Roberts, G.E. Gallas, Vanessa Bettencourt, Gordon Harris, and Curls Studio's Carolyn Belefski and Joe Carabeo. I buy anything new they have as a matter of course (bitch at me if I've missed listing you; I'm doing this part from memory) and I believe ALL of them have new books.

Speaking of which, I've compiled this book:

Picture This Press publishes first title in the Richard Thompson Library


Picture This Press is proud to publish The Incomplete Art of Why Things Are, the first volume in its new series devoted to the work of artist Richard Thompson. The Richard Thompson Library will collect a variety of works produced by the prolific Thompson over the course of his career that have yet to be reprinted since their original publication.

Other emails I've gotten from people I admire include:
Rosarium Publishing:

Bizhan Khodabandeh and Whitney Taylor at Small Press Expo (SPX) in Bethesda, MD, in September 16-17th.


Kriota Willberg:

This year I will be selling mini comics and body science based images at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda Maryland (http://www.smallpressexpo.com). My debut comic for this event is called Stitchin' Time!, a ridiculous historical fiction based on factual medical history. For the first time ever, the Roman encyclopedist Celsus (25 BCE-50 CE) and the Greek surgeon Galen (129-200 CE) team up to to stitch a disemboweled gladiator back together. Hilarity ensues! My table number at SPX is H13A. If you are in the neighborhood, come on by!

Lucy Bellwood:

If you're in the DC area and want the support of a friendly face, I'll be tabling at the Small Press Expo next weekend in Bethesda, MD. Come find me at Table K9A, right next to the Cartozia Tales team. (Speaking of Cartozia, I'm selling off some rare original art I did for the series over in my online shop, if you're interested in that sort of thing.)

Drawn & Quarterly:

Catch D+Q at SPX at table #W1-4 this coming September 16th and 17th in North Bethesda! We will be accompanied by special guests Jillian Tamaki (Boundless) and Michael DeForge (Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero), all weekend, as well as R. Sikoryak (Terms and Conditions, The Unquotable Trump) on Saturday only.

Fantagraphics:

This year's guests include:
Gilbert Hernandez, Tommi Musturi, Emil Ferris, Charles Forsman, Eleanor Davis, Ann Telnaes, Ben Marra, Michel Fiffe, Noah Van Sciver, Simon Hanselmann, Katie Skelly, Sophie Goldstein, Graham Chaffee, Joseph Remnant, Mark Fertig, Dash Shaw, Liz Suburbia, and others!


Monday, September 11, 2017

Sept 15: SPX's Annual Library of Congress Lecture: Comics & The Power of Intellectual Freedom


Sixth Annual SPX Lecture at the Library of Congress: The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund: Comics & The Power of Intellectual Freedom.

For Immediate Release Contact: Warren Bernard
Email: warren@spxpo.com
 
Bethesda, Maryland; September 11, 2017
Media Release ­—  This year's annual Small Press Expo Lecture is The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund: Comics & The Power of Intellectual Freedom.

Where: Library of Congress Madison Building
             West Dining Room, 6th floor
Metro Stop: Capitol South
When: Friday, September 15, 2017, 12:00 noon-1:00 PM

A trend that began in the 1940s continues today—challenges to comic books! Charles Brownstein, Executive Director of the non-profit Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, will share the history of comic book censorship from the medium's origins to the present day. 

Participants will learn about the history of comic book censorship, and how that history still informs challenges to graphic novels happening right now. Learn what CBLDF does to protect this valuable medium, discover some of the most frequently challenged comics and graphic novels, and what you can do to make a difference. 

Emerge from this session with a new or renewed passion for comics, graphic novels, and manga and as a strong advocate for protecting this form of free speech! 

A selection of comic books from the Serial and Government Publications Division will be on display. 

This is the sixth annual SPX festival program sponsored by the Serial & Government Publications Division.

http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/calendar.html
 


SPX also supports the Small Press Expo Collection at the Library of Congress, which preserves the history of both the artistic output of the creators who come to SPX, as well as the art that SPX itself generates as part of its yearly festival. It the first program of its type by a major institution in the United States to preserve the works of the indie comics community.

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 600 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, as well as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), which protects the First Amendment rights of comic book readers and professionals. For more information on the CBLDF, visit their website at http://www.cbldf.org. For more information on the Small Press Expo, please visit http://www.spxpo.com.
 



Sept 26: Drawing Inspiration with Cartoonist Jim Toomey

Drawing Inspiration with Cartoonist Jim Toomey


Tuesday, September 26 at 7 pm

Reception at 6:30 pm with refreshments


Nationally syndicated cartoonist Jim Toomey, who has been drawing the newspaper comic strip "Sherman's Lagoon" for almost two decades, uses live drawing to demonstrate how he weaves an environmental message into his work, and how he has taken what he has learned in "old media" and applied it to creating short films and animations for an online audience.



Free and open to the public.  Location:

Malsi Doyle & Michael Forman Theater – 2nd Floor, McKinley Building, American University

4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016-8017