Small Press Expo Announces Ted Rall, Ruben Bolling and Matt Wuerker as Guests for “Outside Looking In: Alternative Political Cartooning in 2008”

Small Press Expo Announces Ted Rall, Ruben Bolling and Matt Wuerker as Guests for “Outside Looking In: Alternative Political Cartooning in 2008”

For Immediate Release
Contact: Warren Bernard
Phone: 301-537-4615
E-Mail:webernard@spxpo.com

Bethesda, Maryland; September 9, 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 Ted Rall, Ruben Bolling and Matt Wuerker as guests for the SPX 2008 special event, “Outside Looking In: Alternative Political Cartooning in 2008”.

Ted Rall is the President-elect of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists (A.A.E.C.) and has traveled extensively to Central Asia. Author, ATTITUDE editor, cartoonist, columnist and sometime TV personality, Ted’s most recent book is “Silk Road to Ruin: Is Central Asia the New Middle East?” and his latest cartoon collection is, “America Gone Wild”. For more information on Ted Rall, visit his website at http://www.tedrall.com.

Ruben Bolling is the creator of the multi-faceted, multi-paneled social and political weekly strip, Tom The Dancing Bug. His most recent book is “Thrilling Tom The Dancing Bug Stories”. SPX is grateful that Ruben is making his first appearance at SPX in a number of years. Visit his web site at http://www.gocomics.com/tomthedancingbug/.

Matt Wuerker is the cartoonist and illustrator at Politico.Com and the weekly Politico newspaper. His cartoons and illustrations have been published by Smithsonian Magazine, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and The Nation. You can see his cartoons at http://www.politico.com.

Ted, Ruben and Matt will join previously announced Tom Tomorrow and Lloyd Dangle at a special series of panels and interviews surrounding the state of political cartooning in this historic election year.

Additional guests will be added over the next few weeks, please stay tuned for those announcements.

The events surrounding “Outside Looking In: Alternative Political Cartooning in 2008” is included with the SPX admission fee of $8 for a single day and $15 for both days.

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.

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.