Small Press Expo Announces Chester Brown, Craig Thompson, Diane Noomin, Johnny Ryan, Jay Stephens and Matthew Thurber as guests for SPX 2011

Small Press Expo Announces Chester Brown, Craig Thompson, Diane Noomin, Johnny Ryan, Jay Stephens and Matthew Thurber as guests for SPX 2011

 

For Immediate Release                              Contact: Warren Bernard

                                                                         

                                                                          E-Mail: warren@spxpo.com

Bethesda, Maryland; April 6, 2011 - 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 Chester Brown, Craig Thompson, Diane Noomin, Johnny Ryan, Jay Stephens and Matthew Thurber will be guests for SPX 2011, to be held September 10 and 11 at the Marriott North Bethesda Hotel and Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland, across from the White Flint Metro stop.  These guests are in addition to the previously announced Roz Chast, Jim Woodring, Ann Telnaes and Jum Rugg.

Chester Brown will be inducted into the Canadian Cartoon Hall of Fame this June for his body of work, which includes the series Ed The Happy Clown, the autobiographical collections The Playboy and I Never Liked You, as well as his historical graphic novel, Louis Riel: A Comic Strip Biography. His new book, Paying For It, will be released by Drawn and Quarterly next month.

Craig Thompson is the winner of multiple Harvey, Eisner and Ignatz Awards and is best known for his works Goodbye Chunky Rice, Carnet de Voyage and Blankets, with Blankets awarded Time Magazine's #1 Graphic Novel in 2003. His first major release since 2004 is the upcoming Habibi, to be released by Pantheon on September 20.

Diane Noomin is one of the pioneers of women's comics.  She, contributed to such underground titles as Wimmen's Comix and Young Lust, as well as being

 the founder, editor and a contributor to the women-oriented series, Twisted Sisters, of which she also edited two volumes of compilations. Ms. Noomin's latest release is Glitz-2-Go, a 40-year retrospective of her work being published by Fantagraphics.

Johnny Ryan is the creator behind Angry Youth Comics and the series Blecky Yuckerella. He has contributed to such publications as Nickelodeon Magazine, Mad, LA Weekly and The Stranger. His latest book is Take A Joke, the third Angry Youth collection published by Fantagraphics.

Jay Stephens is the Emmy Award-winner who created both Cartoon Network's The Secret Saturdays and Discovery 's Kids Tutenstein. His also created the long-running Oddville comic strip, being released this summer as an Adhouse Books collection titled Welcome to Oddville. 

Matthew Thurber is both a comic artist and musician who has just released his latest installation of his comic book series 1-800-MICE from Picturebox. He has also contributed to Kramers Ergot, as well as illustrated for The New York Times.

For detailed information about our announced guests, visit the SPX web site at www.spxpo.com.

SPX culminates with the presentation of the Ignatz Awards for outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning on Saturday night, September 10 at 9PM. Attendees at SPX get in free to the Ignatz Awards. The Ignatz is the first Festival Prize in the US comic book industry, with winners chosen by ballots submitted by attendees during SPX. 

SPX is a registered 501(c)3 which brings together more than 300 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. 

As in previous years, 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/.            

The hours for SPX 2011 are 11AM - 7PM Saturday, September 10, and noon - 6PM Sunday, September 11. Admission is $10 for a single day and $15 for both days.