ComicsDC: PR: SPX 2026 Announces Programming Slate and Advance Tickets

For Immediate Release

Contact: Rob Clough

North Bethesda, Maryland – Small Press Expo (SPX) announces a full slate of in-person programming for the 2026 show and advance ticket sales.

To avoid registration lines at SPX 2026, pick up your advance tickets at Eventbrite.

The programming slate at SPX 2026 has a variety of panels, featuring solo spotlights on Derf and his new book, The Dissdents, as well as Frederick Noland's new graphic biography Major Taylor. There will be comics performances with Carousel and Frog Farm, as well as a screening of the documentary Women Laughing and a live music and animation performance from Bianca Xunise and Mercurio. We will also be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Fantagraphics with two different panels. On the international front, we will have panels focusing on cartoonists from Spain and Taiwan.

There are twenty-two panels in all that will be held on Saturday, September 12th and Sunday, September 13th. The full programming schedule with descriptions can be seen on the SPX website.

This programming is in addition to the previously announced 18 hands-on workshops, which you can sign up for here.

Here are a few highlights from this year's programming slate:

The Eras of Punk in Comics, with Nate Powell, James Spooner, Evan Keeling & Bianca Xunise
Lisa Hanawalt and Julia Wertz In Conversation
Underground Comics: Yesterday and Today, with Kim Deitch, Raquelle Jac, Denis Kitchen, and Heather Loase
Documenting a Child’s Life, with Julia Wertz, Rachael Smith, Elise Dietrich, and Kristen Shull

If you have any questions on the workshops or programming, please send them to rob.clough@smallpressexpo.com

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 500 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 workshops, panel discussions and interviews with this year’s special 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.

For more information on the Small Press Expo, please visit http://www.smallpressexpo.com.

Small Press Expo

P.O. Box 5704

Bethesda, Maryland

20824