The 8th annual Stumptown Comics Fest will take place on April 16th and 17th, and be held in its new location at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. In recent years the exhibition hall has been packed to the gills; this move to the Convention Center will give attendees room to breathe with 30,000 square feet of exhibition space (nearly double the square footage) and will allow the amount of table to be increased with room for future growth.

A small number of guests have already been confirmed for the next fest, from local, national, and even international stages. Guests are to include: Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Molly Crabapple (illustrator, founder of Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School), Kurt Busiek (writer for DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image), Larry Marder (Tales of the Beanworld), and Barry Deutsch (Hereville). This list is by no means complete, and regular announcements will be made over the coming months as more details are confirmed.

Indigo Kelleigh, founder of the Stumptown Comics Fest, is returning as the festival director for the next three years (2011-2013). Kelleigh brings his experience in both event coordination and the comics industry to the team, and is already working to make this upcoming year a peek at what's to come. Shannon T. Stewart, Festival Director for the 2009 and 2010 fests and a current Board member of the Stumptown Comics Foundation, is supportive of Kelleigh's involvement. "We're all elated to have Indigo, the creator of the Fest, return to the position of Director," says Stewart, "and I personally look forward to working with him and to the amazing ideas he has in store for Stumptown over not just this season, but the next few years leading to the ten year anniversary!"

This will be the eighth year of the Stumptown Comics Fest (founded 2004), which has become the largest creator-focused comics festival in the Northwest. The amount of comics fans attending the event continues to climb as does the national and international attention our local event garners from artists, writers, editors, and publishers. Please continue visiting this website for future updates; you can also find us on Facebook (facebook.com/stumptowncomicsfest) and on Twitter (@stumptowncomics).

Posted by SCF Admin at 12:26 AM | Permalink

The Stumptown Comics Fest Trophy Awards works to bring recognition to the amazing and creative writers, artists, and publishers that the Stumptown Comics Foundation strives to support. Publications under review for these awards were been submitted by the various talented folk involved in the Stumptown Comics Fest event. Submissions were judged not by a panel of "professionals", but by those attending the Fest on Saturday, April 24, meaning the trophies were awarded based on the popular vote of actual comics fans. Without further ado...

...congratulations to the winners of this year's Stumptown Comics Fest Trophy Awards!

• Outstanding Debut: The Complete Ouija Interviews, Sarah Becan


• Outstanding Writing: Boilerplate, Paul Guinan & Anina Bennett


• Outstanding Art: Boilerplate, Paul Guinan


• Outstanding Small Press: Bearfight!, BT Livermore


• Outstanding Publication Design: Panorama, Stephenny Godfrey


• Outstanding D.I.Y.: Bearfight!, BT Livermore


• Outstanding Webcomic: Wondermark, David Malki


• Mystery Award: Portland mayor Sam Adams, in recognition of his naming April as Comic Book month for the third consecutive year

This year, the Trophy Awards ceremony was hosted by podcaster Bobby "Fatboy" Roberts, cartoonist Carolyn Main, and Shannon Wheeler (of The New Yorker and Too Much Coffee Man fame), and was held Saturday night at Cosmic Monkey Comics.

The awards ceremony was followed by the ever-popular and rowdy Comic Art Battle. Hosted by local Marvel comics scribe Jeff Parker, the Comic Art Battle has been described as a cross between Pictionary and professional wrestling... and it was definitely not a scene to miss for those involved in the independent comics scene. We hear there was even a "dance off" tie-breaker!

Our appreciation goes out not only to those who coordinated the event, but to all who submitted their work for review, and to the comics fans who entered their votes. Thanks you all, and we hope to see you again next year!

Posted by SCF Admin at 1:36 PM | Permalink

Tonight, after the close of the 7th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest, head over to the Bossanova Ballroom for our official after-party, in appreciation of our amazing volunteers for this year's festivities!

The evening will feature a live DJ set by our surprise guest Paul Pope(!) plus a screening of his movie "Psychenaut". We'll also have music and visual performance by Twigs Lvov (Jack Lewis), and perhaps a surprise or two... The doors open at 8pm and after-party entrance is $8 cash, $5 with your exhibitor badge, and FREE for our lovely volunteers--just show your volunteer badge to get in!

Upstairs from the after-party, the Bossanova Lounge will be hosting the April Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School, featuring the sultry siren of burlesque, Miss Harvest Moon! Doors for Dr. Sketchy's will open at 7:30pm and the drawing starts at 8pm. There is a $10 cash entrance fee, which will ALSO grant you entrance to the main floor event at 9:30pm.

The Bossanova Ballroom is at 722 east Burnside Street in Portland Oregon. Sponsored by Baby Tattoo Books, Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School, MacTarnahan's Brewing, The Royal Tease, The Bossanova Ballroom, Wacom, The Stumptown Comic Book Foundation, and darkmonkeygod.

Posted by SCF Admin at 2:45 PM | Permalink