Reports are filtering in from all corners of the web this week:

• Portland Mercury - Blogtown, PDX
• Tom Spurgeon's report at The Comics Reporter
• Comics Reporter: Stumptown 2008 Collective Memory
• Steve Duin, part 1
• Steve Duin, part 2
• Sara Ryan
• Liz Baillie
• Lex Fajardo
• User Frank Castle's report from The ComicGeekSpeak Forums

So, Stumptown Comics Fest 2008 is already a simple memory, but what a memory it is! The show has never been so bustling, so vibrant, and so constant, near as I can recall.

I want to thank our tremendous corps of volunteers, who were tireless in making sure all the little things ran smoothly. The Fest simply could not have gone off as well without them. Or at least, my mental state wouldn't be so relaxed right now! Our planning committee likewise did an excellent job arranging everything for this year's Fest, and with a shorter timeline than we ever have before. We'll definitely have more time next year.

Also, thanks to all of the fantastic exhibitors and guests who were able to join us for the weekend. Especially to Mike Richardson, whose professionalism took center-stage as he left my nervously-prepared interview topics in the dust and delivered an inspiring talk on the philosophies that drive Dark Horse Comics. Nearly all of our panels for the weekend were filled to capacity, aside from the slowness of early Sunday morning - something to note for next year.

And lastly, thanks to all the folks who made the journey to the Doubletree to check out our not-so-little-anymore Comics Fest. Some came from the other side of town, some came from the other side of the country. Some crossed international borders! Attendance was up by leaps and bounds over last year, and I think we just about filled every square inch of the floor with people. Without all of you the Fest would just have been another room filled with cartoonists. And I think we all know how boring that can be.

So thanks again to everyone who joined us for Stumptown Comics Fest 2008. Keep watching this space for updates, recaps, photo-blogs, and newsbits, as we begin planning for SCF 2009! And if you attended Stumptown this weekend, to hear your impressions of the Fest, both good and bad, to help us plan for next year. Thanks!

- Started with a nice, easy morning - with an actual line of people queued up outside, waiting to come in. nice.
- All the panels and most of the workshops that I attended were standing room only - even the big room, which was a last-minute addition to the Fest.
- Craig Thompson's admiring throng disrupted traffic for part of the day. Sadly he won't be returning Sunday. Sorry!
- From the looks of things, we're continuing our pattern of selling more admissions on the first day of the Fest than we did the entire previous year - nearly 1200 folks showed up today! Thank you, Portland weather!
- I'm off now to Cosmic Monkey Comics for the Trophy Awards ceremony and the Art Battle! See you there!

And if not, I'll see you at the Fest tomorrow at 10!

-indy

Friday April 25th Party at Guapo Comics

This Friday, April 25th Guapo Comics and Books is having their third annual Stumptown party and reading!

Details swiped from their page:

We're putting this one together with local publisher Sparkplug Comic Books. Nine awesome mini-comics artists from around the country will be giving multimedia readings from their comics. It will also be a book release party for "Nerd Burglar" a FREE anthology of Portland artists put together by Sparkplug and fellow local publishers Tugboat Press and Teenage Dinosaur. There will be free cupcakes provided by awesome local bakery Sweetpea, as well as beer, snacks, and more. The Maisie Kukoc award will also be giving out for mini-comic excellence. This is a $400 prize.

Artists reading include: Jason Shiga, Austin English, Liz Baillie, Theo Ellsworth, Julia Wertz, Sarah Glidden, Minty Lewis, Rina Ayuyang, and Trevor Alixopulos.

The party starts at 8pm. I promise, you'll be bragging to your friends that you were there!

Hey, all, as we gear up for this weekend's fantastic Fifth Stumptown Comics Fest, we've been noticing quite a bit of press, both local and online, talking about the event. Here's a more-or-less full rundown:

1. THE OREGONIAN Devoted a two-page comic and an arts-section cover to Stumptown.
   • Full feature (at Webcomics Nation)
   • Full feature (3-page PDF)

2. PORTLAND MERCURY
   
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   • A full-page color comic by Dylan Meconis and Bill Mudron.
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   • Meconis's post on the matter
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3. WILLAMETTE WEEK
   Interviews Stumptown guest Brian Michael Bendis.
   

   
   

4. PORTLAND TRIBUNE
   Profiles Stumptown while discussing the recent 24-hour "Drawpocalypse" hosted by Cosmic Monkey Comics.
   

5. INKSTUDS
   
   • Stumptown podcast, featuring guests Larry Marder, Dave Roman, Tara McPherson, and Stumptown founder Indigo Kelleigh
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   • Podcast featuring Stumptown exhibitor Sarah Oleksyk
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   • Podcast featuring Stumptown exhibitor and Sparkplug Comics distributor Dylan Williams
   • 
     
   
   

6. COMIC GEEK SPEAK
   
   • Stumptown podcast featuring Guests Tara McPherson and Raina Telgemeier
   • 
     

If you know of any we've missed, let us know!

This Tuesday morning (April 22) from 9:30 to 10am, Words & Pictures welcomes Dark Horse Comics founder Mike Richardson. A staunch supporter of free speech and artistic autonomy, Mike is the special guest of honor at this month's Stumptown Comics Festival.

Words & Pictures airs on KBOO community radio, 90.7fm. Not near a radio? You can listen to the real-time webcast at http://www.kboo.fm/listen And look for the webcast soon afterwards at http://www.kboo.fm/WordsandPictures

Got this note from Scott Allie, editor of the site:

April 26 and 27 at the Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland (stumptowncomics.com), Dark Horse editor Scott Allie be reviewing portfolios specifically to fill the "newbie" slot for the next two months in Myspace Dark Horse Presents.

Every month MDHP features the professional debut of a creator whose work was found on MySpace.com. For the last three years Portland's Stumptown Comics Fest has been a great place for new creators to show off their work in one of the greatest comic book cities in the nation. If novice artists and writers think they have what it takes to join the ranks of Ezra Claytan Daniels, Brian Churilla, Katie Cook, Matt Brenier, Rebecca Sugar, Ilias Kyriazis, Jeff Wamester, and Jason Graham—all of whom made their paid, professional comics debut on MDHP— they are encuraged to show up with a stapled, 8 1/2 x 11 copy of their work and a print out of their MySpace homepage. A print-out of the candidates MySpace homepage is mandatory! Eligibility requires that the participant has examples of their work currently displayed on MySpace, and that they have never had comics released by a professional publisher or through Diamond Distribution, through a major comics website, or one that charges a fee. Ashcans and free, self-run websites do not disqualify, and ultimately eligibility is left to the discretion of the MySpace Dark Horse Presents editors. At the end of the weekend, Scott Allie will select two cartoonists to create original strips to appear on MDHP later this year, alongside the likes of Joss Whedon, Steve Niles, Mike Mignola, Tony Millionaire, and Stan Sakai. Scott will have a table at the show, but review of portfolios for MDHP will be limited to one block of time per day, in the Dark Horse booth—see below. Visit the Stumptown website (https://stumptowncomics.com) and the MySpace Dark Horse Presents (http://www.myspace.com/darkhorsepresents) page for more information.

Schedule/Location:
Dark Horse Booth—Table #39
Saturday 1pm-3pm
Sunday 2pm-4pm

An exciting opportunity for all exhibitors and attendees at this year's Comics Fest!

Three quick last-minute announcements about this year's Trophy Awards...

First, due to great interest from e-comics folks, the Trophy Awards committee has decided to add a brand-spankin'-new category for Webcomics! If you'd like to nominate your webcomic for an award, be sure to include the url for your site in the Additional Notes field!

Second, since there are a number of talented people who didn't snag a table before they all sold out, ALL FEST ATTENDEES are now eligible to enter. You still have to be present at the Awards Ceremony, though, otherwise we WILL trash-talk you if you win.

And finally, the deadline for entries has been extended to April 24th! That's right, we're pushing it to the limit, to give you all as much time as possible to get your books into our hands. All the info you need is at stumptowncomics.com/awards.

Hey, all - Just to make it all totally official on the Comics Month front, I present to you the signed Proclamation, typos and all!

Click the image for a pdf!

Hey, I had the privilege of taking part in a group interview for the Inkstuds radio show yesterday, and now you can listen to it via podcast! Larry Marder, Dave Roman, and Tara McPherson carried the interview, thankfully, and we all talked a bit about why we got into comics in the first place.

Go now, Listen!

Howdy! This is a simple update to cover three pretty big topics!

• First, our Events page has been updated with the full schedule of panels, talks, presentations, screenings and workshops that will be taking place across three rooms alongside the Comics Fest on the 26th and 27th. We've never had a schedule so packed with pure comics goodness before, and you'd do well to take advantage of it while you can.
• Second, table numbers have been assigned to all of our exhibitors for this year, and you can find them all on the Exhibitors List. While you're there, download a handy map of the table arrangement so you can plan your attack as you storm our castle of comics creativity.
• and Finally, where would the Stumptown Comics Fest be without its fantastic volunteers? And if you'd like to sign up to be a volunteer at the Fest this year, now's the time to let us know! Simply fill out our online Volunteers Form and Zeo, our Volunteers coordinator, will be in touch to help you join in the fun of helping make the Fest run smooooooooth.
• 
  

See you in 22 days, 3 hours, 57 minutes...!

April is Comics Month!

April is Comics Month in Portland, and we're bringing the party!

To champion and support the newly proclaimed Portland Comics Month, the Stumptown Comics Foundation has catalogued a staggering number of comics-related events in the Portland metro area for the entire month of April, culminating in the Fifth Annual Stumptown Comics Fest!

We've got signings by area talent, art shows opening at several galleries, readings at libraries, a 24-hour-comic challenge, a super-hero-themed pub crawl, and a freaking opera! Too many items to list individually, read the whole list here! If you're in the Portland Area, try to get out and see why April is Comics Month here!

And our extra special thanks to Mayor Tom Potter, Grace Uwagbae, Pollyanne Birge, and everyone else at City Hall for helping make this official!