6th ANNUAL STUMPTOWN COMICS FEST ART SHOW

Artists Reception: Thursday, April 1, 2010 6:pm - 9:pm
Gallery runs through Monday, May 31, 2010.

Portland Center for the Performing Arts, the Stumptown Comics Foundation, and Sequential Art Gallery are excited to present the 6th annual Stumptown Comics Art Show, coinciding with Portland's third annual Portland Comic Book Month. The exhibit this year showcases an unprecedented 40+ artists, ranging from local to international professionals and emerging talent, with 80 pieces of comic book and illustrated art.

Opening reception will be hosted at PCPA on First Thursday, April 1, from 6-9pm. Mayor Sam Adams will be in attendance to read the official proclamation of April as Portland's Comic Book Month, and many of the participating artists will also be on hand throughout the evening. Catering and drinks for the event will be provided by PCPA's ArtBar and MacTarnahan's Brewing.

Free guided tours featuring the exhibit as well as other local galleries will be provided to attendees of the Stumptown Comics Fest (April 24-25; stumptowncomics.com). The Stumptown Comics Art Show will be available for viewing throughout April and May in the Antoinette Hatfield Hall of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts at 1111 SW Broadway (10am-5pm, Monday-Saturday; www.pcpa.org). For a complete list of artists please visit www.sequentialartgallery.com.

Additions to the 2010 Guest List!

We're pleased and proud to announce several fantastic additions to our already excellent Guest List for Stumptown Comics Fest 2010!

For the first time in the Fest's history, Canada's eminent publisher of experimental and literate graphics work, Drawn & Quarterly, will be exhibiting at Stumptown, and they're bringing two of their fantastic artists to share with the rest of us!

R. Sikoryak got his comics-drawing feet wet in the early days of the 'art commix' movement spearheaded by Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly's RAW anthology. His work appeared in nearly every issue of RAW, and has since appeared in Fortune and The New Yorker. His latest book, Masterpiece Comics, mashes the dramatic and philosophical angst of Kafka, Voltaire, and Oscar Wilde, with the pulpy renderings and 4-color glory of classic comics such as Peanuts, Batman, Blondie, and Little Nemo in Slumberland, creating an unlikely brew that dares the reader to not view either original work through this new warped mirror.

D&Q is also hosting James Sturm, who is not only a celebrated graphic novelist, but is also the founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont. James's books include James Sturm's America, Above And Below, and The Golem's Mighty Swing, and he also wrote Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules, which won an Eisner Award for Best Limited Series in 2004. James's newest book, Market Day, will be released from D&Q in Spring 2010.

Hope Larson's first graphic novel, Salamander Dream, was named one of Publishers Weekly's Best Comics of 2005, and she has been living up to that early promise ever since. Her follow-ups, Grey Horses and Chiggers, have been celebrated by critics, and her work has earned her numerous accolades including the 2007 Eisner Award for Special Recognition. Hope's latest book, Mercury, tells a story in which a girl's past and present intersect in a search for love and treasure.

Matthew Southworth's first major comics work, Stumptown, graphically reminds its readers of its Portland-based setting with his beautifully-rendered artwork, telling the story of Rex, a private detective working the seamier side of the Rose City. Matthew will be on-hand over the weekend to share his inspirations and the techniques he uses to capture all of the drama of this town we call home.

Kate Beaton began posting her irreverently historical drawings in her LiveJournal account in 2007, and the only word to describe the reaction to her work in the subsequent years is 'explosive'. The first edition of her book, Never Learn Anything From History sold out in less than a weekend, and now, over 250 comics later, Kate makes her triumphant first appearance at the Stumptown Comics Fest!

And finally, friend-of-the-fest Craig Thompson will also be returning to join us at the Doubletree on Sunday April 25th for a special signing session!