Stumptown Comics Fest 2010 in the News

As always, the month leading up to the Stumptown Comics Fest is a busy one, and an extra busy one at that! The event is organized by volunteers united by our love for comics and comic art, and we do what we can to make the most of a single weekend of comics regalia. In the weeks leading up to this year's Fest, we have seen a wonderful amount of support from individuals and media organizations--both local and online. In our final week of preparation, we would like to extend a giant THANK YOU to the people who support the Stumptown Comics Fest and understand everything the Foundation has set out to achieve.

This is our seventh year of organizing the Fest and it is largely due to the support of the public that we have managed to grow so large. So, here's a little recap of some of the media support Stumptown Comics Fest 2010 has received...

April 1: The month of April opened with the 6th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest Art Show, hosted in the Antoinette Hatfield Hall of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. This year's show featured over 40 artists, many of whom will be exhibiting at the Stumptown Comics Fest, and showcased 80 unique pieces of comics art. The opening reception was kicked off by Portland's own Mayor Sam Adams officially declaring April 2010 the city's third annual Comic Book Month. Mayor Sam Adams and his office have been strong proponents of the arts and we are ever honored to have the support of our wonderful city.

April 8: Local radio show Words & Pictures, hosted on KBOO by S.W. Conser, welcomed Stumptown Comics Fest director Shannon Stewart and Stumptown Comics Foundation president Kaebel Hashitani to talk about Comic Book Month and this year's Fest. The 30-minute broadcast is available to stream or download on the KBOO website, and Shannon and Kaebel both did a great job in their representation of the organization. Thanks guys!

April 12: The multi-disciplinary comic fan that is Kevin Smith graced Portland for one glorious evening, and gave the Fest a great shoutout ; "This April, Portland, OR is (by Mayoral Proclamation) CITY OF COMIC BOOKS! So get your rump down to Stumptown Fest!" We were floored to have Kevin mention the event, and thanks to an attentive website administrator didn't have any issues hosting the stream of new visitors Kevin's link sent our way. Thanks man, truly.

April 14: The morning City Council meeting saw a few unusual additions to its schedule of speakers, including the Stumptown Comics Foundation's president Kaebel Hashitani, who attended the meeting to speak on behalf of the Stumptown Comics Fest, talking to our City Council about the myriad of ways the Fest and its exhibitors contribute to the local economy and arts culture. The Portland Mercury's Blogtown posted a great article covering the testimony. If reading that article isn't enough and you'd like to hear the whole presentation, you can watch this video of the City Council meeting on their website; scroll down on the menu under the embedded video and click on Agenda Item #490 to go directly to Kaebel's presentation on behalf of the Fest.

April 15: The pre-Fest issue of the Portland Mercury (Vol. 10, No. 47) dedicated their book section to Stumptown Comics Fest! We recommend you visit the website to read the reviews, or go grab a copy of the paper while it lasts in newsstands.

April 16: The long-respected online and paper publication The Comics Journal posted a very thorough "Stumptown Comics Fest 2010 Preview" article. The post includes a large number of artists, writers, and publishers exhibiting at this year's Fest, and asked them what sort of exciting things attendees of the Fest can expect to see at their tables. This article is a great resource for people planning on spending their weekend at the Stumptown Comics Fest, and even includes links to respective websites. Well done!

April 17: Mayor Sam Adams continued to show his support of the Fest by lending us a hand in our search for volunteers when for volunteer signups and included a link back to our Volunteer page. Mayor Sam isn't the only one who has repeatedly given us support on Twitter, and we appreciate every single retweet and @stumptowncomics we get!

April 19: Just yesterday online publication Ain't It Cool News posted a great interview with Paul Pope, who was a surprise addition to this year's guest list (and who is also spinning tunes at our official afterparty!). In the article "THE AICN Q&A: PAUL POPE", Russel (a local writer and illustrator) and Pope cover so many topics we could never summarize it accurately... well, AICN's line of "Mike Russell Delivers A Must-Read Interview With Paul Pope! BATTLING BOY, BATMAN: YEAR 100 And Much More Discussed!" is pretty good. You should really hop over and spend some time reading about one of America's comics greats. We are very proud that Pope is joining us this year and look forward to what he will bring to the Stumptown Comics Fest!

Okay, maybe that wasn't really a "little" recap! And there's more on the way; promotions will continue over the course of the week, and we look forward to seeing what people write/blog/tweet/talk about after the Fest. If you think we've missed anything, please give us a tip on and we'll try to include it in our next roundup of Stumptown Comics Fest coverage!