Announcing more Guests for STCF2011

The Guest List for our 8th Annual Comics Fest just keeps on growing:
 
Rick Remender - the writer/creator of comics including Fear Agent, Last Days of American Crime, and many others. Remender is also the writer of X-Force, Punisher and Doctor Voodoo. In addition, he has served as a writer on the hit game Dead Space and is currently lead writer on Bulletstorm. Previous projects include animation on films such as The Iron Giant, Anastasia, Titan A.E., and Rocky & Bullwinkle. Read more about Rick at www.rickremender.com.

Ethan Nicolle - best known as the co-creator and artist of the popular webcomic Axe Cop, now a mini-series at Dark Horse Comics. An Oregon native living in Los Angeles, Nicolle is also the creator of the Eisner nominated Chumble Spuzz from Slave Labor Graphics, and is currently working on a pilot for Cartoon Network. Go read some Axe Cop here: http://www.axecop.com

Phil and Kaja Foglio - founders of Studio Foglio, the pair are best known for their long running webcomic Girl Genius, and as the prestigious winners of the 2009 and 2010 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story. Visit their website at studiofoglio.com.

Jeffrey Brown - creator of the autobiographical collections Funny Misshapen Body, Little Things and Undeleted Scenes. His latest, The Incredible Change-Bots Two, will be released in March 2011. Additional projects of Jeffrey's include directing a music video for Death Cab for Cutie and the observational books Cat Getting Out of a Bag and Cats Are Weird. His work will be featured in the January 2011 exhibition at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art. (Exhibiting with Top Shelf.) Jeffrey's official site is at jeffreybrowncomics.com.

Tickets available now!

Online pre-sale tickets for the Stumptown Comics Fest are now available through TicketsWest online, or at participating TicketsWest outlets! Purchase your Single day ($7) or Weekend passes ($12) online or at the door. Student discounts are available with a valid student ID, and children 10 & under are welcome free with a paying adult. And if you have a large group (25 or more) you can come to the Fest on Sunday for only $4 per person (this package is available on-site only)!

And if you're coming in from out of town, don't forget to arrange your hotel stay with the help of our Hotel Guide!

Stumptown 2011 Poster Unveiled!

Click image for larger view!

We're proud to present the 2011 poster for the Stumptown Comics Festival, illustrated by Brandon Graham! A northwest native, Graham embodies the creatively bold spirit that continues to energize the independent comic book community in Portland, OR and beyond. A 2008 Eisner Award nominee for Best Writer & Artist, Graham has continued to receive praise for his unique, original graphic novel, King City, well after its original publication and subsequent change from TokyoPop to Image. In addition to being a special guest of Stumptown Comics Fest 2011, Graham is serving on the inaugural jury of the 2011 Stumptown Comic Arts Awards.

Attendees to the festival will have the chance to purchase a special print of the show poster by Brandon Graham, as well as t-shirts with the art celebrating the seventh successful year of Stumptown Comics Fest. Plans are currently being made to offer any remaining prints and shirts to those unable to attend via online sales following the festival weekend. Chance are, however, demand will be so high that supplies will be sold-out.

Brandon Graham joins guests Eric Powell, Randy Emberlin, Sarah Glidden, Carla Speed McNeil, Molly Crabapple, Benjamin Marra, and several other extraordinary creators at the Oregon Convention Center on April 16th and 17th. Full guest and exhibitor list, with many more to be announced, available at StumptownComics.com.

Comic Arts Awards First-Ever Jury!

The Stumptown Comic Arts Awards have revealed the highly-anticipated roster for their award's inaugural jury, consisting of celebrated cartoonists, local retail visionaries and comics journalists.

This year's judges are:

Michael "Doc" Allred's critically acclaimed character Madman has been published by Tundra and Dark Horse Comics before moving to his current home at Image Comics, where he'll celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2012. Allred's other popular work includes a 38-issue run on X-Force (later X-Statix) with writer Peter Milligan, and his creator-owned The Atomics and the mini-series, Red Rocket 7. His latest series I, Zombie launched with Vertigo in 2010.

Brandon Graham was a Northwest native before moving to New York and later Vancouver BC. In New York, he became a founding member of the comic arts collective MeatHaus and found inspiration for his Eisner-nominated series King City, which is now being published by Image Comics and TokyoPop. Brandon's other published works include Escalator (2005) and Multiple Warheads (ongoing, Oni Press).

Laura Hudson is the Editor-In-Chief at ComicsAlliance.com, which was nominated in 2010 for an Eisner award for "Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism". She also served as Senior Editor at the now-defunct magazine Comics Foundry, as well as being an Associate Editor at Publishers Weekly Comics Week.

Michael Ring is the proprietor of Portland's own Bridge City Comics. Launched in 2005, Bridge City grew from Michael's rediscovered love of the medium and was built on the knowledge he gained while working for the previous several years in the marketing department at Dark Horse Comics. Bridge City is recommended and supported by many in the local comics industry thanks to Michael's extensive knowledge and expertise.

Jason Leivian started Floating World Comics as a store with the artist and the reader in mind. With the largest selection of small press and indie books in town, Jason keeps a steady balance with all the latest titles from the major publishers as well. His support of the local art comics scene shows through his own publication Diamond Comics, and the monthly art shows he presents in his in-store gallery space. His unique view to curating a comic store has earned him critical nods from The Oregonian, the Portland Mercury, Wired, and Flavorwire among others.

Artists, writers, publishers, cartoonists: To be considered for a Stumptown Comic Arts Awards please remember to fill out the form at the Awards Page and send it in. Entries must be postmarked no later than the submission deadline of February 25, 2011 to be considered, and should be mailed to this address:

The Stumptown Comics Fest is the largest creator-focused comics convention in the Pacific Northwest. The Fest will be held on April 16-17, 2011 at the Oregon Convention Center, and the Comic Arts Awards will be presented at a ceremony on April 16th. Check stumptowncomics.com, or follow us on twitter at for the latest news and announcements about the schedule and exhibitor lists. Questions about the Fest can be directed to Indigo Kelleigh at .

The Jupiter Hotel

This year, the Stumptown Comics Fest is partnering with the Jupiter Hotel to provide the ideal environment for visiting artists, exhibitors, and attendees to enjoy your stay in Portland. With chalkboard doors and floor-to-ceiling murals in every room, the Jupiter is the destination hotel for the creative class. And not only are they offering a generous discount to anyone coming to town for the Comics Fest ($89 for a single/$99 for a double room!), they're also going to be hosting our official After Party on April 16th (more details to come).

To make reservations at the Jupiter Hotel, or to see the deals we've arranged with the other hotels in the area, check out our updated Location Page.