2013 Stumptown Comics Fest Tickets Available Online

It's been the main question since we announced the 2013 Stumptown Comics Fest, and we are more than excited to announce - You can now purchase your tickets to the 2013 Stumptown Comics Fest online!

Online sales are provided via TicketsWest, where you can purchase single passes for Saturday and Sunday, or a full weekend pass. Students with a valid ID will also have the option to purchase passes at the discounted student rate. (Student passes will be required to show a valid student ID before entering).

Stumptown Comics Fest - Saturday pass.

Stumptown Comics Fest - Sunday pass.

Stumptown Comics Fest - Weekend pass.

As always, please be sure to follow Stumptown Comics on (twitter.com/stumptowncomics) and (facebook.com/stumptowncomicsfest) for all the latest news and updates.

Stumptown Comics Festival Announces Exhibitor Registration for 10th Annual Event

Portland, Oregon - October 30, 2012 -- Registration for booth and table space for the 10th Annual Stumptown Comics Festival is now open to artists and publishers looking to exhibit at the creator-focused event running April 27-28, 2013 at the Oregon Convention Center.

As previously announced, Fables creator Bill Willingham will be a special guest of the festival. Also joining as guests are artist of War Is Boring and political cartoonist Matt Bors, Nobrow Press illustrator and Birchfield Close creator Jon McNaught, Boilerplate and Frank Reade creators Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett, Mara artist Ming Doyle, Wild Children writer Ales Kot, and many more creators to be revealed soon.

The 10th anniversary of the Stumptown Comics Festival marks a notable shift for the independent event with the selection of several new chairpersons to the organizing board, but continues to embrace the strong tradition of creator-focused programming that volunteers have cultivated over the last decade.

Stumptown Comics Festival will also begin the curated selection process soon and provide feedback to any creators who may want tips for how to be selected to exhibit in the limited space. Similarly, the yet-to-be-released convention floor will be laid-out in a more equitable fashion than standard conventions to be more accommodating to creators of all types.

Pricing for the 2013 Stumptown Comics Festival is as follows:
-$170 for an Artist's Table
-$350 for an Exhibitor Booth ($60 option for addition table)

Additional Exhibitor Badges that allow entry to the convention hall before and after public hours are available for $30 (limit of 2), and Two Day Attendee Passes are available for $15 each.

To see the complete exhibitor form, please visit: https://stumptowncomics.com/registration_2013.php

More details about guests, awards, and special events will be release in the coming weeks in order for creators and publishers to better prepare for their 2013 exhibition plans.

About Stumptown Comics, Inc
Entering its tenth year as an organization, the annual Stumptown Comics Festival has been a staple of Portland, Oregon's vibrant comics community that's home to artist collective like Periscope Studios and Tranquility Base, along with publishers such as Dark Horse Comics, Top Shelf Productions, and Oni Press. Overseen by a board of professionals in the industry, Stumptown Comics, Inc. has progressed thanks to the valuable time of efforts of its volunteers.

STUMPTOWN COMICS FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2013 DATES AND SPECIAL GUEST BILL WILLINGHAM

The tenth annual Stumptown Comics Festival will be held April 27 and 28, 2013 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. Fan-favorite comics writer Bill Willingham, the creator of DC/Vertigo's multiple-award-winning series FABLES, is the first announced guest of the 2013 festival. Other guests and special events will be announced in coming weeks.

Stumptown Comics Festival's ten-year anniversary will be the kick-off celebration of the expanding vision of Stumptown Comics, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering a wider appreciation of comics through education and public events.

"We are thrilled to announce Bill Willingham as our first guest for the show that will mark a decade of our commitment to the comics-loving community of Portland," said Kaebel Hashitani, Festival Director. "Bill's body of work reflects the spirit of creative diversity that Stumptown celebrates, from his earliest efforts as an indie cartoonist to his current position as the writer of one of the most successful author-driven franchises in comics. We're honored to celebrate his work at our 2013 convention!"

Shawna Gore, whose recent appointment as Chair of Stumptown Comics, Inc. reflects the organization's commitment to growth, adds that "The Stumptown Comics Festival was built from the ground up in Portland by a small but dedicated group of volunteers and professionals, and as it has grown over the years, the vision for the show has also grown. We're striving to bring more creators and publishers in from all corners of the comics world -- our guest list for the 2013 show will be exciting for Portland's comics fans."

Our Thanks to Galaxy Sailor Productions!

Stumptown Comics, Inc. extends our deepest appreciation to Martin Vavra at Galaxy Sailor Productions for contributing media services to the 2012 Stumptown Comics Festival! Galaxy Sailor Productions is a creative and dynamic, award-winning film and commercial production company. Located in Portland, the heart of the movie and entertainment industry of Oregon, Galaxy Sailor has produced and developed numerous independent films and commercials. Stumptown is extremely grateful for their donation of top-level services to help us advance our educational mission by capturing the goings-on at the Fest! To learn more about Galaxy Sailor Productions, please visit www.galaxysailor.com.

STCF2012, Day One

This time-lapse shows the hustle and bustle of the first day of Stumptown Comics Fest 2012! Taken by our volunteer coordinator, David Wood:

Coming soon, Day Two!

Stumptown Comics Fest 2012 Flickr Group

Well, another Comics Fest has come and gone, and all we're left with are memories... And a ton of photos! Courtesy of our volunteer photographers and , as well as local photojournalist Deborah Lipski! The Official already has over 200 photos of exhibitors on the show floor from this weekend, and that number will only grow with your contributions!

Go , and relive the magic!

Stumptown Comic Arts Awards 2012 Winners

The Stumptown Comic Art Awards 2012 were presented last night in Portland, OR. In a packed-room ceremony following a bustling first day at the Stumptown Comics Fest, host Bobby "Fatboy" Roberts presented the awards to the winners. Nominees in each category were chosen by a panel of judges consisting of comics industry professionals, journalists, and retailers, and then voted on by the comics-reading public. This year's categories and winners are:

Best Artist
Jonathan Case, Green River Killer

Best Writer
Brandon Graham, Prophet

Best Cartoonist
Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets

Best Letterer
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo: Fox Hunt

Best Colorist
Dave Stewart, Hellboy: House of the Living Dead; Chimichanga

Best Publication Design
Petrograd, Tyler Crook and Keith Wood

Best Anthology
Lies Grownups Told Me edited by Nomi Kane, Jen Vaughn, Caitlin M.

Best Small Press
Fugue #1 by Beth Hetland

Best New Talent
Jonathan Case, Dear Creature, Green River Killer

Reader's Choice
Vic Boone by Shawn Aldridge, Geoffo Panda

The awards again featured Beastlies sculptures created by Leslie Levings of Beastlies.com

Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees of the inaugural Stumptown Comic Arts Awards!

Stumptown Comics Festival Fundraising After Party! Location: Jupiter Hotel 800 E. Burnside Street, Portland, OR 97214 ()
Date: Sat, Apr. 28, 2012
Time: 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Oni Press and Stumptown Comics invite you to join us for the Stumptown Comics Festival After Party hosted by Bobby Roberts of the Cort and Fatboy show on Saturday, April 28 at 7:00pm at the Jupiter Hotel!

It's a full night of music, art, beer, and fun inspired by comics and the awesome people who love and make them! All attendees and guests with badges admitted to the party for free, open to the public for $5 Admission. Proceeds benefit Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Independent Publishing Resource Center's Dylan Williams Memorial Scholarship Fund and Stumptown Comics.

The party features the presentation of the Stumptown Comic Arts Awards, a rare live musical performance by Stumptown special guest Mike Allred and his band The Gear, and the annual Stumptown Comic Art Battle hosted by Paul Guinan! Plus beer by Ninkasi Brewery!

This is THE social event of the festival weekend, so don't miss your chance to party down Stumptown style!

STCF2012: Full Panels & Workshops Schedules

This year we're pleased to be offering 4 full rooms of panels and workshops, operating throughout the entire weekend during Stumptown, including a couple 'Extra Special, Extra Hours' panels:

At 6pm on Saturday, as the Fest is wrapping up, don't forget to hang around for an extra hour to catch The Not-So-Late Late Show with Oni Press! Oni's Cory Casoni hosts this comic book talk show, featuring local guests and comics artists, and special musical guest Delta!Bravo!

Then be back at the hall at 12:00pm sharp on Sunday for our 2-hour memorial tribute to Jean "Moebius" Giraud! This retrospective of the work of French master Moebius will be moderated by Joe Keatinge and Ian McEwan, and will feature interviews with Scott Allie and Mike Allred about their time spent working with Moebius. The panel will kick off with a screening of a rare documentary, Moebius Redux, directed by Hasko Baumann.

See the full schedule here!

STCF2012 Exhibitor Map

Just in time to start making your plans for the Comics Fest, here's a handy map to help you find all your favorite artists in attendance! We've also finished assigning all of the tables, and they're now listed on our extremely full Exhibitors List! Looking forward to the Fest on the 28th & 29th!

March 26: Guests Announced!

Dan Piraro
Dan Piraro has been sharing his off-kilter view of the world through his daily strip Bizarro since 1985. Since its inception it has been syndicated on four continents, and has been collected into fifteen different albums. He's been recognized with three National Cartoonist Society Panel awards, and he won the Reuben for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year in 2010. Dan also performs his one-man comedy show, The Bizarro Baloney Show, winner of the Best Solo Show award at the 2002 New York International Fringe Festival.

Chris Samnee
Chris has drawn comics for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Vertigo and Oni Press. Artist of Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale, Siege: Embedded, The Mighty, Capote In Kansas and other titles. His latest work includes a much-anticipated run on Marvel's Daredevil.

Pete Bagge
Pete Bagge's groundbreaking comic Neat Stuff, was published by Fantagraphics from 1985 to 1989, and helped to popularize the grunge movement of the Seattle cultural underground. His most popular character from that series, Buddy Bradley, moved on to star in his own series as Neat Stuff evolved into Hate, which continues to be published as Hate Annual.

Matthew Southworth
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 Dex, 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.

Farel Dalrymple
Farel Dalrymple is probably best known for his breakout work on Marvel's Omega The Unknown with Jonathan Lethem, and DC Comics's Bizarro World with Dylan Horrocks. His creator-owned works include the Xeric-award-winning Pop Gun War, later published by Dark Horse Comics, and contributions to the Meathaus anthology. His latest project is titled The Wrenchies, and will be published by First Second Books.

Brandon Seifert
Brandon's first first published comics work, Witch Doctor, from Skybound Entertainment exploded onto the scene in 2011, and the first issue was the fifth-highest selling comic from Image the month it was released. The first five issues have been collected in the Witch Doctor: Under the Knife, and a second miniseries will be debuting later in 2012.

Lukas Ketner
Lukas's work on Witch Doctor brought him a nomination for the 2009 Russ Manning Award for Best New Talent. This led to him being published in the inaugural issue of Dark Horse Comics's relaunched Creepy series. He has also worked with Super Size Me creator Morgan Spurlock, and is a regular illustration contributor to Portland's Willamette Week. He is currently working on the second Witch Doctor miniseries with collaborator Brandon Seifert.

2012 Poster Revealed!

We're excited to reveal the official poster for the 2012 Stumptown Comics Fest, featuring artwork by our guest Mike Allred! These posters measure 18x24", and will be for sale at the Fest for only $5!

And because we love the sound-effect plastered background so much, we've also created a few desktop wallpapers, to give your computer that vintage aged-comics feel. To download the wallpapers, just right-click each image and "Save As..."

Comics Fest Tickets Available Now!

Tickets are now on sale for the 2012 Stumptown Comics Fest, available through TicketsWest! Day passes are $7 per person, or $12 for a weekend pass. Student tickets are available for $5 (with valid student ID), and children ten and under are free.

We're also running a special group rate for Sunday, where groups of 8 or more can get in for just $4 each! All of these rates will also be available at the Oregon Convention Center Box Office the weekend of the Fest, but why wait?

Follow this link to buy your tickets today!

Update: The earlier posted price of $10 for a weekend pass was incorrect. $10 is the price of a weekend pass with a Student Discount (valid ID required)

Jan. 31: Guests Announced!

Ted Naifeh
Ted Naifeh swooped onto the comics and goth culture scene as the co-creator of Gloomcookie with Serena Valentino in 1998. Beginning in 2002 he introduced the world to Courtney Crumrin, a young loner girl who uses magic to navigate her world of school bullies and bloodthirsty goblins, adolescent peer pressure and deadly coven politics. His latest title, Polly and the Pirates, features action, adventure, treasure, and piratical etiquette, with a second volume scheduled to appear in January 2012.

Brian Hurtt
Brian made his comics debut with the second arc in Greg Rucka's critically acclaimed series Queen & Country and continued with Skinwalker, Hard Time and the critically-acclaimed Gotham Central for DC Comics. In 2006 he began his collaborative partnership with writer Cullen Bunn, beginning with The Damned. Their current series is the phenomenal monthly title The Sixth Gun for Oni Press, whose third collection will be debuting in April 2012.

Nate Powell
Nate's graphic novels include Sounds of Your Name, It Disappears, and Please Release, as well as the Eisner and Ignatz Award-winning Swallow Me Whole. He has also created dozens of self-published issues, and short story contributions to anthologies such as Papercutter and Meathaus since he began self-publishing at age 14. Nate's joining us to promote his latest graphic novel, The Silence of Our Friends, published by First Second in January 2012.

Steve Lieber
Steve Lieber is a staple of the Northwest comics scene, and has been dubbed the "official Nicest Guy in Comics" by noted author and fellow Portlander Douglas Wolk. His work has been published by DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, Carus, Oni, Dupuis, and others, but he is best known for his creator-owned works Whiteout and its sequel, and Underground, with co-creator Jeff Parker.

Brian Churilla
Brian Churilla is a Portlander, born and raised. His work includes The Engineer: Konstrukt for Archaia, The Avengers and the Infinity Gauntlet for Marvel Comics, and numerous pin-ups for Oni Press, Dark Horse Comics, and Image Comics. His heavily anticipated series, The Secret History of D.B. Cooper, debuts this March from Oni Press and has already garnered much acclaim from fellow creators.

Stumptown Comic Arts Awards 2012 Open for Submissions

The Stumptown Comics Fest, the largest creator-focused comics convention in the Pacific Northwest, is now accepting submissions of comic work for consideration by our judges for the 2012 Stumptown Comic Arts Awards. Publishers and creators interested in submitting work should include one copy of each title to be considered, accompanied by an official Entry Submission form which can be downloaded from the link below:

2012 Comic Arts Awards Submission Form

Please include one form with each work being submitted.

Categories for this year's awards include Best Artist, Best Writer, Best Cartoonist, Best Letterer, Best Colorist, Best Publication Design, Best Small Press, Best Anthology, and Best New Talent. Any work published after April 2011 will be eligible, and digital comics (meaning any comic published either online or for mobile devices) are also eligible for any category by following the instructions on the submission form. Submitters may not submit more than five distinct works per category, but works may be submitted in any number of categories.

Entries must be postmarked no later than the submission deadline of March 5, 2012 to be considered, and should be mailed to this address:

As with last year, all work submitted will be subject to consideration by a jury of industry professionals. The jury will issue a final ballot in March 2012, which will be available online for voting by any and all professionals, fans and readers of the comic arts. The votes will determine the final winners of each category, which will be tabulated and awarded at the Awards Ceremony to be held during the Stumptown Comics Fest on April 28 & 29 in Portland, Oregon.

Any questions about the Comic Arts Awards should be directed to the Director of the Comics Fest, Indigo Kelleigh at .

Curating the 2012 Comics Fest

This week we completed the bulk of our exhibitor confirmation and emailed all of our applicants informing them of their current status. Thanks to everyone who applied! We confirmed a lot of excellent exhibitors for our 2012 Fest, but unfortunately our space is limited, so we also also had to leave left a lot of excellent artists on the waiting list.

We consider every application we get, but our top priority is to grant space to people making comics. Some terrific game companies, non-comics illustrators, and designers of all kinds applied this year, but our mission is to support comics, and so we had to turn away these applications in favor of people making comics.

We strive to present as diverse a face of the artform of comics as possible, so we weighted table selection towards cases where applicants were able to show us where they fit in the creative spectrum. Other factors that account for how we evaluate your application include: Whether you've exhibited at Stumptown in the past, how familiar our committee is with your work, and how easily we were able to evaluate your comics on your website. In creating a curated comics show, we make every effort to be familiar with all the comics that our exhibitors make, and if we couldn't see a representative sampling of your comics on your site or with your application, it made it harder for us to see how your work would fit on the show floor.

This is only the second year where Stumptown has been a completely curated show. Previously it was simply first-come, first-served, and if you didn't get your application in quickly you simply didn't get a space. Our hope was that the Curated approach would increase the overall quality of the experience for our attendees, and we feel that proved true with last year's show. Attendance was up, and the consensus was that it was the best Comics Fest we've ever held. We believe that our 2012 Exhibitor List will continue this tradition of excellence, and we regret that we can't provide space to everyone who wants it. But we still want you to be a part of the show, and encourage you to come to the Festival, meet us, and continue to apply in the future. Stumptown is about creating a great event for Portland and the comics community, and we're grateful that you're a part of it!

-indy

Jan. 19: Guests Announced!

Jeff Lemire
Hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Jeff launched into the local comics scene with the 1-2-3 punch of his Essex County trilogy published by Top Shelf. Though he continues to create graphic novels for Top Shelf (his latest, Underwater Welder is due in July), last year Jeff expanded his repertoire by taking on a scripting role for three of DC Comics's 'New52' line of relaunches: Frankenstein, Agent of SHIELD, Superboy, and Animal Man.

We're also excited to be hosting the entire Spell Checkers creative team! This trio's international collaboration is reaching its third volume, and it's a rare treat to have them all in the same place at the same time to talk about their work.

Jamie S. Rich
Author of books like Cut My Hair, The Everlasting, and 12 Reasons Why I Love Her, Jamie's latest novel is Have You Seen the Horizon Lately?. He wrote the comics series Love the Way You Love drawn by Marc Ellerby, and his second book with Joëlle Jones, You Have Killed Me, was released in the summer of 2009. Jamie is a pillar of the local community, having worked in the past with many of Portland's seminal comics institutions.

Joëlle Jones
Joëlle's work has appeared in comics as diverse as DC's Fables, the Dark Horse anthologies Noir and Sexy Chix, the Minx YA novel Token, written by Alisa Kwitney, and has also worked with writer Zack Whedon on a comic book spin-off of the popular Dr. Horrible web series. Joëlle's collaborative relationship with Jamie began with the graphic novel 12 Reasons Why I Love Her, and they've also done short stories for Popgun, Portland Noir, and Madman Atomic Comics.

Nico Hitori de
Nicolas Hitori de is a French comic artist and illustrator currently living in Portland. Having studied at Les Ateliers des Beaux Arts of Paris and Disney Accademia in Milan, he has created works in print (Disney, Milan), publicity, tv (M6, Nolife) and music (Virgin Princesse). After collaborating on Josh Howard's Dead@17 series, he met Jamie S. Rich on Myspace and began the collaborative effort that became Spell Checkers.

Comics Fest 2012 Guests: Round One

We're excited to announce the first round of Special Guests who will be appearing at the 2012 Stumptown Comics Fest!

Stan Sakai
Stan Sakai's celebrated ronin rabbit, Usagi Yojimbo, celebrates its 30th year of publication in 2012, and Stan will be on-hand to share his experiences. Stan is joining Stumptown for the first time in 2012.

Kurt Busiek
Kurt is a prolific comics writer whose most prominent works include Marvels and Astro City. 2011 also saw the debut of Kirby: Genesis with Alex Ross, a reintroduction of dozens of classic Jack Kirby characters in new forms and stories!
Batton Lash
Batton Lash returns to Stumptown in 2012 to celebrate over 30 years of Wolff & Byrd: Counselors of the Macabre comics, and to share the first full-color volume of the long-running series, The Life-Partner of Frankenstein.
Mike Allred
Mike's work on X-Force and X-Statix with Peter Milligan, and I, Zombie may have kept him busy in recent years, but it's his snazzy work with his own character Madman that has kept Mike going for more than 20 years.
Laura Allred
Eisner-award winning colorist Laura Allred has worked with her husband Mike for most of his career, rounding out his art in Red Rocket 7, The Atomics, and Madman, as well as hundreds of other issues for Dark Horse Comics and others.
Randy Emberlin
Long-time comics inker Randy Emberlin returns to Stumptown this year to share his love of comics, and also the tricks of the inking trade! Come learn from one of the best!
Bill Ayers
A once-controversial figure, Bill Ayers now spends his retirement as an educational theorist. Join Bill and Ryan on Saturday, April 28th for a special talk about their views on how to use comics as a teaching tool as proposed in their collaboration To Teach: The Journey, in Comics.
Ryan Alexander-Tanner
Ryan is a local comics artist and educator, specializing in teaching children how to make comics every week at Cosmic Monkey Comics. His latest work is a collaboration with Special Guest Bill Ayers, To Teach: The Journey, in Comics.
Correction: Due to an unfortunate scheduling conflict, Geof Darrow will not be able to join us at Stumptown in 2012 as earlier announced. We regret the error, and hope to be able to bring him out in 2013!

2012 Registration Is Open!

We're pleased to announce that Exhibitor Registration for the 2012 Stumptown Comics Fest has opened! As with our 2011 Fest, registration is being handled online, and if you applied last year you can use the same login information to complete your application.

The 2012 Fest will be taking place on April 28 & 29, and we'll be returning to the Oregon Convention Center for our second year in a row. The exhibitor table options have changed a little this year, as we are making Booth configurations available for open registration for the first time! Artists Tables are still available and include Two Exhibitor Badges, however any artist who wishes may upgrade to a 10-foot Exhibitor Booth, which includes an 8-foot table and Four Exhibitor Badges. Additional configurations are listed on the Exhibitor Application.

Applicants are also welcome to submit proposals for workshops and panels, and we'll consider them as we begin putting together our Schedule! Please send your proposals to me at , with the subject line "2012 Panel/Workshop Proposal".

If you'd like to Volunteer at the 2012 Comics Fest, or any of our other planned activities throughout the year, don't forget to fill in our online Volunteer Registration form as well!

On Scheduling Conventions

Howdy! Indigo Kelleigh here, Founder and Director of the Stumptown Comics Fest.

As you might be aware, this weekend the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) announced a change in date for their 2012 Art Festival, and that the new date coincides with the 2012 Stumptown Comics Fest, April 28 and 29th. There has been some speculation that this move was done intentionally and with malice to in some way harm our show, but I believe that to not be the case.

I just wanted to state for the record, that I know the difficulties in arranging for a venue for an event of this size, and more often than not our own final dates are dictated by the venue's availability moreso than our desired schedule. I can't assign any malice to this announcement on the part of the MoCCA organizers, and I hope nobody else does, either.

I do believe that there's plenty of talent on both coasts, and further that this move will not harm either of the shows in the short term. For a show like Stumptown, which has only seen increased demand year after year, even last year in our move to a much larger exhibit space, I don't believe this unfortunate scheduling will impact the quality of our Comics Fest in the slightest.

It is going to be a challenge for small press exhibitors, and obviously many will need to choose at which of the two shows to exhibit. Having two shows on the same weekend obviously removes one of them from many exhibitor's schedules, and for those who rely on the convention circuit for income and promotional opportunities, this will clearly have an impact on their bottom line. To that end, we're looking forward to working with the organizers of the MoCCA Art Fest to find ways to minimize that impact.

The spring season has become crowded with conventions all over the continent, and I do look forward to continuing to communicate with the organizers of other conventions like MoCCA, TCAF, SPACE, SPX, Emerald City Comicon, STAPLE!, and APE to help ensure that scheduling conflicts like this don't arise to inconvenience the exhibitors, or attendees, in the future.

Our own registration process will be opening up to the public in one week, and exhibitors who pre-registered at our 2011 Comics Fest will be contacted shortly about their applications. Thanks!

-indy

Stumptown Comics Fest 2011 Wrapup

Whew!

The 2011 Comics Fest has now come and gone, and I've been having a great time reading about what a great time was had by everyone! The move to the Oregon Convention Center, which was initially met with apprehension by many, proved to be a positive change for the show, allowing for more comfortable flow of traffic and space for the exhibitors.

We had over 3100 folks join us over the weekend to check out all the amazing artwork and comics being presented by over 250 exhibitors, publishers, small pressers, and artists. Molly Crabapple did a live-drawing installation at her space, which she donated to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and which will be auctioned off in the coming weeks. We had a great benefit dinner for the CBLDF on Friday night, and raised over $300 for the organization! Many of our workshops were standing-room-only, which is a clear sign that the educational programming we're offering is in high demand.

I'd try to list all of the blog entries, photo blogs, news reports, podcasts and tweets people have been posting about the Fest, but instead I'll keep it simple and point you to Comics Reporter's Collective Memory: Stumptown Comics Fest post, and to the !

There have already been a lot of questions about the 2012 Fest, and I can confirm at this point that Kurt Busiek and Geof Darrow will be appearing as Guests at our next Fest, which is scheduled for April 28 & 29, 2012! The guest list will only continue to grow at this point, and exhibitor registration will open up in May 2011. There has been talk of expanding the show floor again for 2012, but I'm going to continue considering this option as exhibitor registrations begin coming in. We'll definitely be offering more workshops and panels, and have plans to expand the peripheral events to begin several days before the Fest. As always, more information will be posted here at stumptowncomics.com as plans solidify.

At any rate, I hope to see you all right back here in Portland next April!

Stumptown Comic Arts Awards 2011 Winners

The Stumptown Comic Art Awards 2011 were presented last night in Portland, OR. In a packed-room ceremony following a bustling first day at the Stumptown Comics Fest, host Bobby "Fatboy" Roberts presented the awards to the winners. Nominees in each category were chosen by a panel of judges consisting of comics industry professionals, journalists, and retailers, and then voted on by the comics-reading public. This year's categories and winners are:

Best Artist
Emily Carroll, His Face All Red

Best Writer
Aaron Renier, The Unsinkable Walker Bean

Best Cartoonist
Bryan Lee O'Malley, Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour

Best Letterer
Johnny Ryan, Prison Pit #2

Best Colorist
Emily Carroll, His Face All Red

Best Publication Design
Michael DeForge, Spotting Deer

Best Anthology
Studygroup 12 #4, edited by Zack Soto

Best Small Press
"I Want You #2" by Lisa Hanawalt

Best New Talent
Michael DeForge

Reader's Choice
Pang, the Wandering Shaolin Monk by Ben Costa

Director's Choice
The Sixth Gun, by Brian Hurtt and Cullen Bunn, published by Oni Press

The awards themselves were sculpted by Leslie Levings of Beastlies.com, with shelves provided by Lavrans Mathiesen, a Portland woodworker.

Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees of the inaugural Stumptown Comic Arts Awards!

Who Is SAMDROID?

Portland's own Mayor/Superhero Sam Adams takes time out of his busy schedule of fighting injustice and reducing the crime rate to help raise money and awareness of the problems facing homeless youth in Portland! SAMDROID will appear with the Alter Egos Society in booth 206 for ONE HOUR ONLY, 3-4pm on Saturday, April 16th.

The SAMDROID costume was the winning entry in the Project Mayor-Man design contest held by local organization The Alter Egos Society. The winner received a $100 cash prize, sponsored by Things From Another World, and members of Alter Egos then fabricated the costume to Mayor Sam Adams's specifications.

Mayor Adams will be signing autographs and posing for photographs as SAMDROID, and donations are being collected for p:ear, a local group dedicated to providing creative mentorship for homeless youth. An action print of SAMDROID was designed by local cartoonist Les McClaine, artist of the new Tick series.

Our Exclusive CBLDF Dinner with Dark Horse Comics

Stumptown Comics Fest, in partnership with sponsors Dark Horse Comics, and the CBLDF are proud to offer a seat at an exclusive dinner with creators Matt Wagner, Eric Powell, Carla Speed McNeil and more!

Taking place on Friday, April 15th at BridgePort BrewPub in Portland's historic Pearl District, winning bids will receive complementary dinner (alcohol not included), a free sketch from each artist, and a weekend pass to the Stumptown Comics Festival.

Sketches from the dinner will be available for pick-up at the CBLDF booth (#308) during the Stumptown Comics Festival on April 16th & 17th, and proceeds will benefit the non-profit organization which is dedicated to the protection of First Amendment rights in the comics industry.

Bidding starts at $30 per ticket, and the auction closes on April 15th at 10am, so bid soon, and generously! There are only ten tickets available, all available here: http://shop.ebay.com/cbldf

UPDATE: We're happy to add that Brandon Graham (King City) and Steve Lieber (Whiteout, Underground) will also be joining us at the dinner and providing sketches to the lucky winners! So please bid and bid generously!

UPDATE 2: We just got word that Dustin Weaver (S.H.I.E.L.D., King Kong) will also be attending the dinner and sketches for the winning bidders! Time is running out to get your seat!

Get the STCF2011 Mobile Guide!

In an effort to cut down on our environmental impact, Stumptown Comics Fest has teamed with Proxima Labs, makers of the popular Conventionist app for iPhone and Android devices! Simply download the free Conventionist app for your mobile device, and from there you can download the full program guide for the 2011 Stumptown Comics Fest, including exhibitor listing, a full event schedule, and a map of the show floor! Set to-dos and build your own schedule from within the app, so you won't forget about that panel you wanted to check out!

STCF2011 T-Shirt!

I'm happy to unveil the 2011 t-shirt designed by Brandon Graham, creator of King City! Brandon will appear as a Special Guest at the Comics Fest, and we're totally in love with this design. The shirts will be available at the Stumptown Comics Foundation booth (Booth 302) for $15 each, along with prints of Brandon's poster! Posters and shirts from previous years, with art by Craig Thompson, Derek Kirk Kim, Sarah Oleksyk, Aaron Renier, and others, will also be available while supplies last.

Any remaining shirts and posters will be made available on the Stumptown Comics Foundation website in the next few months, as that site completes its 2012 redesign.

SCF2011 Event Schedule

We just posted our Schedule of Events, including a full listing of the amazing panels, workshops, and parties going on throughout the weekend! Find out about the Drink & Draw Like a Lady event, the Friday night Pre-party at Guapo Comics, the Saturday night After-Party at the Jupiter Hotel, and the Sunday Night gallery show and party at Pony Club!

So much to see and do, I can't believe the show is still only two days long!

More Guests Announced!

It's with great honor that we announce the final two guests for the 2011 Stumptown Comics Festival, hosted at the Oregon Convention Center on April 16th and 17th.

Nate Simpson - having worked in video games since 1993, he most recently led the art team for Demigod. A newcomer to comics, Nate's first project, Nonplayer, has been receiving praise from many legendary creators, including Warren Ellis, Frank Quitely and Geof Darrow. Nonplayer #1 makes its debut at Stumptown this year! You can read more about Nonplayer at its official site: http://www.nonplayercomic.com/

UPDATE: Sadly, we've received confirmation that previously-announced guest Ludovic Debeurme will not be able to join us at Stumptown this year. We're disappointed, but will continue to try to bring Ludovic out for 2012!

Previously-announced Guests Include:

Stumptown Comics Fest is also pleased to host publishers Fantagraphics, Dark Horse Comics, Oni Press, Top Shelf Productions, and many others who will be exhibiting during the two day festival. Our full list of Guests and Exhibitors can be found on our Exhibitors Page.

Full details of workshops, panels, and events happening over the month of April to celebrate Portland, Oregon's vibrant comics community are expected to be announced soon.

2011 Stumptown Comic Arts Awards Nominees

Stumptown Comics Fest is proud to announce the final list of 2011 nominees for the Stumptown Comic Arts Awards as chosen by our panel of judges. And they are: Best Artist

• Emily Carroll, His Face All Red
• Roman Muradov, Etc, A Cave
• Stuart Immonen, Moving Pictures
• Brian Hurtt, The Sixth Gun
• Brecht Evens, Night Animals

Best Writer

• Carla Speed McNeil, Finder: Voice
• Cullen Bunn, The Sixth Gun
• Greg Rucka, Stumptown
• Aaron Renier, The Unsinkable Walker Bean
• Ben Marra, Benjamin Marra's The Incredibly Fantastic Adventures of Maureen Dowd (A Work of Satire and Fiction)

Best Cartoonist

• Carla Speed McNeil, Finder: Voice
• Johnny Ryan, Prison Pit Vol. 2
• Sarah Glidden, How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less
• Bryan Lee O'Malley, Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
• Adam Hines, Duncan the Wonder Dog

Best Letterer

• Johnny Ryan, Prison Pit
• Madeline Flores, The Girl and the Gorilla
• Carla Speed McNeil, Finder: Voice
• Aaron Renier, The Unsinkable Walker Bean
• Brittney Sabo, Francis Sharp in the Grip of the Uncanny, Vol. 1

Best Colorist

• Brecht Evens, Night Animals
• Emily Carroll, His Face All Red
• Alec Longstreth, The Unsinkable Walker Bean
• Ben Costa, Pang: the Wandering Shaolin Monk
• Sarah Glidden, How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less

Best Publication Design

• Zack Soto, StudyGroup12 #4
• Brecht Evens, Night Animals
• Michael DeForge, Spotting Deer
• Jason Little, Motel Art Improvement Service
• Elizabeth M. Pusack, Pretty Ugly

Best Anthology

• StudyGroup12 #4, edited by Zack Soto
• Gazeta: Comics from Bangkok to Belgrade, edited by Lisa Magnum and Maria Sputnik
• Elfworld v.2 #1, edited by Francois Vigneault
• AX: A Collection of Alternative Manga, edited by Sean Michael Wilson
• Nix Comics Quarterly, Edited by Ken Eppstein

Best Small Press

• I Want You #2 by Lisa Hanawalt
• Green Monk by Brandon Dayton
• The Whale by Aidan Koch
• Flesh and Bone by Julia Gfrörer
• Layered Jacket by Corey Lewis

Best New Talent

• Michael DeForge
• Adam Hines
• Emi Lenox
• Sarah Oleksyk
• Julia Gfrörer

Reader's Choice:
Voters are asked to list up to three of their favorite comics from April 2010 to April 2011. Any graphic novel, trade paper back collection, single issue or ongoing series, small press or online - whatever title has the most votes as determined by the readers will win this special prize. 

To vote in this year's awards, please visit:
https://stumptowncomics.com/awards_ballot
After voting, you will receive an email which must be confirmed in order for your vote to be counted.

Judges for the 2011 Stumptown Comics Awards are: Michael Allred (Madman), Brandon Graham (King City), Laura Hudson (Editor, ComicsAlliance.com), Michael Ring (Owner, Bridge City Comics), and Jason Leivian (Owner, Floating World Comics).

STCF2011 Floormap Revealed

With the Fest only weeks away, we're happy to reveal the table numbers for all of our announced exhibitors! You can also take a look at the floor map and plan your route through all the amazing art in the exhibit hall!

Click Here to download the full-size pdf!

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.

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.

Additional 2011 Fest Guests!

Randy Emberlin, with thirty years in the comics industry and best known for inking Amazing Spider-Man, GI Joe, Doctor Strange, Alien Legion, Ghost and recently the Left Behind series for Wildstorm. A Portland local, Randy shares his expertise with the next generation, teaching After School Drawing Classes for students in the greater Portland/Beaverton metropolitan areas and two summer art camps for 2011, The Cartooning and Comic Book Art Camp and The Animation Art Camp. Learn more about him at www.randyemberlin.com.

Sarah Glidden, 2008 winner of an Ignatz Award for her travelogue mini-comic How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less, later published in color as a Vertigo graphic novel. Brooklyn-based Sarah is currently working on a graphic novel project tentatively called Stumbling Towards Damascus, about the process of journalism and the way in which news is gathered and reported. Visit Sarah's site at www.smallnoises.com.

Gary Martin, best known for his how-to books The Art of Comic Book Inking and partnership with Steve Rude on The Moth and Nexus. His career as a freelance comic book inker and writer spans over twenty years, working with Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse and Disney on such titles as Spider-Man, Hulk, X-Men, Batman, Star Wars and Mickey Mouse. Recent works include writing an eight volume graphic novel series for Zondervan publishing, Son of Samson. See Gary's latest art at http://sky-boy.deviantart.com/.

Erika Moen, free-lance cartoonist, author and illustrator of DAR and member of Portland's Periscope Studio. Fresh from her first international book signing in London, Erika's recent project is a collaboration with Jeff Parker entitled Bucko, described as a 'dick and fart joke murder mystery' launching February 1, 2011 at www.buckocomic.com. Erika holds a self-designed degree in Illustrated Storytelling from Pitzer College. Read more about Erika at www.erikamoen.com.

Benjamin Marra, Brooklyn-based creator of The Incredibly Fantastic Adventures of Maureen Dowd (A Work of Satire and Fiction), Night Business, Gangsta Rap Posse and founder of TRADITIONAL COMICS and co-founder of the underground illustration and design journal MAMMAL. Benjamin holds a B.F.A in Illustration from Syracuse University, where he also studied at their art program in Florence, Italy. He received an M.F.A. in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts. Check out Benjamin's blog at benjaminmarra.blogspot.com.

2011 Exhibitor List is growing!

Today we started adding all of our confirmed exhibitors to the Exhibitors List! There are seriously over 100 great creators on the list already, from Stumptown veterans and locals to new artists we're happy to be introducing to Portland, with more still to come! Check back over the coming weeks to watch the final exhibitor list continue to grow!

If you've got a Twitter account, you can also keep up with the goings-on of these exhibitors by following our ! We don't have twitter info for all of our exhibitors yet, so that list will be evolving too. If you're one of our 2011 Exhibitors and want to be listed, send a tweet to and let us know!

Sadly, I also have to announce that Kurt Busiek will not be joining us in 2011 due to a schedule conflict. We were glad to have him stop by our 2010 show to sign for the CBLDF, and we hope to have him back again in 2012!

Project Mayor-Man: Design a Winning Costume, Help Bring Portland's Mayor to the Stumptown Comics Fest

Setting the stage for a quest of epic proportions, Mayor Sam Adams is scheduled to attend Stumptown Comics Fest 2011, and he needs the city's help to make sure he appears in a suitable superhero alter ego!

Operating as code name: PROJECT MAYOR-MAN, the minds behind the Stumptown Comics Fest and the Alter Egos Society have teamed up to clad our good sport of a mayor in proper attire, and they seek the creative minds of Portland to help design the right costume concept.

"Portland's designers are up to this challenge," said Benja Barker, founder of the Alter Egos Society. "This challenge will highlight the incredible creative talent we have in Portland, from the fashion industry to the visual arts community and beyond."

The quest to design our mayor's original superhero costume will begin February 1 and run through the month, with submissions closing on February 28.

Attendees will have the opportunity to have their picture taken with the costumed mayor as well as purchase prints featuring Mayor Sam Adams in his original superhero costume, with proceeds going to benefit the local non-profit p:ear, which provides services for
homeless and transitional youth.

The winning designer will have free access to all Stumptown Comics Fest events, with additional prizes to be announced.

The top PROJECT MAYOR-MAN designs will be announced March 7th, with the winning costume design turned over to the talented costumers of the Alter Egos Society for fabrication.

More information and contest details will be posted as available at www.alteregossociety.com and here at stumptowncomicsfest.com.

Stumptown Comic Arts Awards 2011 Open for Submissions

The Stumptown Comics Fest, the largest creator-focused comics convention in the Pacific Northwest, is now accepting submissions of comic work for consideration by our judges for the 2011 Stumptown Comic Arts Awards. Publishers and creators interested in submitting work should include one copy of each title to be considered, accompanied by an official Entry Submission form which can be downloaded from the Stumptown Comics Fest website by clicking this link.

Categories for this year's awards include Best Artist, Best Writer, Best Cartoonist, Best Letterer, Best Colorist, Best Publication Design, Best Small Press, and Best New Talent. Any work published after April 2010 will be eligible, and digital comics (meaning any comic published either online or for mobile devices) are also eligible for any category by following the instructions on the submission form. No submission fee will be required or collected for the 2011 Stumptown Comic Arts Awards. Submitters may not submit more than five distinct works per category, but works may be submitted in any number of categories.

Entries must be postmarked no later than the submission deadline of February 25, 2011 to be considered, and should be mailed to this address:

Stumptown Comics Foundation
Comic Arts Awards 2011 Submission

Portland, OR

In a departure from previous years, all work submitted will be subject to consideration by a jury of industry professionals. The jury will issue a final ballot in March 2011, which will be available as a pdf download for voting by any and all professionals, fans and readers of the comic arts. The votes will determine the final winners of each category, which will be tabulated and awarded at the Awards Ceremony to be held during the Stumptown Comics Fest on April 16 & 17th 2011 in Portland, Oregon.

Any questions about the Comic Arts Awards should be directed to the Director of the Comics Fest, Indigo Kelleigh at .

On the Confirmation Process...

Organizers of the 2011 Stumptown Comics Fest will soon begin confirming exhibitor applications for the April 2011 Fest, and we're taking a significantly different approach to how we're handling the ever-growing amount of applications. For the first time in our history we are taking a more curated approach to confirming our exhibitor space, in an effort to provide the best possible experience to our attendees and, in turn, our exhibitors.

As the Stumptown Comics Fest has grown over the past seven years, demand for space on our exhibitor floor has skyrocketed well beyond our capacity. For the 2010 Fest we managed to fill our 130 exhibitor tables in a three week period, and were left with a sizable waiting list. Moving to a larger venue for 2011 was intended to alleviate some of that problem, but the community's demand to be a part of the Fest exceeded our expectations, and we are again looking at having a waiting list of over 100 applicants. There is simply no fair way to decide who will get space and who won't, and so in an effort to maintain the high caliber of exhibitors that people have come to expect from Stumptown, I have decided to curate the exhibition space.

The tremendous response has reinforced my belief that the Comics Fest has huge potential to grow beyond the capacity of our previous location, and I'm already committing to doubling the exhibitor space again in 2012, to 60,000 square feet. This should hopefully provide ample room for comic artists and cartoonists at all levels of experience, and allow for a more inclusive confirmation process. Either way, I hope that all of the folks who applied for space will still join us at the 2011 Stumptown Comics Fest and enjoy the experience from whichever side of the table they happen to be on!

Thanks,
Indigo Kelleigh
2011 Fest Director

More STCF2011 Guests!

Eric Powell has been working in the industry since 1995 on such titles as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy: Weird Tales, and Star Wars Tales for Dark Horse Comics, as well as Marvel's The Incredible Hulk, Black Panther, The Avengers, among many other titles and publishers. Eric really came into his own, though, when he created the critically-acclaimed series The Goon, currently published at Dark Horse, and also in development as an animated film. Learn more about him at www.thegoon.com.

Brandon Seifert built his comics industry connections as a journalist, covering the local scene for Willamette Week, Comics Foundry, and Comic Book Resources. His first published comics work, Witch Doctor, is being published by Skybound Entertainment. Read more at www.witchdoctorcomic.com.

Lukas Ketner's first published comics work, Witch Doctor, brought him a nomination for the 2009 Russ Manning Award for Best New Talent. This led to him being published in the inaugural issue of Dark Horse Comics's relaunched Creepy series. He has also worked with Super Size Me creator Morgan Spurlock, and is a regular illustration contributor to Portland's Willamette Week. Learn more about him at www.witchdoctorcomic.com.

STCF 2011 Exhibitor Registration

Update: We've been getting reports from previous exhibitors, particularly those on the Waiting List for the 2010 Fest, that the email informing them of the opening of registration for 2011 was delivered to their Spam folders. For best results, all interested exhibitors should add '' to your email whitelist.

We at the Stumptown Comics Fest are happy to announce that exhibitor registration for the 2011 Fest is now open! This year we're introducing our Online Registration Process. It's new! And it will help minimize the paper waste produced by a high volume of exhibitor applications. Here's how online registration will work:

Visit the Exhibitor Registration page and click the 'Register Now' button. Fill out your Exhibitor Application with your latest contact information. Let us know how many tables you'll want (limit of 2 tables per exhibitor, please!) and submit the form. You'll receive a confirmation email letting you know that we've received the information, and your application will be added to the queue for consideration.

Due to the high demand for exhibitor spaces and our desire to provide the best possible experience for our attendees, exhibitor applications will no longer be assigned tables on a first-come, first-served basis. Also, we are no longer accepting half-table registrations. Exhibitors who only desire a half table are encouraged to team up with a friend to share a full table.

The deadline for registration is March 1, 2011, but if previous years are any indication, spaces will fill up quickly. Our organizers will begin confirming tables at the beginning of December 2010, and you will be notified if your application has been confirmed. Payment arrangements will be made at that point, and we'll be accepting payments both as checks and via Paypal this year.

So, go: Register Now! We hope to see you at the Comics Fest in April 2011!

Introduction to the STCF2011 Guests (Round 1)

When we announced that planning had commenced for the 2011 fest a few weeks back, we touched briefly on some of our confirmed guests and the work they are known for. As we continue to work on scheduling some wonderful comics creators, we thought it would be a good idea to give you a more formal introduction to those already confirmed for the Fest. This is just Round 1 of guest bios and we hope it gets you excited about Round 2!

Kurt Busiek came in to the world of comics at the age of 14 and has yet to leave it, working in the comics industry for almost 30 years. His skill at writing comics has earned him over two dozen industry awards, including multiple Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards. Kurt is best known for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own Astro City, and a four year run on Avengers. Learn more about him at www.busiek.com.

Molly Crabapple is an award- winning artist, author, and founder of Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School. Her illustration clients include many newspaper and magazine publications, as well as Marvel Comics and DC Comics. In 2009 her book Scarlett Takes Manhattan was published, and she is currently working on The Puppet Makers for DC Comics. Learn more about her at www.mollycrabapple.com.

Barry Deutsch is a cartoonist currently living and working here in Portland, Oregon. His webcomic Hereville will be published as a graphic novel in November 2010 by Abrams. Barry has also does commercial illustration as well as political cartoons for Dollars and Sense Magazine. Learn more about him at www.amptoons.com.

Larry Marder is the creator of acclaimed series Tales of the Beanworld, first published in 1985. His early career was focused on art-direction and advertising, with time spent as Executive Director of Image Comics in the 1990s and President of McFarlane Toys in the 2000s. He is now back to creating Beanworld full time. Learn more about him at larrymarder.blogspot.com.

Carla Speed McNeil is best known for her writing and illustration of her ongoing series Finder and her work on Oni Press' Queen & Country, in addition to contributions to a variety of anthologies and comics. She recently signed with Dark Horse Comics to reproduce Finder as well as other projects. Carla has received a variety of awards for her work in comics. Learn more about her at www.lightspeedpress.com.

Congratulations to Winners of the 4th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest Trophy Awards!

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
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• 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!

Welcome to Stumptown 2010!

Well, hello and welcome again!

Quite a year since many of us last met here at the Doubletree. April is now not only Comic Book Month here in Portland (check out copies of the third annual official decree around the Fest - courtesy of Portland Mayor, Sam Adams), but seemingly across the nation! We are very grateful to Comic-Con International's San Francisco Wonder Con, The New York based Museum of Cartoon and Comic Art MoCCA Festival and C2E2 - the new Chicago Pop Culture event from the NYCC organizers, for working to share April with us. Thanks gang (and shout out to Staple and ECCC, as well)!

Speaking of great thanks, please be sure to let our guests and exhibitors know how much you appreciate their making the trek to Stumptown. Dean Haspiel (ACT-I-VATE, The Alcoholic) and Paul Pope are winging in all the way from New York, Batton Lash and Jackie Estrada are up from San Diego,  Kate Beaton (Hark, A Vagrant) is in from the wilds of Halifax, Montreal-based Drawn and Quarterly exhibits for the 1st time and hosts R. Sikoryak and James Sturm, Graham Annable debuts his Grickle collection from Dark Horse Comics, Craig Thompson is once again taking rare time away from his drawing board during the home stretch of Habibi, Hope Larson is a host of Drink & Draw Like a Lady, Lucy Knisley created stunning badge art for us, illustrator of "Stumptown" from Oni Press Matthew Southworth is here, and home town hero Theo Ellsworth coaxed his NY based publisher Secret Acres to visit. Plus, we've got exhibitors from literally all over the world!

Sponsors are a huge part of what makes this show possible; MacTarnahan's Tap Room and Brewery, Muse Art & Design, Bob Self of Baby Tattoo Books, Portland Art Museum (bringing the R. Crumb Genesis exhibition to PDX beginning June), Brown Printing, Pollyanne Birge and the office of Mayor Sam Adams, CBLDF, Dr. Sketchy's PDX, Wacom, Alter Egos Society, and The Sequential Art Gallery, to name a few. Supporting them supports us!

More support has come from great friends of the Fest including Diana Schutz, Brian Michael Bendis, Mike Richardson, Jim Valentino, Dylan Williams, Kevin Smith, Harvest Moon, Bernadette Baker, Cort and Fatboy, and countless others. We are ever grateful to them. On a more personal note, thanks to my mom, who encouraged my love of comics throughout her life which ended abruptly last summer. You are missed. Thank you to Angie Kelley, Bob Schreck, Diego Kirsch, and all of you for your personal support of me. It means more than I can articulate.

Enough gratitude cannot be given to the Festival organizers. Many do not realize that the Stumptown Comic Book Festival and the Foundation which sponsors it are entirely volunteer based. From the people walking around handing out water to the Festival director, to the board of directors of the Foundation itself, we all do it for the love of comic books and the joy of community. Thanks go to Sequential Art Gallery proprietor and Stumptown Foundation President Kaebel Hashitani, Zeo Cohen, Dylan Meconis, Michael Cassella, John C. Worsley, Fest founder Indigo Kelleigh, Neal Skorpen, Sarah Corsiatto, New Yorker Cartoonist Shannon Wheeler, Cosmic Monkey Comics co-owner Andy Johnson, media maven Merrick Monroe, Floating World Comics owner Jason Levian, Adam Rosko, the mysterious Myrrh Larsen, Geek-in the-city and now with Things From Another World Aaron Duran, to recognize by name just some of the people responsible for wrangling this show!

Once again, we end where we begin: with you. Thank YOU, because without your continued outright love and championing of comic books, cartooning, graphic novels, manga, graphics, or whatever else you wanna call comic books, none of this would happen. Your passion and appreciation provide the support and drive that it takes to make the Stumptown Comic Book Festival a community-based event celebrating the thriving artistic and cultural expression that is comics. May it remain so forever.

Best,

Stumptown 2010 Signing Schedule

This year we're partnering up with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund again to provide a designated space for Guest signings. We've even managed to wrangle signings by visiting artists Mike Allred and Kurt Busiek!

Each day beginning 10AM, numbered signing tickets for that day only will be available for free from the CBLDF table (Table 25) on a first come - first served, one per artist per person basis. Yes, you can get tickets for each artist, just not more than one ticket for each artist. You will need to have your numbered ticket and line up approximately ten minutes before the signing time begins. There will be Stumptown Volunteers to guide you.

Saturday April 24
Mike Allred 12PM-1PM
Paul Pope 1PM - 3PM
Kurt Busiek 3PM - 4PM

Sunday April 25
Mike Allred 12PM-1PM
Craig Thompson 2PM-4PM and possibly beyond.
Paul Pope 4PM-6PM

*Times are subject to change.

Again the tickets are free, but we do request you take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with what the CBLDF does and to donate to this worthy cause.

While photography is welcome, we must ask that you do not request photos with the artists during their signing times, as that slows things down quite a bit. Thank you. Generally, artists will not be doing sketching during these times, but some will have works for sale. Paul Pope's work is available at table 31.

As with past festivals, you may end up lined up outside under the covered deck, so please be sure to bring weather appropriate dress. We'll make sure you don't get wet, but can't control the temperature!

SCF2010 Surprise Special Guest: Paul Pope!

Stumptown is honored to be welcoming indie-comics wunderkind Paul Pope as a Guest of the April 24-25 2010 Comics Fest!

Pope originally launched himself onto the self-publishing stage in 1993 with his genre-defying work Sin Titulo. His second published work, The Ballad of Doctor Richardson, earned Pope an Eisner nomination and was later reprinted by Portland's Dark Horse Comics. In the years since, Pope's vicious, 'take-no-prisoners' approach to brush work, and his unique world-building talents have earned him numerous accolades over the years on such work as THB, Batman: Year 100, Heavy Liquid, and One-Trick Ripoff, and he is also the only American comics artist to have worked with Japanese manga publisher Kodansha for over five years!

We'll be posting additional information about Paul's appearance in the weeks leading up to the Comics Fest, so keep checking back!

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!

2010's Guest List, part 1!

This year we're excited to have another stellar lineup of Special Guests from all corners of the comics industry!
Creator of the Eisner-nominated comic Billy Dogma, as well as the force behind webcomics collective ACT-I-VATE, Dean Haspiel will be joining us for his first time at Stumptown as our Special Guest of Honor. Dean's work has ranged from superhero comics for Marvel and DC, as well as collaborations with such underground luminaries as Harvey Pekar, Françoise Mouly, and Jay Lynch.

Batton Lash created the long-lived legal duo Wolff & Byrd: Counselors of the Macabre in 1979, and the pair have appeared in magazines, newspapers, comic books, graphic novels and for the last few years in their own online comic. Batton also created the classic crossover comic, Archie Meets The Punisher, and has since written several longer stories for Archie Comics, as well as the regular Radioactive Man comics for Bongo Comics. But it's his self-publishing efforts with Exhibit A Press that have made Batton a convention staple on both coasts.

Several previous exhibitors are also returning this year as Special Guests, including Stumptown regular Graham Annable, Lucy Knisley, and Theo Ellsworth, whose insanely detailed artwork has made his graphic novel 'Capacity' a critical success, and who contributed the fantastically mind-bending artwork for this year's Fest poster!

Look for more Special Guest announcements in the coming weeks!

SCF2010: Call for Volunteers!

Want to join in and help us with this year's Comics Month events? Sign up now to volunteer! Help is needed in many different areas, from promoting events, distributing flyers, coordinating floor events, setting up and tearing down panels and workshops, and assisting Exhibitors and Guests at the Fest. You'll have the opportunity to meet and help some of the greatest cartoonists and comics artists ever to assemble in Portland, and for your trouble, you'll receive a Volunteers Badge that will guarantee you entry to the Fest when you're not busy helping us out!

Signing up to volunteer is a simple, one-step process. Just fill out our handy on-line form, specifying your ability and your availability, and our Volunteers Coordinator will get in touch to let you know where and when your help is needed.

Trophy Awards: Submit Your Works Now!

The 4th annual Stumptown Trophy Awards are currently accepting submissions from artists, writers, illustrators, and self-publishers exhibiting at this year's Stumptown Comics Fest. The Fest takes place April 24th & 25th in Portland, OR, and the deadline for submissions is April 15th, 2010.

Trophies will be awarded in the following six categories:
DIY: For self-published, hand-made works
Design: For overall publication design
Writing: For exemplary writing, and compelling narrative
Art: For illustrations that clearly help the story
Web Comic: For comics and art which appeared initially online
Debut: For works making their worldwide debut at this year's Comics Fest
A seventh trophy, the Mystery Award, will be given at the discretion of the organizers of the awards.

To submit your work for this year's Trophy Awards, begin by filling out the submission form located online at https://stumptowncomics.com/awards. A $5 submission fee is required for each category in which you wish to submit a work for consideration, and a copy of the work must be sent to:

Trophy Awards

Portland, OR

or (if the work is digital) emailed to , before the April 15th deadline. All eligible works will be added to the ballot to be distributed to attendees at the Stumptown Comics Fest on April 24th. Votes will be collected throughout the day and tallied, and the Trophies will be awarded at the after party being hosted by Cosmic Monkey Comics in Portland, OR.

The After-Party is a tradition dating back to the very beginnings of the Fest, and has been hosted at Cosmic Monkey Comics since 2006. This year's party and Trophies Ceremony will take place on Saturday, April 24th starting at 8pm. The Trophies will be presented by Stumptown's own Shannon Wheeler and Carolyn Main, along with radio, film and comics Geek Celebré, Bobby 'Fatboy' Roberts (co-host of the local Cort and Fatboy radio show). After the Trophies Ceremony, be sure to stick around for the infamous Comic Art Battle, where Stumptown cartoonists square off, trading jibes, swipes, and ink-stained blows, competing for fabulous prizes and the adoration of the beer-addled crowd!

Inquiries about the Trophy Awards should be directed to .

SCF2010 Exhibitors List

Howdy, all:

The Exhibitors List for this year's Fest is now available, and I am simply amazed by the tremendous response we've already received! Nearly 100 tables are already registered with only ten weeks left until the show! We're continuing to receive bundles of registration packets in the mail, and we'll continue to confirm tables on a first-come, first-served basis. We won't be releasing any additions to the list until we can definitely confirm additional tables, though, so if you're sending in your form, and don't see your name on the list in the coming weeks, please don't panic! We just want to be absolutely sure that we've got room for everybody before we confirm any more exhibitors.

And that's not to say you shouldn't send in your registration forms, either! All registrations received over the available tables will be placed on the waiting list, and will have guaranteed space at next year's Comics Fest! So, get that form in now, kids! Time (and space) is running out!

SCF2010: More of the Best!

Every year, the comics-loving residents of Portland, Oregon have one major event that they look forward to, and that event is the Stumptown Comics Fest. This year, on April 24th and 25th, Stumptown will bring the best creators, artists, writers, and publishers from all over the comics spectrum to the for a weekend-long celebration of the comic arts. The Fest will close out an entire month of events around the Rose City designed to display the depth and artistry of the comics medium.

Stumptown is excited to announce a variety of Special Guests and events this year, starting with appearances by Batton Lash, creator of the long-running Supernatural Law; Brooklyn-based artist and community organizer Dean Haspiel is the driving force behind the online-comics collective Act-I-Vate, and he'll be here with several other Act-I-Vate artists to regale us with tales of the early days of the group; Local artist Theo Ellsworth (whose visually stunning and critically-acclaimed graphic novel 'Capacity' debuted in 2008) will also be joining us as a Guest, and provides artwork for this year's poster. The Panel schedule for 2010 includes a presentation by Kate Beaton talking about her insanely popular historical humor comic Hark! A Vagrant!. Continuing the Stumptown tradition of providing access to the best comics industry resources, we'll also be hosting another round of Portfolio Reviews with editors and art directors from top local publishers Top Shelf Comics, Oni Press, Dark Horse Comics, and Fantagraphics Books. Additional exciting Event and Guest announcements will be made in the coming weeks leading up to the Fest.

Registration of new exhibitors is currently open for this April's Comics Fest, but after early pre-registration following last year's event available table space is limited. Interested exhibitors should download the registration form (available now at stumptowncomics.com/registration) and send it in with payment before the March 24th deadline.

Comics Dinner and Fundraising Benefit at PCPA

On Friday April 17 2009, the Stumptown Comics Foundation is proud to present a chance-of-a-lifetime dinner event at which we would be honored to have you join us. Tailored for the discerning connoisseur of comic books, today's most vibrant artistic and cultural movement, this is a relaxing evening of food, drink and conversation with an intimate grouping of the medium's most respected and innovative storytellers. Held in the ArtBar & Bistro of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, located across the street from the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, this is a joint fundraising benefit for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and Portland, Oregon's own Stumptown Comics Foundation.

Guests include: Jeff Smith; creator of Bone and Rasl and STCF09 special guest of honor, Craig Thompson; creator of Blankets, GoodBye Chunky Rice and the forthcoming Habibi, Farel Dalrymple; creator of Pop Gun War and illustrator of best-selling author Jonathan Lethem's Omega the Unknown, Matt Wagner; creator of Mage and Grendel; Gail Simone; creator of Unhinged and author of Wonder Woman, Brian Michael Bendis; author of Powers, Alias, The New Avengers and many more, Derek Kirk Kim; creator of Same Difference and Other Stories as well as Lowbright, and Mike Dringenberg; co-creator of Sandman and contributor to the Tori Amos comics anthology Comic Book Tattoo. Directors of the Foundation and Fund will also be in attendance.

Attendance to this excellently prepared traditional three course meal - salad, entree and dessert - is $100.00 per patron, and offers intimate seating at a table with one of our honored guests. Seating is assigned, and based on first-come, first served reservation by emailing to for an invoice. A vegan option is available upon request, evening casual attire or finer is requested of you. No one under the age of 17 will be admitted without a ticketed adult companion, and proper identification will be necessary in order to imbibe spirits. Thank you for your understanding.

Prior to the dinner and beginning 5:30PM, an open attendance cocktail hour will take place in the Rotunda lobby of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, during which Portland Mayor Sam Adams will read a proclamation declaring Portland the City of Comics for the month of April 2009 and during which ticketed guests will enjoy hosted appetizers, beer and wine. At 6:30PM only ticketed guests will retire to the dining room for seating, and dinner will be served shortly afterward.

This gala evening gives you the opportunity mix and mingle with the creators of the works you love, to ask the questions you've always wanted answered, and get some of the inside stories beyond the comics page, as well as insights into the careers and lives of the incredibly talented men and women who create them. Wine, dine, meet and greet; all to celebrate comics and kick off the sixth annual Stumptown Comics Fest held April 18 & 19 at the Lloyd Center Doubletree Hotel, as well as add your strength to two organizations dedicated to the support of comic books.

Portland Mayor Declares April 2009 "Comics Month"

The Stumptown Comics Foundation is very pleased to announce that Mayor Sam Adams has declared April Portland Comics Month for the second year in a row. This proclamation officially recognizes both the cultural importance and creative influence of this unique art form on the city, and builds on the strength and success of 2008's inaugural Comics Month celebration.

Portland has deep roots in the comic-book publishing world, as it is home to scores of industry professionals and several of the nation's most prominent comics publishers (Dark Horse Comics, Oni Press, Top Shelf Productions, and Image--Shadowline). Moreover, the local comics community continues to see significant growth, which further bolsters the Rose City's defining ties to the creative arts and industries.

To champion and support Portland Comics Month, the Stumptown Comics Foundation has once again catalogued a staggering number of comics-related events in the Portland metro area for the entire month of April. The current list is is to be had at stumptowncomics.com/comicsmonth. Join us in this month-long celebration of sequential art--featuring the 6th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest, events from Multnomah County Libraries, galleries, bookstores, and organizations, and culminating in the annual nationwide Free Comic Book Day!

Join us for "Drink and Draw" at MacTarnahan's!

What
Stumptown Comic Fest/MacTarnahan's Brewing 1st ever "Drink and Draw" event.

Watch a group of celebrated local comic illustrators working their craft as inspired by the MacTarnahan's Taproom atmosphere. Evenings creations will be auctioned off for charity. MacTarnahan's Beer Specials and raffle prizes.

Visit the MacTarnahan's website.

When
Wednesday April 1st, 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Who
Guest artists:
Monica Toth
Virginia Paine
Brian Churilla
Natalie Phillips
Mike Lawrence

Where
MacTarnahan's Taproom
2730 NW 31st Ave.
Portland, OR 97210 | Get a Map
ph.

Stumptown Comics Fest 2009 Exhibitor Space Filled!

The response from comic book publishers, merchants, groups, and independent artists this year has been phenomenal. Exhibitor space filled at a record pace, even with the small cost increase. The Stumptown Comics Fest would like to thank everyone that chose to be a part and support the Fest for our sixth year.

The last of the confirmations are going out now, so if you did not make it in, and have submitted an application, you've been placed on our Waiting List. Should tables open up, we'll be assigning based on postmark and cashing your payment then. If you do not want to be placed on the wait list, please let us know and we will return or destroy held payments.

To those that weren't able to join the Stumptown Comics Fest as an exhibitor, we sincerely hope to see you as an attendee, the 2009 Stumptown Comics Fest is shaping up as the best one yet! As soon as dates and scheduling allow, we will post application information for the 2010 Fest.

The Stumptown Comics Fest would again like to extend our deepest gratitude to everyone that supports the comics industry, from fan to creator to publisher alike. ¡Viva Comics!

See you all soon at the Double Tree Convention Hall, April 18 and 19, 2009.

Registration Open for 2009 Stumptown Comics Fest

Portland, Oregon Festival to Celebrate Sixth Year

The 2009 Stumptown Comics Fest is officially open for exhibitor registration. A handful of eagle-eyed attendees watching the show's website have already beaten the registration rush--which sold out last year's fest before the Early Bird Deadline--so don't delay!

Longtime exhibitors will notice some improvements to our pricing structure, aimed at encouraging the greatest number of cartoonists, publishers, retailers, and small-press enthusiasts to participate in the show. While the Early Bird window has been eliminated, its discounted $70 price for a half table (which includes one exhibitor badge) is now the standard price. A full eight-foot table (with two badges) will put one back $150, and additional square-footage will accrue additional costs. Extra exhibitor badges are available for $10 apiece. All the details are available in a handy PDF registration form at the Fest's online headquarters, stumptowncomics.com.

The registration and payment deadline is February 18th, 2009. Checks should be made out to the Stumptown Comics Foundation, and mailed with a completed registration form to:

SCF 2009 Registration
P.O. Box 40715
Portland, OR 97240

The goal of each year's Fest is to outdo the offerings, operations, and low-key awesomeness of the prior year. Last year featured record attendance, industry veterans alongside brand-new creators, tours of comics-related gallery shows, and a staggering number of events coinciding with the mayor's "Portland Comics Month" proclamation--all in addition to the Fest's full slate of workshops, panels, signings, portfolio reviews, fantastic guests, and the Trophy Awards. Stay tuned for the announcement of this year's Special Guests and brand-new workshops!

The Stumptown Comics Fest is an annual festival celebration of comics and cartooning art in Portland, Oregon. Our Sixth Annual fest will be held on April 18th-19th, 2009, at the Doubletree Hotel Lloyd Center, 1000 NE Multnomah St, Portland, OR 97232. Hope to see you there!

Stumptown Comics Foundation Teams with Wordstock

On November 8th and 9th at the Portland Convention Center, the Stumptown Comics Foundation will join forces with the Wordstock Book Fair to raise further awareness about the changing role of visual narratives in education and pop culture.

Alongside local cartoonists and writers--plus special Wordstock guests Mike Mignola (Hellboy) and Lynda Barry (What It Is) and notable creators Alison Bechdel (Fun Home) and Spain Rodriguez (Nightmare Alley)--local publishers Dark Horse Comics, Oni Press, Top Shelf, Shadowline, and Sparkplug will be participating in the fair's first "graphic novel garden."

In addition to the esteemed creators and publishers (and homegrown comics fest) to be found in Wordstock's graphic novel garden, a variety of workshops and demonstrations will be offered for interested attendees. Among them: Comics essentials, character design, silkscreening, hand bookbinding, and visual storytelling, as presented by cartoonists Farel Dalrymple (pop gun war), Theo Ellsworth (Capacity), Julia Gförer (As Befits a Man exhibition), John Isaacson (D.I.Y. Silkscreening), Jesse Reklaw (Slow Wave), and Jim Valentino (Image Comics co-founder). Other creators in attendance at the two-day festival include Elijah Brubaker (Reich), Theo Ellsworth (Always Somewhere Nearby), Joëlle Jones and Jamie S. Rich (12 Reasons Why I Love Her), Carolyn Main (Quickies), Shanno Wheeler (How to be Happy), Aron Nels Steinke (Crazy Cat Dance), Sarah Oleksyk (Ivy), Periscope Studios (various). Jesse Reklaw will premiering his new book, The Night of Your Life, from Dark Horse Comics. Demos and live drawing will abound!

Finally, in conjunction with the annual book fair, comic-book aficionados can enjoy First Thursday, author readings, and book premieres (plus exclusives!) at the Fuzzy Glamour Gallery show on Thursday November 6th. Join fellow comics fans and creators for eats, drinks, and funnybook hobnobbing from 6pm to close at 625 NW Everett St., #111!

As public, educator, and retailer interest in the art form grows, the Stumptown Comics Foundation will continue to provide answers, resources, and recommendations to local readers. Join us, or come by and say hello!

The Stumptown Comics Foundation is a not for profit organization devoted both to promoting comics and cartooning art and to celebrating the medium's rich culture in Portland, Oregon. Our Sixth Annual Stumptown Comics Fest will be held on April 18th-19th, 2009, at the Doubletree Hotel Lloyd Center, 1000 NE Multnomah St, Portland, OR 97232. Hope to see you there!

Shannon Wheeler
Wordstock Liaison
|

Katie Moody
Stumptown Publicity

Website: stumptowncomics.com

Registration Opens for Stumptown 2009

The date for the upcoming 2009 Stumptown Comics Fest will be Saturday April 18th & Sunday the 19th, and the Fest will take place again at the Lloyd Center Doubletree Hotel in Portland, Oregon. Price of admission has yet to be decided.

Exhibitor registration is now open, with tables running $70 for a half, $150 for a full 8-foot table, and $200 per full table afterwards. Each full table comes with two exhibitor badges, and half tables come with one. Previous exhibitors will notice some changes to the pricing structure - namely that additional tables are more expensive than a single table. After the crazy demand for tables last year, we're trying to encourage more exhibitors to get fewer tables, to allow more people to exhibit.

The Registration deadline is February 18th, 2009, and tables went quickly last year, so be sure to register soon! After we receive your registration and you're confirmed a table, you'll be notified via email, and your name will be added to our Exhibitors' List.

Download the form here!

2008 Trophy Awards Extension

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.