CalendarDates and times of the show:
The 2013 Stumptown Comics Fest takes place April 27 & 28, 2013.
10am to 6pm on Saturday, the 27th.
12pm to 6pm on Sunday, the 28th.
Festival location:
The Oregon Convention Center on 777 NE ML King Blvd. Portland, OR 97232 - Click for location map.
Cost of entry:
$10 a day or $15 for a weekend pass.
Students with valid student high school or college ID - $7 a day or $12 for a weekend pass.
Children 12 and under are Free (when accompanied by ticket-buying parent or guardian).
Is there a show hotel? Do you have hotels that offer a festival discount?
The Jupiter Hotel is the official hotel of the Stumptown Comics Fest. Attendees can make their reservations at the Jupiter Hotel by clicking HERE. However, there are many local hotels near the Oregon Convention Center. Rates are based on availability and time of booking, please check with the individual hotel. Click this LINK for an official list.
How many exhibitors can attendees expect?
We have 45 booths and 124 tables that will be filled with a variety of creators, publishers, and retailers. Many of our exhibitors are sharing booth or table space so it's hard to give a definite count, but rest assured we've packed the exhibition hall with as much creativity as we could fit.
Can I expect major publishers and comic book creators?
You bet! The Stumptown Comics Fest has always focused on compelling creators and comics as a storytelling medium of all genres. We're proud to bring you publishers like Dark Horse Comics, Oni Press, Top Shelf Comix, and other well-respected comic book publishers. Being the 10th anniversary of the festival, we're proud to host the largest number of guests in the festival's history. Guests include Fables creator Bill Willingham, Eisner award winning artist Becky Cloonan, multiple award winning writer Greg Rucka, as well as some of the countries premiere comic book studios like Periscope Studio and Tranquility Base. With over 25 special guests you can be certain you'll have a great time. Check out this LINK for the full list.
Can I bring in items for guests to sign at the festival?
While we highly encourage you purchase items from our many exhibitors to help support their work, you are still more than welcome to bring in items. However, each guest may have personal preferences in what they are willing to sign and how many products. All we ask is that you maintain respect in your request, for both the creator as well as your fellow attendees.
Are guest always available to sign things or is there a signing schedule?
We don't have a traditional signing schedule as you find at many conventions. Guests that are willing to sign will simply sign your items when they're sitting at their table. One of the highlights of the Stumptown Comics Fest is the accessibility between creator and fan, the best way to learn when and where a guest can sign your item and talk about their work is to simply walk up and ask. However, we will make all attempts to let attendees know when a guest is at an official panel or event.
Do vendors take credit cards?
The ticket counter for the Stumptown Comics Fest will accept credit and debit card payments. While exhibitors determine their own form of payment, most will accept credit cards. Food vendors connected with the Oregon Convention Center also accept credits cards.
What's the room capacity for panels?
The average room capacity for panels is approximately 80 people.
Where do I go if I lose my wallet / keys / kid?
We will have a centrally located attendee services kiosk within the festival floor where Stumptown volunteers will help you with a lost item or misplaced child.
Since the Stumptown Comics Fest is an all-ages event, will exhibitors only show items considered safe for all-ages?
While the Stumptown Comics Fest is highly focused on hosting an all-ages environment, we understand that every parent or guardian has a varied view on what they consider all-ages. With that in mind, we are compiling a list of exhibitors in our festival program that may produce material of an adult or mature nature. With that in mind, we can't estimate what everyone considers all-ages and ask that you review our list of exhibitors before letting younger kids walk the convention floor. We will also ask our exhibitors to be mindful of their own work when in the presence of younger attendees.
Where can you get food near the convention center?
The Oregon Convention Center has multiple food vendors located within the facility. There are also many restaurants and cafes within walking distance of the festival. Also, being located on the MAX line as well as major bus routes, all of Portland's wonderful collection of culinary offerings are just a transit ticket away.
Are there places to sit and rest near the vendors?
There are many locations throughout the Oregon Convention Center where tired attendees can rest their feet.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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:
Brandon Graham - Ethan Nicolle - Molly Crabapple - Benjamin Marra
Phil Foglio - Carla Speed McNeil - Paul Tobin - Colleen Coover
Larry Marder - Barry Deutsch - Scott Kurtz - Kris Straub
Randy Emberlin - Gary Martin - Erika Moen - Julia Wertz
Lukas Ketner - Brandon Seifert
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.
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
- 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)
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Zack Soto, StudyGroup12 #4
- Brecht Evens, Night Animals
- Michael DeForge, Spotting Deer
- Jason Little, Motel Art Improvement Service
- Elizabeth M. Pusack, Pretty Ugly
- 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
- 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
- Michael DeForge
- Adam Hines
- Emi Lenox
- Sarah Oleksyk
- Julia Gfrörer
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.Â
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).
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!
Colleen Coover - best known for her adults-only Small Favors, she has gone on to be an artist for X-Men: First Class and variety of other Marvel titles, as well as Banana Sunday. Coover's Gingerbread Girl with Paul Tobin is set to be published in May by Top Shelf Productions. Colleen's sketchblog and portfolio can be found at colleencoover.net.
Paul Tobin - writer for such titles as Model, Inc., Marvel Adventures, and Predators. In May, Tobin's second collaboration with Colleen Coover, Gingerbread Girl, will be published by Top Shelf Productions. Follow Paul's latest work at paultobin.net.
Julia Wertz - creator of the critically acclaimed Drinking at the Movies and Fart Party. Originally from San Francisco, but now in New York, Wertz's autobiographical work lives online and in print. Learn more about Julia's projects at fartparty.org.
Scott Kurtz - creator of the popular webcomic Player vs. Player (PvP); now in its thirteenth year online, the daily strip has garnered an Eisner and Harvey Award. PvP resides online at pvponline.com.
Kris Straub - creator of Chainsawsuit, Starslip, Checkerboard Nightmare and several others. Straub is also the co-creator of the web-short series Blamimation with PvP creator Scott Kurtz. Find the latest news about all of Kris's projects at krisstraub.com.
The Guest List for our 8th Annual Comics Fest just keeps on growing:
Â
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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 .
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
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.
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!
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.
The 8th annual Stumptown Comics Fest will take place on April 16th and 17th, and be held in its new location at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. In recent years the exhibition hall has been packed to the gills; this move to the Convention Center will give attendees room to breathe with 30,000 square feet of exhibition space (nearly double the square footage) and will allow the amount of table to be increased with room for future growth.
A small number of guests have already been confirmed for the next fest, from local, national, and even international stages. Guests are to include: Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Molly Crabapple (illustrator, founder of Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School), Kurt Busiek (writer for DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image), Larry Marder (Tales of the Beanworld), and Barry Deutsch (Hereville). This list is by no means complete, and regular announcements will be made over the coming months as more details are confirmed.
Indigo Kelleigh, founder of the Stumptown Comics Fest, is returning as the festival director for the next three years (2011-2013). Kelleigh brings his experience in both event coordination and the comics industry to the team, and is already working to make this upcoming year a peek at what's to come. Shannon T. Stewart, Festival Director for the 2009 and 2010 fests and a current Board member of the Stumptown Comics Foundation, is supportive of Kelleigh's involvement. "We're all elated to have Indigo, the creator of the Fest, return to the position of Director," says Stewart, "and I personally look forward to working with him and to the amazing ideas he has in store for Stumptown over not just this season, but the next few years leading to the ten year anniversary!"
This will be the eighth year of the Stumptown Comics Fest (founded 2004), which has become the largest creator-focused comics festival in the Northwest. The amount of comics fans attending the event continues to climb as does the national and international attention our local event garners from artists, writers, editors, and publishers. Please continue visiting this website for future updates; you can also find us on Facebook () and on Twitter ().
RSS Feeds