Dates 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.
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.
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
Stumptown Comics Fest is proud to announce the final list of nominees for the 2012 Stumptown Comic Arts Awards as chosen by our panel of judges. Voting will take place online until 11:59 pm on Wednesday, April 18. Anyone with internet access is eligible to vote at https://stumptowncomics.com/awards.php. Votes will be tabulated, and the awards will be presented to the winners during the Comics Fest After Party on Saturday, April 28 at the Jupiter Hotel.
The Nominees are . . .
Best Writer
- Joshua Willamson, Sketch Monsters
- Phillip Gelatt, Petrograd
- Cullen Bunn, The Sixth Gun V. 2: Crossroads
- Brandon Graham, Prophet
- John Arcudi and Mike Mignola, BPRD: Hell on Earth -- Russia
- Tyler Crook, Petrograd
- Fiona Staples, Saga
- Gary Gianni, Monster Men
- Brian Hurt, The Sixth Gun V. 2: Crossroads
- Jonathan Case, Green River Killer
- Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo: Fox Hunt
- Roman Muradov, The Yellow Zine
- Ray Fawkes, One Soul
- Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets
- Carla Speed McNeil, Finder
- Nate Piekos, Green River Killer
- Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo: Fox Hunt
- Tom Orzechowski and Lois Buhalis, Manara Library
- Roman Muradov, The Yellow Zine
- Doug Sherwood, Petrograd
- Bill Crabtree, The Sixth Gun V. 2: Crossroads
- Dave Stewart, Hellboy: House of the Living Dead; Chimichanga
- Roman Muradov, The Yellow Zine
- Richard Ballermann, The Prophet
- Diana Nock, The Intrepid Girlbot: Unconditional, Vol. 1
- Petrograd, Tyler Crook and Keith Wood
- Any Empire, Nate Powell and Tony Ong
- Luci's Let Down, Marjee Chmiel and Sandra Lanz
- Kus! #9, Ryan Sands
- Dotter of her Father's Eyes, Bryan Talbot
- Study Group Magazine #1, edited by Zack Soto
- Lies Grownups Told Me, edited by Nomi Kane, Jen Vaughn, Caitlin M.
- Kus! #9, edited by Ryan Sands
- Elf World #2, edited by Francois Vigneault
- Dark Horse Presents, edited by Mike Richardson
- Gangsta Rap Posse #2, Benjamin Marra
- The Intrepid Girlbot: Unconditional, Vol. 1, Diana Nock
- Fugue #1, Beth Hetland
- Luci's Let Down, Marjee Chmiel and Sandra Lanz
- Study Group Magazine #1, Zack Soto
- Jonathan Case, Dear Creature, Green River Killer
- Roman Muradov, The Yellow Zine
- Diana Nock, The Intrepid Girlbot: Unconditional, Vol. 1
- Marjee Chmiel, Luci's Let Down
- Johnny Negron, Diamond Comics #6
Only one vote will be counted per person, duplicates will be eliminated.
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.
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..."
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)
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.
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:
Comic Arts Awards 2012 Submission
Portland, OR
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 .
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
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.
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!
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!
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