Stumptown Comics Names New Chair, Secretary

Stumptown Comics, Inc. -- the Portland-based non-profit behind the annual Stumptown Comics Festival -- has elected two new officers to lead its board of directors in preparation for the festival's tenth anniversary in 2013.

Former board secretary Shawna Gore was elected to replace former board chair Joe Keatinge, who stepped down from his post in late August. Keatinge, a rising star in the world of comics writers, has resigned from the board to focus on his career. Replacing Gore as secretary is writer and business consultant Nicolle Farup, who played a major role in leading charity fundraising efforts as part of the 2012 Stumptown Comics Festival.

Of his departure from the board, Keatinge said, "It was a pleasure to serve with the Stumptown board as Chair. When I took on the role, I had a number of goals, and the board exceeded every single one of them. Despite my focus changing, I am ecstatic for where Stumptown Comics is headed and look forward to next year's festival."

Gore, a longtime editor and creative consultant, praised Keatinge for his work on the board of directors and forecast a bright future for the organization. "Joe did fantastic work on behalf of Stumptown," said Gore, "and he helped position us to expand the scope of our work in the years to come. Portland is arguably the richest city in America in terms of creativity and our profound love for the medium of comics, and the Stumptown Comics Festival reflects that. "

Stumptown Comics Inc.'s board of directors is currently considering applications for two additional board positions, and announcements about those additions will be forthcoming. Next year's Stumptown Comics Festival will be held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland on April 27 and 28, 2013. Guest announcements and application information for that show will also be released in coming weeks.

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 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 .

Stumptown Comics Expands Board of Directors

After an extensive search for new board members, Stumptown Comics is proud to announce the confirmation of three new members to our team: Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Charles Brownstein, acclaimed Boilerplate co-author Anina Bennett and Eisner award-winning editor Shawna Gore.

Brownstein, Bennett and Gore will join the current board members, Stumptown Comics President Joe Keatinge, current Secretary Pollyanne Birge, interim Treasurer Matt Bors, Andy Johnson and Shannon Stewart as they continue to expand the organization's efforts promoting education about the art form of comics on both a local and international level, including the long-running Stumptown Comics Fest. In addition, Bennett will chair the Development Committee as Gore takes over the role as the board's Secretary.

ABOUT CHARLES BROWNSTEIN Charles Brownstein has served as the Executive Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund since 2002. During his years at the helm of the organization, the CBLDF has successfully managed several First Amendment cases, including a notable win in Georgia v. Gordon Lee, and been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. EMA. The CBLDF has also successfully participated in a wide variety of challenges to unconstitutional legislation. Under Brownstein's watch, the CBLDF has also grown its budget to accommodate a full-time staff of three people, a move to New York City, and an increasingly vital program of events across the United States.

ABOUT ANINA BENNETT Writer Anina Bennett is the co-author (with her husband, Paul Guinan) of the steampunk sensation Boilerplate: History's Mechanical Marvel and the new book Frank Reade: Adventures in the Age of Invention (Abrams 2012). She and Paul also created the Eisner-nominated science fiction series Heartbreakers, one of the first comics to feature clones and female action heroes. Anina is a recovering comic book editor, having previously shepherded titles such as Nexus, GrimJack, and Harlan Ellison's Dream Corridor for First Comics and Dark Horse Comics, as well as Disney stories for the European market.

ABOUT SHAWNA GORE Shawna Gore is a writer and editor who has worked professionally in the world of comics since 1997, when she joined the staff of Dark Horse Comics as the company's first publicist. In that role, Shawna worked alongside comics greats such as Will Eisner, Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Harvey Pekar, and others, to bring broader media attention to the world of comics and bridge the cultural gap that seemed to separate comics from other forms of entertainment. In 2001 and 2002, Shawna served a key role representing Dark Horse in the industry-wide effort to build a wider audience for comics through the creation of Free Comic Book Day. In 2003, Shawna transitioned into a more creative role and became an editor for Dark Horse, working on a broad range of material, from original creator-owned horror and humor comics, to archival collections of hard-to-find classics. She accepted two Eisner awards for her work on archival books in 2009 and won accolades for her dream project--the 25th anniversary edition of Bernie Wrightson's illustrated version of Mary Wollstonescraft Shelley's Frankenstein. Now working as a freelance editor and creative consultant in Portland, Shawna spends her free time reading, gardening, and playing music with friends.

Stumptown Comics is looking forward to having such dynamic, accomplished and passionate new board members and all of the new energy and ideas they will bring to the organization.

New Year, New Site!

Welcome to the new website of Stumptown Comics, Inc! As the year begins, our organization is shifting our focus a bit, in order to better serve the comics-loving people of Portland! Throughout the year we'll be posting news of upcoming and ongoing comics events in and around our beloved Stumptown, as well as continuing to bring you the latest news and announcements regarding our annual Comics Fest!

We're also increasing our participation on several of the social sites, like and , where we'll be pulling together all of the photos and videos we can find, so you can find them more easily! And if you're a Google Calendar user, you can simply subscribe to our public Events Calendar to keep up with the latest!

If you've got a comics-related event you want to have posted here on the site, just click the email link just below the Upcoming Events list on the right of our home page, and you'll get a handy email format to plug your event's information into.

It's our hope that this newly renovated website will become your first destination when you're looking for information about local appearances, author signings, workshops, galleries, comics readings, conventions, and any other comics-related events in town. We're also open to if there's something else you think the site needs.

Enjoy!

-indy

Board Application Deadline: Extended!

If you're interested in applying to be part of the Stumptown Comics Board of Directors but haven't gotten your application in yet, worry not! The deadline for applications has been extended, and we will be accepting applications until Friday, December 10, 2012 at 5:00 PM (PST)! Now is your chance to join Portland, Oregon's most active comics-centric organization, helping us to shape our offerings, programs, and initiatives for the next several years.

We will still begin interviewing prospective board members on December 14, and hope to conclude interviews before the holidays. All of the information concerning the application process and requirements can be found here in the original announcement.

Stumptown Comics Welcomes New Board Members

Press Release:

Stumptown Comics is proud to announce the confirmation of Joe Keatinge as President, and Pollyanne Birge as Secretary of the corporation. Keatinge is the writer of the upcoming superhero series "Brutal" with illustrator Frank Cho, Executive Editor of the Eisner & Harvey-award winning anthology "PopGun", and former marketing coordinator for Image Comics. His involvement with Stumptown began in 2010 when he helped redesign the Stumptown Comic Arts Awards. Birge has worked with the City of Portland on arts and culture policy under Mayor Sam Adams, and is currently the vice-chair of Portland's Independent Publishing Resource Center. She also volunteered for the Stumptown Comics Fest before joining the board. Keatinge and Birge preside over the current board of Directors, which includes editorial cartoonist Matt Bors, local retailer and co-owner of Cosmic Monkey Comics, Andy Johnson, and past festival director and Stumptown Comics Foundation co-founder Shannon T. Stewart. Current Festival Director Indigo Kelleigh continues to consult with the corporation through this transition.

Stumptown Comics is currently seeking additional experienced applicants to sit on its Board of Directors, to help shape the future of the corporation, and develop its programming and educational offerings. Of particular interest are applicants with an accounting or bookkeeping background to help fill the office of Treasurer. Applicants for these volunteer positions should be able to commit to a minimum of 12-20 hours annually for Board business. Recommended experience may include financial bookkeeping and accounting, skills in development and grant-writing, marketing and public relations, or non-profit organization management. Interested applicants are asked to submit a resumé and cover letter explaining their interest in joining the corporation, their interest in the arts, and experience of the comics medium and local community, sent to . Applications will be accepted until December 7, with interviews beginning on December 14.

UPDATE: On December 7th, the deadline for applications was extended until 5PM on Friday, December 10.

Stumptown Comics is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 2007 to support the efforts of the organizers of the Stumptown Comics Fest. The corporation has operated in Portland Oregon for five years, and continues to work to raise awareness and appreciation of comics as an art-form through collaborations with the city, including the establishment of Comics Month in 2008.

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

Comic Arts Awards First-Ever Jury!

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

This year's judges are:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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
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Katie Moody
Stumptown Publicity

Website: stumptowncomics.com

Comics Month - The Proclamation

Hey, all - Just to make it all totally official on the Comics Month front, I present to you the signed Proclamation, typos and all!

Click the image for a pdf!

And so we return and begin again.

Hey, everybody. Welcome to the website for Stumptown 2007! Which is also, of course, the website for Stumptowns 2004, 2005, and 2006. We're in our fourth year, and we've come a long way since that first crazy day in Portland's Old Church.

Without further ado, let’s point out the important stuff:

• When: Saturday, Sept 29th and Sunday, Sept. 30th
• Where: Lloyd Center Doubletree Exhibit Hall

As for who, well, along with you (we hope), we’re pleased to announce that Matt Wagner will be joining us as a special guest, so we can help him celebrate the 25th anniversary of Grendel. —Indy’s heading up our guest committe, so I’ll let him update you with additional names as we confirm them. We’ve got an electric and eclectic list planned, so keep checking for new names.

Beyond that, everything’s bigger and better and just plain more than even last year, which was awfully darn big. More tables! That are eight feet long, instead of six! More chairs, to go along with the tables! More panels, workshops, and special events! Big plans for 2008 and beyond! A slightly higher table rate! And more!

Registration forms for exhibitors are available here. Download, print, and postmark by June 15th for the early-bird rates. So get out your calendars and reserve the dates: we’ll see you at Stumptown at the end of September. Bring comics.