It’s here! SPX debuts! Make sure you click the links for ALL THE GOODNESS.
Secret Acres will be debuting Capacity by Theo Ellsworth. It features new material as well as content from Ellsworth’s Capacity mini-comics. Theo will be in attendance at SPX, signing books and posters.
Intricate, even exquisite – but never immaculate, Theo Ellsworth’s Capacity is a mind turned inside out. Ellsworth’s careful line gives shape to profound and profoundly silly thoughts alike, bringing a visionary, startling new life to the doubts and hopes that are so familiar to everyone.
You Ain’t No Dancer Vol. 3 makes it’s official debut at SPX this year.
New format! The third volume of You Ain’t No Dancer anthology goes themeless. Featuring a wrap-around cover by Kazimir Strzepek, You Ain’t No Dancer Vol. 3 contains 30 new stories from indy-comic favourites and up-and-comers.
Vol. 3 Contributors:
Kazimir Strzepek, Becky Dreistadt & Frank Gibson, Blaise Larmee, Catia Chien, Coleman Engle, Colleen MacIsaac, Dalton Sharp, Dalton Webb, Dorothy Gambrell, Graham Kahler, Grant Reynolds, Ira Marcks, Jason Turner, Jeff Bent, Jeremy Sorese, Jon Sukarangsan, Jordyn Bochon, KC Green, Kate Beaton, Ken Dahl, Kim Hoang, Lars Brown, Lucy Knisley, Mike Laughead, Mitch Clem & Jason Oberbichler, Patrick Murphy, Phil Barrett, Phil McAndrew and Steve Rolston & Sabina.
Exhibit A
We will be debuting The Soddyssey, And Other Tales of Supernatural Law (by Batton Lash of course) at the Exhibit A table.
Boston Comics Roundtable
Inbound #2 – A Boston Comics Anthology Premieres at SPX 2008
The Boston Comics Roundtable has returned with their second anthology, featuring a wide variety of comics from Boston-based creators. From would-be supermen to foibles in space to real-life stories from the streets of Iraq, Inbound #2 is the best of Boston. This 64-page book retails for $7.95 and is available at www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com.
Contributors include:
Might – Matt Reidsma (High Maintenance Machine)
Watcher Wanted – Shelli Paroline (Harvest is When I Need You the Most) & Jason Salzarulo
Bad Topology – Charles Schneeflock Snow (Sordid City Blues) & Erik Haines
The Walk – Kevin Kilgore (Center for Cartoon Studies)
Little Cody Visits the Underworld – Rachel Maguire
Too Many Robots! – Ron LeBrasseur
Endlessly She Said – Jay Kennedy
unWendy – Cathy Leamy (Geraniums and Bacon)
Cover – Braden Lamb
Our newest book, LA MUSE by Adi Tantimedh and Hugo Petrus, will not ship until shortly after Thanksgiving, but it is listed in the current Diamond PREVIEWS we are previewing and promoting it at SPX.
LA MUSE is the story of two sisters who are secretly the daughters of powerful beings from another dimension. Buttoned-down Libby, who seems normal in every way, works for an LA talent agency. Wild-child Susan has the near-omnipotence of her parents and wants to save the world, whether the world wants saving or not. When Susan gains fame and implements her grand plans, she meets opposition from both the world’s elites and a completely unexpected quarter.
Alan Moore says of LA MUSE: “… the purveyors of today’s sprawling super-hero culture would do well to read Adi Tantimedh and Hugo Petrus’ LA MUSE and learn how to do these things properly.”
Technorati Tags: SPX
Raina Telgemeier
Two new books at SPX:
Baby-sitters Club Graphic Novel #4: Claudia and Mean Janine.
This is the fourth and final book in the BSC Graphic Novel series. It’s up for the Best Debut Ignatz Award!
Outreach.
The first minicomic I’ve made in 3 years. It’s a 12-page snapshot of some of the things I’ve seen and heard while teaching kids about comics, and things people say during comic conventions.
SPADEFOOT by Matt Dembicki and Andrew Cohen
88 pages full color, SPX special price: $10
An unlikely hero is called upon to free the universe from the clutches of one nasty space salamander called Hellbender. But will Spadefoot and his misfit marauders – an aged, larva-eating mole named Joubert who once served as the master of Hellbender’s royal guard, and Indigo, a one-eyed, short-tempered bounty huntress – have what it takes to overcome the Herculean obstacles they face along the way to the ultimate showdown?
ANIMAL STEW by Matt Dembicki
20 pages, B&W, SPX special price: $1
A compilation of strips derived from actual news stories pertaining to animals, from aromatherapy for apes, to placing hairpieces on cows in order to win at a state fair. You can’t make this stuff up, folks!
Ignatz nominee MK Reed will debut a collection of the first 50 of her 200 themes comics, titled “Myrtle-Willoughby.” The strips are about a pair of female roommates living in Brooklyn, and are a followup to her previous set of themes, “I Will Feast On Your Whore Heart.”
Alex Joon Kim
Wall City, by CCS graduate Alex Kim, is a 112 page Xeric Award winning graphic novel about relationships, loss and the ways we manifest our grief. The story takes place in an archetypal city and the surrounding landscape and follows two main characters, Minty and Jocelyn, as they struggle to come to grips with their own personal loss.
ALSO: Sunday’s Anthology SPX Update
Fatalysia #3
Susan and Christan’s paths continue to drift into different, possibly opposing directions. The scarecrow’s bond with Susan deepens as her father Eli the butcher’s madness consumes him, taking his antics to a dangerous new level. Christan becomes intrigued by a mysterious new player who leads her on a chase that leaves Christan in the possession of a rather important book.
Written by Liam Kemp
Art and cover by Uriel Duran, a.k.a. -U!
Letters by Chris Tabor
I have three debuts this year. First up is “My Brain Hurts” #10, which is the final installment of MBH and the end of the series. “My Brain Hurts” has been an ongoing series following the lives of a group of queer teen punks in NYC.
Second in line is “Freewheel” #1. “Freewheel” is the story of Jamie, a 12-year-old girl in foster care who wakes up one morning to find her older brother, Jack, missing. She decides to run away from her foster home to find him and embarks on an adventure involving train hopping, a secret society of hobos, and the truth about her lineage.
Last but not least is “Sing Along Forever,” a 44-page one-shot minicomic about my obsession with the band, the Bouncing Souls. “Sing Along Forever” follows my best friend and I on a 4 hour trip to meet the band, and the unexpected adventure that ensued, which resulted in possibly the second greatest day of my life.
Jeremy Massie will be debuting The Deadbeat 4 at SPX and he will also be taking a couple of my books to the show. This will be the first time these books have been at the show.
Small Bible
This minicomic summarizes the Old Testament in nine pages. The summary is based on Stephen’s Defense from the Book of Acts. Each page contains an illustration of one moment from the Old Testament as interpreted by Shannon Smith with accompanying Old Testament scripture. The intent of the book is to present a small portable version of the Bible that depicts the power of the Holy Spirit in a style similar to the comic books that captured the artist’s attention as a kid. This comic is a great little gift book for readers that are fans of action/adventure comics and manga but might not have any interest in reading the Bible.
Paul Sizer
B.P.M. (Beats Per Minute)will be making it’s debut at SPX this weekend.
Roxy spins records in dark clubs and small bars, hoping to make a name for herself as a DJ in the complex and demanding club culture of New York City. She stumbles across Robie, a burned-out former superstar DJ, who shows her how to rise to the next level of her art. As Robie’s mentoring begins to elevate Roxy’s career, she must choose whether to follow her heart or the beat of the music she loves. Looking for the “perfect beat” is a long and demanding journey. Which path will Roxy choose, and what will she have to leave behind?
B.P.M. is written and drawn by A.L.A. “Great Graphic Novels for Teens 2007” finalist and GLYPH award-winning author Paul Sizer (LITTLE WHITE MOUSE, MOPED ARMY) and presented with full-color digitally-enhanced artwork. Includes a comprehensive sketchbook section, detailed playlists and notes, plus links to iMixes from the Apple iTunes website that provide a “soundtrack” to accompany the book. A truly multi-media comic/music experience!
Rob Goodin
The Man Who Loves Breasts is a one-shot, 32-page comic book with three amazing stories… In the title piece, “The Man Who Loved Breasts,” we follow Stanley, a man who has worked a dead-end job his whole life. While looking for a way out, he has epiphany that the secret to happiness is to make a living doing what you love. And while you may be able to guess what he loves most, can you guess where his ambitions take him!? The back-up stories are equally fun, with “George Olavatia: Amputee Fetishist” involving a fertility clinic and a man with specialized tastes, and “A 21st Century Cartoonist in King Arthur’s Court,” where we find out how useful a cartoonist would have been in the middle ages. — 32-Page Comic Book, 6 5/8″ x 9″, UPC 094922943705
The Amazing Adventures of Bill #10: Colossal is the latest installment of Bill Roundy’s long-running journal comic. This volume includes Bill’s adventures at the Center for Cartoon Studies, his thrilling visit to the Emergency Room at Bellevue Hospital, and a decadent trip to Hawaii. All 10 issues of The Amazing Adventures of Bill will be collected in a trade paperback, coming in Spring 2009.
I’m also included in the new Boy Trouble anthology from Green Candy press.
The Book of Boy Trouble: Volume 2
The second volume of The Book of Boy Trouble further expands the zine’s influence and relevance. Its roster of 24 male and female cartoonists spans generations, exploring the alternative gay boy experience and aesthetic from a host of diverse perspectives. Included are works by queer zinester and scene-maker Anonymous Boy, legendary underground cartoonist Howard Cruse, Bitter Girl’s Joan Hilty, Andy Hartzell, author of the critically acclaimed graphic novel Fox Bunny Funny, and Tim Fish, creator and editor of Young Bottoms in Love. Websites: http://www.greencandypress.com/newindex.html or Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Book-Boy-Trouble-2/dp/1931160651
John Kovaleski will be at the Small Press Expo (table W16A) hawking his talking-toys-in-the-wasteland comic book “Jack N. Box” and collections of his cult fav talking-monkey-in-the-human-world comic strip “Bo Nanas.” His new collection is “Apeeling: The Best of Bo Nanas.” For more information please visit his non-talking website.
Sean Knickerbocker
Subterranean Comics #1- After 4 Negative issues; the Danger Park boys are at it again. This time we come packing talent from all over the eastern coast. 70 pages, 13 contributors, 4 color silkscreen cover, 0 remorse. Our contributors include Derek M. Ballard, Chris Schweizer, Michael Connor, Andrew Greenstone, Alex Bullett, Sean Knickerbocker, Macarthur, Kevin Singles, Kevin Burkhalter, Jarret Williams, Falyn Koch, Jeremy Sorese, and Jon “Leo Geo” Chad! Most of the contributors are/or were students at The Savannah College of Art and Design. If you ever wondered what those SCAD kids did, then check out this anthology it’s a fine sampler of work from some of the most dedicated indie-artists in Savannah as well as some great contributions from our good friends elsewhere.
check out http://say-no-to-jon.livejournal.com/ for the cover art. Our website is an almost defunct blog found at subterraneancomics.blogspot.com drop by seasonally for updates.
The book is $8 and we are at table E2, thanks!
PLASTIC FARM #13 – Written and drawn by Rafer Roberts
Plastic Farm #13 is the first chapter in the all new comedic storyline “Seasons of Growth in The Fields of Despair”. A flashback story detailing Chester’s arrival at Greybridge Home, #13 also delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Chester’s true nature and parentage and is a good jumping on point for new readers. Written, and most of the time drawn by Rafer Roberts, Plastic Farm follows the life of a man named Chester, his slow descent into complete insanity, and how that madness reshapes the world around him. Chester has had a rough childhood, has a magic cowboy that rides a dinosaur living inside of his head, and is now, late in life, sitting in a nameless airport bar during a blizzard telling his life story to a group of people who really couldn’t care less.
Plastic Farm Press can be found at table W-11 at SPX
Geoff Grogan
Debuting at SPX—“Nice Work Part 2 Ch.1”-The continuing story of Sinatra stand-in Johnny Cat, Hollywood party-girl JoJo McCormick and their adventures in JFK’s Camelot. As part two begins, Johnny and JoJo discover a secret about Castro, Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs that could topple the government and cost them their lives.Powerful forces want them kept quiet at any cost– and with the mob, the CIA and the FBI hot on their heels, Johnny & Jo set out for freedom on the dusty backroads of the Wild Wild West.
This is a limited edition preview of “Nice Work: Part 2” before it’s official debut on www.ModernTales.com on October 31st.
I will be showing my new book, “Super Secret Bungling and Crookery” by Frank Naif at SPX. The book compiles the first year or so of my webcomic, “National Security Drone by Frank Naif’ (www.nationalsecuritydrone.com). National Security Drone is mostly based on my real life adventures as a soldier, intelligence analyst, and intelligence contractor. The strips typically relate mostly true stories about life in national security–for example, how homophobia pervades military and intelligence culture. Visually, the strips in the book are drawn in a sort of Peanuts/South Park style, and lean heavily on visual gags. My roman-a-clef main character, Frank Naif, sports a redaction block on his face–the kind used to hide undercover agent faces or to make porn safe for the public. However, the principal writing inspirations are Ellen Forney, especially her one-page explanations of random topics, and Joe Sacco, who can bring plain old Middle Eastern, Balkan, and skeezy Eurotrash to life better than anyone in or out of comics. One exciting and fun fact about “Super Secret Bungling and Crookery”: CIA’s Publication Review Board had to comb through it to ensure I didn’t divulge any classified secrets. (Yes, I really used to work there; yes, I have to let them review anything I write about them or else I’ll go to jail, be litigated to a bloody pulp, or both.)
John Martz
WARM-UP DRAWINGS: THE FIRST 100 by John Martz
The first 100 of an ongoing series of warm-up drawings are collected here as a small book. These daily drawing exercises feature monsters, robots, aliens, cute critters, and a menagerie of strange creatures. Fun! Dumb! BOTH!
John Grillo
Sticky Rice #1
My comic is an irreverent jaunt through the life of my wife and I – we’re polar opposites that just happen to be perfect for each other. What better way to illustrate the comedy of our relationship than through cute kitties that aren’t afraid to curse?
I’ll be set up at Table D14A and I’ll have cookies!
The first collection of short stories from webcomics creator Box Brown, of Bellen! fame. The mini is for TRADE ONLY specifically. The three stories are:
New City Stroll (12pp): about finding your own place in a new city.
Your Sins will be as White as Snow: (9pp): Jack Chick and his Chick Tracts save another soul.
Beggars Banquet (3pp): An auto-bio story on how music can change any situation.
The Elephano Anthology will also be debuting at SPX! With contributions by JP Coovert, Graham Kahler, Lucy Knisley, Jose-Luis Olivares, Chris Schweizer, Joey Weiser, Chris Wright and more!
Philip Gelatt and Rick Lacy debut Labor Days at the Oni Press booth at SPX this year.
I won’t be at SPX this year (deadlines), but I do have a piece in The Book of Boy Trouble: Volume 2. Have fun everybody!
Big Apple Wrestling announces “PARTS UNKNOWN” World Premiere at SPX on October 4-5.
Parts Unknown, MO, October 3, 2008—Big Apple Wrestling, the leader in wres—Sports Entertainment, and the Big Apple Wrestling 365 Vault, the largest collection of wrestling history and stag films in the world, are proud to present “Parts Unknown” #1 to the public at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland at the Marriott Bethesda North Hotel & Conference Center.
Visit Editor Adam Casey at the SPX to pick up your copy of the Greatest Wrestling Comic Ever Made, written by Nate Foster and drawn by Curtis Evans. “Parts Unknown” is the story of the rise of Big Apple Wrestling from its humble beginnings in the cut-throat North American territory system as Parts Unknown Wrestling. See all your favorites, The Great Mancini, “The Shooter” Rod Yorke, “Hollywood” Billy Wisdom with his protégé, Nada the Unknown Wrestler, and the beloved Cactus Christ. All the stars come out as history is made this weekend at the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland.
Oh man, these all look so good.
Wish I could’ve been there