Broken Frontier

No men of super or spider. No Big Two. For two days, I was immersed in nothing but small publisher supported art. With no superhero trappings to lean back on, I was forced to come face to face with our fair art in some of its rawest and purest forms. What follows is a summary of how I felt the whole thing turned out.

This past weekend was the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland, and I hung out all weekend trying to get the latest scoops, and just to generally feel hip for hanging out with the ‘in’ crowd.

This was my first SPX, but from what I’ve been told it was a departure from last year as the location changed, and this event was stuck into one large room as opposed to separate smaller ones. I feel the large room worked fine for the convention, and though the noise level was a bit high, I was able to perform interviews without much difficulty. I found that the open room may have given the smaller artists a chance, because at least while people were waiting to sneak down the aisles, they may have looked over and found something new they had never heard of before.

As far as the exhibitors, there were a great variety of them, from the bigger publishers to those who were self-publishing. Everyone at every extreme was completely approachable, and was so easily talked to. Most creators really got behind their work, with an enormous amount of enthusiasm. This wasn’t your typical Comic-Con, where half the artists/authors yawn at you with a “Just let me sign your damn book and move on” mentality. In fact, I was so caught up with conversations for most of the weekend that I never made it to any of the panels.

I suppose one derogatory note I do have for the convention is that the panels were under-advertised. They were listed in the program and that was it. Honestly, I’m not sure I could have found one if I had been looking for it. Also, there was an art auction that most attendees probably didn’t even know was going on. The only reason I knew was because I was pulling some creator into the hallway for an interview while it was going on.

I think one deterrent to a never-attended would be that it’s an indie convention and you might not be familiar with a lot of the stuff there. I have to say, I did have my own doubts on my way to the Expo. However, anyone interested in going should do so, as people are more than willing to bring you up to speed on their work. After all, one more person knowing their name is one more potential reader.

The Small Press Expo really caught me off guard at how fun and enjoyable of a show it was. Other conventions should pay attention, there’s a lot to love about the SPX. I know that I am looking forward to next year’s convention, and I urge anyone else able to attend to do so. The SPX was easily the best convention I’ve attended in a while.

Special kudos go to Oni Press for being such swell people an double special kudos to House of Twelve Publishing for being the best drinking buddies a reporter could hope for.

Here’s a rundown of what some of the publishers were featuring at the show:

• Drawn & Quarterly: “The books we are launching at the show are: Moomin by Tove Jansson – a collection of the strips originally published in the London Times, Curses by Kevin Huizenga – a bunch of his work from all over, and Lucky by Gabrielle Bell – which is a collection of her mini comics that were self-published before. We also have Big Questions #9, and Don’t Go Where I Can’t Follow. Upcoming titles include a new book from Joe Matt.”

• Oni Press: “At the show we’re showcasing Sidescrollers, which is three guys hanging out trying to get the girl. Kind of a slacker comedy. The Damned, which is a sort of film noir meets classic monsters. Northwest Passage just released its third issue, completing the first arc. It’s a true history Canadian frontier western. 12 Reasons Why I Love Her, a romance told in 12 parts, and a new issue of Love The Way You Love, a rock and roll romance.”

• Fantagraphics Books: “We just released Hwy 115 by Matthias Lehmann, a remarkable film noir/road movie graphic novel, wood cut piece. Also new is You Call This Art!? – A Greg Irons Retrospective, Delphine by Richard Sala, Interiorae Vol. 2 by Gabriella Giandelli, New Tales of Old Palomar by Gilbert Hernandez, and a new addition to The Complete Peanuts series.”

• Top Shelf: “The big shining object that we put out this year is Lost Girls by Alan Moore, which has been in production for 16 years but is finally getting big. It’s in its 3rd printing and is doing very well. It’s a remarkable achievement by Alan Moore. We also have Andy Runton with the Owly trades and stuffed animals and shirts. He’s become one of our biggest attractions, and it’s great to see that a line started to form on the first day of a show. That’s something we’ve never had before. Next to that, we also have Cry Yourself To Sleep and Tales of Woodsman Pete.”

• House Of Twelve: “We have our usual stuff: Manual #1, #2, and #3 – which are all true stories, then we have our anthology series House Of 12. The first was religious stories, the second was science fiction, and the third was our filth book. That was the most obscene book made in America ever. And this year we are debuting our Ignatz-nominated Heavy Metal book.”

• Penny-Farthing Press: “We have our Victorian series - 1 through 25 – which we’ve collected in three trades with two more coming next year. And then we just completed our Captain Gravity miniseries, and compiled that into a trade. We’re headed more toward the graphic novel market. Our next big project is the Anne Steelyard series of graphic novels written by Barbara Hambly.”

SPX 2006 Photo Gallery

The convention floor	... and again	Jim Dougan
Scott McCloud	Art Auction	Fantagraphics
House of Twelve	Oni Press	Top Shelf
Andy Runton	Von Allen	Ignatz Awards Ceremony
He won!	So did he!	Yup, him too...