While the mainstream comics world was getting reaquainted and dusting off their drinking pants at Emerald City this weekend, the year in CAFS also kicked off in Providence, RI with RIPE, the Rhode Island Independent Publishing Expo. Now in it’s second year, this is a show in a town with a solid comics history and within driving distance of lots of other scenes. Robyn Chapman, cartoonist, First Second editor, and Tiny Report mastermind, has a report on the show, and she had me w2ith the first photo above. Was this expo held in a Greek temple to the sun god Apollo??? No, just the Providence Public Library. But if going to a comics show in a sun drenched Greek temple full of books turns you on, this was the place! Here’s Chapman’s thoughts:
In general, this show felt intense: densely packed, young, hip, technicolored, and very queer friendly. There were plenty of locals in attendance, and the community here seems pretty close knit. But there was a healthy portion of out-of-towners on the exhibitor list too. In the room I was tabling, I didn’t even have to turn my head to spot half a dozen cartoonists I recognized from Brooklyn. A group from New Orleans also made the trip, and a gaggle of CCSers from Vermont.
It was a bit slow on Saturday, but by the end of Sunday I had covered my table, which was a small victory.
Anyway if you’re itching to hit the road to a CAF, here’s a very incomplete list.