Gabe Fowler, the main man behind Comic Arts Brooklyn, the late fall comics arts fest that traditionally caps off New Yorks comics year, will expand to days in 2014. Taking place November 8-9, the show will see exhibits at the usual place at the Mt Carmel Church on Saturday and on Sunday a complete track of programming at the Wythe Hotel, which is also located in Williamsburg.
Announced guests this year include Roz Chast, Richard McGuire, Raymond Pettibon and Art Spiegelman, but as you can see from the above poster,more guests have been added including Michael DeForge, Lisa Hanawalt, Julie Doucet (!!!!), Josh Bayer, Charles Burns, Aisha Franz, Al Jaffee, Tim Lane, Benjamin Marra, Jim Rugg and Olivier Schwauwen.
“We want to give more artists and exhibitors the opportunity to come to the presentations,” said Fowler in a statement, “Often the very people who want most to see creators speak are unable to attend. CAB wants to change that equation.”
Paul Karasik is curating the panels again this year. “We have some cool surprises about the specific panels to be announced in the coming weeks,” Karasik said in his own statement. “But, let’s just say for now, that if you are a Charles Burns fan, you might want to circle Sunday, November 9.”
I think the addition of a day of panels is a fine idea, somewhere between the Brooklyn Book Festival and olden days of SPX when Sunday was just panels and softball. The community of small press comics, so evident at SPX and TCAF, likes to hang out and enjoy one another’s company and a day of programming will act as a fine nexus for this.
Also, programming at CAB and it’s predecessor, BCGF, has always been a problem, as the programs are consistently packed. I missed last year’s CAB, but I understand people had to line up far in advance for the talk on City of Glass held at The Knitting Factory. A few years before the panels were held in the back room at a bar and NO ONE could get in. I realize this is yet another whole weekend given over to comics, but given the calibre of the comics and programming offered at CAB, it seems like a worthy sacrifice.