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You can read my official SPC report at PW, with news and notes, but I’m guessing that  everyone who was at SPX is probably, like me, realizing that the magic is over and we have a whole year to go, or maybe a few weeks if you count APE, but in the meantime, I can keep the magic going a few moments more by rounding up some of the magical, mystical memories of SPX. I said there were a few people who didn’t have a good time, and you can find one of two on Tumblr who sat outside hotel rooms sadly waiting for the person with the key to come back. But if you could open your heart, SPX would make you love it. As the above picture shows, SPX is the only con where you can find Julia Wertz and Renee French just sitting and smiling with each other. It’s also the only place where someone would leave their computer just sitting out on a table (as one prominent comics personage di don Friday)and feel pretty secure that it would be just fine.  There is a reason why people puts up so many pics and blog so much about this show—it’s a full on love affair.

§ Webtooner Even Dahm gets right to the heart of the matter comparing SDCC with SPX—really the indispensable alpha and omega of US shows:

SDCC was fun but kind of discouraging, and presents an image of what is now, I guess, the Entire entertainment industry in a bluntly capitalistic way: the most space is given to the companies with the most money for it, and the events and products are talked about according to a similar hierarchy. I don’t like it but it makes its own kind of sense and it’s how things are: work that makes money has more mobility in the culture, and barring any strongly-principled management at events like this, the amount of money the work makes will be the thing that decides its place. I try really hard to not get pessimistic about this. And of course popular things can be quality things! I like a lot of popular things. But the connection between popularity and your or my specific notion of quality is tenuous.

I leave SDCC and shows like it having spent huge amounts of money the exhibit there and feeling like what I’m doing is insignificant and untenable. I want to emphasize that this is an issue I have with the philosophy of the show, not with the attendees. I have met some very excellent people who attend SDCC every year.

I came out of SPX this year extremely excited about the huge volume of beautiful and idiosyncratic work being produced by artists working outside of entrenched & monied institutions. It’ll never be the same amount of room as the Marvel Cinematic Universe or whatever, but there is room in the culture for this stuff, in terms of attention and money and enthusiasm. It’s hugely inspiring to me to see so many people making work independently or with publishers they know personally and believe in, and seeing that a lot of that work is sustainable for them, and seeing that a lot of it takes full advantage of its independence by being brutally honest, or strange, or socially conscious.

§ Loser City’s David Fairbanks, an occasional Beat contributor, made his first journey and was swept off his feet:

The next two days were a blur of comics with SPromX right in the middle, and I can honestly say I have never been in an environment that was so pro-comics. Whether you had been making minicomics as long as folks like John Porcellino and James Kochalka, you were a cartoonist fresh out of (or still in) school, or you had never once put pencil to paper to craft a comic, you were among peers. I think I speak for most of the attendees when I say that the environment at SPX felt like home, despite knowing virtually no one there before my plane landed. Over the course of the first twenty-four hours, I made fast friends with artists and fans, and I get the feeling these are friendships that are going to last. From the (sometimes exhausted) smiles I caught on the faces of nearly everyone there, I would imagine I was not alone in my joy, and I think a great deal of it stemmed from the communal feeling of SPX.

§ Even grizzled veteran Derf shared the love:

This year’s theme was a celebration of the alt-weekly cartoons, from Jules Feiffer to the end, which I believe was reached sometime last week. It’s something that is long overdue. The peak of the genre, from 1985 to 2000, produced, in my opinion, the finest, most original comix of the time. Discounting hacks like me, of course.  We were always kind of the bastard stepchildren of both the mainstream comic strip community and the indy comix community. I always felt like an outsider to both. Now I’m a B-minus Indy Comix Star, so those days are behind me, as are comic strips, but it’s nice to see the genre get it’s due.

§ Jane Irwin, like many, had a stellar show sales wise:
This year I had the best SPX I’ve ever had — but for some reason I neglected to take any photos other than the sad, blurry one at the top of this post (the lettered balloons were to identify the blocks of tables — I was in the “L” block). It may have been because I was just so busy at my table — the crowds were incredibly heavy and were extremely generous — I heard some folks could barely stop selling long enough to go to the bathroom, and several people sold out of books entirely on the first day, including C. Spike Trotman and my next-door neighbor, Pregnant Butch author A.K. Summers. I sold out of Clockwork Game mid-day on Sunday, but I was able to take orders for a few more copies (they went out this afternoon, and should arrive soon!) and I know I could’ve sold a dozen more, if I’d only had them on hand.
§ Roger Langridge didn’t even break even and he still had a great time:

I attended SPX this past weekend. As usual, I had an excellent time. Despite it not being a successful trip from a financial point of view (although I covered my biggest expense, I’m still somewhat out of pocket at the end of it) I’m really glad I went. I find I need SPX in my life every so often as a kind of course corrective; a reminder of the kind of comics I ought to be doing.

I have a really strong attachment to this show. SPX was the first show I ever attended in the USA, back in 2000. I was just there as a visitor, not even as an exhibitor; it was the year Will Eisner was there, I remember. I bought minicomics from Craig Thompson. I met Dean Haspiel for the first time, who went out of his way to make me feel like a part of the community, which I will always be grateful for. Attending that show energised me to turn my Fred the Clown webcomic into a self-published comic book, which in turn has led to every opportunity I’ve had in comics since then. Without SPX, it’s probably fair to say that my subsequent career wouldn’t have happened.

So I keep coming back. Not every year, but I try to do at least every other year. And each time, I feel like it’s a timely reminder that these are the kinds of comics I ought to be doing: comics straight from the cartoonist’s brain to the reader’s hands, without compromises.

 

§ It’s not just a place to hang out! You can get work!!! Game designer \ Daniel Solis says it’s a great place to find new talent. And I know animation scouts go every year:

I came into the fandom a bit late, but it’s such a welcoming and vibrant community that I never felt out of place. After weeks of awful news coming from gamer culture, it was such a positive experience at SPX seeing diverse creators and fans in a niche community all supporting each other. It can happen, people! I’ve seen it! But I really recommend SPX to tabletop game designers because it is an excellent place to network with lots of undiscovered and rising talent. You can check out the artists I talked to at SPX on my pinterest board here. Specifically for “SPX 2014″ tag in the description. Also check out the SPX Tumblr and Twitter feeds for more cool arts.

§ Joshua O’Neill of Locust Moon captures the unique nature of Camp Comics at the Marriott:

As usual, half of the reason for the glory of SPX is due to the Bethesda Marriott Hotel, whose comfy confines are given over completely to the endless array of misfits that we call a comics industry. It’s more than just a con venue — it’s the eye of the storm, for one brief weekend this one building is the center of the comics universe. You exhibit there, you drink there, you draw there, you sleep there. (You eat elsewhere and abruptly realize there’s such a thing as outside.) By the end of the weekend it feels like home. I’m not sure Jesse Reklaw ever put on a pair of shoes. To the maids and bellhops it must be kind of like going to the zoo, if the animals were all inside of your house. Their hospitality was stunning, and can in no way be attributed to the eight bazillion dollars they generated in overpriced drink sales.

And visual representations:

OMG, someone on my flight back home is reading a copy of my book. Someone I don’t know!

— Nick Sumida (@nsumida) September 14, 2014

Still processing the joy ;) http://t.co/3idQSAxGsF Big THX to everyone who made all the @SPXcomics magic happen pic.twitter.com/15oGSRjqvd

— Connie Sun (@dearconnie) September 15, 2014

And so on and so forth….I probably could have found a half dozen more similar tributes, but I’ll leave with just a few representative photos.

Am I the only person who caught the TV in the bar switching from football to vibrator infomercials on Friday?

Can you believe these people are all FIRST TIME SPXers? Okay Chris Butcher went before, but he hadn’t been to the “new” venue, which is really the only venue most people know. Amy Chu, Louie Chin, Murilo, Butcher and Brigid Alverson were all converts by the end of the weekend.

Fun and frolic at the SPromX. Looks like it will be back next year…and so will I.

At SPX, following the Ignatz awards, a very special wedding took place, as cartoonist Simon Hanselmann, author of Megahex, wed comics in a ceremony presided over by SPX Executive Director Michael Thomas. Michel DeForge, currently on tour with Hanselmann, stood in for comics, althuogh several acual comics were present. Hanselmann, who is a cross dresser, appeared in a lovely wedding gown, and a brass band serenaded the wedding party which consisted of Annie Koyama, Annie Mock, Jason Leivian, Sean T. Collins, Julia Gfrörer and Gary Groth.

When I first heard about this, I thought it was going to be funny but cringeworthy, but it turned out to be funny and memorable in a very performance arty way. Hansellman wrote vows that were amusing and accurate at the same time, and since everyone falls in love with comics all over again at SPX, making the union legal seemed a very appropriate thing to do.

As you’ll see, the big moment came when Hanselmann’s publisher Groth jumped up at the end to kiss the bride and kiss the two did. Which again, is usually what happens when you fall passionately in love with someone, or even comics. Brigid Alverson has some still photos and the money shot but you’ll have to go here to see that.

After the ceremony, Hanselmann cut a giant wedding cake, eventually tearing out chunks with his bare hands and giving them out as other attendees cavorted around the chocolate fountain and an equally enthusiastic and fun prom got under way a few meeting rooms down. People will be saying they were there for this for years to come. The social aspect of SPX has always been one of the biggest appeals of the show—I remember back in the day at the picnic people climbed trees and threw water balloons at each other. In a wacky way, this was the perfect update.

This was DEFINITELY an SPX to remember!

Photo by Brigid Alverson

In the olden days I would slave away all night putting up pictures of debuts, but now all CAFs do it on their website, and here’s the amazing SPX 2014 Debut Books page! BRING MONEY.

But if you want some recommendations, Rob CLough has an essential list of seventeen creators to check out. I can’t improve on Rob’s list or taste, but I DID pick out a few books that caught my fancy. I’ll have two categories here, BIG BOX BOOKS from major publishers, and SMALLER DELIGHTS.

[note I'm uploading these on a bus and will add more copy when I get working wifi. ]

BIG BOX BOOKS

SMALLER DELIGHTS

This weekend the Small Press Expo takes place in North Bethesda, MD. The show is known for its collegial, summer camp vibe, but this year, it is going ALL OUT. There will never again be talk about the pig roast or the softball game or the karaoke or anything else, because this year there is going to be a PROM.

Yes following the Ignatzes there will be a danceathon in prom finery as we dance around the chocolate fountain in glee. This kind of display has been bubbling under in private parties for years but this year, it’s real. In case you’re worried about etiquette, the SPX tumblr has the rulez.

There is also going to be a post Ignatz WEDDING, according to Simon Hanselmann:

What is this wedding you’re doing?

I was joking about having a fake wedding, and then Cohen at Fantagraphics got really excited about it and said, “We’ll do it, it’ll be real.” It’s a publicity stunt, basically. I’m going to buy a wedding dress. Grant and I have to get drunk and go to the wedding dress strip and buy a wedding dress. I’m worried about how much it’s going to cost. It’s a fake wedding; DeForge is my best man. It was going to be officiated by Gary Groth, but I think Chris Mautner is doing it now, from Comic Book Resources. There’s going to be cake, balloons, I’m getting married to comics. It’s going to be a beautiful, emotional, symbolic kind of tribute to my love of the craft. I’m kind of nervous about it now, because I kind of have to write it, like it’s a comedy bit in a way. And it’s very heartfelt in a way. I’m kind of a bit crazy. It will have meaning to me, but it’s just kind of a lark as well. I’m going to do a talk at Parsons, I’ve got my list of all the stuff I have to do, I’m going to do Gridlords.

Will this surpass the time Nick Gurewitch talked to a gorilla? Very possibly.

Anyway, it looks like this will be a Saturday night SPX hoedown that people will be talking about for days, even weeks to come. Word on the street is that there will be Tumblr posts about it and possibly even tweets.

My only regret is that due to luggage restraints, I won’t be able to bring a hat. =( Oh well, best to leave that kind of thing to the kids, anyway.

Oh yeah Flashback Friday, here’s Eric Reynolds and Chris Oarr, then SPX director, from 2003 at the OLD hotel. I hear Oarr will be making an appearance for this 20th Anniversary show. Truly this one has it all.

And it’s a doozy as always — PR provided some highlights but I can tell you I won’t miss that alt-weekly panel….90s NOSTALGIA PEOPLE.

SPX will be held Sept. 13-14 in North Bethesda, MD. BE THERE.

White Oak Room
 
TIME
DESCRIPTION

Noon – 1:00
Alt-Weekly Comics Roundtable
Until recently the media landscape has been augmented by alternative weekly newspapers. Beginning with the Village Voice in the 1950s and including a wave of papers in the 1980s and 1990s, alt-weekly newspapers used a mass media format to provide readers with an independent voice—and independent comics. In a historic panel conversation, cartoonist and Seattle Stranger co-founder James Sturm will discuss the phenomenon of comics in alternative weekly newspapers with a panel of the form’s most important practitioners: Jules Feiffer, Lynda Barry, Ben Katchor, Charles Burns, and Tom Tomorrow.

1:00 – 2:00
Raina Telgemeier Q+A
Raina Telgemeier has distinguished herself among the leading American artists producing graphic novels for younger readers. Her autobiographical graphic novelSmile has spent more than two years on the New York Times Graphic Books bestseller list, and her follow-up, Drama, has won the Stonewall Book Award among other distinctions. She has just published a sequel to Smile titled Sisters. Telgemeier will discuss her work and her process with moderator Isaac Cates (Cartozia Tales, University of Vermont) in this special spotlight session.

2:00 – 3:00
Pro Tips: How Comics Get Reviewed
How do comics get reviewed? What role do publicists, pitching and marketing plans play in determining coverage? What kind of coverage do editors prefer? To what extent is it possible to get a reviewer’s attention, and how is that best accomplished? And how do individual critics evaluate work? Johanna Draper Carlson (Comics Worth Reading) will investigate these questions and more with Brigid Alverson (School Library Journal), Michael Cavna (Washington Post), Dan Kois (Slate), Heidi MacDonald (Publishers Weekly), and Douglas Wolk (The New York Times).

3:00 – 4:00
Micro-Press and Beyond
For the past year, Robyn Chapman has been documenting the movement in comics towards very small publishing, otherwise know as micro-publishing. Robyn will briefly share findings from her upcoming publication (The Tiny Report: Micro-Press Yearbook 2013) before speaking with a range of publishers—from the micro-press to traditional small press—to discuss how they print, sell, and distribute their comics. Panelists will include Chuck Forsman (Oily Comics), Keenan Marshall Keller (Drippy Bone Books), Justin Skarhus and Raighne Hogan (2D Cloud), and Anne Koyama (Koyama Press).

4:00 – 5:00
Lynda Barry Q+A
Lynda Barry changed the face of North American comics with her pioneering comic strip Ernie Pook’s Comeek, which ran in alternative weekly newspapers for more than twenty years. Her many celebrated books include One! Hundred! Demons!, and What It Is as well as the illustrated novel Cruddy. Barry is currently an assistant professor of art and Discovery Fellow at University of Wisconsin Madison. Her latest book isSyllabus: Notes from an Accidental Profesor. Barry will discuss her current work and her career in conversation with Slate Culture Editor Dan Kois.

5:00 – 6:00
Drew Friedman’s Heroes and Vaudevillians
Drew Friedman is an iconic cartoonist and illustrator whose intensely rendered, caricatural work has appeared in RAW, Spy, The New Yorker, the New York Observer, and countless other venues. His Old Jewish Comedians trilogy of books celebrated entertainers who have attracted Friedman’s fascination in a series of lush portraits. His new book, Heroes of the Comics, features eighty-four portraits of landmark figures from the history of comic books. Friedman will discuss his work in this special spotlight session moderated by Rob Clough (The Comics Journal).

6:00 – 7:00
Inkstuds Live: Michael DeForge, Simon Hanselmann and Patrick Kyle
At this year’s SPX, two cross-country tours explosively collide! Inkstuds host Robin McConnell has taken his popular comics-focused radio show on the road with special guest co-host Brandon Graham in tow, in a series of live Inkstuds programs. In Bethesda, Michael DeForge (Lose #6), Simon Hanselmann (Megahex), and Patrick Kyle (Distance Mover) will kick off their own book tour live on stage as McConnell and Graham’s special guests.

 
White Flint Auditorium
 
TIME
DESCRIPTION

12:30 – 1:30
Sex, Humor and the Grotesque
Eleanor Davis (How to Be Happy), Julia Gfrörer (Black is the Color), and Meghan Turbitt (#foodporn) have all produced comics that touch upon events, experiences, sensations and feelings that contemporary social discourse often fails to engage in meaningful or productive terms. This group of artists will discuss the intersections of humor, anxiety, sexuality and parody in their work in a panel discussion moderated by Katie Skelly (Operation Margarine).

1:30 – 2:30
The Roots of Frémok: Yvan Alagbé and Dominique Goblet
Yvan Alagbé and Dominique Goblet are foundational figures in the poetic comics movement represented by the the avant-garde publishing house Frémok. Alagbé’s work expresses in harsh lines and soft tones his narratives of mysterious desire and explosive cultural conflict, as in his most recent book, École de la misère. Goblet’s work troubles the distinctions between fiction and autobiography, and between narrative comics and poetic image-making. Her new graphic novel Plus si entente was produced collaboratively with Kai Pfeiffer to test the possibilities of narrative within the comics form. Moderated by Bill Kartalopoulos.

2:30 – 3:30
The Closed Caption Comics Legacy
In 2004 a group of students at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) formed the loosely-defined art group Closed Caption Comics, their collective activity centered around an eponymous comics anthology which ran for nine increasingly ambitious issues. Ten years later, the members of the group are productively focused on individual projects. Several of them will discuss their common roots and current work, including Ryan Cecil Smith (S.F. #3), Molly Colleen O’Connell (Strip Mall, Poety Unlimited), Noel Freibert (Weird Magazine), and Conor Stechschulte (The Amateurs). Moderated by Brian Nicholson.

3:30 – 4:30
Comics Workshop presented by the Sequential Artists Workshop
Comics educators Josh Bayer and Sally Cantirino from the Sequential Artists Workshop (SAW) in Gainesville, FL, will guide the audience through a complete cartooning exercise. Everyone, from experienced cartoonists to those who have never drawn a panel of comics, is welcome to attend this fun, educational, creative workshop. No matter what your age or experience level, you will leave this workshop having drawn your own comic!

4:30 – 5:30
Jules Feiffer Q+A
Jules Feiffer has reinvented the comics form multiple times in his diverse and storied career. In 1956 Feiffer broke new ground with a truly modern comic strip intended for an adult audience in the pages of The Village Voice. In addition to his incisive comics, Feiffer has distinguished himself as a playwright, screenwriter, children’s book author, and more. His most recent books are the graphic novel Kill My Mother and the picture book Rupert Can Dance. He will discuss these and more in conversation with Bill Kartalopoulos (Series Editor, The Best American Comics).

5:30 – 6:30
John Porcellino: Root Hog or Die / Film Screening and Conversation
For twenty-five years John Porcellino has been writing, drawing, and self-publishing his minicomics series King-Cat. The DIY ethic underlying Porcellino’s life’s work resonates with the sublime authenticity of his comics as he chronicles the events and rhythms of his life. Porcellino is now the subject of the documentary film Root Hog or Die, debuting at this year’s SPX with Porcellino and director Dan Stafford in attendance. After this debut screening, Porcellino and Stafford will discuss the film and Porcellino’s new book, The Hospital Suite, with moderator Jared Gardner (Ohio State University).
 
Sunday Programming

White Oak Room
 
TIME
DESCRIPTION

1:00 – 2:00
Bob Mankoff: The Past, Present and Future of The New Yorker Cartoons
Bob Mankoff is a cartoonist and has been the Cartoon Editor for The New Yorkersince 1997. He has written and edited many books including The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker, The Naked Cartoonist, and his new memoir How About Never — Is Never Good for You? In this special presentation, Mankoff will discuss the historical development and evolution of the iconic single panel cartoon form and the magazine that perfected and popularized it—with an eye towards the future.

2:00 – 3:00
Charles Burns Q+A
Charles Burns is among the world’s most distinguished cartoonists. His work first gained notice in the pages of RAW Magazine in the 1980s. His meticulously drawn early stories reflected upon and transformed the tropes of historical genre comics. Burns then spent ten years drawing his graphic novel masterpiece Black Hole, which dissolved literal horror into the true horror of everyday life. At SPX he will debut Sugar Skull, which concludes the serialized narrative in his new trilogy of full color comics albums. Burns will discuss his work in a spotlight session moderated by Alvin Buenaventura.

3:00 – 4:00
Making Art for the Internet
This panel will consider different aspects of the process, problems and possibilities of making art for internet-based platforms. This will include questions of art-media, digital medium specificity, online platforms, audience, culture, and content. Bill Kartalopoulos will lead a discussion featuring Sam Alden (It Never Happened Again), Emily Carroll (Through the Woods), Blaise Larmee (altcomics.tumblr.com), and Rebecca Mock (rebeccamock.tumblr.com).

4:00 – 5:00
Mimi Pond Q+A
Mimi Pond has a long and diverse career in cartooning that includes work for such venues as National Lampoon, The Village Voice, and Seventeen. Pond’s work in television includes the screenplay for the first full-length Simpsons episode, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.” Her recent graphic novel, Over Easy, is an autobiographically-based narrative based on her time working as a waitress in a California diner in the late 1970s. Pond will discuss her work and career with moderator Heidi MacDonald (The Beat).
White Flint Auditorium
 
TIME
DESCRIPTION
12:30PM – 1:30
Stories of Girlhood
What is the difference between writing about girlhood and writing for young girls? What can we generalize about the experience of girlhood in Western culture? And how do we express that in words and images? Moderator Ellen Lindner (The Black Feather Falls) will consider these questions and more with artists Jillian Tamaki (Skim, This One Summer), Aisha Franz (Earthling), and Melissa Mendes (Freddy Stories, Lou).
1:30 – 2:30
Spanish-Language Comics
This essential panel will examine a world of Spanish-language comics from South America to Europe, which share a common language, and, sadly, low awareness in North America. Colombian comics editor Daniel Jiménez Quiroz (Revista Larva) will discuss Colombian and South American comics, and will lead a discussion including Spanish comics critic Santiago Garcia, Colombian comics critic Pablo Guerra, and North American editor Scott Brown, who is working to bring Argentine comics by Hector Oesterheld and others into English-language translation.
2:30 – 3:30
Eleanor Davis: How to Be Happy
Eleanor Davis (How to be Happy) will share an autobiographical presentation that will have something to do with finding truth in fiction and the strange passions inside an author/reader relationship. Moderator Tom Spurgeon (The Comics Reporter) will follow Davis’s presentations with questions about her work, and will also take questions from the audience.
3:30 – 4:30
Mana Neyestani Q+A
Mana Neyesteni is an Iranian cartoonist and illustrator. A 2006 political cartoon by Neyesteni prompted riots among the oppressed Azeri minority in Iran; the paper in which the cartoon appeared was promptly closed and Neyestani was imprisoned. He is the recipient of the Cartoonists Rights Network International award for courage in editorial cartooning, 2010. His graphic novel An Iranian Metamorphosiswill debut in an English-language edition from Uncivilized Books at SPX. He will discuss his work in a spotlight session moderated by Alex Dueben (Comic Book Resources).
4:30 – 5:30
Renée French and Jesse Jacobs in Conversation
Renée French first made her mark with the intensely drawn, troubling comic book series Grit Bath in the 1990s and has produced a diverse array of works including The Ticking, H Day, and her new book Baby Bjornstrand. Jesse Jacobs has worked on the animated series Adventure TIme and his books of comics include By This You Shall Know Him and his new book Safari Honeymoon. These artists share a commitment to intense visual explorations of unsettled and unsettling narratives and will discuss their work in a special conversation moderated by Marc Sobel.