Tomorrow I’ll be heading down to Bethesda with the illustrious Rickey Purdin, David Paggi, and Matt Powell for this year’s Small Press Expo. I’ve got a few official duties to attend to while I’m there, and I’d love to see you at them:
Critics’ Roundtable (3:30pm, Saturday | Brookside Conference Room)
A murderers’ row of comics critics will address general issues facing comics criticism today and will candidly discuss several new and recent works in a lively, no-holds-barred, roundtable conversation. Rob Clough, Sean T. Collins, Gary Groth, Chris Mautner, Joe McCulloch, Tucker Stone and Douglas Wolk will share their acute critical insights with moderator Bill Kartalopoulos.
The New Action (4:30pm, Saturday | Brookside Conference Room)
For decades, independent cartoonists have labored to distinguish their work from the corporately-controlled material popularly associated with the form. In the process, artist-driven comics have frequently avoided genres such as adventure, fantasy, and science fiction. Recent years, however, have seen a wave of cartoonists who embrace genre and have explored new ways to activate comics’ ability to depict movement, action, and spectacle. Sean T. Collins will discuss these topics and more with Shawn Cheng, Benjamin Marra,
Brian Ralph, Frank Santoro and Kazimir Strzepek.
(Yeah, sorry, Brian Ralph had to bow out, unfortunately. Still not too shabby, though, huh?)
In addition, I will be presenting the award for Outstanding Series at the Ignatz Awards on Saturday night at 9pm. (Not sure where–just follow the trail of starry-eyed cartoonists I guess.) Here are the nominees:
Danny Dutch, David King (Sparkplug)
Delphine, Richard Sala (Fantagraphics/Coconino)
Interiorae, Gabriella Giandelli (Fantagraphics/Coconino)
Reich, Elijah Brubaker (Sparkplug)
Uptight, Jordan Crane (Fantagraphics)
And of course I’ll be traipsing all over the show floor, black San Diego Comic Con tote bag and David Bowie sketchbook in tow. See you there!