Between Gears Release Party w/ Natalie Nourigat Location: Bridge City Comics, 3725 N. Mississippi Ave, Phone: (503) 282-5484 (Map)
Date: Fri, Feb. 24, 2012
Time: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
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Bridge City Comics is proud to announce our Between Gears Release Party on Friday, February 24, 2012 from 6pm - 9pm! This event is free to the public. In attendance to sign autographs will be local author Natalie Nourigat. Copies of the book will be available for sale ($19.99) during the event.

This honest, autobiographical account of a college senior's life will transport you to the land of Jell-O shots, term papers, job interviews, road trips, and sanguine optimism in the face of uncertainty and change. Trade paperback collects the comic in its entirety, with 30 pages of new material!

Come help us celebrate Natalie's impressive accomplishment of not only having her first book published, but having it published by Image Comics, the comics industry's third largest publisher! Beverages will be provided and there may be cookies! No Jell-O shots, though.

About the Author:
Natalie Nourigat was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She went to college at the University of Oregon and majored in Japanese with a minor in business. She wrote her senior thesis for the Clark Honors College on sequential art and storytelling in comics. Natalie interned at Periscope Studio in 2008 and was delighted to join the studio in 2011. She works alongside some of the best writers and artists in comics. Natalie is studying French and hopes to visit France with her mom in 2013. She enjoys travel, piano music, Ghibli movies, martial arts, and coffee.

Greg Rucka Signing & Release Party Location: Hollywood Things From Another World, 4133 NE Sandy Boulevard, Portland, OR 97212 (Map)
Date: Wed, Feb. 29, 2012
Time: 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Things From Another World (TFAW) is proud to announce an action-packed event at its Portland, OR location: Eisner Award-winning writer Greg Rucka will sign his newest book, Punisher HC Vol. 1, February 29 from 7-10 p.m. This is a free, all-ages event with complimentary food and beer (21+ with ID).

For Frank Castle, death comes easy--life is where things get complicated. As New York City's body counts continue to rise, the city's streets are teeming with more criminals than ever. The Punisher has returned with everything's he's got to serve his own brand of justice . . . but can he survive the darkness stored in his own arsenal?

"We've wanted to do an event with Greg Rucka for years," said TFAW Marketing Manager Elisabeth Forsythe. "His Punisher series offered the perfect opportunity. It's been a huge hit with our customers, and we're excited to have him at our store."

Greg Rucka is one of the most acclaimed creators in comics today, and the writer behind Stumptown, Queen & Country, Batwoman: Elegy, and more. Winner of multiple Eisner Awards, Rucka has also been honored by the Harvey Awards and GLAAD. Don't miss out on your chance to pick up the first chapter of his epic Punisher series and get it signed February 29!

Jan. 31: Guests Announced!

Ted Naifeh
Ted Naifeh swooped onto the comics and goth culture scene as the co-creator of Gloomcookie with Serena Valentino in 1998. Beginning in 2002 he introduced the world to Courtney Crumrin, a young loner girl who uses magic to navigate her world of school bullies and bloodthirsty goblins, adolescent peer pressure and deadly coven politics. His latest title, Polly and the Pirates, features action, adventure, treasure, and piratical etiquette, with a second volume scheduled to appear in January 2012.

Brian Hurtt
Brian made his comics debut with the second arc in Greg Rucka's critically acclaimed series Queen & Country and continued with Skinwalker, Hard Time and the critically-acclaimed Gotham Central for DC Comics. In 2006 he began his collaborative partnership with writer Cullen Bunn, beginning with The Damned. Their current series is the phenomenal monthly title The Sixth Gun for Oni Press, whose third collection will be debuting in April 2012.

Nate Powell
Nate's graphic novels include Sounds of Your Name, It Disappears, and Please Release, as well as the Eisner and Ignatz Award-winning Swallow Me Whole. He has also created dozens of self-published issues, and short story contributions to anthologies such as Papercutter and Meathaus since he began self-publishing at age 14. Nate's joining us to promote his latest graphic novel, The Silence of Our Friends, published by First Second in January 2012.

Steve Lieber
Steve Lieber is a staple of the Northwest comics scene, and has been dubbed the "official Nicest Guy in Comics" by noted author and fellow Portlander Douglas Wolk. His work has been published by DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, Carus, Oni, Dupuis, and others, but he is best known for his creator-owned works Whiteout and its sequel, and Underground, with co-creator Jeff Parker.

Brian Churilla
Brian Churilla is a Portlander, born and raised. His work includes The Engineer: Konstrukt for Archaia, The Avengers and the Infinity Gauntlet for Marvel Comics, and numerous pin-ups for Oni Press, Dark Horse Comics, and Image Comics. His heavily anticipated series, The Secret History of D.B. Cooper, debuts this March from Oni Press and has already garnered much acclaim from fellow creators.

Main Entrance, a Carolyn Main exhibition Location: Sequential Art Gallery + Studio 328 NW Broadway #113, Portland, OR 97209 (Map)
Date: Thu, Feb. 2, 2012 - Sat, Feb. 25, 2012
Artist Reception, First Thursday: Thu, Feb. 2, 2012, 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Sequential Art Gallery is excited to host Portland native Carolyn Main's first solo exhibition of her art, entitled "Main Entrance". We gave Carolyn carte blanche over the gallery space, and this is what she came back to us with...

The works presented will include varied renderings of couplings, both romantic and lewd, and a collection of prints. This will also be the premier of Carolyn's brand new pixel animation sequence, titled "Burn it Down (extended 3 minute cut)".

Reception will be 6-10pm on First Thursday, February 2nd, with wine, beer, and snacks. You can also pick up a pair of the artist's Zombie blood splatter panties, just in time for Valentine's Day! Some content in this show may be considered "mature".

Carolyn Main is an award winning animator and Internet authority on dick jokes (her words). The prolific artist is known for her cutting humor and flourish. You may recognize her art from Portland's weekly alt newspaper, The Mercury, or from the cult hit comic strip Sex Wizards. Visit her website to check out more of her art: www.carolynmain.com.

Opens: First Thursday, February 2, 2012, 6-10pm
Closes: Saturday, February 25, 2011
Open Thursdays 3-7pm, Saturdays 11am-5pm, or by appointment

Stumptown Comic Arts Awards 2012 Open for Submissions

The Stumptown Comics Fest, the largest creator-focused comics convention in the Pacific Northwest, is now accepting submissions of comic work for consideration by our judges for the 2012 Stumptown Comic Arts Awards. Publishers and creators interested in submitting work should include one copy of each title to be considered, accompanied by an official Entry Submission form which can be downloaded from the link below:

2012 Comic Arts Awards Submission Form

Please include one form with each work being submitted.

Categories for this year's awards include Best Artist, Best Writer, Best Cartoonist, Best Letterer, Best Colorist, Best Publication Design, Best Small Press, Best Anthology, and Best New Talent. Any work published after April 2011 will be eligible, and digital comics (meaning any comic published either online or for mobile devices) are also eligible for any category by following the instructions on the submission form. Submitters may not submit more than five distinct works per category, but works may be submitted in any number of categories.

Entries must be postmarked no later than the submission deadline of March 5, 2012 to be considered, and should be mailed to this address:

As with last year, all work submitted will be subject to consideration by a jury of industry professionals. The jury will issue a final ballot in March 2012, which will be available online for voting by any and all professionals, fans and readers of the comic arts. The votes will determine the final winners of each category, which will be tabulated and awarded at the Awards Ceremony to be held during the Stumptown Comics Fest on April 28 & 29 in Portland, Oregon.

Any questions about the Comic Arts Awards should be directed to the Director of the Comics Fest, Indigo Kelleigh at director@stumptowncomics.com.

Curating the 2012 Comics Fest

This week we completed the bulk of our exhibitor confirmation and emailed all of our applicants informing them of their current status. Thanks to everyone who applied! We confirmed a lot of excellent exhibitors for our 2012 Fest, but unfortunately our space is limited, so we also also had to leave left a lot of excellent artists on the waiting list.

We consider every application we get, but our top priority is to grant space to people making comics. Some terrific game companies, non-comics illustrators, and designers of all kinds applied this year, but our mission is to support comics, and so we had to turn away these applications in favor of people making comics.

We strive to present as diverse a face of the artform of comics as possible, so we weighted table selection towards cases where applicants were able to show us where they fit in the creative spectrum. Other factors that account for how we evaluate your application include: Whether you've exhibited at Stumptown in the past, how familiar our committee is with your work, and how easily we were able to evaluate your comics on your website. In creating a curated comics show, we make every effort to be familiar with all the comics that our exhibitors make, and if we couldn't see a representative sampling of your comics on your site or with your application, it made it harder for us to see how your work would fit on the show floor.

This is only the second year where Stumptown has been a completely curated show. Previously it was simply first-come, first-served, and if you didn't get your application in quickly you simply didn't get a space. Our hope was that the Curated approach would increase the overall quality of the experience for our attendees, and we feel that proved true with last year's show. Attendance was up, and the consensus was that it was the best Comics Fest we've ever held. We believe that our 2012 Exhibitor List will continue this tradition of excellence, and we regret that we can't provide space to everyone who wants it. But we still want you to be a part of the show, and encourage you to come to the Festival, meet us, and continue to apply in the future. Stumptown is about creating a great event for Portland and the comics community, and we're grateful that you're a part of it!

-indy

Original artwork by Emi Lenox & Natalie Nourigat Location: Floating World Comics, 400 NW Couch St., Phone: 503-241-0227 (Map)
Date: Thu, Feb. 2, 2012 - Wed, Feb. 29, 2012
Artist Reception & Print Release: Thu, Feb. 2, 2012, 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
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This February, Floating World is proud to exhibit original artwork by local artists, Emi Lenox and Natalie Nourigat. Each artist will display pages from their two new books, EmiTown Vol. 2 and Between Gears, which will be released later in the month by Image Comics.

Emi and Natalie have each created a brand new archival print which will also be available at the show.

Art on display until Feb. 29

BIO INFORMATION:

Based out of Portland, Oregon, Emi Lenox is a comic creator widely known for EmiTown which was released into a printed collection by Image in Dec. '10. She has also had work in Mike Allred's Madman and Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth. She has just finished working on the second collection of EmiTown. Basically, she's just a nutty girl with a case of the munchies and a deep fond love for comics, cats, bassets, and iPods.

http://emitown.blogspot.com/

Natalie 'Tally' Nourigat, is a sequential artist living in Portland, Oregon. Natalie graduated from the University of Oregon's Clark Honors College in 2010. Her first book, Between Gears, is about to be published by Image Comics. She is currently working on a new graphic novel and a children's book series. She appeared in Image Comics' anthology 'This Is A Souvenir' in 2009 and is a member of Periscope Studios.

http://natalienourigat.com/

Frank Santoro's Comic Book Layout Workshop Location: Floating World Comics, 400 NW Couch St., Phone: 503-241-0227 (Map)
Date: Thu, Feb. 9, 2012
Time: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Why do some comics read easier than others? Is it the story, the cartooning or the page design? Frank Santoro will demonstrate how some cartoonists such as Hal Foster and Herge used visual harmonies and structures in their page designs much like classical oil painters. Discover the similarities between visual and musical harmonies and how some of the great cartoonists used dynamic symmetry like a map to organize their stories.

Also, after the talk, Frank will lead an informal FREE workshop focusing on formats available for the comic book maker in 2012. Everyone is welcome. Come see what Frank Santoro's Correspondence Course is all about - or come on down just to argue with Frank - maybe even buy a book and get it signed.

Frank Santoro is the artist behind the acclaimed comic books Storeyville and Cold Heat. His work has also appeared in Kramers Ergot. He has exhibited his drawings and paintings internationally. Based in Pittsburgh, Santoro is well known for his visionary colors and evocative sense of place.

http://franksantoro.tumblr.com/

http://www.tcj.com/layout-workbook/

Frank Reade Book Launch Event: AIR Location: Hollywood Things From Another World, 4133 NE Sandy Boulevard, Portland, OR 97212 (Map)
Date: Wed, Feb. 22, 2012
Time: 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
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Before Jules Verne's flying machines and H. G. Wells's spaceships, there was Frank Reade, globe-trotting inventor and original steampunk hero. Starting in the nineteenth century, Frank Reade magazines were the world's first science fiction periodicals. Now Frank Reade and his progeny are back in a new book: Frank Reade: Adventures in the Age of Invention! To celebrate the launch of this stunningly designed book, authors Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett--of Boilerplate fame--are hosting a series of events that any Reade family member would be proud to attend.

The events will be held on three consecutive Wednesdays in February, at three Portland comic book stores. Each will have a different theme--Land, Sea, and Air--the three realms Frank Reade explores in his electric vehicles. The authors will also display each of the three model vehicles Guinan himself built for the Frank Reade book, which are rarely shown in public. Attendees will have the chance to talk with the authors and get books signed, as well as meet local steampunks (Land), pirates (Sea), and superheroes (Air).

BONUS: There's a prize at the grand finale event! The first ten attendees who make it to all three events and get their "Land, Sea, and Air" passports stamped will receive a print of an original Frank Reade engraving signed by both authors, plus custom-stamped Frank Reade chocolate "gold coins" (which will also be available for purchase).

Publishers Weekly predicts Frank Reade will "satisfy even the hardest to please of readers" and praises it as "a stunning multimedia confection of the highest order that creates a detailed and delightful world."

Frank Reade Book Launch Event: SEA Location: Bridge City Comics, 3725 N. Mississippi Ave, Phone: (503) 282-5484 (Map)
Date: Wed, Feb. 15, 2012
Time: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Visit Website

Before Jules Verne's flying machines and H. G. Wells's spaceships, there was Frank Reade, globe-trotting inventor and original steampunk hero. Starting in the nineteenth century, Frank Reade magazines were the world's first science fiction periodicals. Now Frank Reade and his progeny are back in a new book: Frank Reade: Adventures in the Age of Invention! To celebrate the launch of this stunningly designed book, authors Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett--of Boilerplate fame--are hosting a series of events that any Reade family member would be proud to attend.

The events will be held on three consecutive Wednesdays in February, at three Portland comic book stores. Each will have a different theme--Land, Sea, and Air--the three realms Frank Reade explores in his electric vehicles. The authors will also display each of the three model vehicles Guinan himself built for the Frank Reade book, which are rarely shown in public. Attendees will have the chance to talk with the authors and get books signed, as well as meet local steampunks (Land), pirates (Sea), and superheroes (Air).

BONUS: There's a prize at the grand finale event! The first ten attendees who make it to all three events and get their "Land, Sea, and Air" passports stamped will receive a print of an original Frank Reade engraving signed by both authors, plus custom-stamped Frank Reade chocolate "gold coins" (which will also be available for purchase).

Publishers Weekly predicts Frank Reade will "satisfy even the hardest to please of readers" and praises it as "a stunning multimedia confection of the highest order that creates a detailed and delightful world."