• Portland Mercury - Blogtown, PDX
• Tom Spurgeon's report at The Comics Reporter
• Comics Reporter: Stumptown 2008 Collective Memory
• Steve Duin, part 1
• Steve Duin, part 2
• Sara Ryan
• Liz Baillie
• Lex Fajardo
• User Frank Castle's report from The ComicGeekSpeak Forums

I want to thank our tremendous corps of volunteers, who were tireless in making sure all the little things ran smoothly. The Fest simply could not have gone off as well without them. Or at least, my mental state wouldn't be so relaxed right now! Our planning committee likewise did an excellent job arranging everything for this year's Fest, and with a shorter timeline than we ever have before. We'll definitely have more time next year.

Also, thanks to all of the fantastic exhibitors and guests who were able to join us for the weekend. Especially to Mike Richardson, whose professionalism took center-stage as he left my nervously-prepared interview topics in the dust and delivered an inspiring talk on the philosophies that drive Dark Horse Comics. Nearly all of our panels for the weekend were filled to capacity, aside from the slowness of early Sunday morning - something to note for next year.

And lastly, thanks to all the folks who made the journey to the Doubletree to check out our not-so-little-anymore Comics Fest. Some came from the other side of town, some came from the other side of the country. Some crossed international borders! Attendance was up by leaps and bounds over last year, and I think we just about filled every square inch of the floor with people. Without all of you the Fest would just have been another room filled with cartoonists. And I think we all know how boring that can be.

So thanks again to everyone who joined us for Stumptown Comics Fest 2008. Keep watching this space for updates, recaps, photo-blogs, and newsbits, as we begin planning for SCF 2009! And if you attended Stumptown this weekend, we'd love to hear your impressions of the Fest, both good and bad, to help us plan for next year. Thanks!

And if not, I'll see you at the Fest tomorrow at 10!

-indy

This Friday, April 25th Guapo Comics and Books is having their third annual Stumptown party and reading!

Details swiped from their page:

We’re putting this one together with local publisher Sparkplug Comic Books. Nine awesome mini-comics artists from around the country will be giving multimedia readings from their comics. It will also be a book release party for “Nerd Burglar” a FREE anthology of Portland artists put together by Sparkplug and fellow local publishers Tugboat Press and Teenage Dinosaur. There will be free cupcakes provided by awesome local bakery Sweetpea, as well as beer, snacks, and more. The Maisie Kukoc award will also be giving out for mini-comic excellence. This is a $400 prize.

Artists reading include: Jason Shiga, Austin English, Liz Baillie, Theo Ellsworth, Julia Wertz, Sarah Glidden, Minty Lewis, Rina Ayuyang, and Trevor Alixopulos.

The party starts at 8pm. I promise, you'll be bragging to your friends that you were there!

1. THE OREGONIAN Devoted a two-page comic and an arts-section cover to Stumptown.
   • Full feature (at Webcomics Nation)
   • Full feature (3-page PDF)
2. PORTLAND MERCURY
   
   
   
   • A full-page color comic by Dylan Meconis and Bill Mudron.
   
   
   • Meconis's post on the matter
   
   
   
   
3. WILLAMETTE WEEK
   Interviews Stumptown guest Brian Michael Bendis.
   




4. PORTLAND TRIBUNE
   Profiles Stumptown while discussing the recent 24-hour "Drawpocalypse" hosted by Cosmic Monkey Comics.
   
5. INKSTUDS
   
   • Stumptown podcast, featuring guests Larry Marder, Dave Roman, Tara McPherson, and Stumptown founder Indigo Kelleigh
   
   
   • Podcast featuring Stumptown exhibitor Sarah Oleksyk
   
   
   • Podcast featuring Stumptown exhibitor and Sparkplug Comics distributor Dylan Williams
   
   
   
   
6. COMIC GEEK SPEAK
   
   • Stumptown podcast featuring Guests Tara McPherson and Raina Telgemeier
   
   

If you know of any we've missed, let us know!

Words & Pictures airs on KBOO community radio, 90.7fm. Not near a radio? You can listen to the real-time webcast at http://www.kboo.fm/listen And look for the webcast soon afterwards at http://www.kboo.fm/WordsandPictures

April 26 and 27 at the Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland (www.stumptowncomics.com), Dark Horse editor Scott Allie be reviewing portfolios specifically to fill the "newbie" slot for the next two months in Myspace Dark Horse Presents.

Every month MDHP features the professional debut of a creator whose work was found on MySpace.com. For the last three years Portland's Stumptown Comics Fest has been a great place for new creators to show off their work in one of the greatest comic book cities in the nation. If novice artists and writers think they have what it takes to join the ranks of Ezra Claytan Daniels, Brian Churilla, Katie Cook, Matt Brenier, Rebecca Sugar, Ilias Kyriazis, Jeff Wamester, and Jason Graham—all of whom made their paid, professional comics debut on MDHP— they are encuraged to show up with a stapled, 8 1/2 x 11 copy of their work and a print out of their MySpace homepage. A print-out of the candidates MySpace homepage is mandatory! Eligibility requires that the participant has examples of their work currently displayed on MySpace, and that they have never had comics released by a professional publisher or through Diamond Distribution, through a major comics website, or one that charges a fee. Ashcans and free, self-run websites do not disqualify, and ultimately eligibility is left to the discretion of the MySpace Dark Horse Presents editors. At the end of the weekend, Scott Allie will select two cartoonists to create original strips to appear on MDHP later this year, alongside the likes of Joss Whedon, Steve Niles, Mike Mignola, Tony Millionaire, and Stan Sakai. Scott will have a table at the show, but review of portfolios for MDHP will be limited to one block of time per day, in the Dark Horse booth—see below. Visit the Stumptown website (http://www.stumptowncomics.com) and the MySpace Dark Horse Presents (http://www.myspace.com/darkhorsepresents) page for more information.

Schedule/Location:
Dark Horse Booth—Table #39
Saturday 1pm-3pm
Sunday 2pm-4pm

An exciting opportunity for all exhibitors and attendees at this year's Comics Fest!

First, due to great interest from e-comics folks, the Trophy Awards committee has decided to add a brand-spankin'-new category for Webcomics! If you'd like to nominate your webcomic for an award, be sure to include the url for your site in the Additional Notes field!

Second, since there are a number of talented people who didn't snag a table before they all sold out, ALL FEST ATTENDEES are now eligible to enter. You still have to be present at the Awards Ceremony, though, otherwise we WILL trash-talk you if you win.

And finally, the deadline for entries has been extended to April 24th! That's right, we're pushing it to the limit, to give you all as much time as possible to get your books into our hands. All the info you need is at www.stumptowncomics.com/awards.

Click the image for a pdf!

Go now, Listen!

• First, our Events page has been updated with the full schedule of panels, talks, presentations, screenings and workshops that will be taking place across three rooms alongside the Comics Fest on the 26th and 27th. We've never had a schedule so packed with pure comics goodness before, and you'd do well to take advantage of it while you can.
• Second, table numbers have been assigned to all of our exhibitors for this year, and you can find them all on the Exhibitors List. While you're there, download a handy map of the table arrangement so you can plan your attack as you storm our castle of comics creativity.
• and Finally, where would the Stumptown Comics Fest be without its fantastic volunteers? And if you'd like to sign up to be a volunteer at the Fest this year, now's the time to let us know! Simply fill out our online Volunteers Form and Zeo, our Volunteers coordinator, will be in touch to help you join in the fun of helping make the Fest run smooooooooth.

  See you in 22 days, 3 hours, 57 minutes...!

  
  

  ]]> http://www.stumptowncomics.com/2008/04/update_events_tables_and_volun.html http://www.stumptowncomics.com/2008/04/update_events_tables_and_volun.html Stumptown Comics Fest Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:55:54 -0800 April is Comics Month in Portland, and we're bringing the party!

  To champion and support the newly proclaimed Portland Comics Month, the Stumptown Comics Foundation has catalogued a staggering number of comics-related events in the Portland metro area for the entire month of April, culminating in the Fifth Annual Stumptown Comics Fest!

  We've got signings by area talent, art shows opening at several galleries, readings at libraries, a 24-hour-comic challenge, a super-hero-themed pub crawl, and a freaking opera! Too many items to list individually, read the whole list here! If you're in the Portland Area, try to get out and see why April is Comics Month here!

  And our extra special thanks to Mayor Tom Potter, Grace Uwagbae, Pollyanne Birge, and everyone else at City Hall for helping make this official!

  ]]> http://www.stumptowncomics.com/2008/04/april_is_comics_month.html http://www.stumptowncomics.com/2008/04/april_is_comics_month.html Events Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:05:50 -0800 Hey, Portlanders! This event is being coordinated as part of the all-out cultural assault that is The Month Before Stumptown (previously known as April):

  24 HOURS!
  24 PAGES!
  1 ARMY OF CARTOONISTS!
  1 UNFORGETTABLE EVENT!

  Announcing the return of 24-Hour Comic Day... Stumptown style! At 10
  AM on Saturday, April 5, cartoonists from all over Portland and beyond
  will converge on Cosmic Monkey Comics for a marathon of comic-book
  magic. Will YOU be one of them?

  A 24-hour comic is exactly what it sounds: one complete comic story
  (24 pages) completed in 24 hours. Writing, drawing, lettering, and if
  you're really ambitious, coloring -- it's all gotta be done on the
  spot. Similar to the ever-popular National Novel Writing Month, it's
  an opportunity to celebrate your art form, get your creative juices
  flowing, and enjoy the rare opportunity to have some company working
  alongside you!

  "But what," you ask, "will make THIS 24-hour comic event special?" How about:
  

  
  
  • LIVEBLOGGING 'round the clock by the tireless staff of Cosmic Monkey
    Comics and Top Shelf Productions!
  
  
  • a gaggle of ADORING FANS and curious passers-by who will be on hand
    to cheer you on and watch the magic unfold!
  
  
  • MAD REFRESHMENTS to keep you fueled and power you through that
    particularly stubborn page!
  
  
  • FELLOW CARTOONISTS drawing right alongside, ready for some mutual inspiration!
  
  
  • SPECIAL GUESTS including the legendary JIM VALENTINO and 24-Hour
    Comic world record holder DAVID CHELSEA (who will create his
    staggering TENTH 24-hour comic before our very eyes)!
  
  
  
  With still more to be announced as we get closer.

  So... CARTOONISTS! Ink-slingers and pixel-pushers alike! Step on up
  and join the action!
  Will you be exhibiting at the Stumptown Comics Fest (April 26-27)?
  Need a kick in the ass to produce some comics in time for the show?
  Here's your chance!

  Respond to cosmicmonkeycomics -at- earthlink.net or 503-517-9050 to RSVP!
  Space is limited (we're capping it at 20 artists), so respond ASAP!

  APRIL 5
  10 AM TO 10 AM
  COSMIC MONKEY COMICS (5335 NE Sandy Blvd)
  24-HOUR COMICS DRAWPOCALYPSE

  ]]> http://www.stumptowncomics.com/2008/03/24hour_comics_drawpocalypse.html http://www.stumptowncomics.com/2008/03/24hour_comics_drawpocalypse.html Events Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:12:36 -0800 Holy cow, people!

  So today was supposed to be the Early Bird Deadline, after which table prices were to go up to their regular rates. However, the demand has been so amazingly high for tables for our upcoming Fest this April that we're going to have to actually close ALL exhibitor registrations at this point!

  There has been a tremendous and unexpected surge of support from our exhibitor community in the last week, and I've been registering an average of about 8 tables per day all week. Eleven forms arrived in the mail today, and I still need to go through those, but I am positive that by the time I'm done I'll need to start a waiting list. I'm frankly flabbergasted. In our four years of putting on the Stumptown Comics Fest, we've never had to close the registrations before the Early Bird Deadline had passed, let alone selling out all our available tables within two months of opening registrations! This is truly a first.

  I know a bunch of you probably mailed yours out in the last couple days, and so I haven't received them yet. Rest assured you'll automatically go on the waiting list, and as soon as something becomes available I'll let you know via email or phone.

  For those of you who still hadn't gotten around to mailing your registrations in yet, don't be afraid to do so, just understand that you're not guaranteed a table. I'd even recommend not including payment with your form - if something opens up we'll work out an arrangement to collect the registration fee.

  First thing Monday I'll contact the Doubletree Hotel and see if there's any space we might be able to expand into.

  The lesson I take from this is that we must be doing something right.

  UPDATE: I just finished going through today's registrations, and did indeed begin a waiting list. I've updated the Exhibitors Page with the latest names, so if you're not on that list I'm afraid you either do not have a table, or you asked that your name not be publicized. My apologies if you're not on the list, and as I say, I'll see if I can find some more exhibitor space at the hotel. Keep an eye out for updates!

  ]]> http://www.stumptowncomics.com/2008/02/all_registration_now_closed_fo.html http://www.stumptowncomics.com/2008/02/all_registration_now_closed_fo.html Stumptown Comics Fest Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:43:41 -0800 The Stumptown Comics Fest is excited to welcome Mike Richardson, founder of Dark Horse Comics, as the Special Guest of Honor for its Fifth Annual fest. Under his direction, Dark Horse has gone from a tiny startup during the black-and-white boom of the ‘80s to the biggest independent comics publisher in the nation, featuring such talents as Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, and the late comics legend Will Eisner, and revolutionizing the industry’s approach to licensed properties through innovative Star Wars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Conan, and Aliens/Predator stories. Richardson recently celebrated Dark Horse’s 20th anniversary.
  ]]> http://www.stumptowncomics.com/2008/02/special_guest_of_honor_mike_ri.html http://www.stumptowncomics.com/2008/02/special_guest_of_honor_mike_ri.html Guests Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:54:51 -0800