Show Some Love: SPACE & STAPLE

February 29, 2008 on 10:33 pm | In Events

I love comic shows even when my wallet doesn’t, so it sucks to be me this weekend as I’ll be missing out on two of the best up-and-coming indie shows in the comics community.

For anyone in the Midwest, Columbus, Ohio’s SPACE con (which stands for Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo) kicks off tomorrow with the annual awarding of the Day Prize, a small press award given out by Cerebus creator Dave Sim. Sim’s also going to be on hand all weekend with copies of his new novella Judenhass, a history of the Holocaust which he hasn’t been promoting with his recent Glamourpuss internet love fest/message board flamewar extravaganza. The money quote on Judenhass seems to be “It made Neil Gaiman cry” but your mileage may vary.

Also appearing at the show are regional cartoonists like Matt Feazell, Neil Fitzpatrick, Greg Hyland and a crazy giant number of Ohio talent. It’s important to remember that regional shows like this often hold a few legitimate “diamonds in the rough” or whatever metaphor you’d like to throw in for “rad cartoonists you’ve probably never heard of.” Want some proof? Check out this killer poster:

Not to be outdone, the Southwest plays host to STAPLE in Austin, Texas. While the show is billed as an “Independent Media Expo,” I’m betting that anything that isn’t comics featured there will appeal to your average indie reader. Not to mention that their lineup includes some star power from Brian Wood to Eric Powell, who is responsible for the show’s mascot:

AHHHHH!

STAPLE also has a nice web comics lineup led by Scott Kurtz, and mentioning that is a convenient transition for me to say that if you’re like me and you can’t make either show, it’s pretty easy to click through from the show sites onto exhibitor’s own personal pages and check out their work and maybe even buy something. Self publishing comics isn’t a game anyone gets into for cash, but sending them cash probably won’t tick them off either, dig?

I’m going to be trolling for news and photos from both shows over the weekend, and if you have any you’d like to share, drop me a line.

– KP