SPX 2006 will be held the weekend of October 13 and 14, 2006 at the Marriott Bethesda North Hotel & Conference Centerm, Bethesda, MD, just one mile outside the nation's capital, Washington DC. In its tenth year SPX now serves as the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comic books and the discovery of new creative talent.

SPX will bring together over 300 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers, distributors, and each other. SPX will be open to the public from 2pm Friday, October 13th and run through 8pm that evening. The celebration continues Saturday from 10am to 7pm, culminating in the 10th annual Ignatz Awards Reception. In addition, expect great programming all weekend long for you to enjoy!

SPX 2006 marks the tenth annual presentation of The Ignatz Awards for outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning. The Ignatz, named after George Herriman's brick-wielding mouse, recognizes outstanding work that challenges popular notions of what comics can achieve, both as an artform and as a means of personal expression. The Ignatz is a festival prize, the first such of the United States comic book industry. Winners will be determined by ballot during SPX and presented at the gala Ignatz Awards ceremony.

As with every year all profits from SPX will go to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, protecting the First Amendment rights of comic book readers and professionals.

SPX is honored to have the legendary Jules Feiffer as a guest at this year's Expo. Mr. Feiffer, one of the great political cartoonists of his generation, is also well known for his accomplishments as a playwright and a children's book author. Mr. Feiffer will be attending the SPX for the very first time.

SPX is also honored to welcome another first time guest, Tony Millionaire. Creator of "Sock Monkey" and "Maakies", he is currently developing a "Drinky Crow" cartoon for Adult Swim. He will be promoting his new book, "Billy Hazelnuts" which has generated many rave industry reviews. Debuting at SPX will be "Premillennial Maakies", a hardcover "Maakies" collection.

In addition, SPX will be graced by the talents of the following additional guests:

• Paul Pope — Mr Pope has rearranged his schedule to be able to attend SPX this year. Currently working on "Batman:Year 100" for DC comics, Paul will be at the SPX to promote his new art book, "Pulphope: The Art of Paul Pope".
• Gabrielle Bell — Author of the Ignatz Award winning "Lucky" and "When I Am Old and Other Stories", will have a hardback edition of "Lucky" released at this years SPX.
• Kevin Huizenga — Recipient of last years Ignatz Award for Outstanding Comic for "Or Else", Kevin will be again be in attendance at the SPX to debut his new hardcover book "Curses".
• Anders Nilsen — He will be debuting "Big Questions #9: The Lost and Found", and his Petits Livres book: "Don't Go Where I Can't Follow". This comes on top of his ongoing comic book series "Big Questions" and "Dogs & Water" along with his contributions to the MOME anthology.

Many more exhibitors are listed on the exhibitor page.

Source: The Small Press Expo

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tsopher said:

I've never been before but I've always heard great things. Everyone makes Xeroxed minicomics for trade (and advertising). I'd love to go this year, but alas am too far away! My calculations put it at something like 300 dollars in gas to get to Bethesda and back. Ouch -- can''t do it this year!

October 13, 2006

rocketshoes said:

Hey, this past weekend, we rolled up to to Rockville, MD for SPX 2006 at the Mariott Conference Center?a new location from years past. This time around all of the exhibitors and presses were contained in one room, not two parallel conference rooms and various smaller meeting rooms. I'm not sure whether the crowd was bigger or smaller than last year. It's diffiuclt to judge seeing as how everyone was in one room and not spread out across a whole floor of a hotel as in years past. All of the tables in the one room made it difficult to squeeze through them all. It'll take some time to pour through the various books picked up from the show, but I'll be sure to let you know!

October 16, 2006

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