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The breakdown in my professionalism at the sixth annual Stumptown Comics Fest (SCF), held Saturday, April 18th- Sunday, April 19th at the Lloyd Center Doubletree Hotel Exhibition Hall in Portland, Ore. (I day-tripped down on Saturday), may have been because it was my third con in as many weeks; more likely, its focus on minicomics and self-publishing (Dark Horse, local to the convention, was the largest publisher represented, although Image's Shadowline had a booth, as well as Oni and my employer, Fantagraphics) overlaps the most with my personal taste, and so it was harder to compartmentalize.
Instead of making contacts, tracking down special guests such as Farel Dalrymple, Craig Thompson and Carla Speed McNeil for photos (I did manage to capture
French Milk cartoonist Lucy Knisley and
Bone's Jeff Smith, pictured), attending panels, querying attendees, grilling industry professionals about what they thought the book of the show was, and analyzing how the convention fit into larger industry trends, I basically just chatted and
shopped like a mofo, picking up minis such as
Thought Cloud Shrines by Theo Ellsworth,
Department of Art #1 by Dunja Janković and Kelly Froh's
The Cheapest S.O.B.'s (the precursor to
Debbie's Story, which made its debut at SCF).
To be fair, there were at least two additional factors working against my good intentions: one, the con, with an entry fee of only $6 per day, was packed to bursting (from Douglas Wolk's overview at
Publishers Weekly: "According to organizer Shannon Stewart, attendance was at 2500, up from 2100 last year."), which slowed me down, and (frustratingly for someone who dearly loves to chew the fat with this particular group of exhibitors) hard to hear without leaning across tables — a potentially ware-squishing move — and raising one's voice.[1] (My only real newsworthy tidbit was from Knisley, who said that
French Milk had been optioned for a movie.) Although it moved to the Doubletree as recently as 2006 (I attended the Sunday of that year, when it was a smaller affair) it's entirely possible SCF has already outgrown this venue.
The second factor is perhaps more crucial: Portland is the West Coast's It city right now, and the beautiful weather, coupled with its light rail service (free from the con to the City Center) made it impossible not to devote a little time to exploring. A visit to Powell's Books[2] was mandatory, but the back-issue bin at the close-nearby niche bookstore Counter Media was exactly the back-issue bin I've always wanted to find, filled as it was with single issues of alternative comic books from the '90s to the present.
Of course, it wasn't a busman's holiday for everyone: business appeared good, and there were portfolio reviews, primarily by Dark Horse editors, but also Steve Lieber of Periscope Studio, Jim Valentino of Image and DC Comics writer Gail Simone, a Comic Book Legal Defense Fund benefit dinner the Friday previous, parties at comic shops and galleries all weekend, and, as I and my two companions, Gavin Lees and Eric Buckler (Fanta coworkers, the former of whom graciously offered a ride) headed homeward clutching our blood-filled Voodoo Doughnuts, the Stumptown Trophy Awards were handed out that evening.[3]
Notes:
[1] While I'm sure this is not a priority to con organizers or event planners, the acoustics in the room were terrible — AND I WANTED TO HEAR EVERY LAST DETAIL of co-Comixology columnist Shaneon Garrity's and (her husband, Cartoon Art Museum manager) Andrew Farago's visit with Hayao Miyazaki, damnit.
[2] Where I discovered that there was a
The Authority tabletop RPG. Who knew?
[3] The winners are posted at
http://www.stumptowncomics.com/awardsImage credits:
Back cover to Thought Cloud Shrines [©2009 Theo Ellsworth]
Panel from Department of Art #1 [©2008 Dunja Janković]
Photos by Kristy Valenti
Kristy Valenti currently works for The Comics Journal and Fantagraphics Books, Inc.
Uncharted Territory is © Kristy Valenti, 2010
