Love Tokins From a L'il Ainjil! And Assorted Festival Attendees.

September 10, 2010 5:16 PM

The 2010 Small Press Expo - SPX to its friends - will be opening tomorrow in splendiforous Bethesda, MD. The festival, which benefits the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, is also home to the Ignatz Awards, which recognize excellence in small press/independent comics-making in a variety of categories. It is not known if winners are awarded with a brick tossed upside the head.

Anyhow the nominees - whose work may be NSFW - for the 2010 Ignatz Awards are:

Outstanding Online Comic
Callahan Online, John Callahan
I Think You’re Sauceome, Sarah Becan
The Lesttrygonians, Stephen Gilpin
Reliable Comics, David King
Troop 142, Mike Dawson

Outstanding Mini-Comic
Don’t Drink from the Sea, Lilli Carre
Rambo 3.5, Jim Rugg
Stories by… Vol. 1, Martin Cendreda
Troop 142, Mike Dawson
Water Column #3, Josh Frankel

Outstanding Story
“John Wesley Harding”, The Red Monkey Double Happiness Book, Joe Daly
Market Day, James Sturm [PDF Excerpt]
Monsters, Ken Dahl
“Turd Place”, The Hipless Boy, Sully
“Untitled”, Mome Vol. 16, Laura Park

Outstanding Anthology or Collection
The Hipless Boy, Sully
Lemon Styles, David King
Masterpiece Comics, R. Sikoryak
Red Snow, Susumu Katsumata [PDF Excerpt]
Ten Thousand Things to Do, Jesse Reklaw


Outstanding Graphic Novel
The Complete Jack Survives, Jerry Moriarty
Market Day, James Sturm
Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear Days, Al Columbia [PDF Excerpt]
Summit of the Gods Vol. 1, Yumemakura Baku and Jiro Taniguchi
Years of the Elephant, Willy Linthout

Outstanding Series
Ganges, Kevin Huizenga
King-Cat Comics & Stories, John Porcellino
Sublife, John Pham [PDF Excerpt]
Summit of the Gods, Yumemakura Baku and Jiro Taniguchi
Troop 142, Mike Dawson

Outstanding Comic
Blammo #6, Noah Van Sciver
Eschew #2, Robert Sergel
Flesh and Bone, Julia Gfrörer
I Want You, Lisa Hanawalt
Sublife #2, John Pham

Promising New Talent
Rina Ayuyang, Whirlwind Wonderland
Rami Efal, Never Forget, Never Forgive
Blaise Larmee, Young Lions
Sully, The Hipless Boy
Matt Wiegle, “The Orphan Baiter”, Papercutter #13

Outstanding Artist
Eddie Campbell, Alec: The Years Have Pants (A Life-Sized Omnibus)
Al Columbia, Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear Days
Mike Dawson, Troop 142
John Pham, Sublife #2
Sully, The Hipless Boy

posted by Alvy Ampersand (21 comments total)

Ah, small pressers. You who are about to sink a bunch of effort and money into something that you probably won't see back, I salute you!
posted by Artw at 5:25 PM on September 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

I love SPX. Pity I won't make it (again!) this year.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 5:46 PM on September 10, 2010

My two favorite small-press items this year are Tom Neely's Henry & Glenn Forever, and Dustin Harbin's first compilation of his diary comics (just out from Koyama Press). Both right up my alley of weird.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 5:50 PM on September 10, 2010

Thanks for the link to Troop 142. I'll keep up with that one.
posted by vorfeed at 7:06 PM on September 10, 2010

Aw, I have a friend who's going to be there rocking her comics and being awesome. Wish I could be there to shower her and other worthies with lots and lots of money. Sounds like a good damn time.
posted by Neofelis at 8:00 PM on September 10, 2010

SPX is a lot of fun.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:02 PM on September 10, 2010

Wow, glad I'm not judging for the Ignatz this year. Tough decisions all around. By the way, if you're into Indie comics and you haven't heard it yet, the Indie Spinner Rack podcast is a great place to listen to goofy commentary. Sadly, they won't be at SPX, I don't think...
And in the interest of disclosure, I do occasionally appear on the show, so I won't directly link to it.
posted by causticgnostic at 9:27 PM on September 10, 2010

Oh hey, I'm going to this. It was decided a few hours ago. Pretty weird--Mr. WanKenobi's friend, who loves comix, was planning to come visit this Sunday. Then I got a random MeMail from a mefite I'd never spoken to before thanking me for advice on a random anonyme awhile back and giving me a head's up about this, since they noticed I was now in the area. I thought to myself that the mister's friend was coming later this weekend--but about ten minutes later, he texted to ask if he could come by early/we'd like to go with him. It was insanely random and strangely serendipitous.

Long story short, I'm gonna be there, though I know almost nothing about it except that the Hark! A Vagrant chick will be there. If you are too, MeMail me and we'll meet-up.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:51 PM on September 10, 2010

Hey! I'll be there, too! I'll keep an eye out for you, PhoB!
posted by Alt F4 at 11:34 PM on September 10, 2010

I'll be there on Sunday, I think. Yay!
posted by youcancallmeal at 12:38 AM on September 11, 2010

Awesome! I think we're going later today! Look for two dudes (a short guy with big hair and a taller dude in Weezer specs) and a chick with a big tattoo on her chest--I'll be wearing a brown two-toned vintage dress that my husband called "really loud" so I should be easy to spot.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:13 AM on September 11, 2010

Wow those are the most depressing outstanding online comics I could have imagined. Rambo 3.5 is insanely awesome, though.
posted by cmoj at 8:33 AM on September 11, 2010

The last couple of years, the lines for Kate Beaton have been longer than for anybody else there, and they wrap around the room. It is pretty crazy. People are nuts for the Beaton.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:40 AM on September 11, 2010

Don't miss Anthony Clark of Nedroid fame, either.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 3:00 PM on September 11, 2010

I wish I could be there! My book is actually nominated for 4 of the Ignatz awards! Just couldn't afford it this year. Good luck to all the nominees!
posted by Sully at 3:32 PM on September 11, 2010

It's my second year going. Went today, and I'm just not that into the subculture. Can someone tell me if Jaime Hernandez is always as inarticulate as he was at his Q&A today?
posted by Nomyte at 8:25 PM on September 11, 2010

I went today (Saturday) and it was lovely. I spent a lot of time chatting with my friend Carla Speed McNeil, who writes and draws Finder. She's selling all her books very cheaply at SPX! Believe me when I say they are beautiful, compelling and glorious.
posted by Pallas Athena at 10:09 PM on September 11, 2010

Sully, why no website? I'd love to see your stuff.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:30 PM on September 11, 2010

It's a fun show. My boyfriend drove down to pick me up at the end of my book tour in 2006 and we went with kittens for breakfast -- I had a great time picking out all the handknits on the floor, thus permanently proving my theory that comic book people have a tendency to date knitters.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 8:56 AM on September 12, 2010

I am a longtime volunteer at SPX & this year was incredible. (I, uh, had too much fun last night and went home early. Also: Out of money.) All the exhibitors seemed to be having fun and selling lots of stuff and everyone was just in a delightful mood. Good show & good people all around.

(I was very much off the Internet this weekend so I didn't see this until now. I would've told people to come say hi if I had.)
posted by darksong at 12:38 PM on September 12, 2010

ZEE WINNAIRS!!!

OUTSTANDING ONLINE COMIC
* Troop 142, Mike Dawson

OUTSTANDING MINI-COMIC
* Rambo 3.5, Jim Rugg

OUTSTANDING STORY
* Monsters, Ken Dahl

OUTSTANDING ANTHOLOGY OR COLLECTION
* Masterpiece Comics, R. Sikoryak

OUTSTANDING GRAPHIC NOVEL
* Market Day, James Sturm

OUTSTANDING SERIES
* Ganges, Kevin Huizenga

OUTSTANDING COMIC
* I Want You, Lisa Hanawalt

PROMISING NEW TALENT
* Matt Wiegle, The Orphan Baiter, Papercutter #13

OUTSTANDING ARTIST
* Eddie Campbell, Alec: The Years Have Pants (A Life-Sized Omnibus)
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 6:37 PM on September 12, 2010 [1 favorite]