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Setting Up In Columbus, Ohio

February 29th, 2008, 5:00 PM - We are t-minus one to the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo and Comic Related has wandered 3.5 hours north of it's usual base of operations arriving in Columbus just before lunch today. We've set up shop just down the road from the Aladdin Shrine Center. Even though tomorrow is the official start of S.P.A.C.E. , we came up a day early to scope out the lay of the land, check out the pre-show party at Monkey's Retreat and see what we could see as S.P.A.C.E. takes shape.

While traveling north, the good folks at Alterna Comic (www.alternacomics.com) e-mailed us to let us know that they're looking forward to meeting everyone at S.P.A.C.E. Representing the company at the show will be:

Peter Simeti (The Chair/Spectrum/Publisher at Alterna)
Michael Bracco (Birth/Novo/Jesus Hates Zombies)
Stephen Lindsay (Jesus Hates Zombies)
Lauren Monardo (Jesus Hates Zombies)
Mike Bartolotta (Jesus Hates Zombies)

Alterna Comics is just one of over 150 participants sharing work in this weekend's show.

In anticipation of this weekend's show, here's some past promotional S.P.A.C.E. art to enjoy...

SPACE

Checking out the Aladdin Shrine Center

February 29th, 2008, 7:03 PM - As is a bit of a tradition for our event and convention coverage, we enjoy getting there a day or so early, checking out the facilities and seeing if any set-up is taking place. For S.P.A.C.E. we made no exception. I headed over to the Aladdin Shrine Center (pictured above) a short bit ago and made my way inside.

First and foremost, I like to know where I'm going if I haven't been somewhere before, plus I'm always curious to see what's taking place prior to the actual event. Unless the attendees at this gathering are all in the later quarter of their life and find themselves sporting Shriner fez, it's safe to say that S.P.A.C.E. will take shape starting late tonight and early tomorrow.

Speaking with an informative fellow at the front of the Center (also sporting a fez), the multipurpose room where S.P.A.C.E. is set to take place is hosting a Shriners meeting and dinner this evening. I made my way back and took a look at the room bumping into some of the attendees of the Center while I was there. They plan to tear down the party and start setting up the facility for tomorrow's event later tonight.

A Bit of Parking Advice

If this is your first first time attending space, as you enter the parking lot you will be facing the front of the Center (which is pictured above). Just hang a left and head toward the back of the packing lot looking for this entrance...

The event is taking place in the Multipurpose Room and this may save you a few steps over entering through the front of the Aladdin Shrine Center.

We'll be back...

If you find yourself up late tonight, be sure to check back here at Comic Related. We're going to make our way over to the Monkey's Retreat garthering in about an hour to check out the PANEL pre-party taking place there. If you're in town tonight, here are the details...

Friday, February 29th – Monkey’s Retreat
1202 North High Street, Columbus, OH / 8– 11 p.m. / Map

Join us for an art show and mixer at Monkey’s Retreat in Columbus’ Short North area. Monkey’s Retreat has been Columbus's best source of underground comix, art books, martial arts supplies and more since 1975 – a perfect match for SPACE. We’ll have a keg, but once that’s cashed there are several cool bars and clubs within walking distance.

Check back later as we'll be sharing all the details from tonight's event before calling it a day.

SPACE

The First of Two Nights of Revelry Sponsored By the PANEL Collective

February 29th, 2008, 11:56 PM - As the hours tick down to the doors opening for day one of S.P.A.C.E., creators and friends of the event gathered at Monkey's Retreat (a local, long standing, indie friendly, Columbus comic and martial arts institution) to reconnect, share a beer and celebrate the start of this year's show.

PANEL, a Columbus, Ohio comic creators collaborative, shared an art show in the back of the room (conveniently located next to the keg) and an informal banner art jam took place in the center room as everyone gathered, shared stories and caught up.

Here are a mix of images from the evening....

Full coverage of Day One of S.P.A.C.E. coming tomorrow!

SPACE

More photos from Friday Night's PANEL Sponsored Monkey's Retreat Party!

March 1st, 2008 - This set of photos from last night's pre-convention party come to us via the quick camera work of Max Ink. We invitie you to check out his comic work here right after you check out his photos below...

Thanks Max for sharing these great shots!

SPACE

S.P.A.C.E. Begins ... Our first photo update!

March 1st, 2008, 12:21 PM - We'll return this evening with more photos and a full recap from day one, but we thought we would kick off today's updates with some early photos from the event. Enjoy!

Troy Gillogy creator of Snuffy the Vampire
Rabbit and Wild Breed

Steve Peters of Awakening Comics
and comic legend Dave Sim

Much more coverage to come!

Unveiling Secret Project One... Dave Sim's Judenhass

March 1st, 2008, 7:27 PM - Dave Sim began work on Judenhass in the winter of '05 when he realized how affected he had been by the sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. He labored over it for two and a half years, determined not to release it until it was as good as he could make it.

Sim explains, "Glamourpuss was really just a way of keeping my hands and mind occupied while Lou Copeland, my technical director, did all of the meticulous computer paste-ups based on my photocopied approximations of what the finished pages should look like. I'm very conscious of the danger of "commercializing" the Shoah, which is the reason Judenhass isn't going to be promoted but, rather, just released in May of this year (the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel)."

Because Dave Sim considered S.P.A.C.E. to be "probably the least commercialized venue I know of in the comic book field", he chose to exhibit some of the Judenhass artwork here. He explains, "It's the only place the artwork will be displayed unless a Holocaust Museum or the Simon Wiesenthal Center expressed an interest."

With permission, we are honored to share a low resolution glimpse at this significant and very moving artwork. Staged at the back of the S.P.A.C.E. floor and placed out of direct view of convention visitors, the display was open to the public today and will also be featured tomorrow.

Learn more about the project by visiting judenhass.com.

Day One - Saturday at S.P.A.C.E.

March 1st, 2008, Chuck Moore reporting, 9:58 PM - My last visit to Columbus, Ohio was for Mid-Ohio-Con back in November. During that show, I was honestly stuck by the depth and quality of the small, independent and individual press titles represented by this area. There is a thriving comic creator community here in Columbus (well represented by groups such as PANEL and Sunday Comix). Little did I know that, when it came to independent comics, I hadn't seen anything yet...

S.P.A.C.E. is nothing short of a pleasurable maelstrom of comic creativity filled with a unique mix of creator goodness. Day one at S.P.A.C.E. left my head spinning, not just from the quantity of work represented at this show, but the quality. Personally, I left with two sizable stacks of comics which I'm really looking forward to reading (and in many cases reviewing). From table to table, it was one title after another that caught my eye and, being a vendor free show, it was a chance for indie comics and the sale of those titles to take center stage. The creators rose to that challenge and delivered!

There were two featured events within today's activities. The first was the big unveil of Dave Sim's Judenhass and the second was the naming of the 2007 Howard E. Day Memorial Prize.

I am pleased to report that Dave Sim's Judenhass is a masterwork presentation. Earlier this evening my site unveiled a peek at this very personal and memorable portrayal of the holocaust. The art is staggeringly good in it's photo realistic quality and this unveil is presented in such a way that it felt both private and respectful of the serious nature of the subject matter. The panels themselves are unflinching in their portrayal of the subject matter and took me back, very quickly, to memories of my own visit to the holocaust museum in Washington, DC, an experience which one cannot and should not forget. Judenhass promises to be a ground breaking work and is certainly a series which should be read.

Changing gears to a matter which deserves joyful celebration, the 2007 Howard E. Day Memorial Prize was awarded to Matt and Carol Dembicki of Little Foot Comics in Fairfax, Virginia for their book Mr. Big.

Coming in at 160 pages in black and white, Mr. Big is the story of a watery world where only the strong survive. The denizens of a pond launch a plan to eradicate Mr. Big, a giant snapping turtle that is terrorizing them. Despite a few protests warning of the possible consequences, the animals solicit the support of a murder of crows to carry out the plot. But the scheming crows have their own motives to carry out the kill and things don't always go as expected. You can learn more about Little Foot Comics by visiting them on the web at www.littlefootcomics.com.

Throughout the day, three S.P.A.C.E. panels took place including the presentation of the Day Prize award, a comics classroom focused on "From Kids to College to the Community" and one, quite ambitiously, focused on "The History of Comics".

I attended the third panel (The History of Comics) hosted by Sue Lense and Russell Merritt. Despite some technical problems which prevented Sue from sharing her slides, she did a great job looking at the origins art and printmaking taking participants right up to the initial creation of comics. Russell Merrit stepped in at that point and hit an absolute home run walking those in attendance through the high points of comic history. To sum up such a vast subject in the space of an hour was an accomplishment which deserved the applause the panel received at the end.

How did I spend my day? Primarily, today I focused on meeting people and taking photos. I have to admit that I would be hard pressed to think of a better way to spend a day With only a thirty minute break for lunch and a short stop to post photos around noon, I spent today moving from table to table talking to creators and letting them tell me the stories of their series. There are A LOT of stories to share and working diligently, I would say I was only able to visit about two thirds of the creators represented at the show. I'm really glad it's a two day event!

Tomorrow, I hope to nail down a few audio interviews for use with my upcoming podcast launch (coming March 28th). As for all those creator stories gathered today, tomorrow night's wrap-up will feature a full rundown of the creators and projects which caught my attention so please be sure to check back for all the great titles, interesting stories and site links!

I'm going to venture out and hit a couple parties taking place this evening, but I'll be back in an hour or two with another gallery of photos from Saturday at S.P.A.C.E. As always here at Comic Related, there is MUCH MORE to come.

More photos from Saturday at S.P.A.C.E.


Open...	... jam ...	...session


Sarah Hebblethwaite FarLight Saga Ethos	Clint Basinger Cosmic Moustache Comics

Steve Hamaker Fish N Chips	Pat Lewis The Claws Come Out

Jeremy Massie The Deadbeat	Aaron Shively Erramt Studios

Kenn Minter The Experts	Bill Gladman and Joe Shover Zonetrooper Magazine

Nathan Bonner Indavo	Dave Sim chats with Mix Ink Blink

Lauren Monardo shows pages from Ham & Eggs	Tony Miello Gappo the Clown, Mr. Happy Pants

Walking Around the Convention Floor at S.P.A.C.E.


Peter Simeti and Stephen Lindsay Alterna Comics	Ed Piskor Wizzywig and Macedonia

J. Kevin Carrier Fantasy Theater	Dave Sim Glamourpuss and Judenhass

Oh, Comics!	Errant Studios

Filling the aisles...	...at S.P.A.C.E.

Mike Watson Freestyle Komics	Dave Sim talks with fans

Kurt Dinse One Year in Indiana	Joseph Morris SDF

Josh Johnson Spindletons	Ren McKinzie R Squared

Russell Merrit Banshuwa Studio	Jade and Michael Corle and Pat McNutt 0Backbone Productions

John Clellan Sargent Death	Liam Kemp Fatalysia

Twenty New Photos From Sunday at S.P.A.C.E.


Nate Powell Sounds Of Your Name	Kathy Peterson Kidnapped By Gnomes

Larry Blake Rock Bottom Comics	A look at the S.P.A.C.E show floor

Tom Scioli's Myth of 8-Opus	Filming the documentary of the comic career of Stephen Lindsay

More scenes from the...	...show floor of S.P.A.C.E.

Bodega Distribution	David Branstetter Straw Man

A scene from the On-Line Comics panel	Day Prize Winner Matt Dembicki Mr. Big

Michael Neno Reactionary Tales	Michael Bracco Birth and Nova

Justin Madson Breathers	Andrea "Sam" McEnaney The Adventures of Chad Cleanly

Creator meeting at...	...Alterna Comics

S.P.A.C.E. proves a great way...	...to spend a weekend enjoying comics!

Day Two - Sunday at S.P.A.C.E.

March 2nd, 2008, Chuck Moore reporting - I'm going to lead off tonight's update with great news from event coordinator Bob Corby...

Save these dates ... April 18-19, 2009

The official dates for the ninth annual Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo are set!

Crowds were a bit lighter on Sunday, but the intermingling of creators and projects made for a utterly fun day here in Columbus. As someone who visited S.P.A.C.E. purely to take in the show and sample the books offered, I had a great time this weekend meeting and talking with creators. The books I'm taking home will keep me reading and reviewing, quite happily for the next few weeks (and in the case of reviews... months).

In yesterday's update, I shared the details of the 2007 Day Prize winner. Being a bit curious about the history of this award, I learned that it is Dave Sim who actually judges and awards the Howard Eugene Day Memorial Award each year. The award is named in honor of Gene Day, Sim's mentor in his early years in comics.

Entries are submitted by the exhibitors of that show with the nominees and winner chosen by Sim. Awards are presented the following year. Recipients of the Day Prize receive a commemorative plaque, a check for five hundred dollars and, as I learned today, a pretty solid boost in their weekend sales for the title. I can attest to this fact as I left with a copy of Mr. Big (the newest Day Prize winner) in hand and it looks amazing.

Through the day there were panels dedicated to on-line comics, story development for artist and writers and a look at anthologies. There was also a special panel dedicated to APA organizations like the United Fanzine Organization (UFO), the Small Press Syndicate (SPS) and the Small Press Association (SPA). At 2:00 PM, Steve Peters took center stage performing songs from his Paradox comic book soundtrack CD. A solid mix of programming!

Speaking of solid programming, I'm going to give our own upcoming podcast a plug and let you know that I firmed up programming for that first show today. It will have a S.P.A.C.E. focus as I spoke with fourteen creators letting them tell the story of their titles running audio the whole time. That audio will be part of the March 28th podcast launch!

Okay, let's get down to the creators and their titles...

In thinking about how to put together tonight's final update from the show, it became clear to me that there is no easy way to tell all the stories I encountered this weekend. I ran into quite a mix of titles and creators. As a way of honoring many of those comics, I'm going to run through some of the books I I found interesting...

In no particular order whatsoever...

Breathers by Justin Madson (www.justmadbooks.com) - A very interesting murder mystery set in a world where it is no longer safe to breathe the outside air without a respiratory filtering device.

Mr. Big by Carol and Matt Dembicki (www.littlefootcomics.com) - A watery world where only the strong survive, the denizens of a pond launch a plan to eradicate Mr. Big, a giant snapping turtle that is terrorizing them.

Sounds of Your Name by Nate Powell (www.microcosmpublishing.com) - A collection of Nate's zines and comics, including his first two books, Tiny Giants and It Disappears. A smorgasbord of a graphic novel!

Lackluster World by Eric Adams (www.lacklusterworld.com) - At Fahrenheit's own birthday party, his aggressively fundamentalist brother and sister thrust him past his limits of social tolerance and he loses patience for the lackluster world.

Slam Bang #3 edited by Alan Freeman (www.fanaticpress.com) - Mostly true stories by such creators as Mark Martin, Brad Foster, Tim Corrigan, Mark Monlux, Max Ink, Clint Basinger, Chris Moshier, Roberta Gregory, Jim Siergey, Chad Lambert, Steve Keeter, Larry Blake and many more!

Macedonia by Harvey Pekar (www.harveypekar.com) as taken from the text of Heather Roberson and illustrated by Ed Piskor (www.edpiskor.com) - What does it take to stop a war?

The Amazing Cynicalman by Matt Feazell (www.cynicalman.com) - A great 150-page, squarebound collection of the entire Cynicalman Weekly series, 1997-2002.

Indavo Vol. 1 by Nathan Bonner (indavo.comicgenesis.com) - 212 pages, color cover, black & white interior pages. This volume contains Chapters 1 - 13 of Indavo, collecting all of the Grayscale period into one volume.

Fish N Chips Vol. 1 by Steve Hamaker (www.steve-hamaker.com) - One fish, two cats and three gallons of water. To save the future of Solomon City, three heroes will come together to fight the Vampyre underground.

The Claws Come Out by Pat Lewis (www.lunchbreakcomics.com) - An apathetic scientist works late defrosting the Abominable Snowman. A naive blood donor dates a rageaholic vampire. A two-bit fortune teller inadvertently sparks a zombie epidemic. And it's all played for laughs.

Birth by Michael Bracco (www.alternacomics.com and thebirthofnovo.com) - Two doomed alien species, the Aquans and the Terans, are at the brink of extinction. Their only solace is in placing blame on each other for their own evolutionary shortcomings.

The Comic Eye edited by Mark Innes (www.markinnes.com) - 50 biographical and fictional comic strips by 50 talented comic makers!

The Experts by Kenn Minter (expertscomic.blogspot.com) - Six heroes have been chosen to fulfill certain demographic appeal. Though, more importantly, they have been selected for their availability and willingness to work cheap.

The DeadBeat by Jeremy Massie (massieisadeadbeat.blogspot.com) - A superhero comics that's more about the life and friendships of the hero.

The Spindletons by Josh Johnson (www.spindletons.com) - A story which plants the seed of mystery surrounding the Spindletons family.

Blink by Max Ink (avltheatre.info/MaxBlog/) - Max's series telling the story of Blink and Sam (a personal favorite of mine and I was excited to find two mini-comics I had not seen before tonight).

Snuffy The Vampire Rabbit by Troy Gillogly (www.comicspace.com/seagoat/) - Snuffy, a hit-man for the mob has it out with a vampire and becomes a bit of a victim himself.

Random Goodness by Andrea McEnaney (www.webcomicsnation.com/scarlettermite/index.php) - Great cartoons from Andrea and Scarlet Termite Press

Morbid Myths #3 from Alterna Comics (www.alternacomics.com and www.hardwaystudios.com) - Job, the collector of the morbid, returns with three new myths!

Fatalysia by Liam Kemp (www.fatalysia.com) - The adventures of Susan and Christan, best friends who live in a small village in an imaginary time. Susan escapes her abusive home life by secretly spending time with a scarecrow she meets on the other side of the forest.

Get Bent! by Ben Steckler (www.geocities.com/bent4toons/) - Straight humor with a pop culture twist.

B-36 by Pam Bliss (www.paradisevalleycomics.com) - Those Kids!, Radiation Man, The Travelling Travelall, and Much More!

Jesus Hates Zombies created by Stephen Lindsay (www.alternacomics.com and www.captionsandballoons.com) - the J-Man is looking to unleash some Wrath of God, because this time... Jesus Hates Zombies!

Zonetrooper Magazine by Joe Shover and Bill Gladman (www.zonetrooper.com) - You'll just have to visit the site for this magazine. These guys have a ton of things in motion!

The Slightly Askew Adventures of Inspector Ham & Eggs by Lauren Monardo and Stephen Lindsay (www.captionsandballoons.com/hamneggs.html) - A great new web comic.

Break The line by Knifley (www.breakthelinecomics.com) - Tyler Cade and Akulina Volkova taking care of some clients, but they both have a different idea of what that means.

Wild Breed by Troy Gillogly (www.comicspace.com/seagoat/) - A mid-evil epic tale of adventure.

Glass Eye edited by Mark Innes (www.markinnes.com) - 44 pages of romance and comic strips

The Serial Squad by Paul E. Schultz (www.badplaceproductions.com) - World War Two just became a two-world war! Secret decoder ring sold separately.

Oh, Comics! by Bob Corby (www.backporchcomics.com) - A great anthology! Be sure to check out Bob's Big Ear's and Flat Feet, Untitled and Bunny Blues for more comic goodness.

Woodboy by Dave Watt (www.badplaceproductions.com) - Witnessing the hatching bird made Woodboy curious of his own family and where he had come from. This is the start of the story.

Runner's Paradox by Steve Peters (www.awakeningcomics.com) - Conceived as a companion for Peter's Paradox CD, this tale tells the story behind the songs, which chronicle a turbulent period in the author's life.

Chad The Fat Kid by Erik Hodson (www.drunkduck.com/Chad_the_Fat_Kid/) - A great looking web comic I plan to check out after meeting Erik

Gulatta! by Joseph Morris (www.torcpress.com) - An all ages super hero style series

Coeus by Errant Studios Digital (fear-is-spreading.deviantart.com) - If you dare to enter the lab, you may find something more dangerous, more frightening, yet more human than anything you've known before.

Gapo the Clown and Mr. Happy Pants by Tony Miello (www.gapotheclown.com) - Gapo the Clown is the host of Gapo's Super Happy Fun Show, a top rated children's television program. He was hired to host the show by blackmailing its producer.

Fantasy Theater by J. Kevin Carrier (members.aol.com/fantasytheater/) - The mini-comic anthology of action and adventure.

Inter-Fan Productions (www.inter-fan.org) - Comic Fandom at it's best!

Ferret Press (www.ferretpress.com) - Loaded with solid comic content that I didn't get to spend enough time exploring this weekend. Thankfully I'll get a second chance at Gem City Con!

Hamtramck Idea Men (idea-men.us) - George McVey and Michael Marcus, creators of independent comic books, games, fine art, movies, and much more.

Obackbone Productions (0backboneproductions.com) - Featuring the titles Kuma, Odd Jobs, The Warren and The Bizzare Expeditions of Makaveli Hammertoe.

Bashuwa Studio (www.banshuwaart.bravehost.com) - Amazing Asian Art, Sumi-e and comic art.

I can't cover everyone as I couldn't make it to every table over the course of two days. I mean no slight to those not mentioned here. These are simply the titles which caught my eye and the links to their associated websites where you can learn more. All links presented here will also be incorporated into our links page later this week.

What an outstanding show! I would like to close out this year's coverage with a word of thanks to event organizer Bob Corby. Thank you for making me and my website feel welcome at your show. I'm certainly looking forward to returning and covering S.P.A.C.E. 2009!