A comics mecca

In 2004, a small group of comic creators banded together to put on a small comics convention. Held in The Old Church, the Stumptown Comics Fest distinguished itself from other comic book shows in the area with its focus on comic artists, rather than publishers and dealers.

Now in its sixth year, the annual show has shifted venues three times (from the Smith Memorial Ballroom to the Convention Center, to its current location at the Lloyd Center Doubletree) and ballooned in size. A show that started with 22 tables and 150 attendees now has 180 exhibitors and expects over 2,000 visitors.

The fest features guest artists, as well as panels and workshops. Special guests this year include Craig Thompson, Jeff Smith, Farel Dalrymple, Jim Valentino, Gail Simone, Carla Speed McNeil, Keith Knight and C. Spike Trotman. Recent Portland transplant Chris Onstad will also be at the fest.

Panels are often Q-and-As with these guests. Smith, for example, will be discussing his influences, past work and future projects. His panel will be moderated by Charles Brownstein, executive director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Simone will have a similar panel moderated by Dark Horse editor Rachel Edidin.

Workshops are a more hands-on opportunity for people interested in working with comics. These draw from Portland’s deep pool of comic artists and entrepreneurs. Local artists Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Reklaw are featured in a workshop exploring how to script comics. Local business owners Dylan Williams (Sparkplug Comic Books/The Bad Apple), Theo Ellsworth (Capacity) and Jason Leivian will speak about the ins and outs of creating an artistic business.

Clearly, the fest has grown in both range and scope since its inception. It has since spawned a nonprofit organization, the Stumptown Comics Foundation, which works to organize the fest, as well as to promote comics in Portland in general. And it spurred the City of Portland to issue an official proclamation declaring April 2009 to be “Comics Month” for the second year in a row.

As the fest has grown, so has Portland’s reputation as a hotspot for comic creators.

“No one knows why Portland has become such a popular place for comic artists,” says Aaron Duran, marketing director for the Stumptown Comics Fest. “I think part of it is that since the mid-’90s, artists and writers, because of technology, no longer had to live in New York City to work for the big comics companies. They’d come to the West Coast, maybe to visit, and a lot of them decided to stay. You mix that sort of relocation of artists up with Portland’s existing DIY vibe, it creates a really welcoming space for the comics community.”
 
Duran also attributes Portland’s emerging clout to the increasing prominence of Portland comic book publishers, namely Dark Horse, Oni Press and Top Shelf.

“With Dark Horse, you have a big company that allows creators to maintain a lot of creative control over their work. It’s the same thing with Oni and Top Shelf—artists know that by working with one of those companies, that they don’t have to give up their babies to get publicity and support from a publishing company,” says Duran.

This culture of support has played into Portland’s status as an emerging comic mecca. It’s something that the comics fest has helped develop and, according to Duran, it’s a process that hasn’t even neared completion.

“When Stumptown invites an artist to come to the festival, it’s not like it’s just a little mid-size city in the Pacific Northwest,” he says. “We’ve got three publishers and a bunch of fantastic creators, so it becomes a big deal to come to this show. So it kind of steamrolls and becomes a bigger and bigger source of attention—it feeds on itself in a positive way.”