STAPLE!
Encyclopedia
STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo is an annual convention
in Austin, Texas
, United States
, for alternative comics
, minicomic
s, webcomic
s, zine
s, underground comics
, and graphic arts
. Chris Nicholas founded the conference as a gathering place for professional artists and amateur creators, "a showcase for the folks who publish comics and zines and possible literary masterworks out of their own apartments."
Guests at the 2005 convention included Shannon Wheeler
, Scott Kurtz, Terry Moore
, and Michael Lark
. Guests at the 2006 convention include Tony Millionaire
, Jim Mahfood
, Dave Crosland, David Hopkins
, and winners of the Xeric grant for comic book self-publishers.
Guests at the 2007 convention include Dean Haspiel
, Brian Keene
, and Danielle Corsetto. Returning are Jim Mahfood
, Dave Crosland, and David Hopkins
. 2007 will also mark the first Independent Animation Panel at STAPLE!
The show is sponsored by Austin Books, an Eisner
-nominated comic book store and the site of the largest gathering of artists for the worldwide 24-Hour Comics Day
held in 2005.
Convention (meeting)
A convention, in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of individuals who meet at an arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. The most common conventions are based upon industry, profession, and fandom...
in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, for alternative comics
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
, minicomic
Minicomic
A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term "small press comic" is equivalent with minicomic reserved for those publications measuring A6 or less...
s, webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
s, zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
s, underground comics
Underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
, and graphic arts
Graphic arts
A type of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of art forms. Graphic art is typically two-dimensional and includes calligraphy, photography, drawing, painting, printmaking, lithography, typography, serigraphy , and bindery. Graphic art also consists of drawn plans and layouts for interior...
. Chris Nicholas founded the conference as a gathering place for professional artists and amateur creators, "a showcase for the folks who publish comics and zines and possible literary masterworks out of their own apartments."
Guests at the 2005 convention included Shannon Wheeler
Shannon Wheeler
Shannon Wheeler is an American cartoonist best known for creating the satirical superhero Too Much Coffee Man, and as a cartoonist for The New Yorker.-Career:...
, Scott Kurtz, Terry Moore
Terry Moore (comics)
Terry Moore is a comic book author, graphic novelist and illustrator.He created the popular series Strangers in Paradise, and was involved in the founding of Homage Comics.-Biography:...
, and Michael Lark
Michael Lark
Michael Lark is an American comics artist.Lark has provided pencils for DC Comics' Batman, Terminal City, Gotham Central and Legend of the Hawkman. His work for Marvel Comics includes The Pulse and Captain America...
. Guests at the 2006 convention include Tony Millionaire
Tony Millionaire
Tony Millionaire is an American cartoonist, illustrator and author known for his syndicated comic strip Maakies and the Sock Monkey series of comics and picture books.-Early life:...
, Jim Mahfood
Jim Mahfood
Jim Mahfood , a.k.a. Food One, is an American comic book creator.Apart from his creator-owned comic book series Grrl Scouts and his comic strip Stupid Comics he also did work for Marvel Comics on various Spider-Man titles, including Ultimate Marvel Team-Up and Spectacular...
, Dave Crosland, David Hopkins
David Hopkins (writer)
David Hopkins is an American comic book writer and essayist. His works include Karma Incorporated and Emily Edison from publisher Viper Comics, Astronaut Dad, and a comic book adaptation of Antigone with frequent collaborator artist Tom Kurzanski. He writes a regular comic feature for D Magazine...
, and winners of the Xeric grant for comic book self-publishers.
Guests at the 2007 convention include Dean Haspiel
Dean Haspiel
Dean Edmund Haspiel is an American comic book artist. He is known for his collaborations with writer Harvey Pekar on his American Splendor series as well as the graphic novel The Quitter. He has been nominated for numerous Eisner Awards, and won a 2010 Emmy Award for TV design work.-Early...
, Brian Keene
Brian Keene
Brian Keene is an American author, primarily of horror, crime fiction, and comic books. He has won two Bram Stoker Awards.- Background :Keene was born in 1967. He grew up in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and many of his books take place in these locales. After graduating high school, he...
, and Danielle Corsetto. Returning are Jim Mahfood
Jim Mahfood
Jim Mahfood , a.k.a. Food One, is an American comic book creator.Apart from his creator-owned comic book series Grrl Scouts and his comic strip Stupid Comics he also did work for Marvel Comics on various Spider-Man titles, including Ultimate Marvel Team-Up and Spectacular...
, Dave Crosland, and David Hopkins
David Hopkins (writer)
David Hopkins is an American comic book writer and essayist. His works include Karma Incorporated and Emily Edison from publisher Viper Comics, Astronaut Dad, and a comic book adaptation of Antigone with frequent collaborator artist Tom Kurzanski. He writes a regular comic feature for D Magazine...
. 2007 will also mark the first Independent Animation Panel at STAPLE!
The show is sponsored by Austin Books, an Eisner
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
-nominated comic book store and the site of the largest gathering of artists for the worldwide 24-Hour Comics Day
24-hour comic
A 24-hour comic is a 24-page comic book written, drawn, and completed in 24 hours. Scott McCloud originally came up with the challenge for himself and Steve Bissette as a creative exercise...
held in 2005.
Event dates and locations
- March 6, 2010: Monarch Event Center, Austin, Texas
- March 7, 2009: Monarch Event Center, Austin, Texas
- March 1, 2008: Monarch Event Center, Austin, Texas
- March 3, 2007: Red Oak Ballroom, Austin, Texas
- March 4, 2006: Red Oak Ballroom, Austin, Texas
- March 5, 2005: BPOE #201, Austin, Texas
See also
- Alternative Press ExpoAlternative Press ExpoThe Alternative Press Expo or APE, as it is more commonly known, is a comics convention. It was founded in 1994 by Dan Vado as an event for self-publishers, independent publishers and alternative cartoonists to showcase their books. It was originally held in San Jose, California. Comic-Con...
- Comic Art ConventionComic Art ConventionThe Comic Art Convention was an American comic-book fan convention held annually New York City, New York, over Independence Day weekend from 1968 through 1983, except for 1977, when it was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and 1978 to 1979, when it was held concurrently in New York and Philadelphia...
- Comic-Con InternationalComic-Con InternationalSan Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
- WonderConWonderConWonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and motion picture convention, held in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1987.The convention was conceived by retailer John Barrett and originally held in the Oakland Convention Center, where it remained until 2003, when it moved to San...