SPX in spirit only

vogeleinComix, D'oh!

This post brings some sad news for me. Earlier this year, I was invited to show at SPX 2015, which is a huge honor. For those of you who don’t know, SPX is such an important show for indie comics creators, with tables in such high demand, that they have had to move to a lottery system to determine who can display. A lucky few who have exhibited there several times– and who are considered important within the indie comics community — get invited to display ahead of the lottery. I was blessed enough to be included in this group, and it was with great sorrow that I had to postpone my invitation to a later year.

I’m going through some family issues that require a lot of my attention at the moment, and which are preventing me from giving my comics the attention, energy, and focus that they deserve. If I went, I would only be able to bring the same exact items I brought last year, and I felt that was unfair to other up-and-coming creators trying to break into the scene with new, exciting work. I’ll keep making comics when and where I can this summer, and my hope is to attend the show and help out friends at their booths.

It will be amazing to finally be able to walk the floor at a leisurely pace, finding new creators and having conversations, rather than trying to see the entire show during my lightning dashes to the bathroom. I’m also looking forward to attending all sorts of panels — seeing Lynda Barry last year was such a highlight — because I always feel too guilty to go when I’m manning my own table.

Hope to still see you all this year at SPX — though as a fellow attendee, not as an exhibitor.