Comic show season is well underway! This weekend, if you're closer to Columbus, Ohio than I am, you should go to SPACE on April 21st and 22nd, from 10 to 6 on Saturday and 11-5 on Sunday. I've wanted to go to this show for years, but have been unable to do so for various reasons. Maybe the stars will align some day but until then, those of you nearby should go. Here are some of the people exhibiting this year that I think you should check out, in more or less alphabetical order. The complete list of exhibitors is here.
A lot of comic folks are more wrestling-inclined than I am, so if you're of a mind, definitely check out Troy-Jeffery Allen and Jay Payne, who together work on Bamn, a comic featuring a fading wrestler and a young group of kids with a lot to learn.
If you like music and comics and some nice homages to older anthologies, Ken Eppstein is your man. He should even have a comic to corrupt your children with, too.
Another new favorite of mine, Max Ink, will also be there, showing off the first of several new Blink collections he's putting together, Wonka Wonka Kochalka.
Those of you who are a fan of the site Geektress should stop by and see one of their number, Brenda Kirk, and be sure to commiserate with her on the site's recent virus issues. (Hope you all are back up soon!)
Fresh off their Brooklyn Zine Fest appearance, Sara Lindo, Steve Seck, and Morgan Pielli are all at SPACE as well. Sara has a variety of excellent comics, Steve works on a series with a flawed cast and seriously messed up plots, and Morgan has an anthology that reminds me of the best of writers like Bradbury. All three are friends of mine and I love finding out they have new work to read!
John Porcellino is a favorite of Erica's, and one of those creators who strides across the zine/mini-comic divide, and even has had his work collected by Drawn and Quarterly. Porcellino's King Cat diary comic has been running for an eternity, and doesn't even need a numbering reboot.
Nate Powell is also notable in both zines and comics, and is really coming into his own, even working with other writers now for publishers such as First Second, along with his own books for Top Shelf.
RAFER ROBERTS paid me to make his name bigger than anyone else's. (Not really but he's welcome to tip.) He's the brains behind the long-running Plastic Farm comic, as well as a contributor to all sorts of fun comics projects, including Magic Bullet, House of Twelve, and the New York Times Best-Selling FUBAR 2. I'm happy to call Rafer a friend as well, but even if he was a jerk, he'd still make some of the best indie horror comics around that you need to pick up.
If you're a fan of Kirby homages, you might already know Tom Scioli, who I think is the best at using Kirby's techniques, doing it even better than Larsen and Giffen, and those two are pretty good at it. He's got a new book, American Barbarian, and might have a few of his other projects around as well.
Those are just a few of the many great people you can meet at SPACE this year. I hope you go, check out these creators, and find some favorites of your own. Enjoy the show!