SPX Spotlight 2024: Some Cool Creators to See

 

Welcome to another edition of our 2024 SPX Spotlight! You can find all of our spotlights over the years here. It's some of the work I'm most proud of as a site. This is where we feature some aspect of the Small Press Expo, coming your way September 14th and 15th, 2024 in Bethesda, Maryland. No one from Panel Patter will be there this year, but if you're able and like the kinds of comics Panel Patter features, you owe it to yourself to go to the show. Trust me, you won't regret it!

Today's Spotlight is on some of the many, many cool people who will be exhibiting at the show. Like my debut books feature yesterday, which only scratched the surface, there is no way in hell I'll get to everyone you should check out at the show. So I set up 2 rules of this: 1) Anyone I featured yesterday, I'm omitting because I already talked about them and 2) I'm going to roll a d10 for which page I go to after page 1 and keep going until I run out of steam, so that I'm not hurting folks at the end of the alphabet.*

After the jump, we'll get started!

Josh Bayer

Josh, an Ignatz Nominee, is the person who taught me to love the genre of "raw" comics, where illustrations are more about the emotional power of the visual instead of the technical artistry. I struggled with the idea for years until I encountered Suspect Device and Raw Power, an amazing anthology and solo series, respectively. Bayer's storytelling is amazing, able to give us creations with emotions as brutal as the lines that create them. If you've ever wanted to experiment with this genre of comics, Bayer is a great place to start. He's also amazing at promoting the work of others, so I'm happy to promote him in turn.

Jonathan Bayliss

I mentioned Jonathan yesterday but didn't feature him, so I'll do that here! Bayliss, who's done so many things in his life, including being a part of Valiant during one of its blow ups, keeps a one-man writing anthology called So Buttons, which is now on its 14th edition. Bayliss enlists an amazing group of artist collaborators for his work, which has included Noah Van Sciver, Fred Hembeck, Becky Hawkins, Josh Bayer, and many more. Each issue features several short stories about different times in Bayliss's life, which keeps things varied. He picks just the right artist for each one, too. The newest issue is a murder's row of folks we've featured: Marinaomi has the cover, with stories drawn by Box Brown and Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg. If you haven't read So Buttons yet, now's a great time to start!

Anders Nilsen

A three-time recipient of the coveted Ignatz Brick and a nominee again this year, Anders' line work is immediately distinctive and eye-catching. I remember discovering him in an anthology (maybe one of Fantagraphics' from the late 2000s?) and immediately trying to find his other comics, because they were just so original to my eye. Clearly inspired by European comics in terms of intricate detailing and willingness to use openness in his panel creation, Nilsen's art deserves a lingering eye -and your attention this coming weekend. 

Kelly Phillips

I mentioned Kelly in my post noting I'd be doing Spotlights again, and could not remember for the life of me the name of her co-edited anthology, which was Dirty Diamonds. I am pretty sure I still have the whole run. Kelly's love of Weird Al knows no bounds, and her Weird Me is one of my all-time favorite memoirs. She even got to do the cover for his recent biography. She's also big into cats, and well, that's  winner for me, too. Her newest is Catalog Volume 4, part of an ongoing chronical of the cats that have graced her presence. Cats and comics go great together and Kelly's comics will go great in your collection.

François Vigneault

I don't remember when I first encountered Francois, but I do know I was reading Titan back in single issues before it got a great collection by Oni Press. Also one of the creators of Oni's Orcs in Space, Francois does a great job of placing ordinary people in science fiction settings and mixing drama with the trappings of the genre. I also love his use of color on Titan, which helps really keep the reader off-balance as the danger increases for the characters. Orcs is a different style, but also a lot of fun. If you like your sci fi quirky, look no further.

Andrew White

I couldn't find a picture for Andrew, so you get a sample of his illustration style. Andrew often works in what I believe is called "poetry comics" where the art and text are designed to evoke the feel of prose poetry. It's hard to show that style in a post like this, but there are examples of my reviewing the genre on the site. White is one of the best at this style of art, and I love reading his books when I have the opportunity. I don't think a lot of people are familiar with the idea, but you can do so much with a minimal approach, manipulating the text and images in ways that prose poetry alone just can't match. This is what comics are when they're at their best - doing something unique. Make sure you stop by White's table to get a feel for this in person.

*My D&D group is on infinite hiatus. Bear with me as I make up blatant excuses to use my dice.