What is the Olympia Comics Festival
The Olympia Comics Festival is an all day celebration of comics held in the spring every year in Olympia, Washington. The festival is split into several segments, some of which are more appropriate for a general audience than others (regarding this, please see below). One of the goals is to expose the public to noteworthy cartoonists. To this end we invite several Guests of Honor who are experienced and noted practitioners of the field. We also invite many other cartoonists to participate in the expo and the panels. The festival is happy to promote the work of all small press cartoonists.
Note that The Olympia Comics Festival is NOT A COLLECTABLES CONVENTION! There are lots of other venues for that sort of thing. Our festival is an informal arts festival focusing on comics. We are also dedicated to the proposition that a comics event DOES NOT HAVE TO BE BORING! This here festival is chock-full 'o" goodness.
The festival consists of a stage-show, a cartoonists expo, panels, signings at Danger Room Comics, and the annual publication of the Olympia Anthology. The cartoonists expo and the panels will take place at The Vault (a few blocks away) beginning at Noon and lasting until 5:00 PM. The stage-show begins at 6:00 PM at the Capitol Theater in downtown Olympia, and lasts for two hours. Please check the schedule, the directions section, and see below for more information.
The new 2008 Danger Room t-shirts and the 2008 Olympia Comics Anthology will premier on the day of the festival. Past t-shirts have featured the work of Charles Burns, Owen Freeman, Gilbert Hernandez, Joe Sacco, and Craig Thompson. The Olympia anthology focuses on the work of cartoonists who live in or near Olympia.
The Olympia Comics Festival is sponsored by The Olympia Comics Foundation and is supported by Danger Room Comics.
Who are You?
If you are just mildly curious about the new comics then we recommend you check out the cartoonists expo. It”s absolutely free, and you can take as long or as little time as you want. The expo is a great opportunity for a couple or a family who wants to find something a little unusual to do for a while and see some work by local cartoonists. You could bring a couple dollars and take home a strange new addition for your coffee table. There might also be a panel you”d like to attend. The panels are also completely free.
If you”ve read a few examples of the new breed of comics (Maus, Blankets, Palestine, etc.) and are excited by what you”ve seen, then we recommend you go to the stage-show in addition to, or instead of, the cartoonists expo. The stage-show has a suggested donation of one dollar (no one will be turned away for lack of funds) and will expose you to new major league cartoonists. The event is a sort of variety show/talk show about comics. It lasts for a couple hours but is very fast paced. One audience member in 2004 told us, “I needed to go to the bathroom for the last hour but I was too afraid I”d miss something.” You may also be interested in a panel or two or even going to a signing by a favorite creator.
If you are a confirmed reader of alternative or independent comics, well, then you”ll probably want to see EVERYTHING. In fact, you”ll feel frustrated because the amount of events happening will preclude your being able to see everything. You, like us, will be a pig in unlimited shit for one glorious day. You”re welcome.
Cartoonists Expo
The Cartoonists Expo is completely free to the public.
The expo portion is similar to what your typical convention has – lots of cartoonists sitting at their tables. The difference is that, like SPX or APE, we do not include any dealer tables. This is intended to promote a more convivial, arts-centric atmosphere while reducing flea market aesthetics. Attendees range from pros who have been cartooning for decades, to newbies who have just put together their first copy shop mini.
Signings at the Danger Room
Several of the guest cartoonists will be signing at Danger Room Comics (201 W. 4th Ave.) which is a major sponsor of the festival. We encourage anyone who would like to meet these cartoonists to take advantage of this time, whether you want an autograph or not. These are “meet and greet” sessions as much as anything. All of the cartoonists we”ve had (thus far) have been extremely gracious and fun to talk with so you should not miss the opportunity to share a few words with these incredibly talented cartoonists. The cartoonists may or may not be drawing sketches, so please ask and be considerate of their time and (possibly) worn-out drawing hands. For a complete listing of who will be signing when, please see the schedule section.