STAPLE!

Annual convention in Texas, United States

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STAPLE!

Status| Active
Genre| Alternative comics
Venue| various venues in Austin
Location(s)| Austin, Texas
Country| United States
Inaugurated| 2005
Founders| Chris Nicholas
Organized by| Chris Nicholas/Austin Books
Website| http://www.staple-austin.org/

STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo is an annual convention in Austin, Texas, United States, for alternative comics, minicomics, webcomics, zines, underground comics, and graphic arts. Chris Nicholas founded the conference as a gathering place for professional artists and amateur creators,[1] "a showcase for the folks who publish comics and zines and possible literary masterworks out of their own apartments."[2]

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.[3]

Additional sponsors include Rogues Gallery: Comics + Games, ECPrinting.com, Dragon's Lair: Comics & Fantasy, KOOP (FM), Motorblade Postering Services, CKP communication agency of record, and Bumperactive.com.

## History

[edit]

The 2020 show, scheduled for October, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

## Event dates and locations

[edit]

* March 5, 2005: BPOE #201
* March 4, 2006: Red Oak Ballroom
* March 3, 2007: Red Oak Ballroom
* March 1, 2008: Monarch Event Center
* March 7, 2009: Monarch Event Center
* March 6, 2010: Monarch Event Center
* March 5–6, 2011: Marchesa Hall and Theatre
* March 3–4, 2012: Marchesa Hall and Theater
* March 2–3, 2013: Marchesa Hall and Theater
* March 1–2, 2014: Marchesa Hall and Theater
* March 7–8, 2015: Marchesa Hall and Theater
* March 5–6, 2016: Marchesa Hall and Theater
* September 9–10, 2017: Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex
* September 8–9, 2018: Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex
* October 12–13, 2019: Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex
* ~~October 2020~~ : Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
* ~~2021~~ : Venue not reopened as of Aug 2021, and organizer busy [5]
* April 13-14, 2024: Mabee Ballroom, St. Edward's University[6]

## See also

[edit]

* Alternative Press Expo
* MoCCA Festival
* Small Press Expo

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Thomas, David. "Staple! Holds the Austin Indie Comic Book Scene Together," The Austinot (FEBRUARY 19, 2014).
2. ^ Wayne Alan Brenner, "Collating the Underexposed", Austin Chronicle (March 4, 2005).
3. ^ Nat Gertler, 24 Hour Comics Day Highlights 2005 (ISBN 0-9753958-6-6).
4. ^ Uncle Staple. "Hey, everyone, sorry for the radio silence..." STAPLE! Twitter account (June 20, 2020).
5. ^ "Staple! Independent Media Expo". Facebook.
6. ^ Stewart, Lex (Mar 22, 2024). "Indie media expo draws together Austin comics, zines, games, and more". Culture Map Austin.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
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* e

Comic festivals and alternative comics conventions

Asia|

* Comifuro (Indonesia)
* Comiket (Japan)
* COMITIA (Japan)
* Niigata Comic Market (Japan)

Europe|

* Amadora BD (Portugal)
* Angoulême International Comics Festival (France)
* Comic Con Ukraine (Ukraine)
* Etna Comics (Italy)
* Fumetto International Comics Festival (Switzerland)
* Helsinki Comics Festival (Finland)
* International Comics Festival (Serbia)
* Lakes International Comic Art Festival (United Kingdom)
* Lille Comics Festival (France)
* Lucca Comics & Games (Italy)
* Napoli Comicon (Italy)
* Thought Bubble Festival (United Kingdom)

North America|

| Canada|

* Expozine (Quebec)
* Toronto Comic Arts Festival (Ontario)

|

USA|

* Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (Ohio)
* Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE) (Illinois)
* Comic Arts Los Angeles (California)
* East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (Pennsylvania)
* FLUKE (Georgia)
* Puerto Rico Comic Con (Puerto Rico)
* MoCCA Festival (New York)
* Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (Ohio)
* Small Press Expo (Maryland)
* STAPLE! (Texas)

South America|

* Bienal de Quadrinhos de Curitiba (Brazil)
* Fantabaires (Argentina)
* Festival Internacional de Quadrinhos (Brazil)
* PerifaCon (Brazil)

Defunct|

* Alternative Press Expo (United States)
* CAPTION (United Kingdom)
* Comic Arts Brooklyn (United States)
* Comica (United Kingdom)
* Komikazen (Italy)
* Stumptown Comics Fest (United States)
* UK Web & Mini Comix Thing (United Kingdom)

* v
* t
* e

Fan conventions in Texas

Traditional|

* AggieCon (College Station)
* ArmadilloCon (Austin)
* FenCon (Dallas)

Comics/media|

* All-Con (Dallas)
* Alamo City Comic Con (San Antonio)
* Comicpalooza (Houston)
* Fan Expo Dallas (Irving)
* STAPLE! (Austin)

Anime|

* Anime Frontier (Fort Worth)
* Anime Matsuri (Houston)
* AnimeFest (Arlington)
* A-Kon (Irving)
* Ikkicon (Round Rock)
* Oni-Con (Galveston)
* San Japan (San Antonio)
* Ushicon (Austin)

Horror|

* Texas Frightmare Weekend (Dallas)

NASFiC/Worldcon|

* LoneStarCon 1 (Austin, 1985) (NASFiC)
* LoneStarCon 2 (San Antonio, 1997)
* LoneStarCon 3 (San Antonio, 2013)

Defunct|

* ApolloCon (Houston)
* Comix Fair (Houston)
* ConDFW (Dallas)
* Dallas Fantasy Fair
* Houstoncon
* Lazy Dragon Con (McKinney)
* Linucon (Austin)
* North Texas Comic Book Show (Irving)
* RealmsCon (Corpus Christi)
* Stellar Occasion (Dallas)
* Southwesterncon (Dallas, Houston, OKC)
* Texas Fear Fest (Dallas)
* Twicon (Dallas)
* UnCommonCon (Dallas)
* WhoFest (Dallas)

See also Anime conventions in North America
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