STAPLE! 2009

Hey everybody,

Mark your calendars!

We are back and proud to announce that the 5th annual STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo will be happening on Saturday, March 7, 2009 at the Monarch Event Center in Austin, Texas!

To commemorate five amazing years of celebrating the best in independently created comics, zines, arts, crafts and animation, we've arranged to bring you a very special guest: the legendary creator of Usagi Yojimbo - Stan Sakai! Stan's been producing comics for over twenty-five years and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Eisner, Harvey, Inkpot, and the American Library Association Award. We are truly pleased and honored to welcome Stan to STAPLE! In 2009!

As usual we'll keep posting lots of interesting interviews and podcasts to the STAPLE! website. To kick things off we've put up audio from Goon creator Eric Powell's panel at this year's show. To listen to it and subscribe to future episodes go to http://www.staple-austin.org/podcast/ and stay tuned for lots more to come! Recording services generously provided by the fine folks at Dial-a-Stranger http://dialastranger.com/

Exhibitor tables are now on sale for next year's show! These always sell out very quickly, so if you would like to be an exhibitor at STAPLE! 2009 go to http://www.staple-austin.org/register/ to secure your spot today!

There's lot's more exciting announcements to come so be sure to stay tuned!

See you soon!

Chris "Uncle Staple" Nicholas
www.staple-austin.org
http://www.myspace.com/staple_austin

Eric Powell on the podcast

We posted a new podcast episode, a recording from STAPLE! 2008 with Eric Powell. Check it out in the podcast section and subscribe to get future episodes automatically. Next up: our web comics panel and another interview with Brian Wood.

Dusting off for 2009

The date for STAPLE! 2009 has been announced! Plan to be in Austin on March 7, 2009 for our special guest Stan Sakai and much more. We are dusting off the web site and will be adding new content soon, including podcasts of last year's sessions if you missed it.

Good morning!

STAPLE! is today! Come join us at the Monarch Event Center for the best of independent comics and art, with great exhibitors, featured guests, prizes and more.

Parties Pre and Post!

One of my favorite parts of STAPLE! is of course the parties! As has become tradition the STAPLE! Pre-party will be held Friday night at Austin Books and Comics at 5002 North Lamar Boulevard. Festivities begin at 8pm and run till 11, but feel free to come in early and browse!

This year's after-party will be held at Red's Scoot Inn at 1308 E. 4th Street (4th and Navasota), just a few blocks east of I-35. Once again there will be a Live Art Show, another staple of STAPLE!, and the whole thing is a benefit for KOOP Radio!



Drive safe! Take a cab if you have to!

STAPLE! Program Schedule!

Lot's of amazing stuff happening throughout the day at this year's STAPLE! We'll be kicking everything off with a last minute addition:

1:00-1:30pm Lord Vile Rally - Come see who Lord Vile is and what he and his Henchmen are up to.

2:00-3:00pm Q&A with Brian Wood - Hear from the award winning creator of DMZ, Northlanders, Local and Demo. Moderated by Scott Hinze of Fanboy Radio.

3:30-4:30pm Webcomics Discussion Panel - Hot webcomics stars Scott Kurtz (PvP), Danielle Corsetto (Girls With Slingshots), David Malki ! (Wondermark!), and Kris Straub (Starslip Crisis) discuss the art and business of the webcomics revolution. Moderated by Randy Lander of Rogue's Gallery Comics & Games

5:00-6:00pm Q&A with Eric Powell - Madcap antics with award winning creator of The Goon! Ask him questions if you dare! Moderated by Scott Hinze of Fanboy Radio.

The Onion at STAPLE!

Representatives from the Austin office of The Onion, America's Finest News Source, will be...well, representing...at this year's STAPLE! I've been a loyal reader for years so I'm personally pretty stoked to see them come out to the show.

For those sub-mineral dwellers not familiar with it, The Onion is a national publication and website with millions of readers, offering award-winning news and views that can't be found anywhere else. Every week, their attention grabbing headlines and photojournalism paint a unique and hilarious picture of the world. The New Yorker calls it "The Funniest Publication in the United States".

A print version of the paper that includes local entertainment news and reviews is distributed at over 1000 locations in Austin, so pick one up - it's free! Several members of their super-hip and attractive staff will be on hand at STAPLE! for you to ogle and admire. Become their BFF at http://www.myspace.com/theonionaustin

Yours Truly,
Uncle Staple