The Small Press Expo (SPX) is an American alternative comics convention. A registered 501(c)(3) that was created in 1994, every year since its inception, SPX has put on a festival, known as The Expo, that provides a forum for artists, writers and publishers of comic art in its various forms to present their creations to the public and to expose the public to comic art not normally accessible through normal commercial channels. The annual SPX festival is typically held in the fall in Bethesda, Maryland. SPX is unique amongst the various comic conventions as it does not allow retailers to have a formal presence at the convention. Only creators and publishers are allowed to set up at the festival, although retailers can and do attend the show with the general public through paid admissions.
SPX is the home of the Ignatz Awards, which have been presented there annually since 1997."Small Press Expo Initiates First Festival Prize for Comic Books: Ignatz Award," Comics Buyer's Guide (Sept. 12, 1997), p. 8 As one of the few festival awards rewarded in comics, they are voted on by attendees.
SPX is closely associated with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF). A portion of the profits from the annual SPX festival including fundraising activities that take place during the convention weekend, go to the CBLDF. From 1997 to 2000, as well as in 2002 and 2004, SPX was held in conjunction with the International Comics and Animation Festival (ICAF). — about the Small Press Expo and its relationships with ICAF and the Baltimore Comic-Con.
History SPX was founded in 1994 by three Washington-Baltimore area retailers — "Jon Cohen (Beyond Comics), Lou Danoff (Zenith Comics), and [Joel Pollack (Big Planet Comics)] — with [the] moral support (and... feedback) of Dave Sim (Cerebus) and Jeff Smith (Bone)" — to promote diversity in the comics marketplace. (The first SPX also coincided with Sim's "Spirits of Independence" tour.)
Chris Oarr was one of the key figures responsible for shaping SPX into a major independent comics event during its formative years. A former comics retailer and publicist, Oarr became the executive director of SPX in the mid-1990s, shortly after its 1994 founding. Under his leadership, the show expanded in scope and professionalism, developing a stronger national profile and more organized infrastructure. Oarr also helped establish SPX’s reputation as a creator-centered, noncommercial alternative to mainstream conventions — promoting the ethos of self-publishing, artistic independence, and community that continues to define the event. Under Oarr's leadership, SPX adopted many of its enduring features, including the Sunday picnic and softball game and the introduction of the Ignatz Awards, created to honor outstanding achievement in small-press and self-published comics.
Profits from at least the 1995 and 1996 shows were earmarked for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Attendees of the early years often speak of the close-knit community that was attained during the convention, citing offbeat occurrences such as James Kochalka's nude musical performance in 1998 and the annual pig roast/picnic/softball game.
The show expanded from a one-day affair to three days in 1997, reverting back to two days in 1998, and then remaining a three-day event from 1999 through 2004.
In 2001, both the Expo and ICAF, scheduled for September 14–16, were canceled due to creators' travel difficulties related to the September 11, 2001 attacks. The so-called SP-Xiles event was held on September 16 in Brooklyn, New York, to in some ways replace the canceled Expo; it raised $1,925.00 for the American Red Cross and the New York Fire Fighter's 9-11 Relief Fund.
In 2005, the show returned to a Saturday-Sunday event, a format it has retained every since.
In 2011 SPX began a new charitable initiative, the Graphic Novel Gift Program. Through this initiative, SPX purchases graphics novels on behalf of a local library system, as selected from a list of works from participating publishers. SPX provides participating libraries with a pull list and a budget. The selected books are provided to the library as a gift of the Small Press Expo. For the program's first year, which featured donations to the Montgomery City-County Public Library, artist Lilli Carré created a special bookplate that was included with each volume provided.
Also in 2011, SPX established a partnership with the Library of Congress to create the Small Press Expo Collection, an archival initiative preserving the festival’s history and representative works from the independent comics community. The collection includes Ignatz Award nominees, original art, and promotional materials, and is regarded as the first programmatic institutional effort to document contemporary small-press comics in the United States.
The 2020 edition of the show, scheduled to be held September 12–13, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the Ignatz Awards ceremony was held online.. The 2021 edition of the show was also held entirely online.Simons, Dean. "Small Press Expo confirms virtual 2021 event, freezes charitable initiatives: The financial burden of the pandemic on SPX mean that funds will be stretched until 2024 at the earliest," The Beat (May 11, 2021).
Event dates and locations
1994: June 10 — Bethesda Ramada Inn, Bethesda, MarylandCerebus the Aardvark #181 (Aardvark-Vanaheim, Apr. 1994). 1995: June 23 — Bethesda, Maryland 1996: September 21 — Holiday Inn Select, Bethesda, Maryland 1997: September 19–21 — Quality Hotel, Silver Spring, Maryland 1998: September 26–27 — Holiday Inn Select, Bethesda, Maryland 1999: September 17–19 — Holiday Inn Select, Bethesda, Maryland 2000: September 15–17 — Holiday Inn Select, Bethesda, MarylandThe Expo 2000 information webpage, archived October 15, 2000 by Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 13, 2014. — cancelled because of 9/11 attacks 2002: September 6–8 — Bethesda Holiday Inn, Bethesda, MarylandThe Expo presents: SPX | Convention Info | Location, archived June 2, 2002 by Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 13, 2014. 2003: September 5–7 — Holiday Inn Select, Bethesda, MarylandThe Expo presents: SPX | Convention Info, archived August 1, 2003 by Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 13, 2014. 2004: October 1–3 — Holiday Inn Select Bethesda, Bethesda, MarylandSPX | The Small Press Expo | www.smallpressexpo.com Location & Lodging webpage, archived August 11, 2004 by Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 13, 2014. 2005: September 23–24 — Holiday Inn Select Bethesda, Bethesda, Maryland 2006: October 13–14 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, MarylandSPX | The Small Press Expo | Location, archived October 14, 2006 by Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 13, 2014. 2007: October 12–13 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, MarylandSPX | The Small Press Expo | Location, archived October 11, 2007 by Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 13, 2014. 2008: October 4–5 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, MarylandSPX | The Small Press Expo homepage, archived October 15, 2008 by Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 13, 2014. 2009: September 26–27 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, MarylandSPX | The Small Press Expo homepage, archived September 1, 2009 by Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 13, 2014. 2010: September 11–12 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, MarylandSmall Press Expo (SPX) homepage, archived September 14, 2010 by Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 13, 2014. 2011: September 10–11 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, MarylandSmall Press Expo homepage, archived August 20, 2011 by Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 13, 2014. 2012: September 15–16 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, MarylandHotel Information | Small Press Expo, archived September 13, 2012 by Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 13, 2014. 2013: September 14–15 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, MarylandSPX 2013 Venue & Travel Information | SPX: The Small Press Expo, archived November 13, 2013 by Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 13, 2014. 2014: September 13–14 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, Maryland 2015: September 19–20 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, Maryland 2016: September 17–18 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, MarylandCavna, Michael. "COMICS: Meet the man who’s creating a space for longform journalism — in graphic novel form," Washington Post (September 16, 2016). 2017: September 16–17 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, Maryland 2018: September 15–16 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, Maryland 2019: September 14–15 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, Maryland — cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. 2021: September 18–19 — entire convention held online due to COVID-19 pandemic 2022: September 17–18 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, Maryland 2023: September 9–10 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, Maryland 2024: September 14–15 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, Maryland 2025: September 13–14 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, Maryland 2026: September 12–13 — Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, North Bethesda, Maryland
Leadership 1994 — Lou Danoff and Jon Cohen 1995–1997 — Chris Oarr 1998–fall 2000 — Michael Zarlenga fall 2000–Jan. 2001 — Christian Panas Jan. 2001–Dec. 2003 — Greg McElhatto and Greg Bennett — McElhatton involved with running SPX "from 1997 to 2012, and [was] the head of the Ignatz Awards from 2007 to 2010." 2004–2006 — Steve Conley 2007–2009 — Karon Flage 2010 — Jeff Alexander (served as Assistant Executive Director from 2007 to 2009) 2011–present — Warren Bernard (became Assistant Executive Director in 2010)
SPX Anthology From 1997 to 2005, an annual anthology was published as a companion to the convention. Profits from sales of the anthologies were given to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF). Frequent contributors included Josh Neufeld, Ron Regé Jr., Nick Bertozzi, Tony Consiglio, Dean Haspiel, James Kochalka, Alex Robinson, and R. Sikoryak. The first SPX anthology (1997) was published in standard comic format, while all subsequent editions were in digest format. Originally published by SPX itself, the CBLDF took over the publication of the anthology with the 2002 edition. SPX 2002, on the theme of biographies, was given the 2003 Eisner Award for Best Anthology. The anthology was discontinued as an annual production after 2005.