Hosted by Eugene comic bookstore Books With Pictures, the Comic Arts Festival of Eugene is returning for its second year. The event will gather 68 independent artists and writers. Last year. 40 creators attended.
Attendees can plan to meet comic creators, attend workshops, purchase art and comics, and interact with the Pacific Northwest comic book community.
Books with Pictures owner and festival director Andréa Gilroy said the Pacific Northwest has a huge comic community with several major publishers.
“There's just a lot of really amazing comics creators here,” Gilroy said. “Any chance we can do to bring them together and really focus on comics is, for us, a dream.”
The headliners for this event are Jaime Hernandez, co-creator of the “Love and Rockets” series, and Katie Skelly, creator of the “My Pretty Vampire” graphic novel.
This year’s poster is designed by Skelly, which Gilroy said has been a highlight of planning the event.
“To have an artist you really admire do artwork specifically for an event that you're planning is pretty cool,” Gilroy said.
The Comic Arts Festival of Eugene is on Sunday, Oct. 18 at the Lane Events Center Auditorium from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event is free to attend and open for all ages.
The event is supported by the City of Eugene Cultural Services, Lane Arts Council, University of Oregon Comics and Cartoon Studies, the Oregon Humanities Center, Fantagraphics and Oni Press.
