Maine Comics Arts Festival announces lineup

Maine Comics Arts Festival, a celebration of the artistry of comics will be held on Sunday, May 17th in Portland, Maine. This festival celebrates the wonderful world of comic books, comic strips, graphic novels, web comics and more. The guest list is growing and features a wide variety of comic creators, writers, artists and publishers. Comics related workshops, panels, gallery showings and other events will be held throughout Portland as part of this event. The location for the festival will be the beautiful Ocean Gateway Building on the shores of Casco Bay in Portland, Maine.

Portland, Maine has a very strong comics community. Local creators such as Ben Bishop (“Nathan the Caveman”), Jay Piscopo (“The Undersea Adventures of Capt’n Eli”), Joel Zain Rivers (“Along the Canadian”), Michael Connor (“Coelancanthus”) and others are producing new comic works. “The time is right for a comics event that shines the spotlight on the people making comics here in the northeast. This show is intended to be much like APE and SPX in the way that the focus is on the creative aspect of comics. There will be no traditional “dealers” at this show selling back-issues in long boxes. You will get to meet the people who actually produce the comics”. In addition to many regional creators, writers and artists from areas as diverse as Chicago, New York, Boston, Toronto, Nova Scotia will be in attendance. Over 100 creators are expected to be on hand displaying their work.

The festival is very pleased to announce that Kean Soo will be among the special guests for the Maine Comics Arts Festival. Kean is the creator of “Jellaby”, published by Hyperion. He also is an assistant editor of the popular “Flight” anthologies from Ballantine Books. “Jellaby Volume 2” will be out just in time for the festival.

“Jellaby”, a graphic novel that is appropriate for readers as young as 7-years-old, is enjoyed at all ages. Kean Soo’s selection for the Maine Comics Arts Festival is indicative of the family friendly atmosphere of the show show.

“I have been working for years to pull children and their parents into reading regularly and enthusiastically for pleasure,” says Kirsten Cappy of Curious City, a Portland-based children’s book consulting company, “Graphic novels and comics have evolved into a brilliantly accessible form of storytelling that is making reading books across generations an easy sell. Casablanca Comics is a goldmine for families and readers. The Maine Comics Arts Festival will be a grand day out for graphic novel loyalists and beginners.”