portland-press-herald_3064131.jpg

This weekend sees the Maine Comics Arts Festival in Portland, ME. In its second year, the show has expanded to two days — a day of FREE panels at the Portland Public Library this Saturday and then a exhibit on Sunday at the Ocean Gateway. There’s also a comics art show on display at the Lewis Gallery at the Portland Public Library. Guest list is here, headlined by Brian Wood, Skottie Young, and Jeff Lemire. The Portland Press Herald previews the show here and the organizer, Rick Lowell of Casablanca Comics.

“Part of the whole focus of the festival is to raise awareness of what comics are,” said Lowell.

Raising awareness means not only providing access to the artists themselves but also providing educational opportunities for people to learn more about comics and graphic novels. To that end, the comics festival has joined forces with the folks at the Portland Public Library to expand from one day to two. Workshops and presentations have been moved to a separate day, Saturday, and will take place at the library’s main branch on Congress Street. All of Saturday’s events are free and open to the public.


We went to this show last year and had a great time. Our insane schedule doesn’t allow us to go this year, but it looks like another winner.