Portland Comic Book Month 10th Anniversary celebration at City Hall

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Portland Comic Book Month, Commissioner Chloe Eudaly is honored to host an opening party and art exhibit at City Hall on First Thursday April 4, 2019.

Portland City Hall (1221 SW 4th Ave) will be transformed into a mini-convention with more than 20 tables featuring local comic book creators, publishers, educators, nonprofits, and collectives, showcasing the range of talent and diversity in the Portland comics community. Commissioner Eudaly’s office will also host an art exhibit featuring 25 local comic book artists.

The opening event, which runs 5pm-9pm, is free and open to all ages. Commissioner Eudaly will make a special proclamation at 6pm, followed by live drawing by local artists. Pizza will be provided by local sponsors Sizzle Pie. Beverages provided by Lion Heart Kombucha.

Look for more Portland Comic Book Month events throughout April, including workshops, readings, release parties, and meetups. See the full First Thursday lineup and April schedule of events at http://bit.ly/pdxcomicbookmonth.

WHO: Art exhibit and mini-con with over 30 exhibitors including –

Books with Pictures
CBLDF
Dark Horse Comics
Floating World Comics
Helioscope Studios
IDW Woodworks / Lion Forge
IPRC Certificate Program
Miss Anthology
Multnomah County Library
The Nib
Outlet PDX
PDX Comic Crew
PNCA
Portland Indie Con
Portland Zine Symposium
PSU Comics Studies Program
Secret Room PDX
Soft Skills Press
Vision Quest
David Walker
Young Audiences of Oregon

WHAT: Portland Comic Book Month 10th Anniversary Party
WHEN: Thursday April 4, 5-9pm
WHERE: City Hall, 1221 SW 4th Ave

“The artists, the writers, the companies and the comic shops—all of these aspects of Portland’s comic scene intertwine to create a unique tapestry. Portland is the kind of place where names big and small can mingle, where artists can live comfortably and small presses are still viable.”

PSU Vanguard

Portland Comic Book Month was first declared by Mayor Sam Adams, in conjunction with Stumptown Comic Fest, to recognize the cultural contribution of comics to Portland. At that time, Portland was already home to numerous comic book creators, as well as publishers Dark Horse Comics, Oni Press, and Top Shelf Productions.

Today, the city is also home to publisher Image Comics, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and hundreds more artists and writers. Publishers IDW and Lion Forge have offices here. Helioscope Studio is the largest collective of comic book and animation artists in North America. PSU, PNCA, and PCC all offer comic book courses. And the Oregon Historical Society recently mounted a whole exhibit calling Portland “Comic City, USA.”

Portland is known for its unique creativity, its appreciation of art, and perhaps most of all, a vibrant DIY culture that has become an incubator for free spirits. Commissioner Chloe Eudaly comes directly from this world. Her independent bookstore, Reading Frenzy, was a hub of DIY comics and activist publishing for 22 years.

Thanks to our sponsors and volunteers that made this celebration possible: Commissioner Eudaly’s office, Anina Bennett, Pollyanne Birge, Books With Pictures, Floating World Comics, Ford Food and Drink, Sophie Franz, Helioscope Studios, IPRC, Lion Heart Kombucha, Sarah Mirk, The Nib, PNCA, Portland Zine Symposium, Portland’5 Centers For the Arts, PSU, Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg, Sizzle Pie, Reid Psaltis, Melanie Stevens, Liz Yerby and the Portland comics community.

[See also the official Portland Comic Book Month website]