I told you late last Friday about a pair of intrepid alt pressers from Portland who skipped out on Wondercon to show off their newest book — the 104-page sci-fi tale Poison the Cure — at Staple! 2007 in Austin.

As you can see, Jad Ziade and Alex Cahill (pictured below) made a big splash at last Saturday’s Staple!, the only major indy press event during the year in the Southwest, and made money as did everyone I talked to at the show throughout the day.

My friend and Top Shelf Productions co-publisher/major domo, Chris Staros, likened the Staple! vibe among fans and creators to the early SPX days in Bethesda, Md., with a twist. Unlike other past indy shows both he and I have attended, attendees were actually prepared to spend money at Staple! What a concept!

Also had the wonderful opportunity to meet some very friendly and talented folks: Mack White, one of Texas’ leading cartoonists and a veteran of the indy comix scene here, and writer Paul Benjamin, a refugee of the LA scene whose latest book, Pantheon High, recently debuted from Toykopop.

Walking between the rooms, you could feel the indy vibe of camaraderie between pros, publishers and fans alike that I hadn’t experienced since the first MOCCA show back in 2002. And that’s probably why Jad and Alex gladly skipped the maze of Spandex publishers in San Francisco for the indy press circuit in Austin…

Also, check out Chris Mautner’s link earlier today to an interview with Staple! 2007 special guest Dean Haspiel, who, blaming his upcoming 40th birthday, refused to take off his shirt to the chagrin of all the fangirls in attendance…

This entry was posted on Monday, March 5th, 2007 at 7:02 pm and is filed under Conventions, Creators, Independent, News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.