The words "comics" and "expo" usually bring to mind costumed geeks, men in tights and buxom babes. While the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo carries some of these elements, it really showcases how stories are told through the comic book medium. S.P.A.C.E. hosted 150 exhibitors and a crowded multipurpose room at the Aladdin Shrine Complex Saturday and Sunday. There, artists showed off their unique styles. Some highlights:
The DIY enthusiast
Nate Powell is a bit unused to the attention he has been receiving. The writer, artist and musician has been the first graphic novelist to be nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize since Art Speigleman in 1992.
"Any kind of attention has been very flattering," he said. "It's been very recent, just picked up two months ago."
The attention-grabber is his novel "Swallow me whole," which deals with the struggles of a family dealing with schizophrenia.
Powell said the book touches on two points: personal struggles with the illness and relationships between the characters and the audience.
"Everyone grapples with the fear [of schizophrenia]," Powell said. The other major component is trying to focus on relationships between characters. Here, the other characters and the audience are tainted by [the main character's] diagnosis. Once she becomes diagnosed, every action she does, even if she isn't being delusional, is interpreted as being a part of her schizophrenia."
Powell has a personal association with mental illness. He works full-time with the disabled, and he has a brother who has autism and other disabilities. He said it's "unavoidable" that these play into his work.
Powell is working on several new projects and he performs in the band "Still Hidden," which records for his label, Harlan Records.
"Of the next two books, one is my own. The other is written by two other guys and I'm just doing the art," he said. "It's nice to be able to focus and have other interests."
Starting a band and record label was easier for Powell because he has experience self-publishing comics, he said.
"There's an underlying DIY aspect that makes for seamless over-lapping," he said.
The autobiographical theorist
Ryan Claytor collected comics as child, grew out of the habit, and then returned to them. Five years later, he's still drawing.
"When I got back into comics, I gravitated towards more autobiographical, real life stories," he said. Claytor now finds himself using the comic book medium not only to express himself but also to study the form of autobiography.
"I found a theory that autobiography isn't anymore true than fiction," he said.
Ryan Claytor's work involves volumes of autobiographical study. His first volume of "And then one day: The autobiographical documentary" featured an "each-page-is-a-day format. It's kind of a diary," he said.
In the sixth volume of the series, Claytor put various friends, family and acquaintances in a room with flashcards and an audio recorder and let them talk about him.
"It starts with basics like what's your name … and then gets into more personal aspects," he said.
Claytor also explores concepts of art. While in graduate school at San Diego State University, Claytor began asking himself questions about comic books and their place in fine art.
"Comics are just like painting or creating ceramic pieces," he said.
Claytor is teaching a comic studio class at Michigan State University, "the first of its kind," he said. He is guaranteed one more year of teaching.
The journalist
Michael Bracco is humble for a man whose debut made him a 2008 S.P.A.C.E finalist. His debut, "Birth" is "about two species who have evolutionary problems," he said. These cultural and societal differences between the two species leads to a deep hatred and misunderstanding, plunging them into a devastating war.
Bracco was inspired by current events and used an alien planet to represent them.
"When I wrote it in '05 the war was going on," Bracco said. "It's less representative and more guttural and simple about the nature of conflicts."
Despite it's fantastic nature, others view it as a way to study real-life conflicts.
"A teacher used the book to teach the class about themes of racism," he said. "The students enjoy it but get something out of it. That's the goal of sci-fi."
"Birth" has led to the creation of "Novo," which follows the two species as they struggle to avoid extinction.
Bracco is working on an "all ages comic." He also travels with his wife who runs a craft show.
"I do a book every six months," he said. "Each book takes me 800 to 1,000 hours, I think."
The artist who can't draw
Brother-sister art duo T. Perran and Kat Mitchell have never taken on a project together.
"We've tried hard to do this," said T.Perran Mitchell. But time constraints and their different art styles keep them from collaboration. "We just haven't found the right project yet."
T. Perran Mitchell's comics are called "I can't draw theater." Instead, he uses photo manipulation to tell his stories.
"Most of these are based on conversations I've had and personal anecdotes," he said. He has also performed character studies, the most recent being about a girl with body issues, which he wrote and had illustrated by another artist.
Kat Mitchell draws artist trading cards.
"It's kind of an underground thing," she said. "People sell and trade them. People sell them on ebay too. They pay a lot for them." Mitchell also has larger paintings and drawings for sale.
T. Perran Mitchell has been working on a full-length graphic novel debut and is creating issues four and five of "I can't draw."
"I'll have 80 percent of the scripts in July," he said. "In the winter or fall I'll have issues four and five out."
Mitchell hopes to be able to use his sister's drawing skills for future endeavors.
"I'm so lucky that I'm related to one of my favorite artists," T. Parren Mitchell said. "She's on the top 10 of people of who I want to work with."
Everdeen Mason can be reached at mason.388@osu.edu.
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