Event Preview 12-30: Portland Comic Shops Celebrate "Indy Comic Book Week"

A nationwide focus on independently produced comics will commence this Wednesday December 30th.  Prompted by the decision of Diamond Distribution to forgo shipments this week, a few enterprising individuals decided to take advantage of the situation and declare the week beginning December 30th “Indy Comic Book Week.”

According to the groups impromptu website:

Indy Comic Book Week is not only an event, but also a call to action.

Diamond Comic Distributors announced they will not ship any new comics for the last week of December. This company is the primary distributor of comic books in North America. What some would call a sad week without our favorite mainstream titles, we are calling an opportunity. This vacancy allows independent and small press comic book creators to claim this week as their own.

We challenge writers and artists to self publish new material for this week, and offer it to their local stores. We ask for retailers to take this as an opportunity to showcase local independent talent on the new release shelves. We encourage fans to break from their buying habits and try something new.

Raise your fist and proudly declare that comic books are more than an industry, more than a handful of corporations – it is a creative outlet for independent-minded artists and storytellers. This last week of 2009 belongs to you. Power to the people. Right on.

A little checking on the websites of Portland’s comic shops shows that Cosmic Monkey Comics will be offering 25% off the cover price of “alternative, small press, weird and different mini comics and graphic novels” from Wednesday, December 30th through Friday, January 1st (see their website for restrictions).  The ICBW website also lists Floating World Comics as participating in the festivities, and I’m sure that Bridge City Comics and Guapo Comics wouldn’t mind if you got your indy on in their stores as well.

If you are on Twitter you can follow along with all the weeks activities by using the #indycomicbookweek hashtag.  Additionally, those participating in ICBW are also maintaining a group blog you can check for new developments.