Comic Arts Maine Portland is a free festival at the Portland Public Library. Poster by Karen Czap

When the organizers of a new comic arts festival in Portland put out a call for exhibitors, they hoped for a good response. But they didn’t know for sure how many people would apply to show and sell their work.

They got 198 applications — more than double the capacity of their space at the Portland Public Library.

“It’s quite an indicator,” said Mili St. John, a cartoonist, tattoo artist and animator from Maine. “There’s so much unbelievable talent in comics, especially independent press. And there aren’t enough opportunities for all these incredibly talented people to show their work. Over the past couple years, as these festivals have gotten even more popular, as kids who read graphic novels in middle school grew up, this demand is growing more and more.”

Mili St. John is a cartoonist, tattoo artist, animator and one of the organizers of the Comic Arts Maine Portland festival. Image courtesy of the artist

St. John is one of the organizers of Comic Arts Maine Portland – CAMP for short. The free festival will take place on the lower level of the downtown branch on April 5. The full program for the day ranges from a workshop on queer zines to silly drawing games for kids to a panel on resisting burnout. Visitors will also be able to browse and buy work from nearly 80 artists from Maine and across the country who were selected as exhibitors.

The organizers, all artists working in New England, hope that the event will become an annual tradition in the indie comics world.

“Comics are a secluded, private activity where you sit at home, and you draw by yourself, and you think your own thoughts. Maybe you text images to your friends and ask them for feedback,” Isabella Rotman, one of the founding organizers of CAMP, said. “But it can be in kind of lonely, and these festivals are essentially where we connect for each other and show each other our work and get really amped up, or at least that’s what they are for me. So part of the point of this is to make a landing pad for the comics community.”

Cape Elizabeth cartoonist Sarah Shaw will be showing her work and also moderating a panel on the physical formats of comics. She is also an assistant professor of illustration at the Maine College of Art and Design, and her department is one of the sponsors for CAMP. One table at the festival will feature the work of her students, many of whom were growing up as graphic novels and comics were becoming more mainstream.

“One of the reasons why I was hired for this position at the school was because we have so many students now who are interested in making comics and telling stories visually,” Shaw said. “There’s such a high demand.”

Sarah Shaw is a cartoonist, illustrator, zine-maker and professor in the illustration department at the Maine College of Art and Design. Image courtesy of the artist

From the page to the wall

This year, the inaugural festival coincides with an exhibit in the Lewis Gallery at the Portland Public Library. “Pencils and Inks: The Unseen Work Behind Comics,” which will be on view through April 19, focuses on the process of cartooning. Some artists begin by storyboarding in a sketchbook, while others use a paintbrush to form their ideas. Some work with digital tools, while others work with colored pencils. The exhibit includes both the early sketches and the finished products.

“Comics are often considered a low brow art form, which is something I strongly disagree with, but I think showing the amount of work that goes into them does make people reconsider that,” St. John said. “This isn’t an art form to be placed beneath other art forms.”

It could also inspire or inform someone who is interested in making their own art.

“You can get up close with their original pencils, then with their inks, then with the colors,” Rotman said. “And you can really see, oh, this is how the artist got there.”

Isabella Rotman is a local cartoonist, illustrator and a founding organizer of the Comic Arts Maine Portland festival. Image courtesy of the artist

The exhibition features more than two dozen artists, most of whom will be at the festival. Rachael Harkness, gallery and special programs coordinator at Portland Public Library, said the format of “Pencils and Inks” will allow visitors to slow down and consider the artistry behind the stories.

Process shots and final pages from “Under the Anthill” by Elise Smorczewski. Image courtesy of the artist

“People forget that comics are made up of little panels of individual pieces of art, and when you pull them out of the flow of the comic you’re reading, you focus in a little more on the way they have created the images,” Harkness said.

The program includes workshops where attendees can make art right there at the festival.

Cathy G. Johnson will lead a kid-friendly workshop called “Silly Drawing Games.” Sarah Sax will run “The Character Lab,” where kids ages 8 to 12 will use drawing improv games to come up with ideas for unique characters. In “Queer Zines,” cartoonist Shay Mirk highlight zines by LGBTQ creators, and then participants will make their own mini-zines. Art educator Cara Bean will teach a workshop on “Mindful Doodling” for even the most reluctant participants. The Portland Drawing Group will host a figure drawing session for participants 18 years or older. CAMP will also announce the winners of two $250 mini grants for emerging artists, sponsored by Back Cove Books.

Cathy G. Johnson is a cartoonist, printmaker and educator who will teach a kid-friendly workshop called “Silly Drawing Games” at CAMP. Image courtesy of the artist

‘Any genre, any story’

But CAMP isn’t limited to those who are already making or reading zines or graphic novels. The featured artists have a broad range in style and subject, and the festival would be a good place to explore for someone who is comic-curious.

Sarah Skawinski, associate director at the Portland Public Library, said graphic novels and comics are found in all departments.

“Comics are for everyone,” Skawinski said.

Shaw studied painting in art school and only discovered her love of comics years later. She found “Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood” by Marjane Satrapi, a memoir about coming of age in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. She read “Rolling Blackouts” by Sarah Glidden, a cartoonist who followed journalists who were researching the effects of the Iraq War on the Middle East and made her own record in watercolor of the people they met. She loved “Building Stories” by Chris Ware, an unconventional work that challenges the format of graphic novels altogether.

Those formative reads led her to make her own work, which is nonfiction and often autobiographical.

“I like how comics can be any genre, any story,” Shaw said.

Teppi Zuppo is a cartoonist, graphic designer, educator and one of the founding organizers of CAMP. Image courtesy of the artist

Karen Czap is a cartoonist and colorist who makes work about friendship, community and transcendence. Cathy G. Johnson is a cartoonist, printmaker and educator who makes work about the hardships and joys of adolescence. They live in Rhode Island and have collaborated on projects, including Johnson’s middle-grade graphic novel “The Breakaways.”

Czap and Johnson said they are seeing more new faces at festivals in recent years. They’ll both be exhibiting their work and facilitating programs at CAMP.

“There’s a lot of wonderful diversity of art,” Johnson said. “You can come and enjoy slice of life. You could enjoy fantasy. You could enjoy superheroes. You can be more attracted to the rougher, raw art. And that’s all going to be there.”

“I’d agree,” Czap added. “I’m picturing a growing tree that has a few branches early on, and so many different branches and paths have opened up and blossomed.”

Karen Czap is a cartoonist and colorist who will be a special guest at CAMP this year. Image courtesy of the artist

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Comic Arts Maine Portland, a new one-day comic arts festival

WHERE: Portland Public Library, 5 Monument Sq., Portland

WHEN: April 5

HOURS: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

HOW MUCH: Free

INFO: For more details and to register for specific programs, visit comicartsmaineportland.com. Registration for the panels and workshops is not required but encouraged because of limited capacity.

“Pencils and Inks” at the Portland Public Library will showcase the work behind the finished comics. Poster by Cathy G. Johnson and Karen Czap