Date: September 6th 2010

Drowned Town Press and artist/writer E. J. Barnes return this coming weekend to the Small Press Expo (SPX) in Bethesda, Maryland, just north of Washington, DC. The show is open to the public for two days, Saturday and Sunday, 11 and 12 September, at the Marriott Bethesda North Hotel and Conference Center.

Expo hours are 11am--7pm Saturday and Noon--6pm Sunday. Admission is $10 for one day and $15 for the whole weekend.

SPX is a major small-press and independent-comic show held annually. It is large of its kind, but not the sort of three-ring circus you may imagine if all you know of comic book conventions is the TV footage of Comic-Con San Diego. No blockbuster movie previews. No huge booths from DC, Marvel, and Image. No tables packed with long boxes of "bronze-age" back issues. Just independent comics and zines -- the big publishers here are outfits like Fantagraphics and Top Shelf, the big-name cartoonists are folks such as Jaime Hernandez, Keith Knight, and Raina Telgemeier, and the majority of exhibitors are self-publishers and small collectives.

This year, the program includes the first annual Small Press Expo Animation Showcase!

The Marriott Bethesda North Hotel and Conference Center is at 5701 Marinelli Road, one block west of the White Flint Metro stop.

For more information on SPX, see http://www.spxpo.com . For more about the Marriott Bethesda North, see: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/wasbn-bethesda-north-marriott-hotel-and-conference-center .