This is a big indy festival in the northwest and a huge amount of creators congregate to show off their wares. I went with a mission. I took some of my own cold hard cash (no freebies!) and perused the comic aisles. Take a look at some of the comics that caught my eye and caused me to buy them at this years Stumptown Comics Fest.

1. Ghost Stories - Essex County Vol. 2

I really liked the first volume of Jeff Lemire's Essex County series, and his second part of the three part story does not dissapoint. Jeff's style is very distinct and really helps to set the mood. On one hand he can be very sketchy, but on the other hand he can be very detailed. When I think of his art, what comes to mind is that it is very loose, but also very deep. Although this story took away from the original superheroish theme that caught my eye in the first place, it is still a very moving story about a lonely man who is living with some very terrible ghosts. Very cool.

2. Parade (with fireworks)

It was the story of this Eisner nominated series that caught my eye. Jim Valentino was at his table with the wares of the Shadowline imprint. He has a diverse line, with no certain genre in mind. The story and art is great and I can see why it was nominated. The beginning felt a little overwhelming, trying to figure out the who and what of the story, but once it got into the meat of the story I liked it. That the story was based on true events was even better. Only being two issues made this an easy bet.

3. Banana Sunday

Colleen Cover and Root Nibot (Paul Tobin) have a great story that is sure to delight kids all over. The art is very nice and Colleen has a really great style for this medium. My one gripe is the newstand paper that makes up the inside. I can see kids reading this one over again, but with repeated use comes more copies. There's also a neat sketch gallery in the back.

4. The Fog

This Dark Horse mini book caught my eye and I snatched it up, along with the three out of the four creators signature. The art was the first thing I noticed, it had a good and creepy feel that matched the story. Tie ins are tricky, but this was very much a stand alone story all by itself. At seven bucks, the price tag wasn't so steep as to make me think twice.

5. Rex Libris - I, Librarian

I've heard much praise for this book about an adventuring "two-fisted" librarian, and my buddy Eli said I had to read it. Full details to come later, but I like what I have seen so far. The art is very stylistic, and the humor is top notch. I'm looking forward to completing my journey through the library.

6. The Engineer

I think it was the the art and colors that drew me in. Creators Brian and Jeremy had a very nice display and in looking around, I had a hard time finding something that looked quite like this comic. The colors make the art pop and this tragic character seems trapped working for three ghostly creatures that send him out on missions at their whim. I'd be interested in seeing where this one goes.

7. DAR: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary

Erika took home three awards at the Trophy awards, Stumptown's little indy award show, so I decided to check out her work. It's not for the kids, but grown ups might like these short insights into the mind of a girl who is much more than she appears to be. Sometimes racy, sometimes silly, and other times quirky, DAR is a comic you might want to check out, but be warned, you may be shocked.