ALREADY a beloved local cultural event, SPICE (Savannah Pooler Indie Comics Expo) expands to a two-day comic con, bringing over 100 local and regional artists upstairs in the American Legion ballroom the weekend of April 17-18.
The biannual SPICE, says founder and organizer Roman Fruehan, is "a small, indie comic con, with an Artist Alley."
This time complete with daily panels and afterparties at White Whale across the street, SPICE is “about two-thirds print media, mostly sequential artists,” according to Fruehan.
However, “we’ll also have toy creators, writers, even some poets typing away” he laughs, with genres ranging from fantasy to sci-fi, and memoir to experimental art.
The decision to expand to two days, says SPICE cofounder Avry Ott, was based on the sheer volume of artist applicants he and Fruehan receive for each edition of SPICE.
"We get so many artists applying each time. Roman and I get 400-500 applications per event," Ott says. "This way we can feature as many artists as we can."
Ott – a longtime coworker of Roman's at Planet Fun on Broughton Street – says they were inspired by similar two-day shows in Greensboro, NC, and Portland.
"They have a two-day format, with alternating artists each day," Ott says. "We thought, Savannah can support this kind of thing. There's a real fervor for art in this city."
The real benefit of a two-day con, Ott says, is the expansion of programming.
"Doing it this way allows us to have the programming. Because each day is a completely different lineup of artists, we're not pulling artists off the show floor, and the artists aren't losing out on floor time. They do their panels on the days they're not on the floor."
While unsurprisingly the emphasis is on sequential art, Fruehan says there is no real limit to the type of art featured.
However, unlike many similar cons, the artist roster is curated for maximum effect and scope.
The lesson came from Fruehan's trips “learning the ins and outs” of comics cons all around the country, often with his SPICE partner Ott.
“We would go to all these cons, and have a good time, but leave with the thought that, ‘you know, that could have been better.’ Sometimes they wouldn’t even really vet the artists,’” he recalls.
“So eventually we were like, screw it, let’s do our own.”
The real allure of SPICE is that is a hugely local lineup – Fruehan estimates at least 90 percent local artists, with a heavy representation from the SCAD student body.
But, he says, “We’ve gotten so popular we’re having artists from all over calling us wanting to get it. We got a call from an artist in Texas the other day.”
In all there will be about 100 artists per day featured, “with 60 percent new artists to us,” Fruehan says.
If you attended the most recent edition of SPICE back in October – lovingly and informally dubbed "Pumpkin SPICE" – Fruehan says you don’t have to worry about it being repetitive.
“We try not to feature the same artists two shows in a row,” he says. “That’s really the hardest part of doing this – telling an artist no, you have to wait a year to come back.”
The artists have jumped onboard the concept, with many enthusiastically helping out with designing unique convention merch, which will be for sale.
"A bunch of artists were like, let me design your mascot in my own style," Fruehan says.
One trick Fruehan and Ott learned is to intentionally diversify the layout of the convention itself, to make it more interesting for the crowd and to the artists themselves.
“If we have a Hello Kitty-type artist and a Goth artist, I’ll put them right next to each other,” Fruehan laughs. “We don’t want a whole line of pink on one side of the room, and a bunch of spooky stuff lined up in a row on the other side. We want to mix it up, keep things interesting."
This edition of SPICE brings a few new wrinkles, in addition to the second day.
For the first time, artist panel discussions will be held throughout the two days, across the street at White Whale Craft Ales.
In addition to the artist panels, there will be live drawing demonstrations and workshops.
And like any good comic con, there will be a costume contest and plenty of cosplay appearances and fan engagement opportunities.
White Whale will also host two afterparties on Friday and Saturday nights, featuring performances by Tied & Tasseled Fetish Cabaret.
Leopold’s Ice Cream will be on hand during the con itself, posting up on the block to refresh those standing in the occasionally long line to get into SPICE.
"They said, 'we heard about your line, we want your line,'" laughs Ott. "So they hit us up."
Indeed, Fruehan and Ott envision an urban festival atmosphere for the event, similar to what now happens regularly on Desoto Avenue in Starland.
“It's turning into a sort of inadvertent block party," says Ott. "This area is a little overlooked sometimes. I feel like a lot of people sort of turn around when they get to Forsyth Park and don't keep walking."
Fruehan echoes that sentiment.
"But if you go just another block south, you get to this really cool area, with so many awesome local shops and businesses," he says, such as Sentient Bean, Neighborhood Comics, White Whale, Betty Bombers, and of course the famous American Legion bar itself, in the same building as the Ballroom.
Ott says the $15 weekend price for two days of fun is one of the best bargains around.
"There are house shows in Savannah that charge more than $15 to get in," he laughs.
Savannah Pooler Indie Comics Expo – SPiCE
When: Friday April 17th & Saturday April 18th, 4PM-10PM both days
Where: The Ballroom on Bull - 1108 Bull St.
Tickets - $15 for both, or $10 per day. Children 12 and under free.
Learn more at www.savspice.com