"Uncle Staple" Chris Nicholas and STAPLE!-Texas Indie Comic Show

By Drew Edwards

Drew Edwards: First off, tell us about yourself and STAPLE!

Chris Nicholas: My name’s Chris Nicholas, recently dubbed “Uncle Staple”, which is more of a title I suppose. I’m a native Texan in my *cough* thirties. I collaborate with artist Dave Lamplugh on a self-published crime comic called You Chose Right The First Time (previews of the first four issues can be found at ReThunkMedia.com.

When Dave and I began promoting our book, we started to meet more and more artists and comics creators locally and regionally, like the folks in the Austin Sketch Group, and the Houston Area Comics Society. I began to realize that there was enough talent just around the area to put on a pretty good indie comics show, and, after a little research, discovered that there really wasn’t one that these folks could attend without traveling a great distance. Thus was born the germ of the idea which eventually became STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo.


Visit STAPLE! online at staple-austin.org

The idea got much larger in the process of finding people to help make it happen, of which there have been many (all of us volunteer, btw), which led to our first, and very successful, show held March of ’05. I could go on and on about why I think it worked out so well, but that would take too long and might spoil the mystery. I will say it’s been a great experience to be involved in this and very vindicating to have the success we have had so far.

DE: STAPLE! is probably a big undertaking for everyone involved. Which drives those putting the show on? Just a love of comics…or something deeper?

CN: Is there anything deeper? I can’t speak for everyone involved, but for me the love of comics is definitely a factor as well as just a desire to accomplish something worthwhile. The main goal of STAPLE! is to provide access for creators to potential fans, and access for fans to creators and work which they might not necessarily be able to find at their local comics shop. I think that’s worthwhile and many others seem to agree. I’ve also always been the type of person who enjoys throwing a good party, plus I’ve found that STAPLE! is an excellent way to get cool sketches in my sketchbook.

DE: Do you remember your first comic? What was it? Was it a indie comic or something more mainstream?

CN: I’ve been reading comics since I was a very small child. Some of the earliest I recall, when I was literally like 5 or 6, were Richie Rich and Hot Stuff the Little Devil, and some Disney stuff like Scrooge McDuck. A little later I got into the Fantastic Four (the Thing is still my favorite superhero), the Hulk, Iron Man, Daredevil, and, believe it or not, Howard the Duck. Always with the ducks.

I’ve always loved horror too, so the old Warren books – Creepy, Eerie, Famous Monsters of Filmland (which was really a fanzine) – really appealed to me. I still have a stack of Creepy and Eerie someplace. Conan was coming out in a magazine format then, I think it was Savage Sword of, and I dug that too. At the time you could also get these cheap paperback collections of newspaper comic strips and I was very fond of those as well.

In high school I was on and off with the comics, but did subscribe to about a dozen Marvel titles at one point. That’s when they would actually mail them to your house. My freshman year of college I made friends with some nerds and started gaming, which also got me deeper back into comics, and I haven’t really looked back.

DE: These days mainstream comics seem to making a small come back. Do you think that small press stuff is getting kicked to the way side in favor of big crossovers and flashy covers? Or will their be a trickle down effect to mini and indie comics?

CN: I think that anything that gets people into the stores buying comics is good for the industry as a whole, not just one segment of it. If someone goes in to pick up the latest issue of X-whatever and something small press catches their eye, or the employee recommends it, and they buy it, then that’s a good thing. Retailers obviously have an important role in this. So, while I don’t really like the term “trickle down”, I can basically see that happening. Time will tell if that’s the case.

DE: Do you ever get discouraged that a lot of fans won't touch mini-comics with a ten foot pole?

CN: Won’t they? Is that true? If so that’s foolish. I pick up every mini-comic I can get my hands on. I love them. Every time I go to a show someplace I get all of them I can find. There’s a lot of fantastic stuff that’s being made in that format. I think the problem is not that people don’t want it, but that they have limited access to it. Thus STAPLE!

DE: Do you ever see this attitude changing?

CN: I positively deny that it exists.

DE: Staple is held in Austin Texas, which is known for its music and art. Do you feel like the locals are supportive of underground comics as well?

CN: Absolutely. Austin Books and Comics (one of our sponsors) has racks and racks of independent comics, and the owner Brad, being canny, wouldn’t dedicate that much space to it if the sales didn’t justify it. They’ve also hosted, for two years running, a 24 Hr. Comics Day event with the largest turnout in the world. Like twice as many people as anywhere else. And if you need more proof, look at how well attended STAPLE! was last year.

Austin is the sort of town where people are more opened minded and even able to appreciate comics as “art” as well as just entertainment. There tons of creativity in this town. You can’t throw a rock here without hitting an artist or musician or a writer. So, uh, please don’t throw rocks.

DE: Last years STAPLE! was one of the most talked about new shows of the year. Do you feel like you have to follow up with an even bigger, better show?

CN: There’s definitely that pressure, but I think, thanks to our experience and exposure last year, I think we are achieving that goal. We’ve got a bigger venue, nearly twice as many exhibitors, and an expanded program that includes a fiction reading, a self-publishing forum, a panel on getting a Xeric Grant, a slideshow by Keith Knight, and a Q&A with our guest of honor Tony Millionaire. The after-party is gonna have live art by Jim Mahfood and Dave Crosland. Does that sound bigger?

DE: Who are you looking forward to meeting this year, that wasn't there last year?

CN: Well, all of them, really. I’m particularly interested in the Xeric Grant panel ‘cause I’d like to know how to get one of those myself. I’m excited about all the guests I mentioned above, and look forward to meeting or re-meeting those folks. We’ve got exhibitors coming in from both coasts and everywhere in between, as well as a lot of locals new to the scene. I’m anxious to get to meet them all and will try my best to show them a good time. I’m also hoping to meet a lot of new attendees. Unfortunately, running the show doesn’t allow for as much hanging out as I’d enjoy, so I hope everyone will come to the party after.

DE: Who are you happy to see is returning?

CN: Well, of course, you and Jami, Drew. Danielle Corsetto surprised us by just showing up last year but I didn’t get a chance to actually meet her. This year she’s got a table so I’m looking forward to rectifying that omission. Toby Craig (Punish The Dead) from Houston is coming back to do the self-publishing forum this year. We’ve become friends and he’s a great guy so it’s always good to see him. Same goes for my buddy Leo McGovern who publishes the New Orleans music magazine Antigravity. Buzzscope columnist Ronée G. Bourgeois is also coming back from Louisiana to grace us with her presence once again. STAPLE! was her first ever convention, so we have a special bond. The Viper Comics crew will be here again, and we always like to see them, and a lot of the local folks that tabled up last year have done so again. Anybody who came last year and thought it was worth their while to do again...well that makes me happy.

DE: What are some of your favorite comics currently? What should we be reading?

CN: Some of MY current faves include The Goon, Godland, and BRPD. As previously stated I’m a longtime Conan fan and I think the Busiek and Nord stuff is great. I’m also digging on The Wintermen quite a bit. Fell is pretty awesome and I love the philosophy of value, or “bang for the buck” if you will, incorporated into its creation. Amazing Joy Buzzards has been a lot of fun so far, and I’m anxious to pick up the new ish by Mahfood and Crosland. I’ve been getting the trades of Walking Dead and Age of Bronze as those come out and they both consistently amaze in their own way.

I also always really, really enjoy going to shows and trading mini-comics with folks. I’ve managed to get me a boot box durn near full of’em. That sounds real Texas don’t it? Well, at least they weren’t cowboy boots.

I’m reading a few webcomics too, mostly humor stuff, and very sporadically. I just got caught up on (and in) the Adventures of Dr. McNinja, which I highly recommend. Diesel Sweeties is funny and I met R. Stevens when I went to Portland. I need to get caught up on that one. Perry Bible Fellowship is insanely hilarious; that guy packs more narrative into three panels than some do in a whole comic. There’s a bunch more I like but I have trouble keeping up with them for some reason. Same goes for comics. There’s a ton I know I would enjoy if I only had time to read them. Real life just seems to cut into my comics reading time more than I’d like.

I do think that everyone should be reading Halloween Man and, of course, You Chose Right The First Time ReThunkMedia.com.


DE: Superheroes are still a force in the industry. But lately mainstream publishers are embracing other genres more readily. How does this effect indie comics?

CN: It can’t help but have a positive effect, in my opinion. If the mainstream publishers are willing to take the chance on non-superhero titles, then that kind of stuff will be reaching a wider audience and hopefully help to broaden their tastes. Then fans who may not have previously looked at an indie book might be more willing to give’em a go, having had their minds expanded, as it were.

Comics to me are really just another form of storytelling. A fine, fine form of storytelling that is somewhere between literature and film in the way it functions, and also a form very much its own. There’s an infinite variety of the kinds of story a comic can tell, from documentary, biography, or history to any genre of fiction that exists, or even things that defy genre. There’s an audience for everything and no reason that comics should only tell stories about people wearing tights. There’s nothing at all wrong with tights, and comics created and defined those stories, a modern mythology, really, but they can do other things just as well, and should.


DE: Texas isn't really known for being a place filled with comic creators and yet…it really is. Name off some folks you've had the pleasure of meeting?

CN: Wow. I’ve met tons of great folks from the Lone Star State. I think the misperception comes from Texas being so big and spread out, folks are scattered all over.

We’ve got a good concentration here in Austin, I think. Beside yourself, Drew, there’re all the talented members of the Austin Sketch Group, which is a great nexus for art and artists of all kinds. Austin ex-pat Shannon Wheeler (Too Much Coffee Man) was a guest at STAPLE! last year, and very fun to hang with. Will Rodriguez (Mighty Mangler) is a great guy with a lovely family – cute kids! Scott Kurtz (PvP) I’ve got to meet twice now, at STAPLE! and at CAPE. Former Humanoids editor Paul Benjamin was on a panel at the show last year and has started an Austin Comics Creators group through which I’ve been able to meet several nice people including Rivkah Greulich (Steady Beat), who just moved here a couple months ago. Andrew Boyd (Scurvy Dogs) also recently relocated to Austin, with his very cool wife Robyn, whom I’ve luckily managed to recruit into helping out with STAPLE! I’m sure I’m forgetting people - there are just so many and more all the time.

DE: If you could change one thing about the industry, what would it be?

CN: Whew, just one? Well, I think a major issue, and one of the goals of STAPLE!, is better distribution and access. Greater exposure for the work of new or lesser known creators, and getting it into the hands and hearts and minds of people that would enjoy it.

DE: Any final thoughts?

CN: I think the response and reception that STAPLE! has received so far is fantastic, and it pleases me to no end. I’m really excited about the show again this year and I hope everyone who sees this will be able to make it on March 4th here in Austin. You will absolutely have a great time. I look forward to seeing you there!


Visit STAPLE! online at staple-austin.org