The Kingston Independent Comic Expo returns April 18 with a simple premise and a growing footprint: keep it independent, keep it local, and let the artists lead. Now in its third year, KICx has outgrown its original home, expanding into two Uptown venues—the Old Dutch Church and nearby St. James United Methodist Church—while holding fast to the intimate, creator-driven atmosphere that made it a hit in the first place.
That growth has been steady and, by the organizers’ own admission, a little surprising. Attendance climbed from roughly 350 in year one to 450 last year, while exhibitor demand quickly outpaced available table space. “From the number of exhibitors applying, to the number of attendees, it has exceeded all of my wildest expectations,” says co-founder Kevin Michael Rowe. Rather than decamp to a single larger venue, the team opted for a split setup a block apart, preserving the walkability and neighborhood feel of Uptown. “We love the vibe,” says co-founder Joe Gonzalez. “We wanted to try and see if we could do something creative with having a second venue.”
If that decision reflects KICx’s ethos, so does the show itself. This is not Comic Con writ small—no sprawling media spectacle, no Hollywood tie-ins. Instead, it’s closer to the artists’ alley at a larger convention, the place where the real action often happens. “Creators are trying to hustle and sell their books so they don’t have to pack them back up and take them home,” Rowe says. Gonzalez frames it more broadly: a spectrum that runs from DIY zine makers to established professionals pursuing personal projects outside the mainstream.
That range is by design. More than 70 exhibitors will be spread across the two venues this year, including a mix of Hudson Valley talent and creators from farther afield. (Comic artist Louis Peterson, who will be exhibiting at KICx, had his work featured on the cover of Chronogram this month.) The curation process is both rigorous and, by necessity, selective. “We received twice as many applications as we can accommodate,” Gonzalez notes, adding that at least half the roster is reserved for regional artists—a way of grounding the show in the local creative community.
New this year is a modest but meaningful expansion into programming. A hands-on zine workshop, led in part by the Hudson Valley Zine Machine, invites attendees to try their hand at making their own publications, while panel discussions tackle topics like cultural influences in comics and the realities of sustaining a creative career. “They’re like TED Talks, but it’s all about comics,” Rowe says.
All of it unfolds within a city that has long functioned as a magnet for working artists. For the organizers, KICx isn’t about introducing comics to Kingston so much as amplifying what’s already here. “Comic creators are already here,” says Cristopher Livecchi. “I see it as bringing more visibility to a group of creators who often work alone.”
That visibility cuts both ways. For fans, it’s a chance to encounter original work up close, to meet the people behind it, and to take home something made outside the machinery of mass media. For creators, it’s a rare opportunity to connect—with audiences, with peers, and sometimes with future collaborators. In a scene that often unfolds in isolation, KICx offers a day where the pages come off the desk and into the world.
