A banner of the 2024 CAKE poster designed by Jasjyot Singh Hans greets guests beside the walkway into the first floor of the expo. Left of the banner is a table of cheerful CAKE volunteers. Photo by Mya Nicole Jones.
The Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE) returned to the Zhou B Arts Center on a hot summer weekend, August 24 and 25. This marks the second year that CAKE has used this venue, following a two-year general hiatus.
According to its mission statement, CAKE has been celebrating independent comics and comics artists in Chicago since 2012. With two expo floors of comic sales, workshops, exhibitions, panels, and more, participants and organizers alike say that CAKE empowers and inspires artists of all kinds in the small press, publishing, and the independent artist community.
This year’s expo hosted 225 exhibitors — the highest number in CAKE’s 12-year history.
The environment was lively inside the Zhou B Arts Center. Attendees were greeted by a table of volunteers providing pamphlets with expo and sales information. Comics makers and art vendors packed every aisle. Nevertheless, the space accommodated guests to sit down or step outside whenever needed.
According to its organizers, CAKE has tried to stay conscious of accessibility, maintaining safer spaces and DEI policies, promoting the use and acceptance of masks, and this year, providing a shuttle from the Sox-35 Red Line station due to the Democratic National Convention reroutes and closures.
A sea of vendors and viewers occupy the second floor of the Zhou B Arts Center. Photo by Mya Nicole Jones.
Two panelists present on a comics-related subject. There were several scheduled panels on the first floor of the Arts Center, taking place beside books and artwork. Photo by Mya Nicole Jones.
The vendors were diverse, sharing all different kinds of stories through their comics. Many current students and alumni of the School of the Art Institute Chicago sold their work, assisted friends, or volunteered.
Ruby Carter, a BFA Fall 2024 student specializing in comics and fibers, hosted a table and did signings for her new book “bird comic” distributed by Field Mouse Press.
“As someone who grew up in Chicago, I loved to visit CAKE when I was just getting into comics. Last year I was able to squeeze into Field Mouse Presses’ table — my publisher — but they’ve grown a lot so they have no room anymore at their table. So I bought my own table,” said Carter.
SAIC BFA Fall 2024 student Ruby Carter shares her excitement for her newly published comic “bird comic” at the Field Mouse Press table for book signing. Photo by Mya Nicole Jones.
Carter said that CAKE’s vending application process was streamlined, allowing her to apply and participate with ease.
When considering advice for artists looking to get into the publishing sphere or sell their work, Carter reflected on advice that she gave her high school students in a class for which she was recently a Teaching Assistant.
“When you find a zine or a comic that you really like, check on the back to see the publishers, get a sense of what publishers you vibe with, if the work is similar [to your own], you can follow their social media or their website to see what their openings are and just apply. Even if you don’t think you’ll get in, the worst they can say is no. If you don’t get in, the best they can do is point you to another publisher who might be more suited to you,” Carter said.
2023 alum and previous F Newsmagazine comics editor Teddie Bernard shared a table with a friend SAIC 2022 alum Dante Lunmsden.
“I think that the pandemic spurred an entire group of people who were like, ‘Oh my God, everything in my life is online. I need to be making zines’. Zines have already been becoming super popular in the last decade, but having that sort of isolation, I think that having a physical thing that people were making and sharing together once we could come back in person has been like such a vital thing for so many people,” said Teddie Bernard (BFA 2023).
Dante Lumsden (BFA 2022) (left) and Teddie Bernard (BFA 2023) stand at a booth, hoping to sell their comics. Photo by Mya Nicole Jones.
CAKE’s consistent growth reflects its significance in the comics community. CAKE’s digital archive of posters and photos from their past events documents its growth. This year, CAKE featured seven special guests, and awarded their Cupcake and First Slice Award to eight tabling artists.
Gabi Cracraft (BFA 2016) was a previous organizer of CAKE, and said that the expo has gotten a lot larger, and has had to adjust to the necessary growing pains of moving from one space (the expo used to be held at the Center on Halsted) to another.
“I think self-publishing is definitely becoming more acceptable. Which I think is always a good thing. I think what stops people a lot is they think, ‘Oh, I can’t do it because I don’t have a professional publisher.’ But it’s not really about that, just put it out there and you’ll grow from there. I think the more the merrier,” said Cracraft.
