Interview with Chris (Uncle Staple) Nicholas

Alright, you all know that the humble crew from Stumblebum Studios hacked their wares and rocked the world of STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo, but how many of you know all about STAPLE!? Where did it come from? Where is it headed? What is with the punctuation that I have to awkwardly place in the middle of sentences? The man to ask is none other than the brain child of the event. The one man brave enough to push this entire con from his swollen womb, and slap its slimey little bottom.

Ughh.. I'm starting to gross myself out. Here's the Q and A.

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STUMBLEBUM STUDIOS - Where'd the idea for Staple! come from?

Chris (Uncle Staple) Nicholas - A couple years ago a friend and I started self-publishing our own comic. We found very limited opportunity to sell, distribute and promote it in
the area. As we were working on this we began to meet more and more talented folks in Austin (like at the Austin Sketch Group) and around Texas who were trying to do similar things. The idea soon occurred to me that there was enough talent in the region alone to put on a pretty good small press show right here in Texas, thus saving us all the expense of going to New York, California, Ohio, etc., to sell our $2 mini-comics.
After the first 24 Hour Comics event at Austin Books (which had the highest turnout in the world, btw) I was also convinced that there was enough audience for this type of stuff here for a small-press show to really work. Much research and hard work ensued, then about a year later my instincts were vindicated by the success of the first STAPLE! That was a good feeling, let me tell you.

SS - When do you start thinking about next year's Staple!?

C(US)N - Well, the STAPLE! Commission is already thinking about it now. We intend to absorb and analyze the lessons learned this year and put them to work to make STAPLE! 2007 an even better experience than '06. The hardcore planning and organizing won't start for a couple months, however.
One thing I want to do in the meantime is organize more Live Art events like the one we had at this year's after-party. That went fantastically well itself and I think we can pull together enough local and regional talent to keep that going. Look for the first one around late April.

SS - Do you see yourself still doing this con in the next five years?

C(US)N- As long as folks still want it I most likely will still do it. It's a lot of work, but very satisfying, and I'm not sure people will let me stop at this point.

SS - What do you think STAPLE!'s of the future will be like?

C(US)N - In the future STAPLE! will be held in space with flying cars and sex robots. Really though, I don't see too many major changes in the works. People seem to like what we have going here. The only thing I see is it getting bigger - but not too much. I want to keep the homey, fun, comfortable feel of the show and I don't want to let it outgrow the audience (like I feel some shows have done) because that would be bad for the exhibitors, who I feel are the primary customers and most important part of STAPLE!

SS - What's your day job?

C(US)N - Public Sector Office Monkey #81266. The pays not so good but I've got AC, a T1, and lots of days off.

SS - Do you make books yourself?

C(US)N - Yes. Dave Lamplugh and I collaborated on and self publish a comic called You Chose Right The First Time. It is a crime story set in late 60's Chicago. We recently finished our 6th issue and have only one more to go before the story is done. You can see some preview pages here:
http://ycrtft.rethunkmedia.com/

SS - What kind of indie books do you look for?

C(US)N - I particularly like any book that someone gives me for free. I also look for stuff that is unique, maybe humorous or ambitious in its vision. I like it when you can tell the creator has really poured their heart and soul into thier work. That's what I liked about your book. It was free.

SS - Do you think the Necronomicon was held together with surgery staples or stitching?

C(US)N - I'm not sure about the original, but my copy is bound with the ectoplasmic glue of the souls of the damned. Holds up well in the Texas heat.

And that's all.
Check out STAPLE! Next year at www.staple-austin.org
Check out You Chose Right The First Time at http://ycrtft.rethunkmedia.com/



And as always check out Dave's mindless pap at http://www.culturalvoid.net