Masterpiece Comics HCMedia Release -- The Small Press Expo (SPX), the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels and alternative political cartoons, is pleased to announce Jerry Moriarity, R. Sikoryak and Joshua Cotter as guests for SPX 2009.

Jerry Moriarity will be making only his second festival appearance ever at this years SPX. Jerry has exhibited his work at Corridor Gallery, Kamikaze, Printed Matter, at the Visual Arts Museum of the School of Visual Arts, and, most recently, in a 2004 show at the CUE Art Foundation curated by Art Spiegelman. Jerry has worked as a painter, an illustrator, and a cartoonist. Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly first published several episodes of Jerry's "Jack Survives" series of comics pages in issues of RAW Magazine, and published a now deeply out of print "Jack Survives" collection in 1984. This year, Buenaventura Press has published an updated, definitive hardcover collection of "Jack Survives," including never before published comics pages and paintings with an introduction by Chris Ware.

R. Sikoryak is a contributor to The New Yorker, Nickelodeon Magazine, Drawn & Quarterly, The Onion, Mad Magazine and LA Weekly in addition to Art Spiegelman's ground breaking Raw. His work has also been featured on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. His long running series of literary masterpieces re-imagined in the style of various famous comic characters and cartoon artists has been collected by Drawn and Quarterly and published as Masterpiece Comics. Masterpiece Comics collects all of the previously released collisions between fine literature and the comics world, in addition to new pieces added to the series.

Skyscrapers of the Midwest HCJoshua Cotter is the creator of the mini-comics Fun and Self Help. He won the Isotope Award for mini-comix in 2004 for Skyscrapers of The Midwest, which was collected into a graphic novel and published by Adhouse Books, with both the mini-comics and full graphic novel garnering rave reviews. Joshua was also nominated for Ignatz, Harvey and Eisner Awards. He is currently doing commercial work and painting while developing his next comics oriented project, tentatively called Nod Away.

Jerry Moriarity, R. Sikoryak and Joshua Cotter are in addition to the previously announced guests Gahan Wilson, Paul Karasik, Carol Tyler, Josh Neufeld, John Porcellino and Willy Linthout.

SPX will be held Saturday, September 26 from 11AM to 7PM and Sunday, September 27, noon-6PM at The North Bethesda Marriott Convention Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Admission is $10 for a single day and $15 for both days.

For further information on the Ignatz Awards, the nominees or to request an interview, please contact Warren Bernard at warren@spxpo.com.