There’s a new 20-year-old sophomore at St. Edward’s University, and its name is STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo.
Yes, the big-name comic conventions come and go, but there are few media mainstays in Austin like STAPLE!, which came and went … and then came back again. Founder Chris Nicholas, aka Uncle Staple, founded the event in 2005 as a place for truly independent comic creators to meet their audience. However, after a fantastic 15-year run, like so many events it seemed to end with the pandemic – until Nicholas resurrected it last year with the assistance of St. Ed’s, which will also host this year’s gathering of the graphic arts from April 12-13.
“It’s nice to be involved with an institution that is supportive,” Nicholas says.
Memorable as STAPLE!’s early years at the Marchesa and Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex were, “it was strictly a business relationship.” St. Ed’s is something more: not only did they invite him back after the success of 2024, but they’re hoping to add side events, presentations, and workshops throughout the year.
“I’ve made friends with some of the faculty there, and they’re very excited about the value it brings for their students and their staff,” he says.
By comparison to other STAPLE!s, 2024 was small but mighty, and 2025 looks to go the same way. “We kicked off with a bang,” Nicholas says. After the success of last year’s event, he encouraged artists to sign up for the mailing list so they would know when registration for vendor tables for the 2025 event would open up. Just after midnight on Martin Luther King Day, the email went out, and in 19 minutes all 100 tables were filled. For context, he adds, “Last year it took 18 hours, which was a record by a lot.”
Nicholas notes that he is already impressed not only by how good the art is (“Everyone is bringing their A-game”), but also by the presentations and printing, which he described as “through the roof. Higher quality, better production.”
“You don’t need anyone’s permission to make a comic book.” – STAPLE! Founder Chris Nicholas
And all this wraps up with the annual live art show at St. Elmo Brewing Co., held as a fundraiser for KOOP community radio. “Saint Edward’s to Saint Elmo,” Nicholas chortles. “All the saints come marching in.”
Yet even after 20 years, an extended hiatus, and multiple venues, for Nicholas the purpose of STAPLE! remains the same: to support existing artists and encourage the next generation of creators. “Somebody will come and attend the show one year, they get inspired, they make something, and they’re back next year with a table,” he says.
If there’s a single lesson to be taken away from the weekend, he says, it’s that “you don’t need anyone’s permission to make a comic book. You just need to sit down and do it – or get a standing desk. Stand up and do it.”
STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo
Saturday 12-Sunday 13, Mabee Ballroom @ St. Edward’s University
This article appears in April 4 • 2025.
