Kingston Independent Comic Expo

Indie comics thrive on the fringes, where raw creativity meets DIY determination. The Kingston Independent Comic Expo (KICx) returns for a second year to celebrate the underground, the experimental, and the artist-owned. Produced by four dedicated, Kingston-native shop-owners, creators and community members, this gathering of cartoonists, zine-makers, and illustrators highlights the dynamic world beyond corporate capes and crossovers. Panels, signings, and artist showcases put the spotlight on the storytellers shaping the medium in their own terms. Joe Gonzalez and Jimmy Aquino, two of KICx's founders, cohost the "Comic News Insider" podcast—one of the longest running podcasts in the industry; launched in 2005, the list of Gonzalez and Aquino's past interviewees include Stan Lee, Jerry Robinson (creator of the Joker and Robin in DC's Batman comics), and actor Michael Emerson. Cris Livecchi, another KICx producer, owns World's End Comics in the Stockade District of Kingston, dedicating his entire career to sharing his favorite artistic medium with fellow Hudson Valley comic enthusiasts. Whether it’s alternative press icons, rising stars, or self-published rebels, KICx offers a space where comics are personal, political, and deeply independent. For anyone who believes the best stories unfold outside the mainstream, this is the place.