Find Unique Comic Book Art From Celebrated Indie Artists At The Hideout Friday
By Sophie Lucido Johnson in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 7, 2016 5:53PM
Mark your calendars, because the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE) is back, and it's bigger and better than ever. The renowned indie comics festival is holding a live auction Friday night at The Hideout Inn (1345 W. Wabansia Ave.), and it's officially the best place in town to get that one-of-a-kind piece of original art you've been craving in your living room. This is the fourth year in a row CAKE has raised money through live auction, and it's as much a night of entertainment as it is a fund-raiser; and for the fourth year, intermedia artist Lyra Hill (the person behind Chicago's comics reading series Brain Frame) will host the night.
If you've never experienced a live comics reading, that's excuse enough to make it out to the auction. Comic readings are a unique mix of visual art, writing and painfully introverted people talking into microphones. CAKE's auction will feature readings from local artists Samuel Nigrosh (Sun Eater Studios), Molly Colleen O'Connell ("Difficult Lives"), and Isabella Rotman.
The artists behind the pieces for sale—starting at $30 a pop—run the gamut from established cartoonists to up-and-comers, with everything in between. They're also in every medium imaginable: The event's Facebook page advertises a painted leech monster sculpture by Chloë Perkis, an blob painting on canvas by Jeremy Tinder, and hundreds of works in paper and ink from artists all over the country. Originals by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, Eleanor Davis, and Dash Shaw are all up for grabs.
The auction will raise money for a CAKE'S weekend-long celebration from June 11 to 12. CAKE has a reputation for bringing in big names from the growing world of alternative comics, while honoring Chicago's lush history of indie comics artists. The free event will take place at the Center on Halsted. Doors for tomorrow night's auction (also free and open to the public) open at 7 p.m.