STAPLE! Austin 2026
STAPLE! is an annual comics and zine fest that happens in Austin. I haven’t attended in years (I attended one at a previous venue) but wanted to check it out this year.
I have very strong feelings of what I’m on the lookout for when I attend an event that features comics and zines… and the feeling is that I mainly want to buy comics/zines/books and other hand printed items.
As for genre, I’m a Yaoi Freak!!! Jokes aside I was looking for romance-themed works and art styles that have a lot of manga/anime influence.
Okay here’s what I got (in order of purchase I guess):
Faerie Hive Mini Zines - Questions About AI, Why Bother Making Zines, & Fuck the Corporate Internet. A zine about the smallweb/indieweb/etc? Say less! Also there is a QR link on the back that has more in depth explanations.
Duck & Mantis Play Go! + patch - I saw this and I asked the artist if this was inspired by Hikaru no Go (one of my OG top manga series of all time). I love when people make niche things exist!!
Please Be My Star by Victoria Grace Elliot - I actually met Victoria when we both tabled at Catty Bat last year and Please Be My Star has been on my wishlist since then. We were also both mutual friends with Love Love Hill (that’s such a fun connection!!)
For a Horse and Horseman by Lorian Merriman - This is a M/M romance novel - fantasy with princes - say even LESS my wallet was already open from 10 feet away. Also I love the cover and the small print that came with it.
Dyke Diaries and Crushing on my Hot Butch Boss by Ripley Larue - Ripley was actually my super sweet table neighbor at Catty Bat (we shared half table areas). I didn’t get to buy her pieces before because we were both vending, lol, I’m glad to buy it now!!
Real Cursed Objects Zine and Block Printed Patches/Yaoi Scholar Sticker by Puns and Needles - I actually have known Danni for years since she’s bought things from my tables for years (esp the 2016/2017 era of my tabling!), haha, we are just passing the same $20 back and forth. I’m so glad she’s also getting into tabling now because now I can support her!! She is also a sewist & amazing cosplayer - I got her Functional Embroidery Zine at San Japan last year which is her favorite one (I think) since mending and fixing your old clothes is awesome.
The Chicken Comic of Pokemon and Kuchipachi drawings by Selena - This was actually the best zine, and there is no link because this was a table with a father and daughter and this is Selena’s zine!! Chicken comic is incredible… I was charmed by the art to begin with. Kuchipachi with a huge dump truck is cracking me up in the best of ways!!
The Dragon’s Saint (volume 1) by M.L. Eaden (warning: website has lots of Ads) - I actually had seen her table during my first pass but needed to read the book summaries to decide if I wanted to get one. The summary mentions slow burn (yay), slight D/s (haha yipee), also urban fantasy setting. Also one character seems to be hiding An Important Fact from the other character and I like that!! After reading the summary I went back inside to purchase the book, lol.
That’s all I ended up getting. I did see a lot of very amazing and talented creators. Every time I attend an event like this I think about how I want to make a zine again (tbh I just need to do the damn thing!!).
Anyways, now I am off to enjoy the rest of my weekend. TY FOR READING!!