The beginning

Hi, my name is Andy Krueger, and I'm organizing the Minneapolis Indie XPO. I set up this page to share my history and what I'm trying to accomplish with this event. Your feedback is encouraged as well! If you're involved with comics in any way--whether as a creator, or as a fan--I hope that you will get involved and share your input and ideas for the show.

Origin Story: If you're familiar with John Allison you may recognize the reference to Mpls Indie XPO from this comic about a fictional convention. People around here started to get excited about this imaginary show, and then disappointed when they realized it wasn't real.

That's my cue.

Five years ago I started planning the St. Paul Craftstravaganza because there were no indie urban craft fairs in Minnesota, although there were successful events around the country. My passion is bringing together artists and their fans (and finding new fans, and empowering new artists). The Craftstravaganza provides a low-key environment where attendees can meet their favorite crafters face-to-face, and craft artists can hang out with each other for a day.

That event is now in its fifth year and regularly pulls in thousands of attendees. It has provided numerous opportunities for artists, and local shoppers look forward to it every year. Now I'm ready to apply that experience toward my first love: comics. And so the Mpls Indie XPO was born.

We are fortunate to have hardworking and talented people hosting comic conventions here in the Twin Cities. Our goal is not to compete with existing shows or duplicate their work. Rather, we aim to complement them with a different kind of show that will benefit participating artists and enrich the local community. My vision is a comics festival where artists can connect with their readers without distractions

If we succeed, here is what will make the Mpls Indie XPO different:

1. Artist-centric: no dealers, only creators and small-press publishers
2. Web comics spotlight: bringing nationally-known web artists to Minnesota
3. Public outreach: positioned to attract a crowd of new comics readers

I'm assembling a team to plan and coordinate this event. If you can commit some time and would like to contribute, I'd love to talk with you. All the feedback we're received so far has been overwhelmingly positive and encouraging. Our contact information is on the right, and you can comment under the posts here.