STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo is an annual convention in Austin, Texas, United States, for alternative comics, minicomics, webcomics, zines, underground comics, and graphic arts. Chris Nicholas founded the conference as a gathering place for professional artists and amateur creators, "a showcase for the folks who publish comics and zines and possible literary masterworks out of their own apartments." The show is sponsored by , an Eisner-nominated comic book store and the site of the largest gathering of artists for the worldwide 24-Hour Comics Day held in 2005.