Attend the Baltimore Comic-Con this September 25-27, 2026 at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center. Baltimore Comic-Con has announced Jeremy Bastian, Sean Forney, Cully Hamner, Joëlle Jones, Tom King, and Chip Zdarsky as comics guests of the 2026 event. You can purchase tickets online now!
Jeremy Bastian is the creator and illustrator of Cursed Pirate Girl from BOOM! Studios and Archaia Comics. He is renowned for his delicate detail, whimsical characters, and strange creatures, all drawn at the actual print size with a very small brush! Cursed Pirate Girl beckons to the 19th century in both subject and style. He has also contributed to Guild: Tink from Dark Horse Comics, Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard from BOOM! Studios/Archaia Comics, Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream from Locust Moon Press, and Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom from Simon and Schuster. His Cursed Pirate Girl Annual was released by BOOM! Studios.
Sean Forney is an illustrator currently working on covers and art for Counterpoint Comics, Rocketship, Coffin Comics, Dynamite, Image, Orange Cone, Aspen, and Castle Thunder Comics, along with his own series, Scarlet Huntress. Published cover titles: Commander Tomorrow (Rocketship), Thundercats (Dynamite), Chutzpah (Castle Thunder Comics), Lady Death (Coffin), Vanish (Image), Vampirella/Red Sonja (Dynamite), Vampirella Strikes (Dynamite), Fathom: The Core (Aspen), Spicy Pulp Comics (Virus/Heavy Metal), Bloodstrike (Image), and TMNT (IDW). Cover and interiors: Counterpoint, Rocketship, Bear Claw Studios, Devil’s Due/1First, and Zenescope. Commercial artwork includes Upper Deck, Cut the Rope (Titan Publishing), Lego, Inc., My Adventures with Spider-Man (Marvel/Identity Direct), and Spin Master’s Bakugan toy line. The newest issues of Scarlet Huntress Meets Mothman and Scarlet Huntress Meets Wendigo are both out now.
Cully Hamner has drawn many things for many publishers, but he’s probably best known for co-creating Jaime Reyes (DC Comics’ current Blue Beetle, recently adapted into a Warner Bros. feature film); his creator-owned comic Red (also adapted as a pair of hit Bruce Willis films); and a list of credits at DC about as long as your leg — most recently as cover artist on numerous titles across the Batman and Superman lines, as well as the new Blue Beetle: Graduation Day, and interiors on books like Detective Comics, Superman Red & Blue, and Blue and Gold. At Marvel, he’s provided a ton of covers for the Spider-Man titles, Black Panther vs. Deadpool, War of the Realms, Yondu, M.O.D.O.K., Planet of the Apes, Aliens, and the Joe Fixit series. Also coming up are covers for BOOM! Studios, AWA, Tiny Onion, Mad Cave, and many other publishers. His next major projects are Ruby Actual with Greg Rucka at Image Comics and as regular cover artist on DC’s new JSA series by Jeff Lemire and Diego Olortegui.
Joëlle Jones is an Eisner-nominated artist currently living and working in the Pacific Northwest.
Since attending PNCA in Portland, OR, Jones has contributed to a wide range of mainstream and indie projects, with credits at Marvel, DC, IDW, BOOM! Studios, Vertigo, Oni Press, The New York Times, and fashion designer Prada. Notable titles include her creator-owned series Lady Killer, as well as Wonder Girl, Batman, Catwoman, Supergirl: Being Super, and Helheim.
She is also a founding member of the creator-owned publisher DSTLRY, with several projects in the works there.
Tom King is the New York Times-bestselling author and multiple Eisner Award-winning writer of comic book projects including Batman, Mister Miracle, Strange Adventures, The Human Target, The Vision, and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the latter which serves a source material for the DC Studios film Supergirl released on June 26, 2026. He recently served as co-creator of the HBO series Lanterns, released in August 2026. Currently, King is writing Wonder Woman at DC Comics, The Archie Movie for Universal Studios, and showrunning the much-anticipated Mister Miracle animated series. Prior to his writing career, King served overseas in the Iraq and Afghan theaters of war as a counterterrorism officer in the CIA. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife and three children.
Chip Zdarsky is the current writer of Captain America for Marvel Comics despite being Canadian. For Image Comics, he’s the writer of Newburn and the writer/illustrator of the award-winning Public Domain.
His previous work includes Daredevil, Batman, and Spider-Man: Life Story for Marvel, and he’s the illustrator of Image Comics’ Sex Criminals, an Eisner-winning series and NYT Bestseller despite all the penis jokes.
This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Jason Aaron (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Arthur Adams (Longshot), Joel Adams (Ms. Mystic), Zeea Adams (Deadman), Rafael Albuquerque (Absolute Green Arrow), Jiba Molei Anderson (The Horsemen, courtesy of Advent Comics), Rodney Barnes (Killedelphia, courtesy of Advent Comics), Jeremy Bastian (Cursed Pirate Girl), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), Brett Bean (D’Orc), Josh Blaylock (Mercy Sparx, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Carolyn Belefski (Curls), Russ Braun (The Boys), Brett Breeding (Superman), Jeffrey Brown (Hulk Teach, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jeffrey Burandt (Gonad the Ballbarian), Greg Burnham (Tuskegee Heirs, courtesy of Advent Comics), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Eric Canete (Absolute Superman), Joe Carabeo (The Legettes), Richard Case (Doom Patrol), Keith Champagne (Stranger Things), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jo Chen (Runaways), Sean Chen (Iron Man), Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Chris Claremont (Uncanny X-Men), Taurin Clarke (Star Wars: Jedi Knights), Becky Cloonan (War), Michael W. Conrad (In Bloom), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn), Denys Cowan (The Question), Olivia Cuartero-Briggs (The College Try), Paris Cullins (Blue Devil), Mike Decarlo (The Simpsons), Vito Delsante (Stray), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Colleen Doran (The Sandman), Olivia Dufault (Prima Apparata, courtesy of Ignition Press), Scott Dunbier (DC Silver Age Covers and Stories Artist’s Edition), Steve Englehart (Captain America), Garth Ennis (The Boys), Victor Farro (Invincible Universe: Battle Beast), Sean Forney (Scarlet Huntress Meets Mothman), Trish Forstner (Feral), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), David Gerrold (Star Trek), Chris Giarrusso (Mini Marvels), Randy Green (Witchblade), Che Grayson (Absolute Catwoman), Kevin Grevioux (I, Frankenstein, courtesy of Advent Comics), Gene Ha (Mae), Bob Hall (West Coast Avengers), Cully Hamner (Blue Beetle), Scott Hanna (Amazing Spider-Man), N. Steven Harris (Aztek: The Ultimate Man, courtesy of Advent Comics), Tony Harris (The Whistling Skull), Dean Haspiel (Chest Face), Glenn Hauman (They Keep Killing Glenn), Jeremy Haun (The Beauty, courtesy of Ignition Press), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Marc Hempel (Sandman), Sean Damian Hill (Bishop: War College, courtesy of Advent Comics), Jamal Igle (Superman), Joseph P. Illidge (The Shadow Cabinet, courtesy of Advent Comics), Rebecca Isaacs (Prima Apparata, courtesy of Ignition Press), Dave Johnson (100 Bullets), Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Infernal Hulk), Klaus Janson (Daredevil), JG Jones (Wanted), Joëlle Jones (Lady Killer), Dan Jurgens (Action Comics), Chris Kemple (Red Vengeance), Tom King (Wonder Woman), Peter Krause (The Power of Shazam, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mike Kunkel (Herobear and the Kid), Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), Creees Lee (Sorcerer Supreme), Jae Lee (Inhumans), Jim Lee (Batman: H2SH), Rick Leonardi (Spider-Man 2099), Jesse Lonergan (DROME), Tula Lotay (Bloodland), Nate Lovett (Commander Tomorrow), Andy MacDonald (Rogue Planet), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), Anthony Marques (Superman Unlimited), Laura Martin (Nubia: Queen of the Amazons, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Shawn Martinbrough (Red Hood: The Hill), Alitha E. Martinez (Black Panther: World of Wakanda, courtesy of Advent Press), Ron Marz (Green Lantern), Jose Marzen Jr. (Y: The Last Man), Bill McKay (Kim the Delusional), Mike McKone (Teen Titans), Bob McLeod (New Mutants), Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Adriana Melo (Fantastic Four), Pop Mhan (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe), Joshua Middleton (Aquaman), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Mark Morales (Thor), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons), Drew Moss (Thundercats), Trevor Mueller (Bat Pat), Sarah Myer (TMNT Saturday Morning Adventures), Tom Nguyen (Batman), Phil Noto (Fantastic Four: First Foes), Kevin Nowlan (Batman: Sword of Azrael), Patrick Olliffe (Untold Tales of Spider-Man), Jerome Opena (Uncanny X-Force), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jimmy Palmiotti (The Punisher), Dan Parent (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Dan Parsons (Star Wars), Margeaux Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Pornsak Pichetshote (Absolute Green Arrow), Stephen Platt (Moon Knight), Eric Powell (The Goon), Andy Price (My Little Pony), Joe Pruett (Savage Sword of Conan), Tom Raney (Incredible Hulk), Afua Richardson (Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds), James Robinson (Starman), Tone Rodriguez (Feral, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Stephane Roux (Void Rivals), Andy Runton (Owly), Ethan Sacks (Old Man Hawkeye), Stuart Sayger (Red Sonja), Joe Schmalke (We Don’t Kill Spiders), Erica Schultz (Rogue), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), Don Simpson (Megaton Man), Matt Slay (Patchwork Ends), Matthew Dow Smith (DC’s Misfits of Magic), Scott Snyder (Friday and Sunday only, DC K.O.), John K. Snyder III (Suicide Squad), Mark Sparacio (Liberty Girl Deluxe), Cat Staggs (David Dastmachian’s Through), Jim Starlin (Dreadstar), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Charles Stewart III (Storm: Lifedream, courtesy of Advent Comics), Karl Story (Batman & Robin), Brandon Thomas (Legend Has It, courtesy of Advent Comics), Martha Thomases (Dakota North), Frank Tieri (Absolute Batman: Ark-M), Peter J. Tomasi (The Rocketfellers), Billy Tucci (Shi), Jonathan Uribe (Spawn, courtesy of Comics and Collectibles R Us), Gus Vazquez (Sunfire and the Big Hero Six), Wade Von Grawbadger (Justice League), Dave Wachter (Godzilla), Steve Walker (Pay the Devil), Dan Watters (Mad Science Division, courtesy of Ignition Press), Lee Weeks (Batman/Catwoman Special), Mark Wheatley (Breathtaker), Bob Wiacek (All-New Wolverine, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Keith Williams (Web of Spider-Man), Ron Wilson (Marvel Two-In-One), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (Justice League, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Rich Woodall (Sgt. Werewolf), John Workman (Wild Things), Kelly Yates (Doctor Who), Thom Zahler (Long Distance), and Chip Zdarsky (Captain America).
The Baltimore Comic-Con arrives at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center on September 25-27, 2026. The Baltimore Comic-Con has announced the addition of actors Gary Anthony Williams and Cedric Yarbrough as guests of the 2026 event! Get your tickets to the show and to meet Gary and Cedric!
Gary Anthony Williams‘ film credits include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, The Internship, Undercover Brother Soul Plane, and Outlaw Johnny Black.
An accomplished voice actor, Williams is best known for voicing Uncle Ruckus on The Boondocks. Additional voiceover credits include the newly released shows Batman: Caped Crusader, Wondla, and The Second Best Hospital In The Galaxy. Other shows include The Lion Guard, Hailey’s On It!, Star Wars Resistance, Puppy Dog Pals, Love, Death & Robots, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Bob’s Burgers, Rick and Morty, Family Guy, American Dad, Rugrats, and Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. He is also the voice of the award-winning music show Unsung. On television, Gary just reprised his classic role of “Abe” in the reboot of Malcolm in the Middle! He regularly appeared on NBC’s Night Court for three seasons and has had memorable turns in Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Neighborhood, Key and Peele, Reno 911, and Whose Line is it Anyway. He currently tours the US and Canada with the live version of the show called Whose Live Anyway.
Cedric Yarbrough is an American actor and comedian best known for his roles as Deputy S. Jones on Reno 911! and Kenneth on ABC’s Speechless. He has voiced memorable characters such as Tom DuBois and Colonel H. Stinkmeaner on The Boondocks, Gerald Fitzgerald on Paradise PD, and Officer Meow Meow Fuzzyface on BoJack Horseman. A Minnesota native and alumnus of Dudley Riggs’ Brave New Workshop, Yarbrough’s career spans television, film, and voiceover, with appearances in Meet the Fockers, Black Dynamite, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, and recurring roles in The Goldbergs, Rake, and Carol’s Second Act.
Baltimore Comic-Con occurs on September 25-27, 2026 at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center. Baltimore Comic-Con has announced Rafael Albuquerque, Brett Breeding, Eric Canete, Klaus Janson, Rick Leonardi, and Matt Slay as comics guests of the 2026 event. You can purchase tickets online now!
Rafael Albuquerque was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil. He has been working in the American comic book industry since 2005. Best known from his work on All Star Batman, Animal Man, and Batgirl, he has also published the creator-owned books Mondo Urbano (2010), Eight (2015), and Huck (2015).
Rafael is an Eisner, Harvey, and Inkpot Award winner for the NY Times Bestseller American Vampire (DC Comics/Vertigo, 2010), written by Scott Snyder and Stephen King, and known by Neil Gaiman’s tale A Study in Emerald, Mark Millar’s Hit-Girl, and Detective Comics, to mention a few.
Brett Breeding has enjoyed nearly forty-seven years as a comic book artist, illustrating and creating characters for Marvel and DC Comics as well as numerous independent publishers. Primarily known for his finished inks over pencilers George Perez, Ron Frenz, Dan Jurgens, Bob Hall, and Kerry Gammill, Brett has also done penciling and traditional and computer coloring, as well as story development and plotting. He is a co-creator of DC Comics characters Doomsday, Blaze, Lord Satanus, and Shadowdragon, as well as Marvel Comics’ Dargo Thor.
Brett has worked on many titles for Marvel and DC Comics, but is most recognized for his work on the Superman titles, notably the “Death of Superman” storyline, as well as the Spider-Man titles, The Mighty Thor, The Avengers and West Coast Avengers, the Hawkeye Limited Series, and the first comic series featuring the Thundercats. While working on Thor #390 with Ron Frenz, Brett originated the idea that Steve Rogers would be worthy to wield Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, and Ron and writer Tom DeFalco made it a key part of the story. Over 30 years later, Brett’s idea would be immortalized on the big screen as a key moment in Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame.
Brett regularly produces licensing art for DC Comics and Warner Brothers Consumer Products, and in 2012, he created numerous children’s books and digital interactive iPad apps featuring Superman and Batman for WB Global Publishing which are available digitally on Amazon.
Recently, Brett returned to Marvel, inking occasional covers and interior story pages, as well as special projects for the MCU. In 2022, for the first time in over 25 years, Brett again teamed up with Dan Jurgens on Superman to create artwork for the main story for the 30th Anniversary of The Death of Superman Special Edition comic, followed in 2023 with the 30th Anniversary of the Reign of the Supermen Special Edition. They continue to team up on covers for Marvel and DC special projects. Brett’s most recent project teamed him again with long-time collaborator Ron Frenz for a 10-page story in Venom #252, an homage to their first team-up together on Amazing Spider-Man #252 published back in 1984.
Eric Canete is a concept artist, comic book illustrator, and storyboard artist whose signature style — kinetic, expressive, and built on a foundation of serious design craft — has made him one of the most distinctive voices working across comics and animation.
His credits span some of the most recognizable properties in both mediums: Iron Man: Enter The Mandarin (Marvel Comics), Run Love Kill (Image Comics), Aeon Flux (MTV), Ben 10: Alien Force (Cartoon Network), Justice League Unlimited, Teen Titans, The Batman (Warner Bros. Animation), TRON: Uprising (Disney TVA), and Killer Instinct (Microsoft).
Most recently, Canete served as guest artist on Absolute Batman #17–18, illustrating the acclaimed “Absolute Poison Ivy” arc.
Klaus Janson was born in 1952 in Coburg, Germany, and came to America in 1957. As a child growing up in Connecticut, he learned how to read and write the English language almost exclusively from Lois Lane and Superman comics. Even at that early age, delusions of competence overtook him and he would cut apart the comics and paste them onto paper to construct new stories. This eventually led to the notion that drawing the stories outright and preserving the comics might be a more efficient way of approaching this medium. A valuable and life saving apprenticeship with his mentor Dick Giordano encouraged him to continue. After many summers of portfolio reviews and rejections, Marvel Comics offered a part time office job applying grey tones to the black and white horror comic reprints that were glutting the market. Two things happened that would change that: Daredevil and teaching at The School of Visual Arts. Daredevil with Frank Miller in the mid-1980s was a rare opportunity for two artists to work unconstrained by the typical expectations or oversight of corporate thinking. An anomaly for mainstream publishing, Daredevil was a struggle between artistic instinct and intellect that, at its best, resulted in that perfect balance. The other step forward was teaching at The School of Visual Arts. Klaus believes that communication is the most powerful tool human beings possess. That ability to communicate can come in many forms but at its root is called storytelling. Klaus lives in New York, where he writes, draws, inks, and colors, and teaches comics.
Rick Leonardi has drawn comics for more than forty years. His best-known works include various issues of The Uncanny X-Men and New Mutants, as well as runs on Cloak & Dagger, Spider-Man 2099, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Green Lantern vs. Aliens. He is credited, along with fellow illustrator Mike Zeck, with designing the black-and-white costume to which Spider-Man switched during the miniseries Secret Wars, and with creating the costume for Spider-Man 2099. He was penciler/inker for the original four issues of Watson and Holmes, which received an Eisner nomination for Best New Series in 2014.
Recently, Rick finished up an original graphic novel, Blue Angel, for the US Naval Institute Press, contributed pages to Nightwing #100, and enjoyed Spider-Man 2099’s appearance in Across the Spider-Verse.
Matt Slay has worked in comics for 15 years, but quickly made a name for himself painting variant covers for IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. His dark and earthy watercolors bring a grown-up sense of danger to any character. Born in St. Michaels and raised in Easton, the Maryland native now paints for the sci-fi anthology series Time Traveled Tales with authors such as Timothy Zahn. Matt has generated production art for Marvel Premiere as well as Iron Man 3, and has since provided covers for Six Gun Gorilla and American Mythology’s Equilibrium while writing his own book and cartoon series, 3 Story Dungeon. Matt is represented by Comic Art House.
This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Jason Aaron (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Arthur Adams (Longshot), Joel Adams (Ms. Mystic), Zeea Adams (Deadman), Rafael Albuquerque (Absolute Green Arrow), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), Brett Bean (D’Orc), Josh Blaylock (Mercy Sparx, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Carolyn Belefski (Curls), Russ Braun (The Boys), Jeffrey Brown (Hulk Teach, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jeffrey Burandt (Gonad the Ballbarian), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Eric Canete (Absolute Superman), Joe Carabeo (The Legettes), Richard Case (Doom Patrol), Keith Champagne (Stranger Things), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jo Chen (Runaways), Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Chris Claremont (Uncanny X-Men), Taurin Clarke (Star Wars: Jedi Knights), Becky Cloonan (War), Michael W. Conrad (In Bloom), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn), Denys Cowan (The Question), Olivia Cuartero-Briggs (The College Try), Paris Cullins (Blue Devil), Mike Decarlo (The Simpsons), Vito Delsante (Stray), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Colleen Doran (The Sandman), Scott Dunbier (DC Silver Age Covers and Stories Artist’s Edition), Steve Englehart (Captain America), Garth Ennis (The Boys), Victor Farro (Invincible Universe: Battle Beast), Trish Forstner (Feral), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), David Gerrold (Star Trek), Chris Giarrusso (Mini Marvels), Randy Green (Witchblade), Che Grayson (Absolute Catwoman), Gene Ha (Mae), Bob Hall (West Coast Avengers), Cully Hamner (Blue Beetle), Scott Hanna (Amazing Spider-Man), Tony Harris (The Whistling Skull), Dean Haspiel (Chest Face), Glenn Hauman (They Keep Killing Glenn), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Marc Hempel (Sandman), Jamal Igle (Superman), Dave Johnson (100 Bullets), Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Infernal Hulk), Klaus Janson (Daredevil), JG Jones (Wanted), Joëlle Jones (Lady Killer), Dan Jurgens (Action Comics), Chris Kemple (Red Vengeance), Tom King (Wonder Woman), Peter Krause (The Power of Shazam, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mike Kunkel (Herobear and the Kid), Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), Creees Lee (Sorcerer Supreme), Jae Lee (Inhumans), Jim Lee (Batman: H2SH), Rick Leonardi (Spider-Man 2099), Jesse Lonergan (DROME), Tula Lotay (Bloodland), Nate Lovett (Commander Tomorrow), Andy MacDonald (Rogue Planet), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), Anthony Marques (Superman Unlimited), Laura Martin (Nubia: Queen of the Amazons, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Shawn Martinbrough (Red Hood: The Hill), Ron Marz (Green Lantern), Jose Marzen Jr. (Y: The Last Man), Mike McKone (Teen Titans), Bob McLeod (New Mutants), Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Adriana Melo (Fantastic Four), Pop Mhan (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe), Joshua Middleton (Aquaman), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Mark Morales (Thor), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons), Drew Moss (Thundercats), Trevor Mueller (Bat Pat), Sarah Myer (TMNT Saturday Morning Adventures), Phil Noto (Fantastic Four: First Foes), Kevin Nowlan (Batman: Sword of Azrael), Patrick Olliffe (Untold Tales of Spider-Man), Jerome Opena (Uncanny X-Force), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jimmy Palmiotti (The Punisher), Dan Parent (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Margeaux Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Pornsak Pichetshote (Absolute Green Arrow), Stephen Platt (Moon Knight), Andy Price (My Little Pony), Joe Pruett (Savage Sword of Conan), Tom Raney (Incredible Hulk), Afua Richardson (Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds), James Robinson (Starman), Tone Rodriguez (Feral, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Stephane Roux (Void Rivals), Andy Runton (Owly), Ethan Sacks (Old Man Hawkeye), Stuart Sayger (Red Sonja), Joe Schmalke (We Don’t Kill Spiders), Erica Schultz (Rogue), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), Don Simpson (Megaton Man), Matthew Dow Smith (DC’s Misfits of Magic), Scott Snyder (Friday and Sunday only, DC K.O.), John K. Snyder III (Suicide Squad), Mark Sparacio (Liberty Girl Deluxe), Cat Staggs (David Dastmachian’s Through), Jim Starlin (Dreadstar), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Karl Story (Batman & Robin), Martha Thomases (Dakota North), Frank Tieri (Absolute Batman: Ark-M), Peter J. Tomasi (The Rocketfellers), Billy Tucci (Shi), Jonathan Uribe (Spawn, courtesy of Comics and Collectibles R Us), Gus Vazquez (Sunfire and the Big Hero Six), Wade Von Grawbadger (Justice League), Dave Wachter (Godzilla), Steve Walker (Pay the Devil), Lee Weeks (Batman/Catwoman Special), Mark Wheatley (Breathtaker), Bob Wiacek (All-New Wolverine, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Keith Williams (Web of Spider-Man), Ron Wilson (Marvel Two-In-One), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (Justice League, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Rich Woodall (Sgt. Werewolf), Kelly Yates (Doctor Who), and Thom Zahler (Long Distance).
The Baltimore Comic-Con returns to the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center for its 27th year on September 25-27, 2026. The Baltimore Comic-Con has announced the addition of actors Grace Park and Aaron Douglas as guests of the 2026 event! Get your tickets to the show and to meet Battlestar Galactica‘s own!
Prior to Hawaii Five-0, Grace Park was beloved by audiences for her starring role on the critically acclaimed series Battlestar Galactica, in which she played not one, but two leading roles. Her performance in the season one cliffhanger garnered her a place in TV Guide’s “100 Most Memorable Moments in TV History.” The series received a Peabody Award in 2006 and has been named one of television’s best shows by Rolling Stone, TV Guide, The New York Times Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and Newsday. Park earned a nomination for Outstanding Newcomer Award in 2006 by the “Asian Excellence Awards” for her work in the series.
For her role on Hawaii Five-0, Park brought to life the iconic role of Kono Kalakaua (not as a man as originally written, but as a woman!) and was nominated in both 2011 and 2012 for a “Teen Choice Award” for Choice TV Actress: Action. In 2010, she received the “Achievement Award in Entertainment” by the KoreAm Awards. In 2014, Park was honored with the “Asian Hall of Fame Award” and “APEX Inspiration Award.”
Born in Los Angeles and raised in Canada, Park received a degree in psychology from the University of British Columbia before turning her attention to film and television. Early on, she was cast in the Canadian teen drama Edgemont as she pursued her dramatic studies. Years later Park would return to the Canadian airwaves starring in the television series The Border, for which she was nominated for a “Gemini Award” for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role. In addition, her credits include the acclaimed cable series The Cleaner, starring opposite Benjamin Bratt. Also, Park appeared in the stage production of The Boys Next Door, and, most recently, she starred in A Million Little Things on ABC/Hulu.
Aaron Douglas was born in New Westminster, British Columbia. He chose the path of film and TV in his late 20s and has had a tremendously successful career spanning nearly 30 years.
Aaron is best known for his portrayal of Chief Galen Tyrol on the Emmy Award winning NBC/Universal Syfy’s Battlestar Galactica.
Aaron has well over 120 other film/TV and video game credits on his impressive resume, including working alongside Owen Wilson in Stick, Brian Cox and Hugh Jackman in X-Men 2, Will Smith on I, Robot, Ben Affleck in Paycheck and Man About Town, Uma Thurman in Paycheck and Imposters, and Vin Diesel in The Chronicles of Riddick, as well as roles in Stargate SG-1, The Bridge, Hellcats, iZombie, Hemlock Grove, The Killing, The Returned, Falling Skies, The Strain, The X-Files, Supernatural, The Flash, Once Upon A Time, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Motherland Fort Salem, Van Helsing, The Watchful Eye, Resident Alien, and much more.
Most recently, Aaron joined the cast of Amazon Prime’s Vought Rising, the prequel to The Boys.
Aaron has created and written four graphic novels for AfterShock Comics. His latest comic, Borealis, was co-written by Mark Verheiden and was released by Dark Horse Comics. He is currently working on a new book.
Don’t miss the 2026 Baltimore Comic-Con this September 25th-27th at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center. Advent Comics, while finishing up the history-making, 200-plus page Epiphany Engine graphic novel which brings together over 40 publishers in a single story told by nearly 50 All-Star Creators, comes to Baltimore Comic-Con to celebrate their 17th Anniversary with a powerful star-studded list of creators. Get your tickets online now!
Advent will also be conducting a panel entitled “Building Bridges: Creating A Pathway In Comics” that will take place on Saturday at noon (location details to be announced). Panelists will include Advent Comics EIC Tony Kittrell, Brandon Thomas, Rodney Barnes, Alitha E. Martinez, Joseph P. Illidge, Jiba Molei Anderson, Marcus H. Williams, and Greg Burnham.
Some of the 2026 Baltimore Comic-Con Exclusives will include:
EPOCHSOne–Shot is a 100-plus page book that celebrates the 17th Anniversary of Advent Comics and features work by Ron Marz (Green Lantern, Silver Surfer), Bart Sears (X-O Manowar, Justice League Europe), José Luis (Marvel Comics Punisher), Greg Burnham (Tuskegee Heirs, DC Power), Sean Damien Hill (Spirits of Vengeance, X-Men Bishop: War College), Sebastian Cheng (Marvel Comics Wolverine: Patch), Allan Goldman (Superman/Batman, Justice League), Pow Rodrix (Star Wars: The High Republic), and amazing covers by Darryl Banks, Raymond Gay, Caanan White, John Royle and others.
TITANTHEULTRAMAN#5CaananWhiteVariantCover
ADVENT UNIVERSE Trading Cards Boxed Set
Plus, don’t miss the following Advent Comics titles and Merchandise at Baltimore Comic-Con:
TitantheUltraMan#5 which is the final issue drawn by superstar artist Netho Diaz (X-Men) before becoming exclusive to Marvel Comics. Introducing Black Vulture as the latest enemy of Advent Comics Man of Might. Created by an all-star team consisting of writer Tony Kittrell, pencils by Netho Diaz & Carlos Franco, inks by Lebeau Underwood (Star Wars, Wolverine: Patch), and colorist and letterer Ed Dukeshire (Hulk).
DOLLVALLEYONE–SHOT is a throwback Grindhouse horror story for MATUREREADERS that combines 80’s slasher flicks, 90s gore films, dark comedy and bad girl comics into one fun story. The Caanan White (Rippaverse) and Candice Han Bloody Variant and two distinct DOLLVALLEY Box Sets will be at the show.
COSMOSMaxi–Series including COSMOS: WARONE–SHOT which has over 30 indie comics publishers and creators such as Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon, Big Bang Comics Megaton), Mike Baron/Steve Rude (Nexus), Jerry Ordway/Al Gordon (Wildstar), Dan Fraga (Black Flag), and more. COSMOS: WAR Box Sets will be at the show as well.
SOUTHSIDE: THESIDEPOCKET trade paperback collects the ultra-popular, MATUREREADERS Advent Comics title SOUTHSIDE that lit up comic shop shelves across the nation. Dalton Malone returns home to the mean streets of Washington D.C. to find the murderer of his friend…and get REVENGE! They will have a Softcover Edition and a limited number of Digest-Size Edition books.
Guests appearing courtesy of Advent Comics include:
Jiba Molei Anderson is the CEO and Creative Director for Griot Enterprises. An expert in print design, publishing, and branding, Anderson has worked as a graphic designer and art director for organizations such as Onyx Path Publishing, The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, and Rogue Matter.
Anderson is the creator of Griot Enterprises’ flagship title, the Afrofantastic saga The Horsemen, and curator of 4 Pages 16 Bars: A Visual Mixtape, the long-running anthology series celebrating the independent works from creators of color.
Through Griot Enterprises, Anderson has had numerous one-man and group shows, art directed, and published over 20 books including Canton Kid: The Definitive Collection, The Dark Kingdom, Dante: A Divine Comedy, and others. He has been invited to speak about his work and the representation of race and culture at various institutions, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Penn State Altoona, the Ohio State University, and Michigan State University.
Anderson has also made an impact in the world of role-playing games, contributing content to the World of Darkness franchise (Vampire: The Masquerade, Wraith: The Oblivion, Mage: The Ascension, Tales of Depravity, and They Came from [CLASSIFIED]) for Onyx Path Publishing.
Anderson’s animated projects include the music video Start a Fight for rock band The Ex-Senators (with Mark Rizzo Design) and The Song of Lionogo: An Indian Ocean Mythological Remix for the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art (with Brightseed Collaborative). His work has also been featured in the Amazon Prime television series Utopia and the Apple+ film Swan Song starring Mahershala Ali.
In 2019, Anderson became the proud recipient of the Glyph Awards Lifetime Achievement/Pioneer Award for his work in the comic book industry through the East Coast of Black Age Comics Convention. In addition, The Horsemen: Book of Olorun was part of the long-running exhibition Heroes: Principles of African Greatness at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and is a part of the museum’s permanent collection.
Anderson is a veteran of the creative industries, working as a visual communicator, writer, and educator teaching courses in multimedia at Chicago State University, Harper College, and the Computer Systems Institute – Skokie.
Rodney Barnes is an award-winning writer, producer, and comic book creator whose vibrant and emphatic creative voice has established him as a Hollywood mainstay.
Barnes was most recently an executive producer and writer for HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, which chronicles the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Showtime Lakers during the team’s wild and fast-paced golden years.
Barnes has a number of projects in different stages of development, including writing an adaptation of Chris Leslie-Hynan’s novel Ride Around Shining in development with Jonah Hill’s Strong Baby with LaKeith Stanfield attached to star, writing a miniseries based on the life of golf great Tiger Woods, and writing and executive producing HBO’s Jack Johnson limited series, starring Mahershala Ali.
In addition to TV, Barnes is a veteran comic book creator who earned an Eisner Award nomination for his critically acclaimed graphic novel Killadelphia, which now has a television show in development at Levantine TV. Barnes recently launched his own comic studio and publishing imprint, Zombie Love Studios, a creative space dedicated to storytelling from BIPOC perspectives in unique formats, among which include the graphic novels Blacula—an adaptation of the cult horror classic, Monarch—an apocalyptic sci-fi adventure series following a group of Compton school kids, Nita Hawes’ Nightmare Blog, Elysium Gardens, Johnny Gatlin, and 20° Past Rigor. Barnes has also penned issues for existing series Army of Darkness, James Bond Himeros, Marvel/Lucasfilm’s Lando: Double or Nothing, Lion Forge’s Quincredible, and Marvel’s Falcon and Secret Empire.
Greg Burnham has been writing professionally for nearly a decade. His latest DC Comics work is on DC Power and DC’s Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun. With projects like The Search For Sadiqah, Broken Glass, and Grandpa’s Shoes under his belt, Greg is working on a bevy of projects, as well as his returning hit series Tuskegee Heirs.
Kevin Grevioux is a director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and graphic novel creator who has over 20 years of experience in the film industry. After graduating from Howard University with a degree in microbiology, Grevioux came to Hollywood, where he acted in several films. including Alien Nation, The Mask, Congo, Batman Forever, Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes, The Hulk, and Men In Black II. Kevin also co-created and wrote the original screenplay to the successful Underworld franchise, which was his first produced writing credit. He was also a co-producer on the film series and played the character, Raze. Grevioux has just completed production on his latest film from a screenplay he wrote, I, Frankenstein, produced by Lakeshore Entertainment. It was based on his original graphic novel.
In addition, Grevioux is a prolific writer in the comic book/graphic novel world. He has worked for both Marvel and DC Comics having written such characters as Spider-Man, Blade, Iron Man, Batman, Superman, The Phantom, and the critically acclaimed Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel for Marvel, which he created.
He has established an independent creator-owned comic book/graphic novel company called Darkstorm Comics & Media, as well as Astounding Comics, which produces all-ages content.
Grevioux’s animation credits include episodes of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Mega Man: Fully Charged, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and Young Justice.
Lastly, Grevioux’s directorial debut was the action film King of Killers, distributed by Lionsgate, a feature he wrote and produced through his production company, Channel 56 Films. His latest film is War Dawgz, directed for BET+.
The two-time Eisner-nominated, multi-Glyph Award winning comic book illustrator N. Steven Harris has had a career spanning over 30 years in the comic book industry. His highlights include DC Comic’s Aztek: The Ultimate Man, a character which he co-created, as well as Batman: Officer Down, Generation X, X-Force, and Deadpool Annual ’98. In 2017, Mr. Harris worked on DC/Wildstorm’s Michael Cray and wrote and illustrated a story for Represent: In Defense of Free Speech, also published by DC Comics. He was a guest to the American Embassy in Algiers, Algeria, along with 15 other artists to participate in FIBDA (Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d’Alger) or The International Festival of Comics in the fall of 2019. In early 2020, he was on the stage of the World Famous Apollo Theater on a panel on being a freelance illustrator in the comic book industry, the very first of its kind at the Apollo Theater. Mr. Harris has been recently working on projects with DMC of the hip hop group Run DMC, David Crownson, creator of Harriet Tubman: Demon Slayer, and a hip hop artist/activist from the U.K., both due out in 2026.
Sean Damien Hill is a comic book illustrator from Washington, DC, known for his bold, naturalistic style and narrative-driven storytelling. Trained in fine art, Sean blends classical technique with dynamic visual pacing to bring depth and energy to every page he draws.
His work spans across major publishers and indie powerhouses alike, with credits including Bishop: War College, Predator vs. Black Panther, and Spirits of Vengeance for Marvel; Blood Syndicate, Cyborg, and DC Power for DC Comics; and indie titles such as Dark History of Okemus (Rae Comics) and The Hated (Solid Comix).
Whether he’s illustrating iconic heroes or original worlds, Sean brings a fierce dedication to storytelling and a love for the comic medium that shows in every panel.
Joseph P. Illidge is a writer, editor, producer, and IP strategist whose work spans comics, publishing, film, and multimedia development. His career includes leadership roles with DC Comics, Image Comics, Simon & Schuster, Todd McFarlane Productions, and Milestone Media.
He is the founder of Illuminous, a production company focused on developing original intellectual property across publishing and entertainment.
Joseph is the writer of The Shadow Cabinet and The New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident (DC Comics), Bloodletter (Spawn Universe/Image Comics), the Eisner Award-nominated Noir Is the New Black for The Winterfields (FairSquare Graphics), Harriet Tubman (HarperCollins), and co-author of the Judge Kim and the Kids Court series (Simon & Schuster). His groundbreaking editorial work on DC’s Batman line and Lion Forge Animation’s Catalyst Prime helped shape a new generation of inclusive superhero storytelling.
A recognized advocate for the medium, Joseph serves on the Board of Directors of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and is the recipient of the Inkpot Award and a Citation from the New York State Assembly. His work and commentary have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, The Hollywood Reporter, and the History Channel’s Superheroes Decoded.
Tony Kittrell is a rising indie comic publisher who has put in the work and has solid credentials in the Comic Industry:
– Publishing for 15 years with Advent Comics
– Created over 25 comic book titles in the Advent Universe line and publishes the creator-owned UNBOUND REALMS Imprint line
– Publishes nearly every genre of comic books
– Available globally on adventcomics.com, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Comixology/Comixology Unlimited, DriveThruComics.com, GlobalComix, IndyPlanet, Kindle, PREVIEWS (your local comics shops), and Walmart.
Advent Comics is an independent, small press publishing company located in Maryland that was founded in 2009 and has released several comic book and graphic novels such as Advent Comics Spotlight #1, COSMOS maxi-series, Pandemonium: Evil Incarnate graphic novel, and Titan the Ultra Man #1.
As a life-long comic book fan, Tony is focused on providing high-quality comics with ultimate fan satisfaction being the result. With a variety of truly imaginative and provocative offerings of everything from superheroes, science fiction, fantasy, action/adventure, romance, horror, religion, crime noir thrillers, humor, and more, Tony and Advent Comics will do everything possible to exceed your expectations and bring fans what they want — great comics. Tony operates on the belief that the needs of the comic industry’s fans and readers are of the utmost importance. The entire Advent Comics team is committed to meeting those needs and, as a result, welcomes the chance to deliver to you the best entertainment in the industry.
Tony worked by day as a career firefighter and paramedic for nearly 30 years, helping to keep his community safe before retiring in April to do comics full-time. In his spare time, Tony enjoys spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren. Some of his other hobbies include sports, movies, and travel. His favorite vacation remains his trip to Waikiki on the beautiful Hawaiian island of O’ahu where he experienced firsthand the indigenous culture while also able to enjoy bucket list items such as swimming with the dolphins.
Alitha Evelyn Martinez is the Eisner Award and GLAAD Award-winning artist of the Black Panther: World of Wakanda series. Her professional career began in 1999, penciling Iron Man for Marvel Entertainment. Since then, it’s been a great ride getting to work on titles like X-Men: Black Sun, Marvel Age Fantastic Four, Black Panther, Black Panther: World of Wakanda, X-Men Gold Annual, Moon Girl, Mark Morales Spider-Man, Fearless, Voltron, NBC’s Heroes, New 52 Bat Girl, Archie Comics’ New Crusaders and Riverdale, Omni for Humanoids, and WWE Superstar, WWE Slam City, and Barbie for Papercutz. She has worked on It’s a Bird, Sensational Wonder Woman, Nubia and the Amazons, and Amanda Waller’s Absolute Power origin story for DC Comics. The list goes on, thankfully.
Alitha has done larger projects that required more than just penciling and inking in graphic novels, like Vampire: My Boyfriend Bites, Kung Fu Masters, Quest for Dragon Mountain for Lerner Publications, and also political cartooning for the New York Post. In her spare time, Alitha works on her creator-owned titles Yume and Ever, and Foreign, which she publishes through her company, Ariotstorm Productions, LLC. She is also a professor at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Finally, it’s official! She’s a writer, too — her longest, deepest-held dream. She has two stories for Epic under her belt, and A DC Powers Nubia story, HIZZAH!
The most rewarding part of her career is participating in the US State Department’s World Speaker Program. She travels to parts unknown to teach comic book workshops and bring the art of storytelling to people who would have no other way of getting such information. She was once in the same position, practicing a craft that she didn’t know was a profession. She loves representing her country and her industry.
Kristopher Mosby is a Baltimore-born artist raised in nearby Columbia, Maryland, and a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where he earned a BFA in Visual Arts. A former graphic designer with Diamond Comic Distributors and Senior Designer with Voice of America in Washington, D.C., he has created cover art for several independent publishers and illustrated the graphic novel The Blood Seekers, adapted from a story by author Milton Davis. Mosby is also an amateur comic book historian with a deep appreciation for the medium and its legacy.
Ryan Sands is an actor, illustrator, and filmmaker based in Washington, DC. He’s best known for playing Geoffrey Wilder on Marvel’s Runaways, and brings over two decades of experience as a published illustrator to his work, including a Marvel Comics cover. Beyond the screen and the page, Ryan is a screenwriter, an acting teacher, and the founder of Sands Acting Studio, where he trains the next generation of performers. He continues to develop original projects spanning film, animation, and genre storytelling.
Charles Stewart is a featured artist for Marvel and DC, most recently on Marvel’s Storm: Lifedream and Avengers Academy, DC’s Power Company: Recharged and Static Team-Up: Anansi.
Brandon Thomas is the writer of Marvel’s Legend Has It with Sanford Greene and Mass Appeal, and DC’s Batman: Black and White, Black Lightning, and Future State.
He is the co-creator/author of Excellence (Skybound/Image), Horizon (Skybound/Image) and The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury from BOOM! Studios.
This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Jason Aaron (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Arthur Adams (Longshot), Joel Adams (Ms. Mystic), Zeea Adams (Deadman), Rafael Albuquerque (Absolute Green Arrow), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), Brett Bean (D’Orc), Josh Blaylock (Mercy Sparx, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Carolyn Belefski (Curls), Russ Braun (The Boys), Jeffrey Brown (Hulk Teach, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jeffrey Burandt (Gonad the Ballbarian), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Eric Canete (Absolute Superman), Joe Carabeo (The Legettes), Richard Case (Doom Patrol), Keith Champagne (Stranger Things), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jo Chen (Runaways), Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Chris Claremont (Uncanny X-Men), Taurin Clarke (Star Wars: Jedi Knights), Becky Cloonan (War), Michael W. Conrad (In Bloom), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn), Denys Cowan (The Question), Olivia Cuartero-Briggs (The College Try), Paris Cullins (Blue Devil), Mike Decarlo (The Simpsons), Vito Delsante (Stray), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Colleen Doran (The Sandman), Scott Dunbier (DC Silver Age Covers and Stories Artist’s Edition), Steve Englehart (Captain America), Garth Ennis (The Boys), Victor Farro (Invincible Universe: Battle Beast), Trish Forstner (Feral), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), David Gerrold (Star Trek), Chris Giarrusso (Mini Marvels), Randy Green (Witchblade), Che Grayson (Absolute Catwoman), Gene Ha (Mae), Bob Hall (West Coast Avengers), Cully Hamner (Blue Beetle), Scott Hanna (Amazing Spider-Man), Tony Harris (The Whistling Skull), Dean Haspiel (Chest Face), Glenn Hauman (They Keep Killing Glenn), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Marc Hempel (Sandman), Jamal Igle (Superman), Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Infernal Hulk), Klaus Janson (Daredevil), JG Jones (Wanted), Joëlle Jones (Lady Killer), Dan Jurgens (Action Comics), Chris Kemple (Red Vengeance), Tom King (Wonder Woman), Peter Krause (The Power of Shazam, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mike Kunkel (Herobear and the Kid), Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), Creees Lee (Sorcerer Supreme), Jae Lee (Inhumans), Jim Lee (Batman: H2SH), Rick Leonardi (Spider-Man 2099), Tula Lotay (Bloodland), Nate Lovett (Commander Tomorrow), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), Anthony Marques (Superman Unlimited), Laura Martin (Nubia: Queen of the Amazons, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Shawn Martinbrough (Red Hood: The Hill), Ron Marz (Green Lantern), Jose Marzen Jr. (Y: The Last Man), Mike McKone (Teen Titans), Bob McLeod (New Mutants), Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Adriana Melo (Fantastic Four), Pop Mhan (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe), Joshua Middleton (Aquaman), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Mark Morales (Thor), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons), Drew Moss (Thundercats), Trevor Mueller (Bat Pat), Sarah Myer (TMNT Saturday Morning Adventures), Phil Noto (Fantastic Four: First Foes), Kevin Nowlan (Batman: Sword of Azrael), Patrick Olliffe (Untold Tales of Spider-Man), Jerome Opena (Uncanny X-Force), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jimmy Palmiotti (The Punisher), Dan Parent (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Margeaux Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Pornsak Pichetshote (Absolute Green Arrow), Stephen Platt (Moon Knight), Andy Price (My Little Pony), Joe Pruett (Savage Sword of Conan), Tom Raney (Incredible Hulk), Afua Richardson (Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds), James Robinson (Starman), Tone Rodriguez (Feral, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Stephane Roux (Void Rivals), Andy Runton (Owly), Ethan Sacks (Old Man Hawkeye), Stuart Sayger (Red Sonja), Joe Schmalke (We Don’t Kill Spiders), Erica Schultz (Rogue), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), Don Simpson (Megaton Man), Matthew Dow Smith (DC’s Misfits of Magic), Scott Snyder (Friday and Sunday only, DC K.O.), John K. Snyder III (Suicide Squad), Mark Sparacio (Liberty Girl Deluxe), Cat Staggs (David Dastmachian’s Through), Jim Starlin (Dreadstar), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Karl Story (Batman & Robin), Martha Thomases (Dakota North), Frank Tieri (Absolute Batman: Ark-M), Peter J. Tomasi (The Rocketfellers), Billy Tucci (Shi), Jonathan Uribe (Spawn, courtesy of Comics and Collectibles R Us), Gus Vazquez (Sunfire and the Big Hero Six), Wade Von Grawbadger (Justice League), Dave Wachter (Godzilla), Steve Walker (Pay the Devil), Lee Weeks (Batman/Catwoman Special), Mark Wheatley (Breathtaker), Bob Wiacek (All-New Wolverine, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Keith Williams (Web of Spider-Man), Ron Wilson (Marvel Two-In-One), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (Justice League, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Rich Woodall (Sgt. Werewolf), Kelly Yates (Doctor Who), and Thom Zahler (Long Distance).
The Baltimore Comic-Con and the Hard Rock Cafe Baltimore have once again joined forces to proudly present the 2026 Cosplay Contest! The Baltimore Comic-Con will be held the weekend of September 25-27, 2026 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Tickets for admission to the event are available now!
The convention has revealed the judges for this year’s cosplay contest.
Judges for the 2026 Cosplay Programming
Adult Contest
Alexandra Bowman
Alexandra Bowman is an award-winning cosplayer, editorial cartoonist, and arts journalist. She was BroadwayCon’s 2025 Cosplay Contest’s Best-In-Show, as well as a 2025 BroadwayCon Affiliate and 2026 judge. Alex is a Cats the Musical-centric cosplayer, and Andrew Lloyd Webber has said of her work, “well done.” Alex is a nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist and a Director of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, a Contributing Writer to DC Theater Arts — Washington, DC’s premier source of performing arts coverage for over 5 years — and a private humanities, admissions, and art educational consultant. Alex’s artwork has been published by BBC News, Politico, the National Wildlife Federation, Penguin Random House UK, and more. Her costume design work can be found at @abowmancostumes, and her illustration, journalism, and teaching-related work can be found at @alexandrabowmanart.
Sydney Fryer
Sydney is a cosplayer, costumer, and prop maker from Baltimore City who has been cosplaying for 7 years. She is the Track head for Balticon’s costuming and maker’s track, and a master level cosplayer with many awards under her belt, most recently winning Best in Show at Farpoint in 2025. She is a jack of all trades, having received multiple craftsmanship awards for her foam work and wig making. She is passionate about making cosplay accessible and enjoyable for all.
Liz Scott
Sew Ghostly Cosplay is a Baltimore-based disabled cosplayer with 20+ years of cosplay and competition experience. They have many cosplay competition wins under their belt, including Best in Show at Shore Leave 2023 and Best Presentation at Farpoint Weekend 2026. Specializing in recycled/upcycled cosplay as well as bringing to life characters for which no one asked, they are always advocating to make con and fandom spaces accessible for all. They are in it for the love of creation and the belief that nothing is impossible with a glue gun, a YouTube tutorial, and a disproportionate level of audacity. As their experience and time in the community has grown, they have leaned more into helping the next generation of cosplayers learn and improve, especially in an age where the loss of major stores like JoAnn Fabrics has created a void for accessible materials.
Kids Contest
Joe and Joeleen Torres
Crystal Soul Cosplay is a married cosplay duo comprised of Joe (Grimm6) and Joleen (Chaos Claire). Starting their cosplay career between 2004 and 2006, they have done over 50+ cosplays and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. When not cosplaying at a convention, they love bringing characters to life at hospital visits and bringing smiles.
Joe and Joleen love cosplaying from their favorite games, anime, manga, and more. Between the duo, Joe excels in arms and armor making, while Joleen excels in wig styling and sewing. Some of their favorite and award-winning cosplays are Barioth Bow Hunter and Hinoa the Quest Maiden from Monster Hunter Rise, Vigilante Deku and Ochaco from My Hero Academia, and Hiccup and Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon.
While at conventions, they love presenting panels and sharing their knowledge with everyone. They are known for their out-of-the-box-style thinking and willingness to help new or older cosplayers. If you see them, please stop them and say hi!
Niesha Wongus
SweetPea Cosplay is a Maryland-based cosplayer who got her first taste of con life over ten years ago at Baltimore Comic-Con. She has since gone on to attend many events throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond. She enjoys cosplaying characters from video games, comics, movies, and more. She considers herself a perpetual learner and is always eager to hone her existing skills or develop new ones. SweetPea is honored to return as a judge for this year’s event!
The Adult Cosplay Contest is being held on Saturday, September 25th at 4:30pm**. All participants must be registered for the contest to be eligible to compete. Adult Cosplay Contest registration is available online HERE. There will be no day of, in-person registration for the Adult Cosplay Contest.
Pre-judging will be happening throughout the day by appointment on Saturday, giving each contestant more time to spend on the show floor. Upon registration, an appointment will be created and can be adjusted upon request. The rules have been updated this year, so make sure to check out the webpage here with more details about this event.
Along with the Adult Cosplay Contest on Saturday, we are pleased to announce the return of the popular Adult Cosplay Showcase! The Showcase provides an opportunity for all cosplayers, regardless of whether or not they made their own outfit, to have a moment up on the Baltimore Comic-Con stage to strut their stuff for the audience and for the cameras. To register for this event, please visit the website. The event will start shortly before the Cosplay Contest.
The Children’s Cosplay Showcase will be held on Sunday, September 27, 2026, shortly before the Contest in the ballroom on the 4th floor. Alongside the Children’s Cosplay Contest will be the Children’s Cosplay Showcase, where anyone under the age of 18 can walk the stage and be celebrated for their work and their part in the cosplay community! Make sure to register online HERE to ensure your spot in the showcase! This event will start at 3pm**.
The Children’s Cosplay Contest will be held on Sunday, September 27, 2026 at 3:30pm** in the ballroom on the 4th floor. The Children’s Cosplay Contest registration is available online HERE. Kids 17 years and younger can register online OR day of for the event. In person registration will close at noon on Sunday, September 27, 2026. There will, however, be a limited number of slots and if you are able to have a build book available, please bring one.
The Baltimore Comic-Con will be at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center on September 25-27, 2026. Baltimore Comic-Con has announced the addition of voice talents Marissa Lenti and Alex Rochon as guests of the 2026 event! Get your tickets to the show and to meet Marissa and Alex!
Marissa Lenti, best known as the voice of Gangle (The Amazing Digital Circus), is a voice actor who you can hear in anime roles like Cocotte (Dragon Ball Super), Libra (Fairy Tail), Yuna (Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear), Arue (Konosuba), Gray Wolf (Kemono Friends), Momoko Hyakushiki & Kuu (NANBAKA), Chiaki Hoshinomori (Gamers!), Mistress Sadie (One Piece), Ilse Langnar (Attack on Titan), Yuzu Roromori (The Ones Within), Alicia Florence (Aria the Animation), Sister Jill (Cutie Honey), Kohaku (In Another World With My Smartphone), and Atusko Yoshida (Keijo!!!!!!!!), among others!
Alex Rochon is a Toronto-based voice actor, born and raised there since 1993.
A goofball known for his boisterous characters, before being cast as the wacky AI Caine in The Amazing Digital Circus, Alex acted in various fan projects, fan dubs, and YouTube videos for his own channel and others.
He also once voiced not one, but two talking pieces of poop in a series of toilet safety ads for the City of Hamilton… and he couldn’t be prouder.
Come to the Baltimore Comic-Con this September 25-27, 2026 at the Baltimore Convention Center in the Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Baltimore Comic-Con has announced the return of one of comics’ most influential writers, Chris Claremont. Get your tickets for the show online now.
Writer Chris Claremont has encountered more success than most writers ever dream of. He is a NY Times best-selling author, been awarded the prestigious Kellogg Award in Arts and Letters by Bard College, his alma mater, Italy’s Yellow Kid life time achievement award, and been inducted into the Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards Hall of Fame. His papers are collected in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University, New York.
Chris’s stories are trend-setters for the industry. Although best known for his work on Marvel Comics’ X-Men series where he created the characters of Legion, The New Mutants, Dark Phoenix, Rogue, Gambit, Sabretooth, Kitty Pryde, and Mystique amongst many others, he has also written seminal characters such as Batman and Superman, originated Wolverine, The New Mutants, and Captain Britain for Marvel, and written several creator-owned series. Chris is published world-wide in many different languages. He has authored nine novels. He has spoken at Princeton, MIT, U Penn, and Columbia University, has taught at NYU/Tisch School of the Arts, and has appeared on television in the US and abroad. He is the subject of monographs and documentaries. His work has touched millions.
Chris’s initial unbroken 17-year run on Marvel Comics’ The Uncanny X-Men is the stuff of industry legend. During that tenure, he took a lackluster series and transformed it into the dominant, best-selling title in the industry. His run culminated with the launch of the new title, X-Men. The first issue sold over 7.9 million copies. No one has come close to breaking this record. It is a conservative estimate Chris has sold in excess of 750,000,000 comics world-wide.
Chris’s work on the X-Men has brought resounding creative success. The story arc “Dark Phoenix,” with its radical treatment of the story’s central character, paved the way for the reinterpretation of superhero mythos throughout the comics industry. The graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills examines morality in all its guises, adding a sophistication to comics theory, and is the subject of academic papers. He has made Wolverine a household name.
Chris is well known for his progressive treatment of women in a genre that oftentimes relies on stereotype. Active, intelligent, courageous women characters such as Jean Grey, Kitty Pryde, Mystique, Rogue, and Storm have made Chris’s X-Men as popular with women readers as men, a rarity in the comics field.
Chris is equally well-known for his ground-breaking stories that fight prejudice and speak out for inclusivity for all, regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. These themes are highlighted in the “Genosha” story arcs in The Uncanny X-Men, and the “Mekanix” and “Intifada” story arcs in X-Treme X-Men.
Chris embraced mutants as a metaphor for all who are viewed as outsiders by the majority. Such daring real-word topics are rarely tackled in the conservative mainstream comics industry. Chris took this on at personal and professional risk.
The Summer of 2000 saw the release of the feature film X-Men, based largely on material created by Chris. The second Wolverine movie is based on the graphic novel Wolverine by Chris and Frank Miller. The X-Men movie Days of Future Past hews to his story arc. The trend-breaking TV series Legion is based on his characters, as is the movie The New Mutants. Chris’s stories are responsible for billions in movie profits.
Chris is especially proud of his creator-owned work, which includes the historic fantasies The Black Dragon and Marada, the She-Wolf (artist: John Bolton) and the comic book series Sovereign 7. Chris’s prose novels include the science fiction High Frontier series First Flight, Grounded!, Sundowner, the fantasy series Shadow Moon, Shadow Dawn, and Shadow Star (co-authored with George Lucas), and the dark fantasy Dragon Moon. Chris is hard at work on new projects for comics, prose, and film.
The 2026 Baltimore Comic-Con occurs on September 25th-27th at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center. The Baltimore Comic-Con has announced Arthur Adams, Denys Cowan, Tom Derenick, Victor Farro, JG Jones, and Dave Wachter as comics guests of the 2026 event. Tickets are available for purchase online now!
Arthur Adams is an award-winning artist who became an immediate fan favorite as the penciler on the critically-acclaimed 1985 Longshot mini-series. His decades-spanning career has included cover and interior work on such titles as Batman, Superman, The Hulk, Avengers, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, X-Men, New Mutants, Godzilla, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Excalibur, Ultimate X, Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Walking Dead. He’s the creator, writer, and artist on Monkeyman and O’Brien.
Outside of comics, Arthur has done movie, toy, and game designs, book illustrations, and provided the artwork for an X-Men themed Spaghetti-O’s can.
Denys Cowan is an accomplished and celebrated comic and animation creator and illustrator. Founder of Milestone Media, which sold over 10 million copies of groundbreaking comic books, Cowan has numerous credits to his name, including: Black Racer, Deathstroke, Black Lightning & Hong Kong Phooey, Batman: Lovers & Madmen, Blind Justice, Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers, The Question, Hardware, and Static.
Static became one of the most beloved characters in the Milestone Universe, spawning a hugely successful animated series, Static Shock. During its run, the series was the only animated show not produced by Nickelodeon to dominate ratings. Denys directed and produced the series, which was nominated for an Emmy.
As Senior Vice President of Animation at BET, Cowan was responsible for the creation, development, and production of animated programming for the network. This included the development and production of the Black Panther animated series. Prior to his time at BET, Denys was instrumental in developing and producing the first season of the prime time animated series, The Boondocks. Serving as Senior Vice President of Motown Animation and Filmworks, he created and developed a number of shows with Fox, ABC, Disney, and Nickelodeon. Cowan also co-created the character of Henri Ducard, as played by Liam Neeson in Batman Begins.
Cowan drew the cover art of the GZA/Genius of the Wu-Tang Clan’s platinum-selling hip-hop album Liquid Swords. Denys illustrated the successful run of You Can’t Handle the Truth, a monthly full-page comic strip for Ebony magazine. More recently, Denys Cowan illustrated the Django Unchained graphic novel, which was inspired by the Oscar-winning film by Quentin Tarantino. Denys also created illustrated posters for Marvel’s Black Panther and John Wick 2.
Among comic book readers and collaborators, Denys Cowan is the stuff of legend. Denys Cowan’s comic books have gone on to sell millions. Cowan remains a prolific creator, illustrator, and producer. He is the recipient of the Humanitas Award, and he has been nominated for a number Eisner awards throughout his illustrious career. Denys is also featured in Robert Kirkman’s Secret History of Comics in the episode titled “The Color of Comics,” focusing on the history of Milestone Media.
Tom Derenick started his career on the Protectors for Malibu Comics. Later, he worked on DC’s Star Trek and at Marvel Comics, where much of his work was on the X-Men line. He returned to DC Comics on the Superman books then, doing runs on titles such as Shadowpact, JLA, and Reign in Hell. In more recent years, he’s worked on the highly successful Injustice: Gods Among Us as well as Wonder Woman: Come Back To Me and Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong, as well as Mad Cave’s Flash Gordon and Endless Night.
Viktor Farro studied editorial illustration at the 2019 Illustration Academy in Kansas City and its Visual Arts Passage online program from 2020-2023. Through those two programs, he had the privilege of studying under Mark English, John English, Sterling Hundley, Gary Kelley, Edward Kinsella III, George Pratt, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Dale Stephanos, among others.
He also studied constructive anatomy in a year-long program with Steve Huston through his realist artist program, Draws From Life.
Farro’s work has been recognized nationally by 3×3, Creative Quarterly Journal, and selected for American Illustration AI42, 3×3 International Illustration Annual 20, and the Society of Illustrators Los Angeles’ Illustration West 62.
His clients include Marvel SNAP, OverPower card game, Image Comics, Mad Cave Studios, Massive Publishing, Skybound Entertainment, UDON Publishing, among others.
J.G. Jones, best known for the artwork that has graced the covers of such books as Wanted, 52, and Final Crisis, began taking over writing duties this month for DC Comics’ Doc Savage. In addition to the writing, Jones provided stunning cover art for the pulp hero’s monthly adventures, as well as art of the backup features in DC Universe Legacies.
Dave Wachter has been drawing comic books professionally for 20 years. He just teamed up with writer Tony Fleecs for their newest series, Uncanny Valley from BOOM! Studios.
He’s drawn a ton of Godzilla, and even more Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, for IDW. His creator-owned books include the critically-acclaimed The Guns of Shadow Valley and Breath of Bones: A Tale of the Golem, both for Dark Horse Comics. Recently, he’s been drawing the insides and outsides of all sorts of books for Marvel, including The Punisher, Planet of the Apes, X-Men Legends, Ms. Marvel, Venom, Star Wars, Ghost Rider, Aliens, Spider-Man 2099, and Iron Fist. Dave lives with his family in Pittsburgh, and loves it.
This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Jason Aaron (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Arthur Adams (Longshot), Joel Adams (Ms. Mystic), Zeea Adams (Deadman), Rafael Albuquerque (Absolute Green Arrow), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), Brett Bean (D’Orc), Josh Blaylock (Mercy Sparx, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Carolyn Belefski (Curls), Russ Braun (The Boys), Jeffrey Brown (Hulk Teach, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jeffrey Burandt (Gonad the Ballbarian), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Eric Canete (Absolute Superman), Joe Carabeo (The Legettes), Richard Case (Doom Patrol), Keith Champagne (Stranger Things), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jo Chen (Runaways), Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Taurin Clarke (Star Wars: Jedi Knights), Becky Cloonan (War), Michael W. Conrad (In Bloom), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn), Denys Cowan (The Question), Olivia Cuartero-Briggs (The College Try), Paris Cullins (Blue Devil), Mike Decarlo (The Simpsons), Vito Delsante (Stray), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Colleen Doran (The Sandman), Scott Dunbier (DC Silver Age Covers and Stories Artist’s Edition), Steve Englehart (Captain America), Garth Ennis (The Boys), Victor Farro (Invincible Universe: Battle Beast), Trish Forstner (Feral), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), David Gerrold (Star Trek), Chris Giarrusso (Mini Marvels), Randy Green (Witchblade), Che Grayson (Absolute Catwoman), Gene Ha (Mae), Bob Hall (West Coast Avengers), Cully Hamner (Blue Beetle), Scott Hanna (Amazing Spider-Man), Tony Harris (The Whistling Skull), Dean Haspiel (Chest Face), Glenn Hauman (They Keep Killing Glenn), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Marc Hempel (Sandman), Jamal Igle (Superman), Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Infernal Hulk), Klaus Janson (Daredevil), JG Jones (Wanted), Joëlle Jones (Lady Killer), Dan Jurgens (Action Comics), Chris Kemple (Red Vengeance), Tom King (Wonder Woman), Peter Krause (The Power of Shazam, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mike Kunkel (Herobear and the Kid), Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), Creees Lee (Sorcerer Supreme), Jae Lee (Inhumans), Jim Lee (Batman: H2SH), Rick Leonardi (Spider-Man 2099), Tula Lotay (Bloodland), Nate Lovett (Commander Tomorrow), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), Anthony Marques (Superman Unlimited), Laura Martin (Nubia: Queen of the Amazons, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Shawn Martinbrough (Red Hood: The Hill), Ron Marz (Green Lantern), Jose Marzen Jr. (Y: The Last Man), Mike McKone (Teen Titans), Bob McLeod (New Mutants), Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Adriana Melo (Fantastic Four), Pop Mhan (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe), Joshua Middleton (Aquaman), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Mark Morales (Thor), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons), Drew Moss (Thundercats), Trevor Mueller (Bat Pat), Sarah Myer (TMNT Saturday Morning Adventures), Phil Noto (Fantastic Four: First Foes), Kevin Nowlan (Batman: Sword of Azrael), Patrick Olliffe (Untold Tales of Spider-Man), Jerome Opena (Uncanny X-Force), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jimmy Palmiotti (The Punisher), Dan Parent (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Margeaux Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Pornsak Pichetshote (Absolute Green Arrow), Stephen Platt (Moon Knight), Andy Price (My Little Pony), Joe Pruett (Savage Sword of Conan), Tom Raney (Incredible Hulk), Afua Richardson (Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds), James Robinson (Starman), Tone Rodriguez (Feral, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Andy Runton (Owly), Ethan Sacks (Old Man Hawkeye), Stuart Sayger (Red Sonja), Joe Schmalke (We Don’t Kill Spiders), Erica Schultz (Rogue), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), Don Simpson (Megaton Man), Matthew Dow Smith (DC’s Misfits of Magic), Scott Snyder (Friday and Sunday only, DC K.O.), John K. Snyder III (Suicide Squad), Mark Sparacio (Liberty Girl Deluxe), Jim Starlin (Dreadstar), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Karl Story (Batman & Robin), Martha Thomases (Dakota North), Frank Tieri (Absolute Batman: Ark-M), Peter J. Tomasi (The Rocketfellers), Billy Tucci (Shi), Jonathan Uribe (Spawn, courtesy of Comics and Collectibles R Us), Gus Vazquez (Sunfire and the Big Hero Six), Wade Von Grawbadger (Justice League), Dave Wachter (Godzilla), Mark Waid (Action Comics), Steve Walker (Pay the Devil), Lee Weeks (Batman/Catwoman Special), Mark Wheatley (Breathtaker), Bob Wiacek (All-New Wolverine, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Keith Williams (Web of Spider-Man), Ron Wilson (Marvel Two-In-One), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (Justice League, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Rich Woodall (Sgt. Werewolf), Kelly Yates (Doctor Who), and Thom Zahler (Long Distance).
The Ringo Awards have announced the 2026 nominees! The 2026 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awardsare to be presented on the evening of Saturday, September 26, 2026 as part of The Baltimore Comic-Con.
The nomination process was completed with the participation of our esteemed 2026 jury as well as the voting public. Fans and comic book professionals alike showed strong support in promoting the voting process on their websites and social media feeds.
Voting on the 2026 Final Ballot is restricted to comic book industry creative community — anyone involved in and credited with creating comics professionally. We now present the 2026 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards Final Ballot.
The Blues Brothers – The Escape of Joliet Jake, Z2 Comics
Everything Sucks: Kings of Nothing, Silver Sprocket
The Goon: Them That Don’t Stay Dead, Albatross Funnybooks/Dark Horse Comics
How to Survive an Affair, self-published
Physics for Cats, Drawn & Quarterly
Best Webcomic
Battle Mage Farmer. Tapas Entertainment Inc.
Before We Sail, Aces Weekly
Daughter of a Thousand Faces. Tapas Entertainment Inc.
The Mafia Nanny, WEBTOON Entertainment
Marionetta, WEBTOON Entertainment
Neon Pantheon, neonpantheoncomic.com
Best Humor Webcomic
The Bathroom Ghost, WEBTOON Entertainment
Evil Inc., evil-inc.com
Harley Quinn in Paradise, DC Comics / DC Go!
I Am the Chief, iamthechiefcat.com
My Little Warlord, DC Comics / DC Go!
Nothing Butt Nightwing, DC Comics / DC Go!
Taste of Justice, DC Comics / DC Go!
Best Non-fiction Comic Work
Fela: Music is the Weapon, Amistad
Ginseng Roots, Pantheon Books
Love Letters Every Day, Background Noise
Lucas Wars, Macmillan – First Second and 23rd Street
Muybridge, Drawn & Quarterly
Surrounded: America’s First School for Black Girls, 1832, Ablaze Publishing/NBM Graphic Novels
Best Comics-Related Publication
Becoming Frazetta – The Early Years of a Fantasy Art Master, Thrilling Nostalgia Comics
COMICS! The Magazine #0, Prana Publishers
Facing Feelings: Inside the World of Raina Telgemeier, Scholastic Inc.
Graphic Samurai: The Art of Denys Cowan, Gizmoe Press
Making Your First Comic, self-published
Messiahs, Meshugganahs, Misanthropes, and Mysteries, Fantagraphics
Best Presentation in Design
Beasts of the Four Nations: Creatures From Avatar: The Last Airbender, Dark Horse Comics
Becoming Frazetta – The Early Years of a Fantasy Art Master, Thrilling Nostalgia Comics
Cry Wolf Girl, Silver Sprocket
Ginseng Roots, Pantheon Books
The Hero Trade: Hero for Sale TPB, Bad Idea
Land of Mirrors, Drawn & Quarterly
Lone Wolf and Cub Deluxe Edition Volume 1, Dark Horse Comics
The Smurfs Archives Vol. 1, Papercutz
Tongues, Vol. 1, Pantheon Books
In addition to Final Ballot categories, both Fan-Only Favorites from the nomination ballot and Hero Initiative Awards (The Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award and The Dick Giordano Humanitarian Award) will be presented at the Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards ceremony the evening of September 26, 2026.
