Tag Archives: baltimore comic con

Sean Chen, Scott Dunbier, Scott Hanna, Sean Martinbrough, Scott Snyder, and Billy Tucci are coming to Baltimore Comic Con

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The Baltimore Comic-Con will return to the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center on the weekend of September 25-27, 2026. The Baltimore Comic-Con welcomes Sean Chen, Scott Dunbier, Scott Hanna, Sean Martinbrough, Scott Snyder (Friday and Sunday only), and Billy Tucci as guests of the 2026 event! Find tickets online now!

Sean Chen has been a major part of the comic book industry for over two decades. Starting with Valiant Comics, his debut book, Rai And the Future Force, topped the charts with over 800,000 copies sold. He then moved on to Harbinger and Bloodshot before landing on their flagship title, X-O Manowar.

Sean then found a new home at Marvel where he started what would become the longest and most remembered run of his career working on Iron Man. For the next decade, he was the artist on a number of titles, including Wolverine, X-Men, Spider-Man, Nova, and the Avengers. Currently, Sean is writing and drawing his creator-owned mind-bending sci-fi thriller, Evermind for 247 Comics with co-creator, actor Daniel Wu.

Instagram @seanchenart

Scott Hanna is an Eisner Award-winning artist in the graphic novel industry. Scott Hanna has been drawing and inking comic books for over 30 years. His work has been published in over 1,000 comics and graphic novels, and he’s inked over 25,000 pages of comics art.

At Marvel Comics, Scott has worked on all of the top characters at the company, known for working on most of the Spider-Man titles over the past 30 plus years, sometimes working on multiple Spider-Man titles at the same time. Scott has also had runs on the Avengers, Iron Man, the X-Men, The Hulk, Fantastic Four, and many more.

At DC Comics, he has worked on most of their major titles, including a five year run on Detective Comics starring Batman, Green Lantern Corps, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Superman, and Teen Titans.

Scott is currently working at Marvel on Amazing Spider-Man and various covers with John Romita Jr., this year being their 30th anniversary as a team on Spider-Man. Also, he is working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder, doing interiors and painted covers, and a creator-owned newspaper strip, Dodge & Hustle, where he is co-writing, pencilling, and inking. Upcoming projects include pencilling and inking interiors and covers.

He is cofounder of the Arts and Fashion Institute in PA with his wife Pamela Ptak. Scott teaches classes in sequential art, painting, inking, anatomy, drawing, and cartooning.

Scott Dunbier has been editing comics for more than 30 years. He has worked with some of the finest creators in comics and created two industry standard formats–Absolute Editions and Artist’s Editions, the latter of which he has curated more than 100 volumes. He was Executive Editor at DC/WildStorm and Special Projects-VP at IDW Publishing. In 2024, he and his wife Amanda launched Act 4 Publishing where they continue their efforts to preserve comic art history in ridiculously large art books. Most years, he also runs the charity art auction benefiting Hero Initiative at Baltimore Comic-Con.

Shawn Martinbrough is the author of How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling by Penguin Random House and an Eisner Award-nominated artist whose comic book projects include Batman: Detective Comics, Luke Cage Noir, The Black Panther: Man Without Fear, and Hellboy. Shawn illustrated Thief of Thieves, the graphic novel series co-created with Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, Invincible) and the Eisner-nominated Prométhée 13:13, published by Éditions Delcourt-Soleil and ABLAZE.

He is a co-author of Judge Kim and the Kids’ Court by Simon & Schuster and the artist of Like Lava in My Veins, the 2024 NAACP Image Award-nominated, best-selling kid’s book written by Derrick D. Barnes and published by Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Kids. Shawn is a Vanity Fair contributor, the writer of Red Hood: The Hill for DC Comics, and is currently writing and illustrating The HEAVY, an original graphic novel for Megascope/Abrams Books.

A New York Times Best Selling author with previous works on DC’s Batman, Superman, and Justice League, and Image Comics’ Wytches, Scott Snyder (appearing at this year’s show on Friday and Sunday) has made a name for himself, with his current focus on his creator-owned books such as Nocterra, Chain, We Have Demons, Clear, Night of the Ghoul, Barnstormers, Dudley Datson, Canary, Duck and Cover, and Book of Evil.

Inkpot Award recipient Billy Tucci is a cartoonist best known for his modern-day samurai saga Shi, which began with The Way of the Warrior in 1994. Through his company, Crusade Fine Arts, Shi has been printed in five languages and sold more than 3 million comic books. In addition to his own creations, the graduate of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology has earned the prestigious Diamond Comics Gem Award and has been nominated for four Eisner Awards. Billy’s DC Comics graphic novel, Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion, was awarded the Military Writers Society of America Gold Medal for its depiction of the highly decorated, real-life 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which was comprised of Japanese-American soldiers. His earnest retelling of the Christmas story in A Child Is Born has quietly turned into an international blockbuster, winning the Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award. His critically acclaimed Miss Fury: Joy Division saw the return of the Golden Age Icon for Dynamite Comics. Billy has recently released Shi: Return of the Warrior, Shi: Haikyo, Shi: Omnibus Edition, and Zombie-Sama via Kickstarter and Indiegogo, uniting backers from over fifty countries and bringing Crusade Comics’ previous exclusive crowdfunding campaign totals to over $1,000,000.00.

This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Jason Aaron (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Zeea Adams (Deadman), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), Josh Blaylock (Mercy Sparx, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Russ Braun (The Boys), Jeffrey Brown (Hulk Teach, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Richard Case (Doom Patrol), Keith Champagne (Stranger Things), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jo Chen (Runaways), Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Becky Cloonan (War), Michael W. Conrad (In Bloom), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn), Olivia Cuartero-Briggs (The College Try), Paris Cullins (Blue Devil), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Colleen Doran (The Sandman), Scott Dunbier (DC Silver Age Covers and Stories Artist’s Edition), Garth Ennis (The Boys), Trish Forstner (Feral), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), Chris Giarrusso (Mini Marvels), Randy Green (Witchblade), Torunn Grønbekk (Catwoman), Gene Ha (Mae), Bob Hall (West Coast Avengers), Larry Hama (GI Joe: A Real American Hero), 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), Dan Jurgens (Action Comics), Chris Kemple (Red Vengeance), Peter Krause (The Power of Shazam, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mike Kunkel (Herobear and the Kid), Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), Jae Lee (Inhumans), Nate Lovett (Commander Tomorrow), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), 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), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Mark Morales (Thor), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons), 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), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jimmy Palmiotti (The Punisher), Dan Parent (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Margeaux Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Khoi Pham (Star Wars: Darth Vader), Tom Raney (Incredible Hulk), Afua Richardson (Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds), Tone Rodriguez (Feral, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Stuart Sayger (Red Sonja), Joe Schmalke (We Don’t Kill Spiders), Erica Schultz (Rogue), Mark Schultz (Xenozoic Tales, courtesy of Flesk Publishing), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), 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), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Martha Thomases (Dakota North), Billy Tucci (Shi), Gus Vazquez (Sunfire and the Big Hero Six), Mark Waid (Action Comics), Mark Wheatley (Breathtaker), Bob Wiacek (All-New Wolverine, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (Justice League, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Rich Woodall (Sgt. Werewolf), Kelly Yates (Doctor Who), and Thom Zahler (Long Distance).

Hero Initiative Brings Seven Exclusive Guests to Baltimore Comic-Con 2026

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Hero Initiative, the charity that helps comic book creators in medical or financial need, will host seven amazing creators at its booth at the 2026 Baltimore Comic-Con, September 25-27, 2026 at the Baltimore Convention Center. Tickets can be purchased online now!

Founder of the legacy indy comic book publisher and studio Devil’s Due, Josh Blaylock is not only a prolific comic book writer and artist, but an expert in licensing and pop culture trends. He began publishing comics while still a teenager, rising to fame six years later with the license acquisition and resurrection of G.I. Joe, Voltron, and other classic properties in the comic space, to huge success. The first of their kind, his comics launched a nostalgia wave that is still felt to this day, and pioneered a trend of independent publishers seizing the spotlight by revitalizing major licensed brands. He is most known for his supernatural action comic Mercy Sparx, and the world of characters surrounding it (currently in development as a major motion picture), with several other creations translated into toys, film, and television. Having published and written over 1,000 comic books with over $70 million in sales, Josh also regularly collaborates on projects in entertainment, fashion, and tech, including for North Coast Music Fest, Adidas, Pixel Vault, Hannibal Buress, Diplo, 0n1 Force, A System of a Down, Louis the Child, and more. His non-fiction book, How to Self-Publish Comics: Not Just Create Them, was made required reading at Savannah College of Art & Design.

Chicago cartoonist Jeffrey Brown is an Eisner Award winner best known for his bestselling Star Wars graphic novels, including Jedi Academy and the NY Times #1 bestseller Darth Vader and Son. Brown’s comics career began while he was pursuing his MFA at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago when he abandoned painting to write and draw his first graphic memoir, Clumsy. He has written dozens of Star Wars, Batman, Marvel Super Hero, and other graphic novels. His newest book is Hulk Teach 2: A Tale of Two Teachers.

Peter Krause has worked as an artist in comics for nearly forty years. His credits include Power of SHAZAM!, Metropolis S.C.U., and Star Trek: The Next Generation — all for DC Comics. His work with writer Mark Waid on Irredemable (BOOM! Studios) and Daredevil: Road Warrior (Marvel Comics) garnered several Eisner nominations. Krause helped reimagine the Archie gang as teens during World War ll in Archie: 1941, and drew the adventures of two disparate superhero universes in Dragonfly and Dragonflyman for Ahoy Comics.

Along with writers Mark Russell and Bryce Ingman, Krause created the superhero spoof My Bad for Ahoy Comics. He also drew Blacking Out, a modern noir mystery written by Chip Mosher that was published through Kickstarter.

More recently, Krause has drawn a number of EC stories for Oni/Lion Forge. He is currently finishing the art chores on another Mosher-written crime story.

Laura Martin is one of the comics industry’s most lauded colorists. Recipient of Harvey, Eisner, Eagle, Squiddy, and Comics Buyer’s Guide Awards, Martin is regularly assigned high-profile and event-oriented comics on which to bring her palate to bear. Her work can be found in DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, Virgin, and CrossGen comics through the years, and she is lately working on Bad Idea’s Eniac, DC’s Nubia: Queen of the Amazons, and Marvel’s Hulk.

Born in Los Angeles, California, Tone Rodriguez got his start in comics drawing on Violent Messiahs and Snake Plissken for Image Comics. His work followed at Dark Horse, Top Cow, and Crossgen, on dozens of books from ShadowHawk, KISS, and Conan the Barbarian.

He’s shown how diverse his work is by joining the folks in Springfield drawing The Simpsons and Futurama Comics for Bongo.

He also contributed to many TV projects, creating the look of The Dark Defender and creating the artwork for the comic book character on Showtime’s Dexter TV show and The Adventures of Jimmy Halpert comic for NBC’s The Office.

His most recent work has him working on the critically acclaimed Stray Dogs for Image Comics and is one of the artists on Feral, a comic book about a rabies outbreak told from the point of view of the feline.

Currently living in Louisiana, he’s a contributor to multiple small press projects such as Tremors (a comic book based on the 90’s movie franchise).

Bob Wiacek has worked with many great talents such as Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Gene Colan, John and Sal Buscema, Walter Simonson, Frank Miller, Barry Windsor-Smith, George Perez, Jerry Ordway, Paul Smith, Dave Cockrum, John Byrne, Don Heck, Ron Garney, June Brigman, Colleen Doran, plus many others. He has inked Mike Grell on The Legion of Super Heroes #220 and Al Milgrom on Marvel Presents #7-The Guardians of the Galaxy for Marvel. From that time on, he has inked every major title for Marvel, including The X-Men, Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, She-Hulk, Man-Thing, Star Wars, Silver Surfer, and Fantastic Four just to name a few. At DC, he worked on Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Brave and the Bold, The Ray, Batman Family, Justice Society, Shazam, and Challengers of the Unknown, which is a small sampling as well. As far as independent publishers, he did work for Dark Horse, Image, Relium Media, Archie, and Valiant, where he worked on Archer and Armstrong, Bloodshot, and Solar. He has inked noteworthy issues in titles including Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, Star Wars, Iron Man, Batman, and Bloodshot. On the Iron Man 2020 project, he co-plotted with Walter Simonson, penciled and inked the book (with an able assist from Will Rosado). Of late, Wiacek has helped out inking All-New Wolverine and a JLA General Mills comic which was available in different cereal boxes. He has also inked Badger #1 for First Comics, Stars End #2 from Insane Comics, pencilled and inked the cover to ZaZa the Mystic, and will be working on an Indie project soon with Ron Wilson and Arvell Jones. Outside of comics, he starred in a commercial with rap group G-Unit in 2003, and has a small part in the independent film Manos: The Rise of Torgo, for which he did the poster.

Chuck Wojtkiewicz (Voit-KEV-itch) has been active in the world of comics, concept art, and storyboards since the early 80’s. Yep, he’s old as dirt! His best stretch in comics was at DC on Justice League International and various fill-ins, etc. He also worked for Marvel (Imperial Guard), Dark Horse, Image, and more. Falling into a full-time job at storied Blur Studio as Lead Concept Artist, he spent 14 years working on an endless parade of projects including Star Wars: The Old Republic, Kids WB!, Crimson Skies, The Goon Movie Kickstarter Storyboard Animatic, and the Deadpool movie. Since then, he and his lovely wife Marc have moved from LA to scenic Whidbey Island in Washington, where he freelanced on a couple of Gears of War projects and full comics art for Story Attic’s Scrollon line of stories. After major heart surgery in 2020, our hero (largely) retired, but keeps his art skills sharp with select art commissions. Come by and say hi!

This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Jason Aaron (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), Josh Blaylock (Mercy Sparx, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Russ Braun (The Boys), Jeffrey Brown (Hulk Teach, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Richard Case (Doom Patrol), Keith Champagne (Stranger Things), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jo Chen (Runaways), Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Becky Cloonan (War), Michael W. Conrad (In Bloom), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn), Olivia Cuartero-Briggs (The College Try), Paris Cullins (Blue Devil), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Colleen Doran (The Sandman), Scott Dunbier (DC Silver Age Covers and Stories Artist’s Edition), Garth Ennis (The Boys), Trish Forstner (Feral), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), Chris Giarrusso (Mini Marvels), Randy Green (Witchblade), Torunn Grønbekk (Catwoman), Gene Ha (Mae), Bob Hall (West Coast Avengers), Larry Hama (GI Joe: A Real American Hero), 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), Dan Jurgens (Action Comics), Chris Kemple (Red Vengeance), Peter Krause (The Power of Shazam, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mike Kunkel (Herobear and the Kid), Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), Jae Lee (Inhumans), Nate Lovett (Commander Tomorrow), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), 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), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Mark Morales (Thor), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons), 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), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jimmy Palmiotti (The Punisher), Dan Parent (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Margeaux Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Khoi Pham (Star Wars: Darth Vader), Tom Raney (Incredible Hulk), Afua Richardson (Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds), Tone Rodriguez (Feral, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Joe Schmalke (We Don’t Kill Spiders), Erica Schultz (Rogue), Mark Schultz (Xenozoic Tales, courtesy of Flesk Publishing), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), 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), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Martha Thomases (Dakota North), Billy Tucci (Shi), Gus Vazquez (Sunfire and the Big Hero Six), Mark Waid (Action Comics), Mark Wheatley (Breathtaker), Bob Wiacek (All-New Wolverine, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (Justice League, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Rich Woodall (Sgt. Werewolf), Kelly Yates (Doctor Who), and Thom Zahler (Long Distance).

Baltimore Comic-Con 2026 Announces Media Guest Katee Sackhoff

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Katee Sackhoff

The Baltimore Comic-Con comes to the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center on September 25-27, 2026. Baltimore Comic-Con has announced the addition of actress, voiceover artist, and podcaster Katee Sackhoff as a guest of the 2026 event! Get your tickets to the show and to meet Katee!

Katee Sackhoff is an American actress best known for her iconic role as Lieutenant Kara “Starbuck” Thrace on Sci-Fi’s Battlestar Galactica, for which she was nominated for four Saturn Awards, including her win for the award for Best Supporting Actress. 

Katee is also known for her portrayals of Victoria “Vic” Moretti on the A&E/Netflix series Longmire and Bo-Katan Kryze on the Disney+ series The Mandalorian.

Her voice can be heard in the roles of several animated characters, including Kryze in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Rebels, and Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, and as the voice of Bitch Pudding on Robot Chicken.

Katee can also be seen in hit sci-fi and horror films such as Riddick, Oculus, and Don’t Knock Twice. Look for her in the upcoming action movie Fight or Flight, in which she stars alongside Josh Hartnett.

Back to Battlestar: Katee’s First Watch

For the first time ever, Katee Sackhoff is watching Battlestar Galactica. Katee invites audiences along for the ride as she experiences, in real time, one of the most celebrated science-fiction series in television history — the show that helped launch her career and defined a generation of fandom.

In this YouTube first-watch series, Katee reacts to each episode as it unfolds, sharing candid reflections, behind-the-scenes stories, and never-before-heard perspectives on her time playing Kara “Starbuck” Thrace. Prepare to explore galaxies filled with nostalgia, adventure, and candid reflections. The series blends the immediacy of a reaction video with the intimacy and depth of a rewatch podcast.

New episodes of The Sackhoff Show air every Tuesday everywhere podcasts are found.

Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad, Chris Kemple, Kevin Maguire, John K. Snyder III, and Kelly Yates are coming to Baltimore Comic Con 2026

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Baltimore Comic-Con will return to the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center on the weekend of September 25-27, 2026. Baltimore Comic-Con welcomes Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad, Chris Kemple, Kevin Maguire, John K. Snyder III, and Kelly Yates as guests of the 2026 event! Buy your tickets today online!

Becky Cloonan began her career making minicomics as part of the Meathaus collective. Since then, she’s gone on to write and draw on titles like Dark Agnes, Conan the Barbarian, The Punisher, True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, Gotham Academy, Detective Comics, and Batman, and working on creator-owned books like Southern Cross and the critically acclaimed collection of short stories, By Chance or Providence. When she’s not making comics, she illustrates album art, and gig and movie posters for My Chemical Romance, Black Sabbath, Adult Swim, and Mondo. She enjoys old movies, true crime podcasts, and still tries to self-publish new minicomics when she can. Becky currently lives in Portland with her partner Michael, two weird cats, and a couple dozen plants.

Michael W. Conrad has often been described as “a gin soaked monster”, which is a lie — that was how Hemingway’s son described his father. Based on this, we can ascertain that Conrad is a liar, which is a fine way to describe a writer.

While Conrad laments the fact that his art is indeed a commodity, he revels in the high strangeness that has afforded him the opportunity to contribute to the legacies of many characters y’all know including: Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, Godzilla, Nightwing, Doom Patrol, and countless others.

Michael’s own work has been markedly more subversive, including Tremor Dose and Double Walker. These books explore an absurd and often surreal anxiety, with a focus on an inability to reconcile one’s own perceptions. With a number of creator-owned projects currently in development, one can only imagine that these explorations will continue in future work.

Conrad remains critical of himself and often feels like an imposter, but as his contributions to comics grow, one can only imagine that such ideations are rapidly being replaced with dread.

Chris Kemple is one of the contributors to the digital comics effort, Artist Alley Comics. After graduating with a BFA in Painting and Drawing from East Carolina University, Kemple worked as an assistant at Artamus Studios with Richard Case, Mike Wieringo, Jeff Parker, Casey Jones, and Scott Hampton, among others. Currently a teacher and freelance artist, Chris was a founding member of and texture artist and 3D object modeler at video game development studio, Red Storm Entertainment.

Kevin Maguire is an artist who is known for his work on Justice League International, Man Of Steel, Adventures Of Captain America, Batman Confidential, Defenders, and so many more it would just seem like bragging. You probably know him as the guy who draws goofy facial expressions. In his spare time, he enjoys yoga, IMAX films, and tweeting.

John K. Snyder III is an Eisner-nominated illustrator and writer of comic books and graphic novels. Creator of the independent comic series Fashion In Action, and adapter/illustrator of the graphic novel adaptation of Grand Master mystery writer Lawrence Block’s classic novel Eight Million Ways to Die published by IDW, he has worked for nearly every major publisher including DC, Dark Horse, Marvel, IDW, and many others. Snyder worked on Suicide Squad during its classic 1980’s run with writers John Ostrander and Kim Yale, and provided covers for the 2007 Suicide Squad mini-series. Along with Matt Wagner, Snyder co-created the Pieter Cross version of Doctor Mid-Nite for DC and Lady Zorro for Dynamite. Snyder also worked with Wagner on the epic Grendel: God and the Devil storyline. John’s recent work includes work for The Doors’ graphic novel anthology, Morrison Hotel written by Leah Moore and published by Z2 Comics, and a return to Suicide Squad with new covers for DC Comics to coincide with the release of the Warner Brothers movie. John’s future work includes all-new Fashion In Action adventures to be published by Clover Press. John encourages all artists and writers, young and old, to actively pursue their own creator-owned aspirations.

Kelly Yates is an illustrator best known for his work on Doctor Who comics for both Titan and IDW Publishing. His artwork inspired the Doctor Who, My Hero Academia, Junji Ito, and Attack on Titan Kawaii TITANS toy lines. In addition, he writes and illustrates the creator-owned books, Amber Atoms and MonstHer.

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This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Jason Aaron (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), Josh Blaylock (Mercy Sparx, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Russ Braun (The Boys), Jeffrey Brown (Hulk Teach, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Richard Case (Doom Patrol), Keith Champagne (Stranger Things), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jo Chen (Runaways), Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Becky Cloonan (War), Michael W. Conrad (In Bloom), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn), Olivia Cuartero-Briggs (The College Try), Paris Cullins (Blue Devil), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Colleen Doran (The Sandman), Scott Dunbier (DC Silver Age Covers and Stories Artist’s Edition), Garth Ennis (The Boys), Trish Forstner (Feral), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), Chris Giarrusso (Mini Marvels), Randy Green (Witchblade), Torunn Grønbekk (Catwoman), Gene Ha (Mae), Bob Hall (West Coast Avengers), Larry Hama (GI Joe: A Real American Hero), 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), Dan Jurgens (Action Comics), Chris Kemple (Red Vengeance), Peter Krause (The Power of Shazam, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mike Kunkel (Herobear and the Kid), Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), Jae Lee (Inhumans), Nate Lovett (Commander Tomorrow), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), 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), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Mark Morales (Thor), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons), 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), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jimmy Palmiotti (The Punisher), Dan Parent (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Margeaux Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Khoi Pham (Star Wars: Darth Vader), Tom Raney (Incredible Hulk), Afua Richardson (Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds), Tone Rodriguez (Feral, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Joe Schmalke (We Don’t Kill Spiders), Erica Schultz (Rogue), Mark Schultz (Xenozoic Tales, courtesy of Flesk Publishing), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), 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), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Martha Thomases (Dakota North), Billy Tucci (Shi), Gus Vazquez (Sunfire and the Big Hero Six), Mark Waid (Action Comics), Mark Wheatley (Breathtaker), Bob Wiacek (All-New Wolverine, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (Justice League, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Rich Woodall (Sgt. Werewolf), Kelly Yates (Doctor Who), and Thom Zahler (Long Distance).

Russ Braun, Richard Case, Ron Marz, Dan Parsons, Erica Schultz, and John Workman are coming to Baltimore Comic Con

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The Baltimore Comic-Con returns on September 25-27, 2026 at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center. The Baltimore Comic-Con welcomes Russ Braun, Richard Case, Ron Marz, Dan Parsons, Erica Schultz, and John Workman as guests of the 2026 event! Buy tickets online today!

Russ Braun has been drawing comics for over 30 years, with time out for a 7-year stint with Walt Disney Feature Animation. Known for his expressive characters and storytelling on everything from Batman, Swamp Thing, Fables, and Jack of Fables, Russ is best known for his frequent collaborations with Garth Ennis, including The Boys, Night Witches, their creator-owned book, Jimmy’s Bastards, and its new sequel Jimmy’s Little Bastards.

Richard Case has been illustrating comics for more than 30 years. His run on Doom Patrol with writer Grant Morrison inspired much of the recent TV series seen on HBO Max. He has also illustrated a number of books, including Sandman, Preacher, Shade the Changing Man, Hunter: Age of Magic, Dr. Strange, Sensational Spider-Man, and Batman ‘66. He is currently a Lead Concept Artist for Ubisoft/Red Storm Entertainment. Follow on Instagram @richardcaseillustration

Ron Marz has been writing comics for more than three decades, starting his career with a lengthy run on Silver Surfer for Marvel. Since then, he has worked for virtually every major publisher and compiled a long list of credits, including stints on Thor for Marvel, Green Lantern and Superboy for DC, Star Wars for Dark Horse, and the historic Marvel vs. DC crossover. He co-created the Green Lantern Kyle Rayner during his landmark run on the title.

Marz is also known for penning numerous inter-company crossovers, including Green Lantern-Silver Surfer, Batman-Aliens, Batman-Tarzan: Claws of the Catwoman, Green Lantern-Aliens, and Amalgam title Doctor Strangefate. He was Senior Writer at CrossGen Comics, where his titles included Mystic, Scion, Sojourn, and The Path.

Other credits include his acclaimed run on Witchblade, as well as Magdalena, Artifacts, and Cyber Force for Top Cow/Image, and many others. Marz’s creator-owned series include the all-ages tale Dragon Prince at Top Cow; the historical adventure Samurai: Heaven and Earth at Dark Horse; the vampire tale Shinku at Image; and cosmic graphic novel Resolution.

Marz has also written for video games, including multiple Skylanders titles, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, Spider-Man 2, and more. He is currently part of the narrative team for Blizzard’s Diablo franchise. Marz also teaches comic book writing at the Jacob Krueger Studio, based in Manhattan.

Dan Parsons started out in comics self-publishing his creator-owned “bad girl” series Harpy in the mid 1990s. He wrote and penciled Harpy as an ongoing series and, with its popularity, he was hired to pencil and ink another comic series called Razor. He also penciled, inked, and did cover work for the classic Battlestar Galactica comic book series; all this while still working full-time as a scientific researcher at Johns Hopkins Bay-View Medical Center in Baltimore, MD.

Parsons went on to release another creator-owned series, Savage Planet, which he describes as a tribute to the EC Comics of the 1950s, honoring the work of Frank Frazetta and Al Williamson. Parsons recently gathered these comics as well as new additions into a graphic novel version.

Parsons worked for Dark Horse as the primary inker on a wide range of Star Wars titles until the end of the Dark Horse era in 2014. These include the hugely popular Clone Wars, Legacy, Dawn of the Jedi, and the ongoing Star Wars comics as well as Republic and many other titles.

Parsons won an Inkwell Award in 2010 and again in 2015 for his ink work on the Star Wars comics. Other inking credits include DC Comics’ Nightwing and other Dark Horse titles Ghost and King Kong. More recently Parsons penciled and inked Conan for the Savage Sword magazine.

Parsons also did some work for Hollywood, including providing elaborate pencil drawings for HBO’s Game of Thrones Season One special features. He illustrated an Avatar The Last Airbender book for Nickelodeon/Insight Editions and a graphic novel adaptation of Ayn Rand’s 1937 sci-fi classic, Anthem.

In addition to these projects, Parsons painted numerous trading cards for the Topps Company from 2002 to present. Parsons is currently doing cover artwork for American Mythology Productions and penciling their new Dracula comic book series. He is also painting covers for various Tarzan and other Edgar Rice Burroughs novels.

Erica Schultz is an Inkpot Award recipient (2025) with her writing work having been nominated for both Ringo and Eisner awards. She is currently writing Rogue for Marvel Comics and Spawn: Rat City for Image Comics. Schultz is best known for her work on Daredevil and Laura Kinney: Wolverine for Marvel and creator-owned books like The Deadliest Bouquet for Image.

John Workman managed to turn a love for the comics form into a career. During the past five decades, he has held the position of editor, writer, art director, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, production director, and book designer for various companies. He created (with some help from Bhob Stewart and Bob Smith) the offbeat stories in Wild Things (with much of that material having first appeared in Star*Reach and Heavy Metal) and both wrote and drew the comics series Sindy, Fallen Angels, and Roma. In 1991, he reflected on model Bettie Page in Betty Being Bad (Eros), and later produced the hardbounds Heavy Metal: 25 Years of Classic Covers and Innocent Images: The Sexy Fantasy Females of Viper and Kiss, as well as The Adventures of Roma, a reformatted graphic novel version of his earlier series. He continues to write and draw and to do a whole lot of lettering for a number of comics companies on an international level.

This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Jason Aaron (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), Josh Blaylock (Mercy Sparx, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Russ Braun (The Boys), Jeffrey Brown (Hulk Teach, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Richard Case (Doom Patrol), Keith Champagne (Stranger Things), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jo Chen (Runaways), Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn), Olivia Cuartero-Briggs (The College Try), Paris Cullins (Blue Devil), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Colleen Doran (The Sandman), Garth Ennis (The Boys), Trish Forstner (Feral), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), Chris Giarrusso (Mini Marvels), Randy Green (Witchblade), Torunn Grønbekk (Catwoman), Gene Ha (Mae), Bob Hall (West Coast Avengers), Larry Hama (GI Joe: A Real American Hero), Tony Harris (The Whistling Skull), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Jamal Igle (Superman), Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Infernal Hulk), Dan Jurgens (Action Comics), Peter Krause (The Power of Shazam, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mike Kunkel (Herobear and the Kid), Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), Jae Lee (Inhumans), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), Laura Martin (Nubia: Queen of the Amazons, courtesy of Hero Initiative), 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), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Mark Morales (Thor), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons), 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), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jimmy Palmiotti (The Punisher), Dan Parent (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Margeaux Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Khoi Pham (Star Wars: Darth Vader), Tom Raney (Incredible Hulk), Afua Richardson (Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds), Tone Rodriguez (Feral, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Joe Schmalke (We Don’t Kill Spiders), Erica Schultz (Rogue), Mark Schultz (Xenozoic Tales, courtesy of Flesk Publishing), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), Matthew Dow Smith (DC’s Misfits of Magic), Scott Snyder (DC K.O.), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Gus Vazquez (Sunfire and the Big Hero Six), Mark Waid (Action Comics), Bob Wiacek (All-New Wolverine, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (Justice League, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Rich Woodall (Sgt. Werewolf), Kelly Yates (Doctor Who), and Thom Zahler (Long Distance).

Keith Champagne, Randy Green, Bob Hall, Phil Noto, Khoi Pham, and Afua Richardson are coming to Baltimore Comic Con

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The Baltimore Comic-Con will be held on September 25-27, 2026 at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center. Baltimore Comic-Con is welcomes Keith Champagne, Randy Green, Bob Hall, Phil Noto, Khoi Pham, and Afua Richardson as guests of the 2026 event! You can purchase your tickets online today!

Keith Champagne is a comic book writer and creator best known for several decades of work with DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and many more publishers. From Stranger Things to Superman to Uncanny X-Men, he’s provided art and/or stories for countless characters and projects.

After graduating with a BFA in Painting, Randy Green worked for several advertising agencies as an artist/art director and did some comic book work on the side. During this time, he worked mostly for Dark Horse and Image. Eventually, Randy was able to get enough steady work to pursue comic book art full-time, working for Marvel, DC Comics, and others as well. Top Cow’s Witchblade was his first long run as an artist on a title and opened the doors to many other opportunities, including Tomb Raider and a short-run creator-owned title, Dollz, which he hopes to do more with in the future. Afterwards, he continued on some more work at Marvel on Emma Frost and New X-Men Academy X, always managing to squeeze in a project or cover for some of the comic companies here and there. In recent years, Randy has been doing most of his work behind the scenes for Disney Parks, and has had several books come out through Dark Horse and Aspen Comics, as well as several indie creators, and is currently working on a title, Stopwatch, written by Beau Smith coming soon from Clover Press.

Randy has been working comics full-time for nearly two decades now, and enjoys life in the country with his family, wife Amy, and children Haley and Max.

Bob Hall had a long association with Marvel Comics, where at one time or another he drew most of the major books and characters such as The Champions, Spider-Man, Dr. Doom, Conan, Thor, The Fantastic Four, The Submariner, Captain America, PSI Force, The Avengers, and The New Mutants. He was the artist for the West Coast Avengers mini-series and was the primary artist on the original Squadron Supreme. He drew movie adaptations of Willow, Dark Man, and the notorious first Captain America movie, as well as pencils and inks for the graphic novel, Emperor Doom. Bob was an editor at Marvel in 1979. For Valiant, he wrote and penciled the monthly series Shadowman, wrote Timewalker, and then created Armed and Dangerous, a black and white “comicbook-noir” series. For DC, he wrote and drew the Batman graphic novel projects Batman DOA, I Joker, and It’s Jokertime. Recently, he has been creating educational comics that have tackled measles, mosquitoes, COVID-19, and vaccine hesitancy. Bob is a member of the National Cartoonists Society, Actors Equity Association, and the Society for Directors and Choreographers. His work can be seen at www.bobhall.com. Commissions and original art are available through www.catskillcomics.com. He can be messaged on Facebook.

Phil Noto is a comic book artist, painter, and illustrator best known for his work on Marvel Comics’ Black Widow series and numerous Star Wars projects.

He attended Ringling College of Art and Design. After college, he began a career in animation at Walt Disney Feature Animation where he worked on such films as Lion King, Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, and Lilo and Stitch.

In 2001, Phil started his comic career as the cover artist for DC Comics’ Birds of Prey. Some of his projects over the past 20 years are Danger Girl, Jonah Hex, Avengers, X-23, Uncanny X-Force, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Infinite Horizon, Poe Dameron, Daredevil, Cable, and X-Men.

Besides doing comic art, Phil has illustrated middle grade novels for Lucasfilm Publishing and done work for Time Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and the Criterion Collection. He also does retro fine-art paintings with numerous shows at Stranger Factory Gallery in Albuquerque, NM and, most recently, Outre Gallery in Fitzroy.

Khoi Pham is an artist and mentor. His artworks include DC’s Teen Titans, Marvel’s Mighty Avengers, X-Men Legacy, Scarlet Spider, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Chaos War, Incredible Hercules, Gambit, Mighty Thor, and X-Factor, and Top Cow’s Cyberforce. He has done numerous cover illustrations for various publications. Khoi was an attorney and venture capitalist prior to switching to art and mentoring. He has a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Saint Joseph’s University.

Afua Richardson (pronounced “ah-FOO-wah”) is an award-winning American comic book illustrator best known for her work on Marvel’s Black Panther: World of Wakanda. Some of her other works include The Wild Storm, Attack on Titan, X-Men ’92, Captain Marvel, and All-Star Batman to name a few. Afua is also a musician, voice actor, activist, and mentor. As a recipient of the Nina Simone award, she is aptly called a Jane of All trades.

This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Jason Aaron (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), Josh Blaylock (Mercy Sparx, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Russ Braun (The Boys), Jeffrey Brown (Hulk Teach, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Richard Case (Doom Patrol), Keith Champagne (Stranger Things), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jo Chen (Runaways), Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn), Olivia Cuartero-Briggs (The College Try), Paris Cullins (Blue Devil), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Colleen Doran (The Sandman), Garth Ennis (The Boys), Trish Forstner (Feral), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), Chris Giarrusso (Mini Marvels), Randy Green (Witchblade), Torunn Grønbekk (Catwoman), Gene Ha (Mae), Bob Hall (West Coast Avengers), Larry Hama (GI Joe: A Real American Hero), Tony Harris (The Whistling Skull), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Jamal Igle (Superman), Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Infernal Hulk), Dan Jurgens (Action Comics), Peter Krause (The Power of Shazam, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mike Kunkel (Herobear and the Kid), Jae Lee (Inhumans), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), Laura Martin (Nubia: Queen of the Amazons, courtesy of Hero Initiative), 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), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Mark Morales (Thor), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons), 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), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jimmy Palmiotti (The Punisher), Dan Parent (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Margeaux Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Khoi Pham (Star Wars: Darth Vader), Tom Raney (Incredible Hulk), Afua Richardson (Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds), Tone Rodriguez (Feral, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Joe Schmalke (We Don’t Kill Spiders), Erica Schultz (Rogue), Mark Schultz (Xenozoic Tales, courtesy of Flesk Publishing), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), Matthew Dow Smith (DC’s Misfits of Magic), Scott Snyder (DC K.O.), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Gus Vazquez (Sunfire and the Big Hero Six), Mark Waid (Action Comics), Bob Wiacek (All-New Wolverine, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (Justice League, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Rich Woodall (Sgt. Werewolf), Kelly Yates (Doctor Who), and Thom Zahler (Long Distance).

Cliff Chiang, Mike Hawthorne, Adriana Melo, Bob McLeod, Bill Morrison, and Joseph Schmalke are coming to Baltimore Comic Con

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The Baltimore Comic-Con returns on September 25-27, 2026 to the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center. Baltimore Comic-Con welcomes Cliff Chiang, Mike Hawthorne, Adriana Melo, Bob McLeod, Bill Morrison, and Joseph Schmalke as guests of the 2026 event! You can purchase your tickets online today!

Cliff Chiang’s artwork has been hailed for its “fluid and confident storytelling” and “sweeping linework and nuanced style.” Graduating from Harvard University with a joint degree in English Literature and Visual Arts, he worked in editorial at Disney Adventures Magazine and Vertigo/DC Comics before making the leap into freelance illustration. Best known as the artist of the New York Times best-selling Wonder Woman (with writer Brian Azzarello) and Eisner Award-winning Paper Girls (with writer Brian K. Vaughan), his most recent work is the acclaimed Catwoman: Lonely City which he both wrote and drew.

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Mike Hawthorne has provided the artwork for various comics, including a record setting run on Deadpool as well as Daredevil, Spider-Man, Hulk, Superman, and more. His work has been nominated for Harvey and Eisner Awards. Outside of comics, Mike has done storyboard and conceptual art for Epic Games, Marvel, Fox, Illumination, and Universal. Archaia/BOOM! Studios recently published his autobio-comic Happiness Will Follow.

Adriana Melo has worked for Marvel, DC, Image Comics, and Titan Comics. Some of the books she has worked as a penciler/artist are: Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Silver Surfer, Amazing Spider-Man, Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Jackpot, Star Wars: Empire, Rose & Thorn, Witchblade, Miss Marvel, Birds of Prey, Catwoman, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, Female Furies, Plastic Man, Dr. Who: New Adventures of the Ninth Doctor, Harley and Ivy Meet Betty and Veronica, Marvel Voices, and Trial of the Amazons. You can find her most recent work in the DC Comics series Wonder Girl with Joelle Jones, and in Superman: Action Comics.

Bob McLeod is best known for co-creating and illustrating The New Mutants for Marvel Comics. He began his career with Marvel’s Crazy magazine, penciling, and inking movie and TV satires and the Teen Hulk strip. He has pencilled or inked all the major characters for Marvel and DC, including Spider-Man (most notably Kraven’s Last Hunt), The X-Men, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, GI Joe, Star Wars, The Hulk, Conan, and many more. Bob also wrote and illustrated a children’s alphabet book, Superhero ABC, published by HarperCollins, which received starred reviews. He edited and wrote articles for Twomorrows’ Rough Stuff magazine and taught art at the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design for many years. He’s currently doing occasional variant covers for Marvel and commissions for his fans, along with occasional freelance jobs and personal projects. His website is www.bobmcleod.com.

Award-winning cartoonist, writer, and illustrator Bill Morrison began his career in Detroit, Michigan as a technical illustrator, but his dream was to be a cartoonist. When Bill decided that he had rendered his last diesel fuel pump, he moved to Southern California with his wife, Kayre. He began working immediately in motion picture advertising where he painted dozens of movie posters, including many for Walt Disney Pictures such as The Little Mermaid, Bambi, Peter Pan, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book. For several years, Bill spent most of his waking hours on various projects related to The Simpsons. For that iconic property, he has created thousands of drawings for t-shirts, video games, posters, toy packaging, books, calendars, limited edition prints, etc. When The Simpsons creator Matt Groening founded Bongo Comics, Bill was hired on as art director and realized his cartoonist dreams when he drew the very first Simpsons comic. He quickly took on the role of Creative Director, editing Bongo’s entire output, and writing and drawing stories and covers as time permitted. Bill also worked with Groening on early character designs for the TV show Futurama and served as the series art director. He also recently served as Artist and Designer on Groening’s Netflix series, Disenchantment. In addition to his work on The Simpsons and Futurama comics, Bill has written and drawn his own comic book series, the four-time Eisner Award-nominated Roswell, Little Green Man, and co-created three other comic book series: Heroes Anonymous, Dead Vengeance, and Lady Robotika (the latter with Jane Wiedlin of the legendary all-girl rock band, The Go-Go’s). Morrison also created a 96-page graphic novel adaptation of The Beatles Yellow Submarine for Titan Comics. Most recently, Bill was the Executive Editor of the relaunched MAD Magazine, and also served as Art Director for Seriously’s “Best Fiends” animated shorts.

Joseph Schmalke is a comics creator, writer, and illustrator, and is the publisher of Midnight Factory, a comic line focused on horror, sci-fi, and the bizarre. Joe’s credentials include: Seven Years in Darkness, We Don’t Kill Spiders, Murder Hobo (created/written by), One Last Trick (created/written by), Prophets of Doom (created/written by), The Infernal Pact, Cherry Blackbird, Phantom Starkiller (co-writer/artist), and The Electric Black (co-creator/writer and artist). His artwork has been featured on variant covers for Image Comics, BOOM! Studios, Vault Comics, Mad Cave, Behemoth/Sumerian Comics, Source Point Press, Archie Comics, and IDW. You can also find his artwork on exclusive Marvel Entertainment merchandise.

This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Jason Aaron (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), Josh Blaylock (Mercy Sparx, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Russ Braun (The Boys), Jeffrey Brown (Hulk Teach, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Richard Case (Doom Patrol), Keith Champagne (Stranger Things), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jo Chen (Runaways), Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn), Olivia Cuartero-Briggs (The College Try), Paris Cullins (Blue Devil), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Colleen Doran (The Sandman), Garth Ennis (The Boys), Trish Forstner (Feral), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), Chris Giarrusso (Mini Marvels), Randy Green (Witchblade), Torunn Grønbekk (Catwoman), Gene Ha (Mae), Bob Hall (West Coast Avengers), Larry Hama (GI Joe: A Real American Hero), Tony Harris (The Whistling Skull), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Jamal Igle (Superman), Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Infernal Hulk), Dan Jurgens (Action Comics), Peter Krause (The Power of Shazam, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mike Kunkel (Herobear and the Kid), Jae Lee (Inhumans), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), Laura Martin (Nubia: Queen of the Amazons, courtesy of Hero Initiative), 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), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Mark Morales (Thor), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons), 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), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jimmy Palmiotti (The Punisher), Dan Parent (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Margeaux Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Khoi Pham (Star Wars: Darth Vader), Tom Raney (Incredible Hulk), Afua Richardson (Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds), Tone Rodriguez (Feral, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Joe Schmalke (We Don’t Kill Spiders), Erica Schultz (Rogue), Mark Schultz (Xenozoic Tales, courtesy of Flesk Publishing), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), Matthew Dow Smith (DC’s Misfits of Magic), Scott Snyder (DC K.O.), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Gus Vazquez (Sunfire and the Big Hero Six), Mark Waid (Action Comics), Bob Wiacek (All-New Wolverine, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (Justice League, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Rich Woodall (Sgt. Werewolf), Kelly Yates (Doctor Who), and Thom Zahler (Long Distance).

The Ringo Awards reveals its 2026 Jury

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The Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards is an annual celebration of the creativity, skill, and fun of comics. The awards will be presented on Saturday, September 26, 2026 as part of The Baltimore Comic-Con. The Ringo Awards is currently in the midst of the 2026 nomination process, which is inclusive of fans and comic book professionals alike. Submit your nominations before voting closes at midnight on May 28, 2026.

The Jury

Cliff Chiang

An esteemed jury of comics professionals will participate in the nomination process, selecting favorite works across 18 categories. The 2026 jury was chosen as a representative cross-section of the comic book industry, with members representing seasoned and venerated retailers, distributors, and creators across numerous genres.

Cliff Chiang’s artwork has been hailed for its “fluid and confident storytelling” and “sweeping linework and nuanced style.” Graduating from Harvard University with a joint degree in English Literature and Visual Arts, he worked in editorial at Disney Adventures Magazine and Vertigo/DC Comics before making the leap into freelance illustration. Best known as the artist of the New York Times best-selling Wonder Woman (with writer Brian Azzarello) and Eisner Award-winning Paper Girls (with writer Brian K. Vaughan), his most recent work is the acclaimed Catwoman: Lonely City which he both wrote and drew.

Colleen Doran

Colleen Doran is a New York Times bestselling cartoonist. From her first work with on The Sandman, she also adapted the short stories Troll Bridge, Snow Glass Apples, and Chivalry, winning two Eisners, The Bram Stoker, Locus, and Ringo Awards, and nominations for Best Penciler/Inker Eisners, Reubens, the Excelsior, Rondo, and Tripwire Awards.

Other works include American Gods, Norse Mythology, and the adaptation of Good Omens with Terry Pratchett, at that time, the most successful comics crowdfund in Kickstarter history at over $3.1 million.

She taught Syrian refugees for the US Embassy and the Athens, Greece National Library, and contributed to Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds to benefit Ukrainian refugees. The project is an Eisner winner.

She’s illustrated works by Alan Moore, Margaret Atwood, Anne Rice, J Michael Straczynski, Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Amazing Fantastic Incredible Stan Lee, and graphic novels for The Doors, Blondie, Melissa Etheridge, and Tori Amos. In Balmain Dreams 10R, she created an original story for the French fashion house Balmain for designer Oliver Rousteing.

She’s had multiple solo shows at the Society of Illustrators, The Museum of Cartoon Art, and the San Diego Comic Con Museum. She’s also exhibited at shows in Milan, Rome, Portugal, and Germany.

Other credits: Action Comics, Conan, Detective Comics, Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy, Jessica Jones for Netflix, Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Vampire Diaries, and Wonder Woman.

Zander Fajertag

Zander Fajertag is the Comic Department Purchaser and Customer Service Representative at Universal Distribution. With eight years of experience, they have worked in every stage of the distribution process, from picking comics to managing purchasing and claims. Zander also supports the gaming purchasing side of the business and has contributed to booth designs for past conventions, bringing a well-rounded perspective and deep industry knowledge to their role.

Sarahti Gassmalla

Sarahti Gassmalla has about a decade of working in comics retail. Starting as an intern, she is now a part owner and co-manager at Fantom Comics. She is involved in inventory ordering, event coordination, and representing the store at events such as Baltimore Comic-Con, ComicsPro, New York Comic-Con, and Small Press Expo. She runs the Fantom Comics’ recurring Queer Book Club, occasionally interviews creators for author events, and manages the weekly Final Order Cutoff. 

Her relationship with sequential art began at a young age as a regular reader of Pearls Before Swine, Mutts, and other Washington Post Sunday comic strips. These days, reading the “Sunday comics” means reading the newest chapter updates of her favorite Shonen Jump titles — Akane Banashi, Blue Box, Ichi The Witch, and One Piece to name just a few. Her western comics journey started with reading the original Runaways at the library and borrowing a friend’s copy of Young Avengers. Visiting Fantom Comics the first time before she worked there is what introduced her to single issue comics, collecting titles like 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, Joyride, and Monstress. If she is not reading, she’s doodling, finding new ways to get at least ten friends in a room together, or binging crime thriller TV. Sarahti was born and raised in Washington, DC where she still resides.

Bill Morrison

Award-winning cartoonist, writer, and illustrator Bill Morrison began his career in Detroit, Michigan as a technical illustrator, but his dream was to be a cartoonist. When Bill decided that he had rendered his last diesel fuel pump, he moved to Southern California with his wife, Kayre. He began working immediately in motion picture advertising where he painted dozens of movie posters, including many for Walt Disney Pictures such as The Little Mermaid, Bambi, Peter Pan, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book. For several years, Bill spent most of his waking hours on various projects related to The Simpsons. For that iconic property, he has created thousands of drawings for t-shirts, video games, posters, toy packaging, books, calendars, limited edition prints, etc. When The Simpsons creator Matt Groening founded Bongo Comics, Bill was hired on as art director and realized his cartoonist dreams when he drew the very first Simpsons comic. He quickly took on the role of Creative Director, editing Bongo’s entire output, and writing and drawing stories and covers as time permitted. Bill also worked with Groening on early character designs for the TV show Futurama and served as the series art director. He also recently served as Artist and Designer on Groening’s Netflix series, Disenchantment. In addition to his work on The Simpsons and Futurama comics, Bill has written and drawn his own comic book series, the four-time Eisner Award-nominated Roswell, Little Green Man, and co-created three other comic book series: Heroes Anonymous, Dead Vengeance, and Lady Robotika (the latter with Jane Wiedlin of the legendary all-girl rock band, The Go-Go’s). Morrison also created a 96-page graphic novel adaptation of The Beatles Yellow Submarine for Titan Comics. Most recently, Bill was the Executive Editor of the relaunched MAD Magazine, and also served as Art Director for Seriously’s “Best Fiends” animated shorts.

Fan and Pro Nomination Categories

  • Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist)
  • Best Writer
  • Best Artist or Penciller/Inker Team
  • Best Letterer
  • Best Colorist
  • Best Cover Artist
  • Best Series
  • Best Short Story
  • Best Original Graphic Novel
  • Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel — Ages 11 and Under
  • Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel — Ages 12 and Up
  • Best Anthology
  • Best Humor Comic
  • Best Webcomic
  • Best Humor Webcomic
  • Best Non-fiction Comic Work
  • Best Comics-Related Publication
  • Best Presentation in Design

Perennial Jury-Only Nomination

  • The Mike Wieringo Spirit Award

Fan-Only Favorite Categories

  • Favorite Hero
  • Favorite Villain
  • Favorite New Series
  • Favorite New Talent
  • Favorite Publisher

Hero Initiative Award (selected by the Hero Initiative)

  • The Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award
  • The Dick Giordano Humanitarian Award

Garth Ennis, Torunn Grønbekk, Tony Harris, Jae Lee, Mark Schultz, and Gus Vazquez are coming to Baltimore Comic-Con

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The Baltimore Comic-Con returns to the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center on September 25-27, 2026. Baltimore Comic-Con welcomes Garth Ennis, Torunn Grønbekk, Tony Harris, Jae Lee, Mark Schultz (courtesy of Flesk Publishing), and Gus Vazquez as guests of the 2026 event! Purchase your tickets today!

Garth Ennis broke into the American comic scene in 1991, taking over the writing reins on Hellblazer. After a successful four-year run, Ennis moved on to create Preacher, a 66-issue epic that ran from 1995 -2000. In addition to these two ground-breaking series, he also had lengthy runs on DC’s The Demon and Hitman. Most recently, Ennis wrapped up The Boys, a 72-issue story which began at DC’s Wildstorm imprint before moving to Dynamite Entertainment with issue #7, and is now a hit series on Amazon Prime.

Torunn Grønbekk is a Norwegian comic book writer and portrait painter. She is best known for her work for Dynamite and Marvel, like Red Sonja, Thor, Punisher: War Journal, Valkyrie, and Venom. She lives and works in Norway (and sometimes in her cabin in the Swedish woods).

She has recently worked on Realm of X, Venom, Red Sonja, and Carnage.

Tony Harris is a comic book artist. He is also a commercial illustrator, painter, sculptor, designer, and prop builder. Tony has worked for DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Disney, Lucasfilm, Universal Studios, Chevy, 20th Century Fox, New Line Cinema, Aftershock, Hasbro, Cartoon Network, Heavy Metal, Malibu Comics, Verotik Comics, Caliber Comics, First Comics, and many, many others. Tony has worked on properties such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash, Justice League, JSA, Starman, Ex Machina, The Whistling Skull, Lazarus 5, Obergeist, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Hulk, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Wolverine, X-Men, Avengers, Deadpool, Captain America, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Maleficent, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Mummy, Aliens, Predator, Classics Illustrated’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Invisible Man, The Master of Ballantrae, and many, many more. Tony has won the highest award given in the comic book industry, the Eisner for Starman and Ex-Machina and has been nominated 19 times. Tony is currently compiling material for The Marvel Comics Art of Tony Harris from Clover Press/Marvel.

Jae Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, known for his dark style. In 1990, he became one of the youngest artists ever to work for a major publisher. He is an Eisner Award-winner for his work on Marvel’s The Inhumans. His art can also be seen in Stephen King’s Dark Tower and Batman/Superman. Jae is also the co-creator of The Sentry for Marvel Comics.

Official Website: jaeleeart.com
Instagram: @jaeleeart
Pre-show commission orders may be placed through: JAELEE@aol.com

Since entering the world of cartooning in the mid-1980s with the science-fiction adventure series Xenozoic Tales, Mark Schultz has slowly but consistently produced a very diversified body of work. He has created illustrations for Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories, scripted four years of Superman, composed a science guide to genetics and DNA, created the Stormforce 10 adventure SubHuman with paleontologist Michael J. Ryan, and written the novella Storms at Sea, which he also illustrated. Currently, he scripts the comic strip Prince Valiant and, in his free moments, continues to work on a new Xenozoic graphic novel as well as a sequel to Storms at Sea. Flesk, who are presenting Mark’s appearance at this year’s Baltimore Comic-Con, has been his proud publisher since 2005 and continues to regularly release collections of his sketches, commissions, and personal works.

Gus Vazquez is an illustrator who has worked in nearly every field, including comic books, trading cards, storyboarding for music videos, commercials, animation and film, logo design, character and toy design, and more. He started his career in comic books working as an assistant to comic book artists Adam Pollina on X-Force, and Kevin McGuire on Trinity Angels. He got his first solo gig at Marvel Comics drawing the covers and interiors for Sunfire and Big Hero 6, the series that introduced the characters featured in Disney’s Oscar winning Big Hero 6. He has worked on such Marvel titles as Deadpool, X-Force, Spider-Man, What If? Civil War, What If? Back in Black, The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, and more. For DC, he has worked on such titles as Green Lantern, JLA, Blue Beetle, and most recently on Flash, Suicide Squad, and Green Arrow. Gus was the artist on several issues of Claudio Sanchez’s (of rock music group Coheed and Cambria) The Amory Wars, and was instrumental in helping bring together the creative team of his friends, David Atchison (writer) and Tony Shasteen (illustrator), and his niece, film and TV actress Rosario Dawson on 12 Gauge’s The O.C.T. More recently, Gus has been working for DC Comics on The Sasquatch Detective, a backup story which can be found in the pages of Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, as well as DMC (Daryl Makes Comics) and on La Borinquena. He is also working on his creator-owned book, Fang.

This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Jason Aaron (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), Josh Blaylock (Mercy Sparx, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Jeffrey Brown (Hulk Teach, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jo Chen (Runaways), Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn), Olivia Cuartero-Briggs (The College Try), Paris Cullins (Blue Devil), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Colleen Doran (The Sandman), Garth Ennis (The Boys), Trish Forstner (Feral), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), Chris Giarrusso (Mini Marvels), Torunn Grønbekk (Catwoman), Gene Ha (Mae), Larry Hama (GI Joe: A Real American Hero), Tony Harris (The Whistling Skull), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Jamal Igle (Superman), Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Infernal Hulk), Dan Jurgens (Action Comics), Peter Krause (The Power of Shazam, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Mike Kunkel (Herobear and the Kid), Jae Lee (Inhumans), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), Laura Martin (Nubia: Queen of the Amazons, courtesy of Hero Initiative), 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), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Mark Morales (Thor), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons), 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), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jimmy Palmiotti (The Punisher), Margeaux Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Tom Raney (Incredible Hulk), Afua Richardson (Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds), Tone Rodriguez (Feral, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Mark Schultz (Xenozoic Tales, courtesy of Flesk Publishing), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), Matthew Dow Smith (DC’s Misfits of Magic), Scott Snyder (DC K.O.), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Gus Vazquez (Sunfire and the Big Hero Six), Mark Waid (Action Comics), Bob Wiacek (All-New Wolverine, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Chuck Wojtkiewicz (Justice League, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Rich Woodall (Sgt. Werewolf), and Thom Zahler (Long Distance).

Mark Buckingham, Paris Cullins, Todd Dezago, Carla Speed McNeil, Kevin Nowlan, and Craig Rousseau are coming to Baltimore Comic Con

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The 2026 Baltimore Comic-Con will be held on September 25-27 at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center. Baltimore Comic-Con welcomes Mark Buckingham, Paris Cullins, Todd Dezago, Carla Speed McNeil, Kevin Nowlan, and Craig Rousseau as guests of the 2026 event! Get your tickets online now!

Mark Buckingham, who is best-known and most-celebrated for his work on the long-running Vertigo title Fables, began his career in 1997 and was first published in the USA in 1998 on Hellblazer, followed a year later by Miracleman from Eclipse Comics. After books like Batman: Shadow of the Bat, Titans, and Shade, the Changing Man, he became a mainstay at DC Comics as regular artist on Fables. His run on the popular imprint title has earned him five Eisner Awards, including Best New Series in 2003, Best Serialized Story in 2005 and 2006, and Best Artist/Penciler/Inker and Best Anthology in 2007. Having previously had popular runs on Ghost Rider 2099, Generation X, Doctor Strange (all 1990s), and Peter Parker: Spider-Man (2000s), he is currently back at Marvel Comics as artist on Fantastic 4: First Foes.

Paris Cullins is a visionary comic book artist and storyteller known for his vibrant imagination and larger-than-life energy that leaps right off the page. Rising to prominence during DC Comics’ creative boom in the 1980s, Paris is best known for his iconic work on Blue Devil, a character he helped co-create, and his acclaimed run on Blue Beetle, which helped redefine the superhero landscape with his dynamic and fresh visual style. His artistry also brought life to the epic revival of Jack Kirby’s New Gods series and Paris didn’t stop at DC. 

He crossed into Marvel territory with Hyperkind, part of Clive Barker’s Razorline imprint, proving he could flex his artistic muscles across universes. Whether penciling, inking, or designing covers, Cullins brought a fresh, youthful swagger to every panel he touched.

Paris’s distinct style and storytelling earned him a devoted fanbase and critical acclaim. Across the decades, Paris has continued to inspire emerging artists and fans alike with his fearless creativity and passion for the craft. Whether revitalizing beloved heroes or creating new legends, Paris Cullins draws with the pulse of youth and the spirit of innovation — a true master of comic book excitement and imagination.

Email: Pariscullins@gmail.com
Twitter: @ParisCullins

Todd Dezago is a writer best known for his work in comics. He has written for Marvel, DC Comics, Image, Dark Horse, Scout Comics, and others. His credits include scripting the adventures of Spider-Man, X-Factor, the X-Men, the Avengers, Marvel Super Hero Squad, the Justice League, Flash, Impulse, Batman, and Young Justice. Todd co-created the high-adventure fantasy title, Tellos, with Mike Wieringo and The Perhapanauts with Craig Rousseau.

Carla Speed McNeil is the author and artist of Finder. She started working in comics in 1997 and hasn’t stopped since. She has also worked on a variety of projects like providing art for Queen & Country: Operation: Stormfront from Oni Press, adapted and drew Pendragon: The Merchant of Death (based on the prose book by D. J. MacHale) for Simon & Schuster, and drawn fan-favorite Frank Ironwine for Apparat/Avatar, as well as two pages of Transmetropolitan for DC/Vertigo, both by Warren Ellis. Bad Houses was released in 2013 by Dark Horse Comics, after which she began a long series of collaborations with writer Alex De Campi, including Ashes, My Little Pony (IDW), and No Mercy (Image) beginning April 2015. Other smaller projects have included drawing Legends of Red Sonja (Dynamite), the short story “Here. In My Head” (with writer Elizabeth Genco) for Comic Book Tattoo from Image, and shorts in notable anthologies such as The Sleep of Reason and Cautionary Fairy Tales of Africa. She has won an Eisner Award, Ignatz Awards, the Kim Yale New Talent Award from Friends Of Lulu, the L.A. Times Book Prize for graphic novel in 2012, and three Stumptown Comic Arts Awards.

Finder, the science fiction series Carla Speed McNeil started in 1996, was “born” in Maryland, and so were her two kids and three cats. She and her husband were born and raised in Louisiana, but they’ve lived here longer than they ever lived there, which is a funny thought sometimes. She’s won an Eisner, several Ignatzes, and the LA Times Book Prize. She teaches comics at MICA in Baltimore, and her COVID hobb-session was making teeny tiny doors.

Kevin Nowlan is a penciler, inker, colorist, and letterer, and a 40+ year veteran of the comics industry. Credits include Batman: Sword of Azreal, Batman Black and White, Tomorrow Stories, Doctor Strange, Infernal Man-Thing, Superman vs. Aliens, and, recently, Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor. Nowlan also contributed character designs to the iconic Batman: The Animated Series, most notably the Joker, Killer Croc, The Mad Hatter, and the Man-Bat.

Craig Rousseau has been working in the comics industry for over 2 decades, working for all the major publishers, including DC (Impulse, Batman Beyond, Harley Quinn, Batman ‘66) and Marvel (Iron Man Armor Wars, Captain America and the Korvac Saga, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane). Besides Young Hellboy from Dark Horse Comics, he’s currently working on the latest adventures of his creator-owned book, The Perhapanauts (with Todd Dezago) at Black Caravan… and a few other things.

This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Jason Aaron (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jo Chen (Runaways), Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn), Olivia Cuartero-Briggs (The College Try), Paris Cullins (Blue Devil), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Colleen Doran (The Sandman), Trish Forstner (Feral), Chris Giarrusso (Mini Marvels), Gene Ha (Mae), Larry Hama (GI Joe: A Real American Hero), Tony Harris (The Whistling Skull), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Jamal Igle (Superman), Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Infernal Hulk), Dan Jurgens (Action Comics), Mike Kunkel (Herobear and the Kid), Jae Lee (Inhumans), 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), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Mark Morales (Thor), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons), Sarah Myer (TMNT Saturday Morning Adventures), Kevin Nowlan (Batman: Sword of Azrael), Patrick Olliffe (Untold Tales of Spider-Man), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jimmy Palmiotti (The Punisher), Andrew Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Tom Raney (Incredible Hulk), Afua Richardson (Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Mark Schultz (Xenozoic Tales, courtesy of Flesk Publishing), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), Matthew Dow Smith (DC’s Misfits of Magic), Scott Snyder (DC K.O.), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Gus Vazquez (Sunfire and the Big Hero Six), Mark Waid (Action Comics), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Rich Woodall (Sgt. Werewolf), and Thom Zahler (Long Distance).

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