The wait is over! Mad Cave Studios has announced the winners of the 2025 Mad Cave Studios Talent Search, now in its eighth year of spotlighting bold, emerging voices in comics. Each year, the program invites aspiring writers, artists, colorists, and letterers from around the world to showcase their craft for a chance to collaborate professionally with Mad Cave’s editorial team—a testament to the publisher’s commitment to discovering and nurturing new talent.

First announced in June 2025, this year’s Talent Search welcomed creators to develop stories within one of four eligible Mad Cave universes, including Exit City, Dark Pyramid, Endless Night, and Sanction. And after an incredible showing of talent from around the world, the publisher is thrilled to introduce eight emerging creators chosen to join its ranks, continuing the publisher’s mission to champion fresh, diverse voices in comics. 

1st Place: Writer Jennifer Liao, a filmmaker and TV director (FROM, Two Sentence Horror Stories, Murdoch Mysteries); Artist Algus Calcagno, a Buenos Aires–based illustrator and educator with over twenty years of experience in sequential art; Colorist Pedro Estouco, a Brazilian comic book creator who discovered the world of comic book coloring in October 2023 and began working professionally full-time in April 2024; and Letterer Marina Leon, a graphic designer and comic letterer based in Argentina.

2nd Place: Writer Devon L. White, a Baltimore-based dystopian-noir writer whose work explores bureaucratic systems and marginalized voices; Artist Gabriele Falzone, an Italian illustrator and graduate of Scuola del Fumetto in Milan whose credits include Distorted (Scout Comics); Colorist Edson Jimenez, a visual storyteller from Cuernavaca, Mexico, focused on creating vibrant, atmospheric worlds; and Letterer Chase Snyder, a New Jersey–based letterer and frequent collaborator on independent comics and anthologies.