FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 7, 2022
Contact: Jay B. Kalagayan, cxcfestival@gmail.com
CARTOON CROSSROADS COLUMBUS SPECIAL GUESTS
October 6 through 9
COLUMBUS, Ohio, — Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC), the international showcase for cartoon art, is excited to announce its featured guests for the 2022 festival running October 6th to 9th, the organization’s first fully in-person festival since 2019. CXC brings the global family of cartoon storytellers, comic makers, and animators together with the people who love and are inspired by cartoon art, and connects them in Columbus, Ohio.
“Every fall, the comics and cartoon art community in Columbus comes together for CXC, and once again we celebrate this beautiful, complex art form and the masters who make it,” said Jeff Smith, CXC’s co-founder and artistic director, and author of the Bone and Tuki graphic novels. “We have an incredible guest list from around the world, and we have events and activities planned for anyone who likes cartoons—which is everyone!”
The 8th annual festival will feature:
- Keith Knight, the cartoonist of The K Chronicles, The Knight Life, and co-creator of the Hulu series, Woke
- Maia Kobabe, award winning author and illustrator of Gender Queer: A Memoir
- Ed Piskor (X-Men: Grand Design) & Jim Rugg (Hulk: Grand Design), hosts of the popular YouTube channel Cartoonist Kayfabe
- Trina Robbins, a pioneering cartoonist in the underground Wimmen’s Comix and first woman to illustrate Wonder Woman
- Tom Gauld, cartoonist of Goliath and regular contributor to The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Guardian and New Scientist
- James Sturm, cartoonist of Off Season and the cofounder of The Center for Cartoon Studies
- Barbara Brandon-Croft, award winning and pioneering cartoonist of Where I’m Coming From
- And so many more! (See below for a complete listing of special guests.)
“I invite audiences to use the CXC Festival as an opportunity to broaden their horizons,” says Jay B. Kalagayan, executive director of CXC, “Come find out what work hasn’t been on your radar that might speak directly to this moment in your life, or to catch on to work that is going to capture major attention in the next year.”
Festival organizers will have more information about programming in the coming months. Follow CXC on social media (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) or check www.cartooncrossroadscolumbus.org for the latest.
CXC 2022 Special Guests include:
Link to the website with all the special guests
* Vincent Alexander (Musical Man and the Magic Kazoo) * Paige Braddock (Peanut, Butter, and Crackers, Jane’s World) * Barbara Brandon-Croft (Where I’m Coming From) * Peter Gallagher (Heathcliff) * Tom Gauld (Goliath, Revenge of the Librarians) * Laura Harrison (The Limits of Vision) * Myisha Haynes (Anne of West Philly) * Paul Jenkins (Wolverine: Origin, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) * Mathew Klickstein (See You at San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture) * Keith Knight (The K Chronicles, The Knight Life, WOKE) * Maia Kobabe (Gender Queer: A Memoir) * Trung Le Nguyen (The Magic Fish) * MariNaomi (Life on Earth) * Lee Marrs (The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp) * Ingrid Ochoa (The Kiss Bet), Ed Piskor (X-Men: Grand Design, Cartoonist Kayfabe) * Trina Robbins (Wimmen’s Comix, Wonder Woman) * Jim Rugg (Hulk: Grand Design, Cartoonist Kayfabe) * Frederik L. Schodt (Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics) * Maria Scrivan (Nat Enough) * James Spooner (The High Desert, AFRO-PUNK) * Steenz (Heart of the City) * James Sturm (Off Season) * Ronald Wimberly (LAAB Magazine, Prince of Cats)
About Cartoon Crossroads Columbus
CXC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that draws together Columbus educational and arts organizations including the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus College of Art & Design, the Columbus Museum of Art and the Columbus Metropolitan Library, The Laughing Ogre, GFC: Gateway Film Center, and Pop Culture Studies at Ohio State University.
Our CXC 2022 partner is AAEC: Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.
The festival is generously supported by the Greater Columbus Arts Council, UBS, GoComics, Columbus Dispatch / Dispatch.com, Seventh Son, and Orange Barrel Media.
CXC aims to provide an international showcase for the best of cartoon art in all its forms, including comics, animation, editorial cartoons, newspaper strips, and beyond, in a city that is a growing center of importance to comics and cartooning. The festival also focuses on helping the next generation of young talent develop careers that invigorate the industry for years to come.
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