CARTOON CROSSROADS COLUMBUS SPECIAL GUESTS
Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC), the international showcase for cartoon art, is excited to announce its featured guests for the 2023 festival running September 27th – October 1st. 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.
“Come Fall in Columbus, everyone who loves cartoons is joyous, because CXC brings the best and the brightest in the fields of animation, comics, graphic novels, political cartoons and comic strips to our fair city!” said Jeff Smith, co-founder of the festival and creator of the graphic novel series Bone, “and this year is going to be star-studded!”
The 9th annual festival will feature:
- Daniel Clowes, a Harvey, Eisner, Ignatz, and PEN America Literary Award winner best known for Eightball and Ghost World. Clowes will be debuting his long-awaited new GN, Monica, at CXC–the only festival he’ll be attending this year.
- Raina Telgemeier, cartoonist of the graphic novels Smile, Drama, Sisters, Ghosts and Guts, all #1 New York Times bestsellers. Raina’s appearance at CXC coincides with her retrospective exhibition, Facing Feelings: The Art of Raina Telgemeier, at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum from May 24–November 5.
- Keito Gaku, traveling from Japan, is artist and author of Boys Run the Riot, a critically lauded manga about a transgender high school boy, inspired by his own life. Gaku-sensei’s appearance at CXC will be his first appearance at a comics event in the United States.
- Brenda Chapman, the first woman to direct an animated feature from a major studio, DreamWorks Animation’s The Prince of Egypt. She also co-directed and wrote the Disney/Pixar film Brave and worked as a story artist on The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.
- Derf Backderf, Ohio-native cartoonist best known for his memoir comic My Friend Dahmer and newest release, Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio.
- Chris Sprouse, comics artist known for his work on DC and Marvel comics, including Batman, Justice League, Black Panther, and Thors and his work as co-creator of Tom Strong.
- Shelly Bond, comic book editor known for her two decades at DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint where she edited Eisner winning titles such as Fables and The Sandman: Overture. She is the creator, editor and curator of the BLACK CROWN and OFF REGISTER imprints, and served as editor of Bitter Root, Elementals and Punks Not Dead.
- John Jennings, Hugo Award Winner and New York Times bestselling author. He is also the editor and curator for MEGASCOPE, an imprint of Abrams focusing on speculative and nonfiction works by and about people of color.
- M.S. Harkness, Columbus-based autobiographical cartoonist releasing a new book, Time Under Tension, published by Fantagraphics.
- Raeghan Buchanan, Columbus-based illustrator, writer, and musician known for her work exploring Black heritage, including The Secret History of Black Punk: Record Zero published by Silver Sprocket.
- And so many more! Read each special guest’s bios here.
“CXC continues to push the boundaries of what one can expect from a singular Comics focused exposition. The guests give insight into their story and the storytelling alike, often bridging the gaps in the reading of their work; gaps we didn’t even know where there,” said cartoonist CM Campbell, co-chair of CXC’s programming committee.
“Comics, as an art form, spans many genres, audiences, and formats–and assembling a representative group of artists is challenging,” said Ben Towle, CXC Programming Co-Chair and five-time Eisner-nominated cartoonist, “CXC 2023’s special guests include creators from many disparate areas of comics: from best-selling kids’ cartoonists to New York Times best-selling adult graphic novelists, webcomics to newspaper strips. We spotlight some of the best Columbus-based cartoonists as well as artists from around the globe.”
CXC 2023 Special Guests include:
* Derf Backderf (My Friend Dahmer, Kent State) * Shelly Bond (Vertigo Comics) * Raeghan Buchanan (The Secret History of Black Punk) * Jessica Campbell (Rave) * Brenda Chapman (The Prince of Egypt, Brave) * Daniel Clowes (Ghost World, Eightball) * Keito Gaku (Boys Run the Riot) * Nicole Goux (Shadow of the Batgirl, Fuck Off Squad) * M.S. Harkness (Desperate Pleasures,Tinderella) * Mars Heyward (Ride or Die) * Jannie Ho (Bear and Chicken, Fry Guys) * John Jennings (Megascope, My Super Hero is Black) Denis Kitchen (Kitchen Sink Press, The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund) * Calvin Reid (Publisher’s Weekly) * P. Craig Russell (The Sandman, Elric, Coraline The Graphic Novel) * Chase Schulte (NBCUniversal) * Chris Sprouse (Tom Strong, Star Wars comics) * Raina Telgemeier (Guts, Smile, Baby-Sitters Club)
Updated August 18, 2023.