MeCAF 2012 Guest List Announced

In addition to special guests Kate Beaton and Kazu Kibuishi the Maine Comic Arts Festival has released their guest list for next weekend which includes Raina Telgemeier, Dave Roman, Faith Erin Hicks, Renae De Liz, Ray Dillon, Colleen AF Venable, Shelli Paroline, Braden Lamb, Tyler James, and many, many more!

Guests:
Andrea Agostini is a Massachusetts based artist and an alumnus of the School of Visual Arts. Her focus is on comic art, but she dabbles in crafts as well. Her comics explore topics such as gender identity, sexual orientation, and psychological disorders. Agostini has been published in IDW’s, Womanthology, and featured in 789 Studio’s, Rain Anthology.

Samples of her art work can be viewed at www.andrea-agostini.com

Barry Corbett: Corbett Features is a cartoon and illustration syndicate supplying content for print and multi-media.

Barry is a freelance magazine cartoonist and self-published author of 3 trade paperbacks. His panel cartoons have appeared in national publications including Readers Digest, Barron’s, American Legion, Lacrosse Magazine, Medical Economics, Christianity Today, and many others.

Barry released his first book in 2006. “Embrace the Pun!” is a collection of pun-based panel cartoons. He followed that up in 2010 with “Revenge of the Pun!” Both are available in e-book format. Revenge! was awarded a Silver Medal in Humor, at ForeWord Reviews 2010 Book of the Year Awards and a Bronze Medal at the 2011 IPPY Awards, presented by Independent Publisher Magazine.

“Kitty Nirvana: The First Ginger & Shadow Collection” also won a Silver Medal at the 2008 IPPY Awards.

A graduate of the Vesper George School of Art in Boston, Barry teaches Cartooning and Adobe InDesign at local colleges. Barry’s panel cartoons can be licensed for PowerPoint and business presentations through http://www.corbettcartoons.com/.

Bob Flynn was born in Buxton, Maine and raised on a steady diet of cartoons. He currently resides in Boston, where he is the Director of Art & Animation at FableVision Studios. His comics and illustrations have appeared in publications including Nickelodeon Magazine and Nursery Rhyme Comics. He is the co-creator of Heeby Jeeby Comix, and he also writes and draws for SpongeBob Comics.

Bob Ulrich is full time Educational Technician and photographer from Maine who has been reading comics since before he could actually read (over 30 years ago), and began the process of learning to make them in his all too spare time in 2006. He loves collecting and making music almost as much. He’s a libra.

Braden Lamb is the artist for KaBooms! Adventure Time series.

Brian Codagnone is the creator of the comic strips “Misfits”, “S1019″ and “In The Zone” and the humor column “Emotional Chaos”. He is also the author of the books “The Hartford Whalers”, “Hey, America! It’s Misfits Time!” and co-author of “The Boston Garden” and “The Bruins in Black and White” volumes 1 and 2, all of which make the perfect gift for any occasion and should be required reading for every sentient being in the known universe.

A well known bon vivant and man about town, he lives by the credo “Quality over money” (or “Species super viaticus” if Google Translate can be trusted). As a result he lives in his “Fortress of Poverty” somewhere in Massachusetts.

Carl Mefferd is a graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies. He is also the co-creator of the steampunk adventure “Doctor Atlantis,” premiering nationwide this summer.

Casey Girard is a freelance illustrator/designer. She creates marketing materials for a few companies including Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, The Boston Conservatory, and Shambhala Publications. She has worked with two authors, illustrating their self-published books. Her work is in watercolors and color pencil on wood panels as well as paper. She employes the technique of burnishing for her color pencil on paper work.
Her side work is creating polymer critters which, she is developing into a story based project.
Online you can catch up with her through her blog, where she runs two weekly themed posts, which change seasonally. You can also find her on twitter @CaseyGirard.

Center for Cartoon Studies

Clayton McCormack

Cody Pickrodt is an internationally recognized artist, cartoonist and illustrator. His work has appeared in numerous publications and
anthologies. Clients include Kid Robot, Scholastic Books, Art Faccia.

Colleen AF Venable is the author of the kids’ graphic novel series GUINEA PIG, PET SHOP PRIVATE EYE (illustrated by Stephanie Yue), which includes HAMSTER AND CHEESE and the latest, FISH YOU WERE HERE. Along with writing super silly comics mysteries for early readers, her first full-length teen graphic novel, KISS NUMBER EIGHT, is in production at
First Second Books where she also works as the Art and Design editor.

Colin Tedford makes humor & nonfiction comics which he publishes online, in his zine Square Dance, and elsewhere. He co-founded the regional Trees & Hills Comics Group and has co-edited & contributed to all of its anthologies to date.

Corey Hodgdon

Corked The Comic: Writer Francis Sanders and artist David Griffin are the creators of www.corkedthecomic.com, the online comic series for wine lovers.

Dan Mazur: Cartoonist, writer, member of the Boston Comics Roundtable, and founder of Ninth Art Press. Solo comics include “The Way it Crumbles,”"The Last,”"Lummox,” and “Palindramas,” as well as contributions to anthologies such as Inbound, Outbound, Hellbound, Show and Tell, Minimum Paige, I Saw You, and Leftovers of the Living Dead. Currently working with Alexander Danner on a book about the history of comics throughout the world. Lives in Cambridge, Mass.

Dan Moynihan: Heeby Jeeby Comix is now the home for Dan’s whimsical, and even wacky, cartoon shenanigans, but his comics have also festooned the pages of Nickelodeon Magazine and a multitude of photocopied mini-comics. At the moment, he also has a kids’ graphic novel and a wordless picture book under wraps, but you can ask him for a peek if you like. Dan lives in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Daniel Barlow is a Vermont writer and co-founder of the Trees & Hills Comics Group. He has edited several comic anthologies and is launching a webcomic called Not Since You. He also makes music under the name Ghost Town Tourism. When he is not publishing comics, Barlow works as a political advocate for a socially responsible business group.

Dave Kender is the writer, letterer, and publisher of The Ragbox. He is also the founder of the Boston Comics Roundtable, an organization that fosters the growth of comics creators in the Boston area. In addition to further development of The Ragbox, he is busy creating a new story about the birth of modern conveniences at the turn of the twentieth century.

Dave Roman is the author of several graphic novels including Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity, Agnes Quill: An Anthology of Mystery and the upcoming Teen Boat. He has contributed stories to Explorer: The Mystery Boxes, Nursery Rhyme Comics, and is the co-author of two New York Times bestselling graphic novels, X-Men: Misfits and The Last Airbender: Zuko’s Story. Roman worked as a comics editor for the groundbreaking Nickelodeon Magazine from 1998 to 2009. He lives in New York City with his wife, Raina Telgemeier.

Webcomics pioneer Dirk I. Tiede started his online graphic novel series, “Paradigm Shift” in 1999 and has never looked back. In addition to print collections, he continues to serialize his comics online and is a founding contributor to premiere comics portal Modern Tales. His artwork is showcased in the books “Toon Art: The Graphic Art of Digital Cartooning and Webcomics”, appears the documentary “Adventures In Digital Comics”, and was featured in Season 3 of NBC’s “Heroes.” He lives in the Boston area where he continues to work as a professional cartoonist and freelance illustrator.

Doug Cowan

Elenore Toczynski is a queer, self published comics creator and illustrator currently living in the Northeast US. She is the creator of the series “brain crease” and illustrator of a new series, “Engine,” written by William Emery, along with various other small projects and mini comics. She also serves on the board of Salacious Magazine, enjoys tacos, dogs, and drawing as much as possible. She is in the middle of building a website where everything will be in one place.

Ellen T. Crenshaw is a Boston-based artist, movie-goer, comic-book-reader, and dirty-joke-teller. Her illustrations have graced the pages of Beer Advocate Magazine, Boston’s The Weekly Dig, and Orlando Weekly; she has collaborated with FableVision Studios and Monitor Group for digital applications and videos; and her comics have been featured in Inbound, ZombieBomb!, and most recently the acclaimed Womanthology. She’s an alumni of Girls Drawin’ Girls, a member of the Boston Comics Roundtable, and co-founder of the fan-art blog, Fanartica.

Eric Boeker is a Beverly-Massachusetts-based cartoonist and the creator of the Gen-X zombie sitcom comic “Commute of the Living Dead”, which can be seen on-line as part of the Sunday Comics Project at http://digboston.com/ (under the “Laugh” tab) . He is a proud member of Boston Comics Roundtable and has published stories in their anthology “Inbound”, as well as “Outbound: the Science Fiction Anthology” and “Hellbound”. He is also a snappy dresser. You can check out the comics of Eric Boeker on-line at: http://www.webcomicsnation.com/eboeker/

Faith Erin Hicks has drawn thousands of pages of comics, and has managed to get paid for some of them. Previous comics include Demonology 101, Ice, Zombies Calling, The War at Ellsmere, Brain Camp (art only), The Adventures of Superhero Girl, and Friends With Boys. She lives in Nova Scotia, buried under all the snow.

Frank Einspruch

George O’Connor (Homeless Comics)

Griffin Shawn is a dedicated artist providing creative services since 2006. His talents cover a wide range but he excels at visually communicating the ideas of others.

Heather Bryant

Jason Viola

Jay Piscopo

Jeff Pert is a native Mainer, born and breaded, like a clam. His cartoons have appeared in publications since 1982 though he has no recollection of anything prior to 1995, including where that elk in a tutu came from. Jeff’s first cartoon collection, “Cartoons from Maine: How’s the Water, Bob? Bob?! BOB!!”, is recently out from Down East Books. If you don’t like lobster, moose or New England in general, you probably won’t like the book. His family and friends think it’s just peachy keen, though. So there—put THAT in your pipe and smoke it! Jeff can be found at www.jeffpertcartoons.com and on Facebook as Jeff Pert Cartoons. Feel free to join and mingle with his eight other followers!

Jen Silverman

Jen Vaughan

Jennifer Choung

Jerel Dye

Jesse Durona, a native Vermonter, graduated from The Center For Cartoon Studies in 2011. After years of flirting, he has finally married his love of video games and comics. His web comic, “Despondent Mega Man,” can be seen at www.therealdurona.com

Jessica Shea is a 2008 graduate of Maine College of Art with a BFA in Illustration. She owned and operated her own art gallery from 2009 to early 2011. Shea continues to make comics and watercolor illustrations while working two day jobs to pay the bills! Among these include “2:15″, a gag comic about the joys of high school, which ran online and in local newspapers throughout the North Shore; “Apt C-3″, a comic strip about the highs and lows of two roommates navigating through post-college and pre-career life; and her current fantasy graphic novel project, “Ravenstar”. She enjoys wearing goggles, collecting belt buckles, and slow motion.

John Green is the artist and co-creator of the graphic novels Teen Boat! and Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden with writer Dave Roman. He has worked on comics for DC, Nickelodeon, Dreamworks, First Second, Scholastic, and Disney. He also does concept art, storyboards, and video game design.

John Platt is a journalist and cartoonist living in central Maine. In addition to writing for magazines like Scientific American and Mother Nature Network, John draws minicomics and the irregularly updated webcomic, “Plattitudes.”

Jordyn Bochon currently lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Author of comics such as Gene Day Award nominated The Day After V-Day and The Terrible Death of Finnegan Strappe, her work has been described as quirky and dark; dealing in tense relationships, the beauty of inner-city life, and scientific fictions. Her comics can also be seen in anthologies such as You Aint No Dancer (New Reliable Press), Prison For Bitches, Exploded View (Cloudscape), Arabesque, and Spera Volume 1 (Archaia). Her work can be seen online at 8et8.net.

Ron & Justine Fontes met at Western Publishing in New York City where he worked for Whitman Comics and she was an editorial assistant for Little Golden Books. Together they have written over 500 children’s books, in every format from board books to historical novels. Most recently, they have been writing graphic novels for Lerner, an educational children’s book publisher. For ages 9-14, these books include adaptations, as well as original fiction and nonfiction.

Ron came to New York from Tennessee, where he studied art and theater while working for a printing company and advertising agency. After Whitman folded, Ron moved on to mighty Marvel, where he worked with John Romita Sr., and rose to art director for Marvel Books.
Justine grew up on Long Island, then earned a BA in English Literature Phi Beta Kappa from NYU while working part-time in publishing.

In 1988, the couple moved from Manhattan to Maine, where they publish critter news, a strictly-for-fun newsletter that keeps them in touch with publishers long-distance. Along with articles about the couples’ latest books, the newsletter includes stories, poems, recipes, mini-biographies, and, of course, news about critters.

In 2004, the Fonteses launched Sonic Comics with their first graphic novel TALES OF THE TERMINAL DINER, a unique anthology with continuing characters including the owner of a very strange diner and a kid who wants to be a cartoonist. Their next publishing project is THE WOODEN SWORD, a three-volume graphic novel about a gladiatrix, to be printed in both English and Latin. Please visit http://www.sonicpublishing.com. Ron’s hobbies include film-making and oil painting. Justine likes to juggle, play ping-pong and the ukulele, and make movies with Ron. They hope to write 1001 books together and live happily ever after!

Kate Leth is a comic purveyor and illustrator from Halifax, Nova Scotia. She works for Eisner Award-winning shop Strange Adventures and is the artist behind Kate or Die!, an eclectic webcomic dealing with sexuality, life in the comic industry and gay superheroes. She has provided work for Womanthology, The Strange Talent of Luther Strode and is a regular contributor to IDW’s hit series Locke and Key. Her work can be seen online at kateordiecomics.com.

Keith Perkins lives in Bucksport, Maine where he draws comics in his teeny tiny studio, surrounded by dogs, cats, knick-knacks, and (in the spring) black flies; THE SCOURGE OF THE EARTH. He studied art at the University of Maine, and has been making comics for 3 years now, since his love of them was rekindled by Warren Ellis (yes this is his fault). He’s collaborated on several comics with writers, including “A Wicked Little Town”, a western mystery, featuring Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday serialized here and out in print this fall. He has also done several mini-comics, and many comic shorts, and is working on the first issue of a superhero comic to be set in Maine, with the first issue out soon.

Keith Zoo is an Illustrator and character designer. His work doesn’t tend to take itself too seriously, which is probably a result of growing up on too much Chuck Jones and Calvin and Hobbes. During his daytime hours he puts his skills to use as a Lead Artist at FableVision Studios in Boston, MA.

Take a poke around his online portfolio at www.zoolawnick.com and check out FableVision’s website.

Kori M. Handwerker, alumnus of the Maine College of Art, is a Maine-based watercolorist and the author/artist of Prince of Cats, a web comic about growing up gay in rural Pennsylvania in the early 2000s. The story, Kori’s first, touches on issues of economic, racial, and sexual disparity and prejudice, with the curiously fantastic touch of a boy who can talk to cats.”

Kristen Toohill

Lindsay Moore

Maineland Studios: Corey B. Olmsted, Graphic Artist and owner of Maineland Studios based in Portland, Maine. We’ve been doing this Indie Publishing gig since 2008. Producing a variety of comics, stories and childrens’ books. Our featured title is called, “The Maineland”. An adult humored comic that just celebrated it’s 10 year anniversary with a “Maineland Collection” title filled with over 100 full page comics. This is our third year of attending MeCAF and we’ve got several new titles that we are excited to release to the public! You can check out our website or find us on Facebook: Maineland Studios/Pillage Comix

Marek Bennett draws comics, makes music, and teaches in New Hampshire & it’s surrounding planet.

Matt Ryan: Based out of the Free Lunch Studios production office in Granby, CT, our company puts out some of the freshest and most satisfying independent comics, graphic novels and games around as well as conduct lessons, workshops and host special events.

Meg Brennan

Melissa Mendes graduated with an MFA from the Center for Cartoon Studies in 2010. She draws comics in her studio in western Massachusetts, next to her best beau, Charles Forsman . In 2010 she received a Xeric award for her all-ages graphic novel, Freddy Stories.

Metrokitty (Cathy Leamy)

Michael Gianfrancesco

Michael Rapa is a Brunswick-born, but now Boston-based illustrator who spends his days working as a Technologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Though schooled in Graphic Design by the Art Institute of Boston, Michael ultimate found that he would rather draw than kern. His clients include Boston game company Fire Hose Games, gaming blog and magazine Kill Screen, and people with money. He is also a regular contributor to the Fan Art blog FANARTICA. Just in case this whole thing falls through he is currently training his son to ride on cats for future youtube fame.

Mike Lynch’s distinctive work appears in books, magazine and online
throughout the world. His clients include Reader’s Digest, Playboy, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, St. Martin’s Press, Random House, McGraw Hill, The New York Daily News and many others. He has curated and participated in cartoon gallery shows in SoHo and Long Island.

In 2005 Mike organized a group of cartoonists to create a mural on the wall of The Overlook Restaurant (formerly Costello’s) in New York City that would serve as a counterpart to the famous wall decorated by cartoonists a generation earlier. His efforts brought together a
number of legendary artists and received significant media coverage.

For five years, Mike served as chair of the National Cartoonists Society Long Island chapter, the famous “Berndt Toast Gang.” Since 2006, he has spearheaded the “Oscars of cartooning” as the Award Coordinator for the annual National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben
Awards. Mike currently serves on the NCS Board as its National Representative.

He writes the popular Mike Lynch Cartoons blog on the business of cartooning, one of the most recognized and trafficked comic art industry sites on the Web.

Raina Telgemeier is the adapter and illustrator of four Baby-sitters Club graphic novels, the co-author of X-Men: Misfits, and the author-illustrator of the bestselling dental memoir graphic novel Smile. Smile won an Eisner Award for Best Publication for a Teen Audience, and was also an ALA Notable Book, a Kirkus Best Book of 2010, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards Honor title. Most recently, Smile won the Maine Student Book Award! Raina lives in Queens, NY, with her husband, Dave Roman. You can visit her online at www.goRaina.com.

Randall Drew: Graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies class of 2010, he continues to live and work in Vermont. His all ages adventure comic “Citadel” and various anthology pieces as well as convention sketch cards can be seen at www.randalldrew.com

Ray Dillon

Renae De Liz

Renee Kurilla is a children’s illustrator whose artistic inspiration comes from the colorful quirkiness of the cartoon world. While growing up in a town just outside Scranton, PA she kept herself amused with Disney movies, stuffed animals, and loads of picture books. Her admiration of city life is what brought her to Boston, where she currently works as a Lead Artist at FableVision Studios. Renee’s most recent graphic novel, Zebrafish (FableVision/ Atheneum), received a Junior Library Guild Award in 2010 and a sequel will be published in Spring 2013! She’ll be sharing a table with her fiancé, Keith Zoo and would love for you to stop by and say hello!

Rick Parker: Rick Parker is known in the world of comics as the artist of MTV’s Beavis and Butt-Head Comic Book as well as The Papercutz Slices series parodying the popular children’s books, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”, “Harry Potter”, “Twilight”, “Percy Jackson and The Olympians” and “The Hunger Pains”. He was the artist of the Introductory Pages of Tales From The Crypt (featuring the Crypt Keeper, The Vault Keeper, and The Old Witch) and of one of the four artists of The Pekar Project, which brought autobiographical comics legend, Harvey Pekar’s work to an internet audience. Rick Parker is the creator of the graphic novel “Deadboy”, which is sort of a cross between the Wizard of Oz and Night of The Living Dead. Rick’s artwork has been featured in The New York Times, The Village Voice, The New York Press, Life Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, Time Magazine, on 60 Minutes with Andy Rooney and in millions of Marvel and Papercutz comic books and graphic novels worldwide. Rick was the founder of The Barking Dog Museum, in New York City, which specialized in exhibiting small-scale works of art to the public from 1975 to 1987 and was among the first venues of its kind to do so. Rick is married to the writer, Lisa Trusiani, they are the proud parents of two teenage boys. When he’s not drawing, Rick has been teaching cartooning at Geralyn’s, privately, and in the public schools and after-school programs in NJ for ten years. Several of Rick’s students have won multiple prizes in regional and national design competitions.

Rick Silva

Ron Lebrasseur

Ryan Wing is a comics illustrator (The October Ghost, Neutron Star, Bible Belt, Adventures of Quick Carleson) who resides in the Greater Portland Area, having completed his BFA at the University of Southern Maine, with his amazingly supportive wife and their Golden Retriever; who does not actually retrieve thrown objects. This will be Ryan’s third year with AP&P Comics at MECAF. Please stop by the table to talk comics, music, or other minutia (this will probably take the form of discussing a graphic novel that he’s been stewing over for too many years now). Further exploration of Ryan’s ambling process can be seen at www.unexpectedpress.com.

Sarah Winifred Searle: As Writer-in-Residence at the Boston Public Library, Sarah’s working on a graphic novel based on family history and local lore from her hometown of Kennebunk, ME. Set during World War II, a girl has to solve the mystery behind her haunted house while handling the trials of growing up during an era of great change. Under the Apple Tree is available to read online.

Secret Acres Books

Shelli Paroline

Stacy Ponder

Sue and Everett Soares

Tina Pratt is a graphic designer and the creator of the webcomic, “The Paul Reveres” (www.paul-reveres.com), a fictional interpretation of the American Revolution where the battles are fought with electric guitars and awesome hair. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sequential Art from the Savannah College of Art & Design, 2006. At SCAD she co-founded Shoujo Phonebook, a student comics anthology. She now lives in the deep woods of New Hampshire with her Boston Terrier, Wednesday, and her fat cat, Bert. She likes to pretend to play guitar, collect Pokémon toys and sleep in really late on the weekends.

Travis Dandro

Trees and Hills: Trees & Hills Comics Group brings together cartoonists in Vermont, New Hampshire, and western Massachusetts to produce, publish, and promote comics, share resources, and build creative connections in our diverse communities. They publish community-minded anthologies every Spring and Fall, distribute comics made in the region, and share regional comics news online.

Tyler James is a comics creator, game designer, and educator residing in Newburyport, MA. He is the writer and co-creator of superhero murder mystery maxi-series THE RED TEN, EPIC, a superteen action comedy, and Tears of the Dragon, a swords and sorcery fantasy. His past work includes OVER, a romantic comedy graphic novel, and Super Seed, the story of the world’s first super powered fertility clinic. His work has been published by DC and Arcana comics.

Tyler is the publisher and co-creator of ComixTribe, a new website empowering creators to help each other make better comics.

Contact Tyler via email (tylerjamescomics@gmail.com), visit his website, follow him on Twitter, or check him out on Facebook

Zack Giallongo

Zombie Romance (Kristilyn): Kristilyn is a Boston-based illustrator, comic artist and crafter. She has been drawing ever since she could pick up a pencil, making comic strips since she learned to read and self publishing zines since she was an awkward, high school teen. Her work has been featured in galleries up and down the east coast and she has become a fixture in the Boston music scene drawing Boston’s best local bands live as they play. Currently, she can’t get enough of Osamu Tezuka manga, mainly his epic work “The Phoenix.”

MA – Free Lunch Comics Signing

Matt Ryan, president of Free Lunch Comics appears at Larry’s Comics on Wednesday August 18th from 11am-4pm promoting the newest trade from his company, Sky Pirates of Valendor! A steampunk pirate adventure with floating continents, impossible challenges and compelling characters. For every customer that preorders, Matt will draw a free sketch! He will also be showing the other works from Free Lunch!  

 Bring your portfolio for a review.

Larry’s Comics
66 Lakeview Ave, Lowell, MA 01850