Flame Con is excited to announce the following special guests for this year’s convention on August 17-18th at the Times Square Sheraton: Terry Blas, Magdalene Visaggio, Tana Ford, Vita Ayala, Steve Orlando, and Jen Bartel.
Terry Blas is an illustrator and writer based in Portland Oregon. His auto bio comics Ghetto Swirl and You Say Latino were featured on NPR, OPB, Vox.com and New Now Next. Some of his writing credits include the comics: The Amazing World of Gumball, and Steven Universe. His first graphic novel, a murder mystery set at a weight loss camp, is titled: Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom. Hotel Dare is his second book and a love letter to his childhood memories of Mexico.
Magdalene Visaggio is the Eisner and GLAAD Media Award-nominated writer behind Kim & Kim, Eternity Girl, Vagrant Queen, Dazzler: X Song, and Morning in America. A lifelong comics reader, she studied English at Virginia Commonwealth University and did graduate work in Ethics & Moral Theology at Seton Hall before dropping out to focus on writing comics where people hit each other with guitars. When not writing, she’s probably passed out on her couch at three in the morning with a cat on top of her while Netflix asks if she wants to continue watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. She lives in Manhattan.
Tana Ford is a comic book artist and writer. She won the Queer Press Grant, and was a Lambda Literary Award finalist for her lesbian comic book series Duck! and Duck! Second Chances. Tana is best known for her work on Marvel’s Silk, though she has also drawn for Black Panther, The Amazing Spider-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek, Jem & the Holograms, and Gwenpool. Most recently Tana teamed up with sci-fi writing superstar Nnedi Okorafor to create LaGuardia at Dark Horse, a series that examines literal alien immigration set against the backdrop of times as dark and trying as our present timeline. You can find out more at tanaford.com or follow her on Twitter @tanaford and Instagram @tanaford.designs.
Vita Ayala is a queer Afro-Latinx writer out of New York City, where they live with their wife and cat sons. They have written for Black Mask Studios, DC, Dark Horse, Dynamite, IDW, Image, Marvel, Valiant Comics, and Vault Comics.
Steve Orlando writes and produces comics, including VIRGIL (IGN’s best Graphic Novel of 2015), Undertow and stories in the Eisner Award Nominated Outlaw Territory at Image Comics. As well, he launched 2015’s Midnighter and 2016’s Midnighter and Apollo, both nominated for GLAAD awards, and took part in Justice League: Gods and Men, Batman and Robin Eternal and most recently Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batman / The Shadow, Justice League of America and The Unexpected for DC Entertainment, as well as The Shadow/Batman for Dynamite Entertainment, CRUDE for Skybound Entertainment, and Dead Kings for Aftershock Entertainment. His 2018 sold-out launch Martian Manhunter was one of Tor’s Best Single Issues of 2018.
Jen Bartel is an illustrator and comic artist who specializes in drawing strong ladies. Her candy colored work is heavily influenced by media from the ‘90s and early 2000s that she consumed during her childhood. She is best known for her ongoing cover work for Marvel, DC/Vertigo, Dark Horse and IDW. Jen’s biggest creative goal is to breathe life into characters that inspire and empower girls from all backgrounds.
For more information on the lottery, guests, and more, visit us at www.flamecon.org.
