Flame Con 2019 is excited to announce special guests Crystal Frasier, Melanie Gillman, D.J. Kirkland, Josh Trujillo, Dana Simpson, and Wendy Xu will appear on August 17-18th at the Sheraton Times Square.
Crystal Frasier is known for her frequent text contributions to the Pathfinder, Starfinder, Mutants & Masterminds, and Modern AGE roleplaying games, as well as her work writing the Pathfinder: Spiral of Bones comic series, co-writing State of Decay 2, and illustrating the Secrets of Cats roleplaying game. Excitable and easily confused, she lives in the Pacific Northwest under the watchful auspices of her corgi, Calamity.
Melanie Gillman is a graphic novelist, and a writing fellow in the Tulsa Artist Fellowship. They are the creator of the webcomic and graphic novel As the Crow Flies, published in 2017 by Iron Circus Comics. As the Crow Flies has been named a 2018 Stonewall Honor Book, won the 2018 Excellence in Graphic Literature Award for Best Middle Grade Graphic Novel, and been nominated for an Ignatz, Eisner, and Dwayne McDuffie Award. Their next book, Stage Dreams, a queer western romance graphic novel, will be published by Lerner/Graphic Universe in September 2019. They are also a senior lecturer in the Comics MFA Program at the California College of the Arts, where they teach classes about making comics and professional practices.
D.J. Kirkland is a comic book artist based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. He graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with a BFA in Sequential Art. His style has been best described as a hybrid of anime and American Saturday morning cartoons from the 90’s. He is best known for his work on the Dream Daddy comic series and his upcoming debut graphic novel, The Black Mage that is set to release in October.
Josh Trujillo is a writer, and game designer based in Brooklyn. He created the inclusive sports comic DODGE CITY, as well as the tabletop gaming anthology DEATH SAVES. He has told stories for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Boom! Studios, Oni Press, The Nib, Telltale Games, and Zynga, among others. Trujillo’s work has been featured in the Eisner award-winning LOVE IS LOVE, as well as the Ringo! Award-winning MINE!
Dana Simpson first caught the eyes of comics readers with the webcomic Ozy and Millie. After winning the 2009 Comic Strip Superstar contest, she developed the syndicated strip Phoebe and Her Unicorn. There are now nine books in the Phoebe and Her Unicorn series, including the latest, Unicorn Bowling. Ozy and Millie have a book, too. To date, she’s sold more than a million books, made the New York Times bestseller list, and won the Washington State Book Award and the Pacific Northwest Book Award. She lives in Santa Barbara, CA.
Wendy Xu is a Brooklyn-based illustrator and comics artist. She is co-creator of “Mooncakes”, a graphic novel out in 2019 from Lion Forge Comics. Part of it can be read on mooncakescomic.tumblr.com. Her work has been featured on Catapult, Barnes & Noble Sci-fi/Fantasy Blog, and Tor.com, among other places. She currently works as an assistant editor curating young adult and children’s books. You can find her on twitter @angrygirLcomics or on instagram @artofwendyxu.
Previously announced guests include Kris Anka, Terry Blas, Magdalene Visaggio, Tana Ford, Vita Ayala, Steve Orlando, Steenz, and Jen Bartel.
For more information on tickets, guests, and more, please visit us at www.flamecon.org.
