Special Guests

Comic-Con 2019 will be held July 18-21 (with Preview Night on July 17) at the San Diego Convention Center. The following special guests are confirmed for this year's event.

 

Neal Adams

Neal Adams at Comic-Con 2019, July 18-21 at the San Diego Convention Center
Neal
Adams

Artist, Batman, X-Men, Green Lantern/Green Arrow

Neal Adams has worked on legendary runs of Batman, X-Men, Green Lantern/Green Arrow, Avengers, Deadman, and many more. Characters and storylines Neal created have been in Batman, X-Men, and even the Batman LEGO movie. Neal's co-creation, Ra's Al Ghul, appears in Batman movies as well as the Arrow and Gotham TV shows. Arrow also features another character Neal created, Merlyn. Additionally, Ra’s and ManBat also show up in video games and X-Men character, Havok, has been featured in X-Men movies, as well as other mutants Neal created. He is currently working on a Batman/Ra’s Al Ghul project due out later this year.

Barry Alfonso

Barry Alfonso at Comic-Con 2019, July 18-21 at the San Diego Convention Center
Barry
Alfonso

Former Comic-Con publicity director

Barry Alfonso’s credits as a professional writer include articles and interviews for publications such as the Los Angeles Times and Rolling Stone, songs recorded by numerous pop and country artists (including Pam Tillis’s 1995 Number One hit “In Between Dances”) and Grammy-nominated album liner notes. His biography A Voice of the Warm: The Life of Rod McKuen was published by Backbeat Books in May. Barry is also active as an oral historian and graphic novel scriptwriter. He credits his stint as San Diego Comic-Con publicity director in 1973-75 with giving him the skills and confidence to follow his dreams.

Wendy All

Wendy All at Comic-Con 2019, July 18-21 at the San Diego Convention Center
Wendy
All

Comic-Con volunteer in the 1970s

Wendy All’s first Comic-Con meeting in 1972 changed her life trajectory. She grew up loving geology, archaeology and languages, although she also enjoyed drawing and creating environments for her dolls. Inspired by professional writers and illustrators at Comic-Con, she graduated Art Center and landed a job at Mattel. She has also designed toys for Hasbro (My Little Pony, Star Wars), Disney Consumer Products (Disney Princesses), illustrated food packaging and licensed children’s books. Her latest work, Dash and Victoria Find True Love, about young Queen Victoria, Dash, her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and Prince Albert is available on Amazon. www.wendyall.com

Maeheah Alzmann

Maeheah Alzmann at Comic-Con 2019, July 18-21 at the San Diego Convention Center
Maeheah
Alzmann

Former Comic-Con committee member, 1975–1986

After graduating from Pt. Loma High School in 1975, Maeheah Alzmann was invited by Vicky and Dina Kelso to attend her first ever Comic-Con, and she was immediately hooked. During her 12 years on the committee, she met exquisitely talented people that she would never have had the honor of meeting, learned what it takes to be part of a dedicated group of people with a common goal, and acquired friends that she would trust with her very life to this day. “I thank each and every person that made my Comic-Con experiences such highlights in my life.” She worked as both treasurer and meal functions coordinator in her time with the Con.

Maeheah now lives in Greenwood, DE, and is married to Richard Butner, who she, fittingly, met at her very first Con. She is retired from the restaurant industry and now drives a medical transportation van. She is looking forward to visiting beautiful, sunny San Diego with her husband Richard, along with her daughter, her daughter’s husband and brother-in-law, and their most “fan-ish” granddaughter, because it’s now time for their very first Comic-Con!

Sergio Aragonés

Sergio Aragonés at Comic-Con 2019, July 18-21 at the San Diego Comic Convention
Sergio
Aragonés

Cartoonist, Groo the Wanderer, MAD magazine

One of MAD magazine's longest-running cartoonists (only Al Jaffee has been around longer) and the creator of dim-witted barbarian Groo the Wanderer, Sergio Aragonés is one of comics’ most popular creators. He has won every major cartooning award including the Reuben, the Comic-Con Icon award, the Will Eisner Hall of Fame award, various other Eisners and Harveys, and even has two awards named for him. In addition to his continuing work for MAD, Sergio had his own comic book series at Bongo Comics, Sergio Aragonés Funnies. He continues to draw Groo for Dark Horse Comics and is presently working on a series in which Groo meets Tarzan, of all people!

Leigh Bardugo

Leigh Bardugo at Comic-Con 2019, July 18-21 at the San Diego Convention Center

Photo by Christina Guerra

Leigh
Bardugo

Author, Shadow and Bone trilogy, The Language of Thorns

Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels and the creator of the Grishaverse. With over one million copies sold, her Grishaverse spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows Duology, The Language of Thorns, and King of Scars—with more to come. Her short stories can be found in multiple anthologies, including Some of the Best from Tor.com and The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy. Her other works include Wonder Woman: Warbringer and Ninth House. Leigh was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Los Angeles, graduated from Yale University, and has worked in advertising, journalism, and even makeup and special effects. These days, she lives and writes in Hollywood, where she can occasionally be heard singing with her band.

Greg Bear

Greg Bear at Comic-Con 2019, July 18-21 at the San Diego Comic Convention

Photo: Astrid Anderson Bear

Greg
Bear

Author, The Mongoliad Cycle series; Comic-Con founding committee member

Greg Bear is the author of over thirty novels, including Blood Music, Eon, and Darwin’s Radio, and many short works of fiction, as well as nonfiction articles. He’s won five Nebula awards and two Hugos, as well as international awards, including the Science Fiction World Award for Best Foreign Writer. Back in the day when he was on Comic-Con’s founding committee, he was also creating and publishing artwork. He’s married to Astrid Anderson Bear and his children are Alexandra and Erik. Erik collaborated with his father and five other authors to help create the best-selling three-volume Mongoliad Cycle series.

David Brin

David Brin at Comic-Con 2019, July 18-21 at the San Diego Convention Center
David
Brin

Author, The Postman, Earth, The Transparent Society

David Brin is an astrophysicist whose international bestselling novels include The Postman (filmed in 1997), Earth, and recently Existence. Dr. Brin serves on advisory boards (e.g., NASA's Innovative and Advanced Concepts program or NIAC) and speaks or consults on a wide range of topics including AI, SETI, privacy, and national security. His nonfiction book about the information age, The Transparent Society, won the Freedom of Speech Award of the American Library Association. His graphic novels include The Life Eaters, Forgiveness, and Tinkerers. More info: www.davidbrin.com

Kurt Busiek

Kurt Busiek at Comic-Con 2019, July 18-21 at the San Diego Comic Convention
Kurt
Busiek

Writer, Marvels, Astro City, Conan

Kurt Busiek broke in to comics in 1982, selling his first scripts to both DC and Marvel Comics within a month of graduating college. But he didn't break through until 1994 and Marvels, the groundbreaking mini-series he did with painter Alex Ross. A multiple Eisner and Harvey Award winner, Kurt has written Avengers, Conan, Superman, and others, co-created Thunderbolts and The Power Company, and launched creator-owned series, including Astro City, Arrowsmith, Autumnlands, Shockrockets, and The Wizard's Tale. He makes his home in the Pacific Northwest and attended his first San Diego Comic-Con in 1980.

Richard Butner

Richard Butner at Comic-Con 2019, July 18-21 at the San Diego Convention Center
Richard
Butner

Former Comic-Con chairman, committee member, 1973–1982

Currently living in Greenwood, DE, Richard Butner is now semi-retired. He works for two resource centers for homeless and recovering persons. Formerly, he was a purchasing agent at ILC Dover, where, among other items, he purchased materials for U.S. spacesuits.

Richard married Maeheah Alzmann. They have three grown children and ten grandchildren. He enjoys reading reprints of old comic strips and comic books, spending time with the grandchildren, and enjoying Mexican cuisine, beer, and margaritas with Maeheah. And he says, “By the way, I had a BLAST working on Comic-Con!” He was on the Comic-Con committee from 1973 to 1982, and in addition to being chairman, he served as executive VP, secretary, treasurer, and helped Comic-Con get incorporated as a non-profit.

Eddie Campbell

Eddie Campbell at Comic-Con 2019, July 18-21 at the San Diego Convention Center
Eddie
Campbell

Artist, From Hell; writer, artist, Alec: The Years Have Pants

Eddie Campbell (b. August 10, 1955) is a Scottish artist and writer living in Chicago, best known as the illustrator of From Hell (written by Alan Moore), currently being released in parts in a new colorized edition. Campbell is also the creator of the autobiographical Alec stories collected in Alec: The Years Have Pants, and Bacchus, the wry adventures of Greek gods still surviving. In Bizarre Romance Eddie turns the short stories of his wife, Audrey Niffenegger, into comics. Eddie is also a historian of comics; The Goat Getters is his first large scale work in this field. Also among his graphic novels is The Fate of the Artist, in which the author investigates his own murder, and The Lovely Horrible Stuff, all about money. A Disease of Language is a collaboration with Alan Moore, The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountain is with Neil Gaiman.

David Clark

David Clark at Comic-Con 2019, July 18-21 at the San Diego Convention Center
David
Clark

Comic-Con founding committee member

In 1966-69 David Clark had the good luck to go to high school in San Diego with Greg Bear, Scott Shaw, John Pound, and Roger Freedman. They all shared a love of science fiction, comics, monster movies, and all things weird and wonderful! In 1970 they all became founding members of the first San Diego (Golden State) Comic-Con. Over these many years David has written comics, sold comics as a retailer, and managed to attend most of the 50 Comic-Cons. He now pursues his interest in SF and pulp art with presentations on the classic artists.