Second Wave of Comic-Con 2023 Guests Announced!
Special Guests for 2023 will include Jerry Beck, Jo Duffy, Steenz, Garth Stein, and Mariko Tamaki.
Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck is a noted animation historian and cartoon producer. As a film distributor, his company Streamline Pictures brought Miyazaki’s Totoro and Otomo’s Akira to the U.S. His over 15 books on animation history include The Animated Movie Guide, Looney Tunes: The Ultimate Visual Guide, and The 50 Greatest Cartoons. He currently teaches animation history at Cal Arts, UCLA, and Chapman University; curates a monthly “Cartoon Club” for Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema in Hollywood; and edits two blogs, Animation Scoop and Cartoon Research. And each year he presents “The Worst Cartoons Ever” at Comic-Con.
Jo Duffy
Jo Duffy has written comics including Power Man and Iron Fist, Catwoman, Batman, Wolverine, Fallen Angels, Nestrobber, Glory, Crystar, Elvira, Defenders, Punisher, and Star Wars, plus the English language edition of Akira. She has also written short stories, essays, the comic book biography of Saint Francis, and an adaptation of Kipling’s Jungle Book, plus co-writing two Puppet Master movies. She was managing editor of Epic magazine and edited Marvel comics, including Elektra, Daredevil, Dreadstar, Groo, Doctor Strange, Hulk, and ROM.
Steenz
Steenz is a St. Louis–based cartoonist, editor, and professor. They're the cartoonist on the syndicated comic strip “Heart of the City,” the co-creator of the Standard Comic Script, and president of the board for the St. Louis Independent Comics Expo. Steenz currently teaches cartooning at Webster University while editing titles from independent publishers and creators. They're also currently working on their latest graphic novel Side Quest: A Graphic Novel History of TTRPGs. Their latest book, Lost and Found: A Heart of the City Collection, is available now.
Photo by Jamison Week
Garth Stein
Garth Stein is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling novel and international sensation The Art of Racing in the Rain. His other novels include Raven Stole the Moon, How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets, and A Sudden Light. The first book of his graphic novel series, The Cloven, illustrated by Matthew Southworth, was published by Fantagraphics in 2020, with Book Two coming in 2023. Garth is the co-founder of Seattle7Writers, a nonprofit collective of more than 80 Northwest authors and he is currently the chair of the Author Leadership Circle for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (BINCFoundation.org).
Mariko Tamaki
Mariko Tamaki is a New York Times bestselling writer of comics and prose. She is the co-creator of This One Summer (with Jillian Tamaki) and Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me (with Rosemary Valero-O'Connell), both of which received Eisner Awards and Printz Honors. She has had the pleasure of working for Marvel, DC Comics, Abrams, and BOOM! Studios on various amazing superhero type things. She is the curator of the LGBTQIA+ graphic novel imprint Surely Books at Abrams.