The ComiCONN 2011 guest list includes:
Joe Kelly
JOE KELLY broke into the comics industry in 1995 as the first successful "graduate" of the STAN-HATTAN PROJECT, a writing workshop conducted as a joint venture between MARVEL COMICS and NEW YORK UNIVERSITY'S Department of Dramatic Writing. Joe's flair for dialogue and characterization captured the attention of Marvel editors, not to mention his snappy attire and icy blue eyes that pierce a man's soul with but a glance. Joe helped co-create BEN 10 and has worked on Deadpool, Action Comics, Daredevil, and more!
Billy Tucci
Billy Tucci is the award-winning illustrator, writer and filmmaker best known for his modern-day samurai fable Shi. Through Billy's Crusade Fine Arts, the multi-Eisner Award nominated Shi has been printed in five languages, has sold more than 3 million comic books and grossed over 25 million dollars worldwide. A fan-favorite, he is also known for Marvel's Heroes For Hire, DC's Sgt. Rock – The Lost Battalion, Jonah Hex and Batman – Trick For The Scarecrow, of which he's nominated for a 2011 Eisner Award.
Matt Busch
Regarded as one of the top entertainment illustrators, Matt Busch has made a career out of tapping into every expressive art imaginable, surprising even his die-hard fans what he does next.
In the early 90's, Busch began his career in Hollywood, working in every aspect of the movie business, from concept design work on THE MATRIX, to storyboards for CON-AIR, to poster design for THE DEVIL'S OWN. Simultaneously, he began illustrating books, magazines, posters, comics, trading cards and toys for notable pop culture properties, including LORD OF THE RINGS, INDIANA JONES, THE CROW, HEROES, G.I. JOE, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, The HULK, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, RESERVOIR DOGS, BRUCE LEE, WITCHBLADE, ROBOCOP, The MUMMY, STARGATE SG-1, and STAR TREK.
Mostly known for his work with the STAR WARS universe, Busch has written and illustrated dozens of STAR WARS books and magazines. He created the cover of TALES FROM THE EMPIRE, which became a New York Times Bestseller. Busch has also been involved with creating artwork for advertising, marketing, and licensed products for all three STAR WARS prequels. Due to last year's 30th Anniversary of the saga, Busch produced 7 different STAR WARS posters that year alone!
Busch also provided nearly 400 drawings and paintings for the critically acclaimed YOU CAN DRAW STAR WARS book from DK Publishing. Busch has also extended his own unique drawing and painting tutorials to video, with episodes at StarWars.com. Later, these episodes topped the charts on MySpace, with several videos going straight to Number One. Further, the first two exciting (and hilarious) seasons of episodes have been collected on to limited edition DVDs!
A closet musician himself, Busch has also enjoyed producing art for major musical artists like ALICE COOPER, BEASTIE BOYS, BECK, BLACK SABBATH, CINDERELLA, FOO FIGHTERS, GARBAGE, KID ROCK, L.L. COOL J, BILLY JOEL, MEGADETH, MOTLEY CRUE, TED NUGENT, OZZY OSBOURNE, POISON, and JESSICA SIMPSON. The first hardcover collection of his work, "FANTASTIC VISIONS: The Art of Matt Busch" was Published by Avatar Press, which included an Introduction by POISON's Rikki Rockett. SQP Publishing later released a follow-up hardcover collection titled "PUCKER: The Seductive Art of Matt Busch" which featured an Introduction by SYSTEM OF A DOWN's John Dolmayan. Last year Hermes Press published the quintessential collection, titled "THE WORLDS OF MATT BUSCH."
In 2006, Busch released his first independent movie, CONJURE, a film he wrote, directed, starred in, and even composed music for. Financing the entire movie himself, the unique film was met with critical acclaim and shattered records- becoming "The Highest PreSelling Movie of All Time" according to HorrorMovies.com.
For over a decade, Busch has also found success as a writer, having written numerous books and magazine articles on art techniques. Busch has also written and illustrated creator-owned comic books, including ALIZARIN'S JOURNAL and DARIA JONTAK, and a highly regarded graphic novel, CRISIS. One of Busch's biggest endeavors, a screenplay titled THE TAURUS FACTOR is currently in development with Producer Don Murphy (TRANSFORMERS, SHOOT 'EM UP).
Busch’s most recent endeavor has been HOLLYWOOD IS DEAD, a massive project where the artist painstakingly recreates classic movie posters before giving them a zombified treatment. Classics like Star Wars (Zombie Wars), Back to the Future (Bleak is the Future) and Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Breakfast is Tiffany) have gained the attention of such TV show’s as G4’s Attack of the Show and Late Light with Jimmy Fallon. Busch now resides in a multiple-facility home set up in Macomb Township, Michigan, complete with an art studio, digital editing suite, recording studio, product warehouse, and even a mini movie theater. Here, Busch continues to work on many ‘Hollywood’ projects via Internet and Fed Ex. However, Busch also spends a great deal of time on the road, and his most recent documentary collecting his travel adventures from around the world, ILLUSTRATION NATION, has just been released on DVD.
For more information, check out the official web site, MattBusch.com.
Look for an exclusive ComiCONN limited art print by Matt at his table.
Lisa Cavalear
Lisa Cavalear launched her first web comic, Project Poppet (www.projectpoppet.com), in October 2009. August 2010, she launched her second comic, Goober Glade (www.gooberglade.com), which participated in 24 Hour Comics Day this past October. A longtime Connecticut resident, she currently lives in New Haven with a lot of unfinished knitting.
Michael Golden
Artist/writer/creator Michael Golden, co-creator of the X-men's Rogue character, Spartan X and Bucky O'Hare is known worldwide for his groundbreaking work on "The 'Nam," "Micronauts," "G.I. Joe Yearbook," and "Dr. Strange, " among MUCH more, and is counted as one of the best cover designers and storytellers in the business.
Currently, Golden's work can be seen with recent covers on "Nightwing", "Iron Man", "Heroes for Hire", "Exiles," "Demon's Regret," "Spiderman," "Hulk," as well as numerous other titles, for about every company out there worth it's salt... including a few secret projects for IDW and DC.
It's no wonder that Golden has been one of the most influential creators around for the last several decades:
"....unless you can actually draw yourself, it is very difficult to understand the exact mind-blowing impossibility of what he does," said writer/artist Larry Hama, of Golden's work.
"Michael blithely puts down on paper exactly what he sees in his head. It's like he's got a cosmic opaque projector that shoots a laser beam from his brain through the kundalini eye in his forehead straight down onto the drawing surface where all he has to do is trace it," continues Hama. "The result is hard-edged and fully realized in every way. No fuzzy impressions here. No using the side of the pencil. No squiggly space-filling lines blocked in on automatic pilot. To paraphrase Neal Adams (who was referring to Golden), there is not a single millimeter of line on the page that is not directed by conscious thought."
Recent books covering the colorful life and amazing art of Michael Golden include a Manga version of the "Bucky O'Hare" series, created with Hama, as well as the top selling art retrospective "Excess: The Art of Michael Golden," written by Renee Witterstaetter, which sold out and has gone into a second printing, as well as his recent sketchbook "Heroes and Villains," and the just released NEW sketchbook, "MORE Heroes and Villains." In addition, Woodcrest Productions/Eva Ink has also just released a two part candid DVD on Michael and his career, entitled "Creator Chronicles: Michael Golden," featuring an extensive interview and tutorial with the creator.
In fact, as a conceptual cover artist, Golden has penciled everything from Batman and Captain America to Vampirella! And the list keeps growing.
Michael has served as an Editor at DC Comics as well as Senior Art Director at Marvel Comics, and has worked on scores of movie production projects, some currently in development. His art has been the focus of gallery shows in places as diverse as Gijon, Barcelona, New York, Antwerp and Brussels, while his class on storytelling has been conducted from Spain to Brussels to France to Canada to the United States... and most recently China.
It's planned for his extensive 1-2 day storytelling class to launch shortly, as Michael shares more of his philosophy of art and what he considers to be the Golden Rules of storytelling. This course will be conducted as 2 day workshops at key points throughout the United States.
Be looking for future projects as well, including the upcoming "Spartan X Trade paperback!" And Michael's work on "Spawn 200."
For more information on Michael Golden and his work, contact:
Rodney Ramos
Rodney Ramos has been a professional penciler / inker in the comic book industry for over 15 years. He has worked at Marvel Comics, Marvel .U.K, DC Comics, Valiant, Acclaim comics, Malibu and Continuity Comics with Neal Adams. His inks have graced many titles such as Spider-man, X-men, Iron-man, Peter Parker, Batman, Wonder Woman and the critically acclaimed Transmetropolitan with Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson. Recently he has worked for DC Comics on 52, Countdown, Green Lantern, Batman, JSA, Magog, Vertigo,s Bang Tango and many more titles.
Russell Rainbolt
Russell Rainbolt is a professional billboard painter and muralist who started reading and collecting comics when he was eight. An honors graduate of New York's School of Visual Arts, Russell combined his desire for adventure with his love of gigantic painting by working crazy heights and painting flashy advertisements. Filmed several years ago by WFSB's Dan Kain in a segment entitled "The Last American Billboard Painter" the interview went on to air on CNN's "American Stories." Realizing that billboards and comic books are two great, original American art forms Russell came up with the wild idea of merging the two into one giant homage to comics by creating the Ultimate Comic Book Painting. The first installment of three, the current massive 20 x 60 foot hand-painted vinyl canvas, the Ultimate Comic Book Painting, Part One is a historical timeline of American comic book characters starting with the Yellow Kid and Little Nemo from the 1890's and ending with Mr. Natural and Vampirella from the early 70's. The enormous oil painting includes an almost uncountable number of superheroes and comic book favorites from the Platinum, Golden and Silver age eras in some of their most famous poses.
Russell is currently planning the list of characters and layouts for the next gigantic 20 x 60 foot painting, featuring characters from the mid-70's to mid-90's, to be followed by the third and final 20 x 60 foot painting, the mid-90's to present. The final Ultimate Comic Book Painting "triptych" will be a staggering 20 x 180 foot extravaganza that will capture all of the fun and excitement that Comic Books have had for all ages around the world.
Tourniquet Jones
Artist and painter based out of Connecticut. "Tournequet Jones" is an artist with the perception to twist modern reality into nightmare. Beautiful displays of self mutilation mixed with a symbolic obsession of the occult. Straying away from a more commercial pop culture medium Jones tends to promote images of what dark disturbing world awaits the poor soul that dares to peek under ones bed in the middle of the night.
Tournequet Jones work has hung in many galleries from New York City to California and has written and illustrated children's books in Russia. Working with a professor at Yale Mr. Jones has worked on many illustrations and paintings that have been distributed to different country's. With a book planned for the near future Mr. Jones will be at ComiCONN promoting some new work and a new website.
Ric Meyers
Ric Meyers is the author of three milestone martial arts movie books, is a former columnist for both Inside Kung-Fu and Asian Cult Cinema magazines, and has written a dozen "Ninja Master" novels for Warner Books. He has contributed liner notes, audio commentaries, interviews, and/or cover copy for more than four hundred international DVDs. An inductee into five martial art halls of fame, he has taught seminars at movie studios and TV networks, not to mention hosting the renowned San Diego Comic Con Superhero Kung Fu Extravaganza for more than a decade. In addition to appearing on A&E, the Discovery Channel, Bravo, and Starz Encore, he has scripted both Films of Fury: The Kung Fu Movie Movie and the up-coming Dragons on Fire, a graphic novel illustrated by Michael Avon Oeming. He is also the marital arts expert consultant on the Spartan X comic book series with Michael Golden and Renee Witterstaetter, inspired by Hong Kong cinema, most notably the work of Jackie Chan.
In addition, outside the world of Martial Arts, Ric is the award-winning writer of The World of Fantasy Films, The Great Science Fiction Films, Great Martial Arts Movies, Murder on the Air, and TV Detectives, as well as the author of Dell Books' horror trilogy Fear Itself, Living Hell, and Worst Nightmare, not to mention Dungeon & Dragons' Forgotten Realms novel Murder in Halruua. He was also the head writer of Fangoria, consulting editor for Famous Monsters of Filmland, assistant editor of Movie Monsters, and contributing editor for The Weekly World News. He served as Special Media Consultant for CBS-TV's revival of The Twilight Zone and the slasher film Just Before Dawn, among many other things.
Meyers has served as visiting professor at City College of New York, Brigham Young University, the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan, and the University of Bridgeport's Martial Arts Studies Degree Program.
For more information contact: www.evainkartistgroup.com
Justin Credible
Justin Credible is a professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with ECW and WWE. A multi-hardcore champion and an Impact Player, Justin can hang with the best of them. Justin held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, ECW World Tag Team Championship, and WWF/WWE Hardcore Championship. He is the self-proclaimed ECW Hardcore Icon. Justin Credible has a mean streak in him unlike even the most grizzled veterans. Vile, cunning, decadent, and disturbing, Credible will stop at nothing to destroy his competition in the ring.
Anthony Forrest
Anthony Forrest, actor, composer, writer, and director. Born in Birmingham, England and raised in Montreal, Canada, Anthony attended Dawson College, Montreal and Vanier College, St. Laurent, PQ where he studied Music Composition.
In 2005 Anthony was appointed a board member of the 'Shakespeare Society of America' by its late Founder and Chairman, Thad Taylor.
Anthony has recently composed, performed and produced, 'PANTHEONS OF THE TRIBE' a rock and classical concept album that features his solo electric guitar playing in a classical context. The album is released through his label 'Fixer Records' and distributed by Amazon.com, CD Baby, Createspace.com, iTunes etc.
As a Musician and Record Producer, Anthony has produced and performed on a number of chart bound recordings. During the early 1980's with The Mood who were signed to RCA Records 'Don't Stop' 12in. version charted in the US Top Ten Charts and Number 1 in the first UK Dance Charts.
To Star Wars fans, Anthony played Fixer in the deleted scenes of the original Star Wars A New Hope and was the infamous Tatooine Sandtrooper that confronted Luke & Obi-won in Mos Eisley.
Fred Sorenson
Captain Fred Sorenson is a professional airline pilot best know to Indiana Jones fans as Jock Lindsey. Jock was friend and helper of Indiana Jones, and piloted the seaplane when Indy manages to escape from the Hovito indians in Raiders of the Lost Ark. His pet snake named "Reggie" joined Indy on the adventurous escape, leaving Indy no choice but to deal with his fear. FIRST EVER CON APPEARANCE AND SIGNING!
Stefanie Battalene
Stefanie B is an artist currently working on the webcomic Lost Nova, and has been since July of 2010. She is also the artist for Senpai Magazine and currently resides in North Haven.
Tyler James
Tyler James is the writer and co-creator of 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 also the publisher of ComixTribe.com, a new site empowering creators to help each other make better comics.
Paul Kupperberg
Paul Kupperberg is the author of the new mystery novel The Same Old Story and the short story anthologiesTwo Tales of Atlantis and In My Shorts published by Buffalo Avenue Books). He scripts the bestselling Life With Archie: The Married Life Magazine for Archie Comics, and has written numerous short stories, essays, and articles, and more than two dozen books of fiction and non-fiction, as well as over 800 comic boo stories for DC, Marvel, Archie, Bongo, and others, including Superman, Superboy, Supergirl, Green Lantern, Captain America, Spider-Man, the Archie gang, Scooby Doo, Bart Simpson, and his own creations, Checkmate!, Arion Lord of Atlantis, and Takion. Follow Paul at http://kupperberg.blogspot.com.
Cris Macht
Born On May 25th 1975 – exactly 2 years before A New Hope was released – Cris Macht has been a part of the Star Wars World ever since day one. Star Wars was his "vice", his "religion", his "drug". It was the very thing that carried him through some very difficult years of his life. It has made him the person he has become today. Without Star Wars in his life, it would be difficult to imagine where he would be today.
As an avid fan of all 6 films he had celebrated The release of Episode 3 by going on a whirlwind tour of The US red carpet premier as well as the UK Premier (where he eventually met George Lucas). He then went to Tunisia to visit the filming locations.
A Year Later he found himself a little depressed that Star Wars had no future plans to carry on the way it did from 1999-2005. His sister, Cortney had the idea to make a documentary Celebrating the Star Wars fans in the most positive light – The highly acclaimed Documentary "The Force Among Us" was born. The Hallmark Card to Star Wars fans.
The Force Among Us was featured at Celebration 4 and Celebration Europe and the documentary has been called "a film for fans by fans" – something the film shares with ComiCONN. It premiered at the Legendary Hollywood Blvd theater in Woodrige, IL – had a run at the Gene Siskle film center in Chicago, and had been shown to George Lucas and got Lucasfilms blessing.
A Graduate of Columbia College with a degree in music business, Cris is very active in the Music Business world today as well as working on 2 new film projects – The Force Around Us (The Force Among Us 2), and "Crosstown" – a film about fan rivalry centered around baseball (especially The Chicago Cubs and the Chicago White Sox).
Brimstone
Brimstone is a professional wrestler, actor, author, philanthropist and comic book / animated hero. In a nutshell, he has had a successful and rewarding career spanning well over two decades encompassing everything "entertainment." As the co-founder and CEO of Hound Comics, Inc. -- Brimstone and his team of creators launched his comic book series, "Brimstone and The Borderhounds" (in which he appears as the lead character) on October 31st, 2010 at Borders Books and as of January 11th, 2011 went nationwide and worldwide via Barnes & Noble, Book World and Amazon.
Currently, there is a "Brimstone and The Borderhounds" video game in production through SGN Games for the Xbox LIVE and the Playstation Network as well as the iProducts game called, "Forza Infernis." Shocker Toys announced plans to release the 'Brimstone' action figure in 2011 to Toys R' Us as a part of their Indie Spotlight (Super Heroes) Series; while Floating Pear Productions has developed the much anticipated, "Brimstone and The Borderhounds: The Animated Series."
Brimstone's career in professional wrestling has spanned over fourteen years and he has made countless appearances worldwide for the leaders in sports entertainment and throughout the Independents. As a trainer, he is responsible for an enormous amount of talent including a handful of students who have made their mark in the business on WWE and TNA. Brimstone's hard work and dedication to the industry has garnered high honors, appreciation and the recognition of his peers including a 2008 Award from the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Memorable television credits include Sesame Street, Romper Room, WWF Superstars, The Ricki Lake Show, MTV's Total Request Live and BET's 106 & Park. Since his semi-retirement from the wrestling industry, Brimstone has pursued a career on the silver screen; making cameos and acting in multiple films, music videos and television pilots; and is under contract with Dick Clark Productions to produce his own series.
Brimstone makes frequent appearances for the military, as well as speaking engagements at elementary schools for the Get-A-Voice Foundation. He donates a large portion of his time to supporting numerous charities and foundations including but not limited to The Arthritis Foundation, Dee Snider's Biker's for Babies, Wrestler's Rescue, Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, Make-A-Wish, andToys For Tots. He is a celebrity spokesperson for Paul McCartney's RADD (Rockers Actors and Athletes Against Driving Drunk) and was recently asked to be the National Spokesperson for the Jamie Isaacs Foundation For Anti-Bullying.
Jeff Marsick
Jeff Marsick is writer and co-creator of Z-Girl and the Four Tigers & Dead Man's Party. A former military officer, Jeff Marsick spends his days as a financial analyst on Wall Street. His nights, however, are reserved for writing novels, screenplays and comic books. He is also a regular contributor to the comic book and pop-culture website, Newsarama. While he hopes to one day be selected as a Green Lantern, he is content to live with his family in Connecticut. Check out www.zgirl.org
Kirk Manley
Kirk is a father, husband, illustrator, designer, co-creator of Z-Girl and the Four Tigers, and hopefully one day a full-time comic book artist. He is a die-hard Halo video game addict and zombie apocalypse novel reader. He has too many comic books and action figures for a man his age and more unbuilt cool Japanese resin model kits then he cares to admit.
He has had work published by DC Comics, Techno Comics, a number of independents and he has self-published. You can see more of his work at www.studiokm.com & www.zgirl.org.
Sam Hill Jr.
Sam is an artist and creator working with PLAN “B” COMICS, who strive to put out wonderful comic books that bring out quality artwork, stories that will make your brain drool, and in some cases, excite you in ways you have never imagined.
Sam brings a much needed “artists” feel to the comics he produces. Whether they are cartoony, realistic, or just sketches, he does things “his way”, hence the “MY WAY” in the label’s name "MY WAY COMICS". And, “his way” has worked well for him.
Sam will be working on a number of comics as the time goes by. He will be producing D.A.D., Z:THE DREAM WARRIOR (pencils), and THE SICK.
For more information, check out www.planbcomics.com.
Scott Barnett
Scott Barnett is co-creator of Dead Man's Party. In his career, Scott has been an illustrator, designer, storyboard artist and 3D modeler/animator in many different industries. He's painted covers, trading cards and pin-ups for the comic book industry in the past, and just when he thinks he's out, they pull him back in! He's had work published by Image, Malibu, Chaos, Avatar, and other independents. His work can be viewed at www.ScottBarnettGraphics.com and http://artguynj.deviantart.com/.
He and his wife live in New Jersey, and he hopes to one day give Jeff Marsick a satisfactory answer as to why the shark had a Dharma Initiative logo on its tail.
Keith Dallas
Keith Dallas writes Ghostbusters for IDW and is the writer/creator of Timeless Journey's The Argonauts and Th3rd World Studios' Omega Chase. He wrote and edited the best-selling Flash Companion for TwoMorrows Publishing and is currently working on a year-by-year account of the comic book industry during the 1980s.
Luke Foster
Luke Foster is the cartoonist behind "Moon Freight 3," a full-color science-fiction/comedy webcomic that has chronicled the lives of ordinary people living in space since August 2008. His comic can be found every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at www.moonfreight3.com. Luke was also the writer/artist of "The Gang From the Store: True Tales from the Comic Book Shop," which ran from Nov. 2009 to June 2010 at pkdmedia.com. He is also co-host of pop-culture podcasts "The Incredible Hulkcast" and "The Trip," and has been a regular guest on a number of others. Luke lives in Connecticut and loves pancakes.
Everett Soares
Everett Soares is the creator and writer of the steampunk comic book series, Sky Pirates of Valendor. Publishing his first miniseries within the world of Valendor through Free Lunch Comics, Everett has traveled the country promoting his series for the last three years. Beginning in 2011, Everett has taken on publishing duties of Sky Pirates of Valendor under the Jolly Rogue Studios label. Everett is also the writer for DarkBrain.com's Mirror, Mirror.
Visit Everett's table at ComiCONN for the latest issue of Sky Pirates of Valendor Volume 2, as well as other projects he's been working on.
www.skypiratesofvalendor.com (All Ages)
www.darkbrain.com (For Mature Audiences)
Rick Silva
Rick Silva is the publisher and editor of Dandelion Studios, along with his partner & wife Gynn. Rick has been involved in small press publishing since his college days. He published and edited Kinships Magazine.
Rick publishes his own print zine, Caravan, and he is one of the featured contributors for the fiction webzine The Edge of Propinquity. Rick Silva grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, attended Cornell University, and currently teaches chemistry at a high school on Cape Cod, where he resides with his wife, their son, and three cats.
Kevin Powers
Kevin Powers is the founder and publisher of Timeless Journey Comics (TJ Comics). He is also the writer of Mack Turner: Slayer of the Dead and Legends of Steel Creek under the TJ Comics imprint. By day, he is a writer for WWE.com and was the driving force behind the revival of WCW.com.
Cortlandt Hull
Artist, documentary film maker, and film historian, began "THE WITCH'S DUNGEON CLASSIC MOVIE MUSEUM" when just 13. in 1966. It is now considered the longest running tribute to the makeup artists & actors from classic horror films. Cortlandt has produced & directed documentaries on the history of classic horror & fantasy films. Actor, Henry Hull ("Werewolf of London") was Cortlandt's great uncle, and Josephine Hull ("Arsenic & Old Lace") was his great aunt, so fantasy & horror is "in the blood"! He has lectured at universities, and film festivals, across the country, and has written for books and magazines.
Hull's art can be seen on scenic's for vintage carousels, and murals, as well as life size figures at Universal Florida.
Bill Diamond
Artist, puppeteer & producer. Bill has worked with Jim Henson & "The Muppets" as well as on "Dark Crystal" & "Labyrinth". He has his own studio, and produces programs for network cable, as well as DVD. He has created an internet
show on www.monstertvnetwork.com - presenting a network which is run by monsters, many are inspired by the classic horror films & the actors. Bill designs and creates the "creatures", as a tribute to these films. It is a weekly show, featuring the classic monsters, sometimes interviewing real celebrities, reporting bizarre news, and their own commercials. Bill has toured, doing many live puppet shows all over the country. He also created the "Audrey II" plants, for the tour of "Little Shop Of Horrors".
Mark McKenna
Mark Mckenna is a 25 year veteran of the comic book industry. In that time he has worked on Batman, Wolverine, Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, Star Wars, and even Archie Comics, counting over 450 comics in all. Mark is currently working for Dark Horse Comics, on Star Wars: The Old Republic-The Lost Suns mini series.
Mark's new book Banana Tail's Colorful Adventure was published by Image Comic's "all ages" book line. It is a gorgeous 3D computer-generated product which is being categorized as a "Young Reader's Graphic Novel", autographed copies will be available at the con and also available through Barnes and Noble book stores. www.Banananatail.com.
Carl Herring Jr.
Carl Herring Jr. is Founder and President of Three J Productions, LLC. He self-published his first comic book in 1996, The Enforcers Limited Edition Zero Issue. After a ten year absence, he returned to the comic book scene with his creations, Jonas McCabe Bounty Hunter and his FBI duo, Chase and Hunt in 2008. Carl's publishing endeavors continued in 2009 with the release of Crime Wave Anthology #1 and in 2010, the launch of The Enforcers as a miniseries. Carl is a 2010 Haller Awards nominee for Best Writer and a 2011 Glyph Award nominee for Rising Star.
Bob Greenberger
Bob Greenberger is a long-time comics professional, logging 20 years at DC Comics and 1 year at Marvel Comics. A lifelong comics, reader, he has continued to write for and about comics with works including The Essential Batman Encyclopedia, Iron Man: Femme Fatales, and the co-written projects The Batman Vault, The Spider-Man Vault, and The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. His most recent comics stories have appeared in Scooby-Doo and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. He also covers comics history for Back Issue! and Marvel Spotlight. He makes his home in Fairfield and more can be learned at
www.bobgreenberger.com.
Darryl T. Mallard
Darryl T. Mallard is a local writer and illustrator who was born in Denver Colorado in 1964, but who has lived all of his life in Connecticut (mostly Bridgeport) where he currently reside. A life long fan and collector of comic books, he had ambitions of becoming a comic book illustrator. These days however, he's thinking along the lines of a comic book writer. Ironically, he wrote and illustrated his first novel mostly as a way of exposing his artistic talent to people, but then discovered an equal joy in writing. Aside from Mutants of Bain, he has written and illustrated several novels, which can be found online on the Authorhouse, Borders, and Barns & Noble websites. His earliest and greatest art influences were Mike Grell and the late greats, John Buscema and Frank Frazetta.
Bill Hernandez
With over 19 years of professional experience and his ability to entertain an audience, Bill has established himself as one of the best and fastest caricature artists and entertainers in the United States. Bill's caricatures are FUN and flattering - capturing a person's personality and likeness in a flash.
He has worked at one of the major theme parks in Florida and has drawn thousands of people from all over the world. Bill has performed, at many parties and events, for major corporations and private individuals. His caricatures are always a big hit!
Stop by the DJ entertainment area at the show and purchase a caricature for keeps sake!
Daryl Frazetti
Anthropologist and pop culture researcher with a specific focus on science fiction. Research areas include science fiction in higher education, the subculture of fandom, science fiction as mythos, using science fiction to explore fieldwork and human existence, and exploring various science fiction literature and pop media both cultural mirrors and cultural teachers.
Ken Wong
Ken Wong (www.k-wong.com) is a comics creator known primarily for his innovative ORIGAMI COMICS, minicomics printed and presented in folded forms rather than as traditional books or magazines. Ken's Origami Comics include PANDORA'S BOX, SCHRODINGER'S CAT, FLEXAGON!, and SAM ISO: 2d4. His newest minicomic is CYRANO DE BERGERAC'S BALLADE. Ken has also written for PAPERCUTZ CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED and was a contributing writer for SECRET IDENTITIES, the Asian-American Superhero Anthology (The New Press).
Marcello Carnevali
Marcello H. Carnevali is an accomplished writer for film and television who has made the transition to comic books. He is a co-founder of Hound Comics as well as the lead writer and co-creator for "Brimstone and The Borderhounds" which was first released at Borders Books and is now nationwide in Barnes & Noble and worldwide on Amazon. Marcello is a co-owner of 'The Borderhounds' Brand which includes a "Brimstone and The Borderhounds" video game in production through SGN Games for Xbox LIVE and PS3, Shocker Toys announced plans to release the 'Brimstone' action figure in 2011 to Toys R' Us as a part of their Indie Spotlight (Super Heroes) Series; while Floating Pear Productions is developing the "Brimstone and The Borderhounds" Animated Series.
Michael Gray
Michael Gray (born September 2, 1951) is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Billy Batson in the 1970's Shazam! TV series. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA. From 1972-1973, he appeared as Ronnie Collins, a student doctor living in Hawaii, in the first season of the NBC sitcom, The Brian Keith Show,
starring Brian Keith and Shelley Fabares. Gray owned a florist shop in West Hollywood, Los Angeles with his
wife, Stacy Benon. Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne are among his clientele.
He is currently in talks with the producers of the 2012 Motion Picture release of SHAZAM and is working with SAG's New Media, Producing, Acting, and Directing short films alongside acting legends for 2012.
This will be Michael Gray's FIRST East Coast appearance.
Allan Dorison
Allan Dorison (www.gascomic.com) is the twisted brain and crooked hand behind the webcomic Grasping at Straws. He's proud of both his lifelong love of comics and animation, as well as his long history of supporting the art form of cartooning as an executive board member of both the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art and the Sequential Art Collective. He currently lives in New York City, where he studies ju-jitsu and creates self-published 'zines such as "Kick Ass Jews," "GAS Guide to Boobies" and "Bob the Octopus."
Cesar Feliciano
Cesar Feliciano has illustrated for One Shot Press, Dark Moon Productions, Steve Woron's Illustration Studio, Masterpiece Comics, and Bluewater Productions as both a penciler and inker. He also worked designing and storyboarding video games. His works include the Horror Anthology "The Captain's Jolting Tales", The Inovators written by Tom Sneigoski , writer of The Fallen, Thespian, Prophecy, The Survivors, Full Moon Craze, Female Forces: Sonia Sotomayor, and background inks on Suicide Squad. Cesar's current projects are Ron Fortier's: Tales of the Macabre and the Upcoming Ripperman Graphic Novel available July 2011 from Arcana Comics. Look for his super secret assignment "Red Ten" early next year.
Cesar's work has been featured on Fox affiliates "Stan Simpson Show", as well as Telemundo's national broadcast.
http://cheelee.deviantart.com/
http://twitter.com/cesarfeliciano
http://cesarfeliciano.blogspot.com/
http://serendipityartsales.net/feliciano.html
David A. Rodriguez
David A. Rodriguez has been a professional writer and video game designer for the past ten years and started his comics career with the release of the first Starkweather series from Arcana Comics. In addition to writing the current iteration, Starkweather: Immortal for Archaia, David co-created and continues to write for the popular webcomic Shadowgirls which is celebrating the release of its massive 240 page, Season: One, hardcover! (Available at the show!)
David also has written for video games such as Hunter: The Reckoning, Ghost Recon and Transformers. In what he jokingly refers to as his spare time, he directs voice actors for multiple motion-comic projects. David currently resides in New York with wife and son and wants to thank them for their support and forbearance
Kieran Howarth
Kieran Howarth is a professional cartoonist, illustrator, and designer. Based in New England, Kieran has created and self-published many projects over the past 17 years-both for print and the web. He has created within many themes and genres, from the internationally distributed (and sold out) comic/poetry concept Dreamstation to the notoriously regarded webcomic; Death Puppets.
ComiCONN 2011 brings his return to print in... OPERATOR™: One-Shot
OPERATOR™ explores the classified "black op" exploits of Cody Loke, a newly contracted CIA SAD/SOG operative from SEAL Team SIX. The year is 1982. The second Cold War is about to kindle a slow burn... and Southeast Asia
provides the perfect tinderbox.
OPERATOR™: One-Shot, as well as a *Capture the Flag* raffle and FREE prints will be available at the Soda Vicious table. More details and sample works can be found via the official website...
"Fans of G.I. Joe, the Bourne Trilogy, Metal Gear, and Call of Duty are encouraged to check out the launch of a brand new SpecOps/Military/Espionage concept. I have always wanted to do a concept like this, but never felt the timing was right. Until now. It thrills me to create a project that was so vividly present within my mind from a young age. I could never find this kind of concept on the stands to satisfy my interests, so I created one myself. Thanks in advance"
- Kieran Howarth, Creator
Kevin Liell
Kevin Liell is a professional artist and Star Wars fan, native to Connecticut, where he lives with his wife and daughter. Kevin has created artwork for several publications, including Topps Cards' Star Wars series and has worked with Anthony Forrest in creating the Star Wars comic story titled Star Wars Fixer: From the Shadow of Twin Suns.. He has also exhibited artwork at the “Art Strikes Back” exhibit, a Star Wars art show that started in Boston, MA. Kevin supports the Wounded Warrior Project (a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting injured U.S. veterans) and will be having a special raffle at his convention table at ComiCONN. Kevin also has a vast knowledge for Star Wars and handles many trivia events at numerous conventions, including Celebration V and ComiCONN. Stop by his table and check out his unique Star Wars prints & artwork.
Dave Ryan
Comic book creator as well as fine artist, David Ryan was born in 1965, Bayonne, New Jersey. Raised on a menu of comic book culture fused with iconic Rockwellian imagery, Dave Ryan began taking art lessons as a child and at the age of 18 saw an exhibition of Vincent van Gogh's post-impressionistic paintings, which helped inspire him to become a painter. His body of work focuses primarily on painting portraits, fusing a realistic, larger than life iconic image laden with a Lichtenstein-esque undertone adorned with semi-impressionistic techniques. These images represent a very human, undeniable view of the subjects, given the scale of attention to the brushstroke itself, while also presenting a rather grand, iconic view of the sitters, given the monumental and confrontational quality of the works. He has received his BA in 1991 from New Jersey City State College, in Jersey City, NJ.
Shawnti Therrien
Shawnti Therrien is the creator of "Am I Immortal", "Meth" (with Atlas Unleashed), the creative director for the CAG manga anthology "With Honor", and many other dark tales. She lovingly crafts each tale herself: weaving written word, creating the art, the layouts, and even lettering. Shawnti wears many hats: creative director, editor, letter, artist and writer. Whenever the opportunity has arisen, she has mentored fellow artists and worked with other creators expanding her repertoire.
Shawnti's interests are not limited simply to comics, but extend throughout all forms of artistic expression. In her rural Connecticut home she works with her husband to create music and independent film. She also works with a local sculptor to make her 2d artistic creations come to life. Her attention to detail is fueled by her drive to touch her audience on a very base level, as she puts soul into each of her pieces. She likes to work with any media she can get her hands on, but almost always chooses illustrated prose and comics as the ultimate way to capture her intent.
Visit www.immortalgothicangel.com to see more of her work and embrace your darker side.
Alitha Martinez
Alitha Martinez is a veteran in the world of mainstream American superhero comics who has recently started her own title, Yume and Ever. Her exquisite attention to detail is a wonder to behold. Her work can be found in issues of Black Panther, Iron Man, Spider-Girl Battlebook: Streets of Fire, Shi, X-Men: Black Sun, Marvel Age: Fantastic Four, Voltron: Defender of the Universe, and NBC's Heroes. She is also the illustrator of Twisted Journeys #12: Kung Fu Masters, Quest for Dragon Mountain, and Vampire: My Boyfriend Bites for Lerner Publications. She also does political cartooning for the New York Post. She lives in New York City.
Logan Faerber
A Boston based freelance illustrator, Logan Faerber is currently working on several comics, such as LuchaRobo; The Spanish speaking luchador robot in America. He's also worked on band posters, t-shirts, logos, and will be developing his first children's book soon; Chore Vikings.
www.loganfaerber.com
http://lucharobo.tumblr.com/
http://loganfaerber.tumblr.com/
Adam Wallenta
Adam Wallenta (www.americanmule.com) is a professional illustrator, fine artist, writer and legendary underground HipHop emcee (known as ILLUS). Many know Adam from his work as the illustrator and co-writer of the official Public Enemy comic book series as well as his coloring work for Marvel and DC Comics. Adam has also illustrated over 50 children's books, numerous novels and has worked on album art, t-shirt designs, and more for such popular recording artists as Ill Bill from Non Phixion, CT’s own Apathy, J.J. Brown, Freddie Foxxx, J-Live and more.
Adam recently illustrated the Art of Zombie Warfare for Skyhorse Publishing and will be illustrating more for their Zombie series in 2011. Adam continues to work in comics as a colorist and will be releasing two new independent projects in the new year which he will be writing and illustrating. Stay tuned to www.adamwallenta.com for exclusive updates about these very secret projects. Adam will also be focusing on the return of his daily comic strip, Oh, Nation which can be found at http://ohnation.com/.
In 2010 Adam released his Feel Good Music album and garnered international praise for its hard-hitting beats and honest, passionate and positive lyrics. Chuck D from Public Enemy called Feel Good Music “one of the best albums of 2010”. In 2011 Adam is set to release two new cds, one exclusively produced by J.J. Brown titled For Adam and the other produced by artists such as BluePrint, J-Live, and more (yet to be titled).
Follow Adam at www.adamwallenta.com and make sure to subscribe to his blog to win free art and more.
Stay in touch with Adam on Twitter at http://twitter.com/AdamWallenta and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Illus/142044455839980
To hear Adam’s music and watch his videos check out www.illusmedia.com and on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/feel-good-music/id349574650
Look for an exclusive art piece by Adam in the 2011 ComiCONN Convention Program and stop by his table to take part in the special ComiCONN "LIVE ART" event.
Renee Witterstaetter
Writer, editor, producer and publisher Renee Witterstaetter began the comic phase of her career working on such titles as Superman at DC Comics and Silver Surfer, Conan The Barbarian and Conan Saga at Marvel, then going on to spearhead the reintroduction of She-Hulk at Marvel to boot. She then moved over to Topps Comics where she was the editor on X-Files, Jurassic Park, Xena and Hercules and the co-creator—with artist Michael Golden-- of the successful series, Spartan X.
During this time, Renee was also the colorist on hundreds of comics from the Avengers to Spiderman to Captain America among many, many more. Film work was a natural progression for Renee after this storytelling immersion in comics, and she has since worked on dozens of music videos for Madonna, Seal, Ben Harper and Usher, as well as the feature movies Police Story III, Drunken Master II, Crime Story, Rush Hour Two, Red Dragon , To ease the lose, and Swimming With The Virgin, among others.
She is the author of numerous books, boxing articles and feature articles including the books "Dying for Action: The Life and Films of Jackie Chan" from Warner Publishing, "The Fantastic Art..." from Vanguard Productions and "The Art of the Barbarian" from Image/Eva Ink, as well as the best-selling biography "Excess: The Art of Michael Golden" from Vanguard Productions, which sold out and just went into a second printing. Here newest books include a biography and retrospective on artist Mark Texeira entitled "Tex: The Art of Mark Texeira," as well as the Michael Golden sketchbooks, "Heroes and Villains" and "MORE Heroes and Villains," and the Texeira sketchbook "Babes and Brawn."
A member of the Society of Illustrators in Manhattan, Renee is currently working on two new sketchbooks on Mr. Golden entitled "Dangerous Curves" and "Bad Dog."
In addition to on-going film work, she is the President of Little Eva Ink Publishing and Little Eva Ink Toys. Renee is also currently working in artist management via Eva Ink Artist Group, and is the co-producer of the a DVD series highlighting creators. She is particular proud of this series, which features interviews with major industry creators such as George Perez, Bill Sienkiewicz, Michael Golden, Joe Jusko, Matt Wagner and many more.
In her not so abundant free time, she fishes, dances and is also curating several major art exhibits in the United States and in Europe.
For more information on Renee Witterstaetter and her work, check out one of the following sites:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eva-Renee-Witterstaetter
http://witterstaetterwrites.blogspot.com/
www.evainkpublishing.com
Bill Walko
You might recognize Bill Walko's art from comic-related sites such as Project: Rooftop, ComicsAlliance.com, or CBR's Comics Should Be Good. His lively renditions of classic comic book characters - including the Teen Titans, X-Men and the Wonder Twins - have tickled the fancy of comic fandom.
But in the past year, Bill has also focused his talents toward his own comic. Imagine your office, bitten by a radioactive spider. That's The Hero Business, a comic chronicling the day-to-day adventures of an agency that caters exclusively to super-heroes (and their super-egos). Because with great power comes great marketability.
See why critics are describing The Hero Business as "a grand satirical romp happily skewering standard tropes of superhero comics" and "very smart and very funny." Stop by the Hero Business booth, where we'll have comics, commissions for sale, original art prints, and some other con-exclusive surprises. PLUS, the first ten ComiCONN purchases will receive a FREE Hero Business test tube. Walk-ins are always welcome, but we ask our radioactive clients to please use the service entrance.
501st Conn Squad of Connecticut
Come have some fun and bring the kids for some great photo opportunities with Connecticut's definitive costuming organization that has been serving the Emperor proud since 2005. If you only knew the power of the Dark Side! The 501st CTG supports The Tommy Fund for Childhood Cancer and is a main sponsor for ComiCONN. Check out their website at: www.connsquad.com
Kamino Base - Rebel Legion
The Kamino Base Rebel Legion is a costuming group for Star Wars, and aptly named for our New England rainy weather. Kamino Base is one of the newest additions to the Rebel Legion family and is actively seeking recruits who'd like to join their fight against the Empire here in Connecticut and in neighboring Rhode Island. We're the good guys! Stop by their table for a look at what it takes to be a Jedi, senator, pilot, or even a Wookiee from a Galaxy Far Far Away!
Dana Powers
Dana Powers is a member of the International R2-D2 Builders Club since 2007. He spent 6 months researching how to build an Astromech Droid online and 8 months getting parts (made all over the world), to build his 1st Astromech Droid (R2-D2).
R2 is composed mostly of steel & aluminum and is remote controlled which allows Dana to drive him around, spin his dome, trigger lights, sounds & music.
Dana attends conventions, parades, trade shows, charity events, hospitals and has even done events with LucasFilms Ltd. His son Jedi Jesse joins in on the adventures, like a true Star Wars fan.
Dana is planning on building another R2-D2 in the near future with all the gadgets, including gripper & cpu arms, fire extinguisher, periscope, lifeform scanner and much more. Check out the full size replica Landspeeder, which is part of Dana's collection, at ComiCONN!
Matthew J. Fletcher
This Connecticut based artist works primarily with pencil, ink, and watercolor. In a distinctly angular and sketchy style all his own, Matthew adeptly uses superheroes, robots, monsters and farm animals to create images that range from socio-political commentary to traditional comic book pin-up art, and everything in between. Never afraid to challenge the viewer, Matthew enjoys twisting (sometimes violently) established and recognizable characters and images in order to wake something up inside of the viewer and make them think. Matt will be selling prints & artwork at the show.
Look for an exclusive art piece by Matt in the 2011 ComiCONN Convention Program.
Frank McLaughlin
Frank McLaughlin is a 45 year veteran of the comics industry, having drawn such world renowned icons such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Arrow, JLA, Captain America, The Avengers, The Defenders, Iron Fist, Silver Surfer, Dracula, Judomaster, Fatale and White Viper among many others.
During this time, Mr. McLaughlin has worked with virtually every major comic publisher. In addition to his comic book accomplishments, he has contributed to many newspaper strips including Gil Thorp, the Heart of Juliet Jones [with the late Stan Drake] Stan Smith's Tennis Tips and Nancy.
As a professor of art, Mr. McLaughlin teaches visual storytelling and cartooning at Paier College of Art in Hamden Connecticut. His work on Wonder Woman, White Viper and Fatale has earned him the reputation as one of America's leading illustrators of the female form, prompting the publishing of his book; "How to Draw Those Bodacious Bad Babes of Comics". Corporate clients include Disney, General Electric, McDonalds, IBM, Sikorsky Aircraft, Norden and others.
Look for a 2 page exclusive White Viper comic by Frank McLaughlin & Erin Holroyd in the 2011 ComiCONN Convention Program.
Mike Lilly
Mike Lilly is a NYC based comic book artist who's worked on various Project Superpowers' comics like Black Terror and Meet The Bad Guys, as well as Quasar, Nightwing, Vampirella, Detective Comics, and Dungeons & Dragon's to name a few.
Lilly's Vampirella Revelations won him a "Best Black & White Art Show Award of Excellence" from ICON 25.
He's also a prolific sketch card artist who's worked on Star Wars, Lord of The Rings, Frankenstein, and Marvel's Complete Avengers sets.
Recently Mike worked with legend Stan Lee on the Guardian Project, a collaborative effort with SLG and the NHL to create a new series of super-heroes and also with Scholastic Books, Inc. on a mini-graphic novel adaptation of Shakespeare's play Anthony & Cleopatra for the educational system.
Currently Mike is hard at work on two new sketch card lines, Marvel Universe and Vampirella as well as many private commissions.
Check out his most recent sketch card work from Marvel's Dangerous Diva's line.
Erin Holroyd
Erin Holroyd is the writer of ComicMix original series White Viper, freelance columnist for The Fairfield County Weekly and finalist at the Mirimax Film Festival for Best Screenplay for Running Back. Erin is currently working on book two of White Viper and her second screenplay The Fourteen. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, Jeff and daughter Kate.
Look for a 2 page exclusive White Viper comic by Frank McLaughlin & Erin Holroyd in the 2011 ComiCONN Convention Program.
Mike DeCarlo
Mike DeCarlo's career began in the late 1970's as a sports cartoonist at a local paper, he soon moved on to the comic book world, first with DC Comics and then Marvel on such titles as Batman and Thor. In the '90's Mike gravitated to animation art with Warner, The Simpsons & The Cartoon Network. When working for DC Comics, Mike worked on "A Death in the Family" a Batman story arc first published in the late 1980's which gave fans the ability to influence the story through voting over the phone. "A Death in the Family" ran through Batman #426-429, and dealt with the death of Jason Todd, who has recently returned to life as the murderous vigilante the Red Hood. Mr. DeCarlo also worked on the legendary Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Jack Purcell
Jack Purcell graduated with a bachelors degree in Illustration from Massachusetts College of Art in 1996. He began his work both penciling and inking in various independent jobs with a variety of companies, in addition to freelance illustration for companies like Best Buy, New Jersey Fireworks and Digi magazine. Jack has taught workshops in comic book creation for the last 19 years in schools, libraries and museums and feels very old when he says that out loud. He eventually focused on inking and has worked on various independent titles, Heavy Metal magazine, and a variety of titles for DC Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Titles include Batman, Gotham Underground, JSA Classified, Birds Of Prey, Gotham City Sirens, Guardians Of the Galaxy, Batgirl and others.
2011 will see the release of Stan Lee’s The Guardian Project which includes both pencils and inks by Jack. Jack will be teaching a class at RISD and showing work at Uconn later in the year.
He happily lives in western Massachusetts with his wife, son, daughter, dog, and WWE championship belt. Jack is collaborating with Eric Battle & Tom Chu on the 2011 ComiCONN Convention Program cover.
Tom Chu
Tom Chu, a comic book colorist that has over ten years of experience working with the two major companies in the business. While at Marvel Comics, he worked on series such as Deadpool, Avengers Forever, Iceman, and Weapon X, and at DC Comics, he was on the major weekly comic event Countdown to Final Crisis. He recently worked on Brave and the Bold and Red Circle: The Shield written by J. Michael Straczynski, and is currently working on X-Men Noir with Dennis Calero and Spider-Man Classic reprints with a modern color style.
Tom collaborated with Jamal Igle on the cover for the 2010 ComiCONN Convention Program and collaborating with Eric Battle & Jack Purcell on the 2011 cover.
George O'Connor
George likes to write. A lot. He's created over 60 short films and the webseries 664-The Neighbor of the Beast (www.lazyhorde.com). He's currently writing the ongoing comic series HEALED for Homeless Comics (www.homelesscomics.com). He also juggles playing guitar in his metal and punk rock bands. By day, George is a mild-mannered copywriter in the advertising world. He once put a truck on the moon.
Griffin
Griffin has been illustrating and web designing professionally since 2006 and is currently in school full time for forensic psychology. His newly blossoming comics career has him working with Homeless Comics on the HEALED series and Fat Cat Funnies. View more of his work at www.shadedareas.com.
Anthony Paolucci
Anthony Paolucci is an amateur writer and member of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. He has self-published several children's books (Broken Moon Publications), in addition to two books for adults: "Gabriel Thorn: A Faerie Tale", a fantasy novel, and "Where Hails the Savage Rhythm", a pair of musically based short stories (Gentle Ghost Press).
He is a husband and father, his daughter Eden Rain and wife Christine having served as inspirations for many of his ideas. They live in Milford, Connecticut with their two Siamese cats, Sabbath and Solstice.
When he's not writing, Anthony enjoys playing drums in his band "Jokers & Kings" and riding his bike. He is also an avid blues enthusiast and plays the harmonica. Getting together with friends to play music, tearing down a scenic stretch of road on his bicycle, working on a new story idea, and spending time with his family are his greatest passions. He prefers being outside to staying indoors, wine to beer, seafood to steak, classic films to modern ones, and will do just about anything for a bag of nacho flavored Dorito's or a good chocolate chip cookie.
Look for a new book to debut at ComiCONN by Anthony and artist Matthew J. Fletcher.
Tak Toyoshima
Tak was born and raised in New York City on the borders of Chinatown, Little Italy, Soho and Tribeca. He now lives just south of Boston in an old converted refrigerator box where he scavenges wild berries from his neighbors' yards.
During the day, he is the creative director at the ground breaking post-alternative newsweekly Boston's Weekly Dig. Ground breaking in that the Dig is a hybrid of the traditional alternative newsweekly that our hippie forefathers started and new school magazine publishing blending award winning design and cutting edge content. He's also the creative director for BeerAdvocate Magazine, the print supplement to the world's largest online beer community.
Secret Asian Man is a weekly comic strip that is an often brutally honest commentary on the state of race relations in America. If you happen to be an editor or art director at a paper, magazine or website that could use a touch from the Golden Child, contact Tak!
Tak spends the rest of his time with his loving family.
High Adventure
"High Adventure" is a rock trio from New England, consisting of Glen Nelson, Todd Howard, and Christopher Eddy. Since 2008, "Hi-Ad" has gathered a worldwide following of fanboys and fangirls with their passionate music about loving life and fandom. They have been featured on NPR, "The Force-Cast", "The Indy-Cast", "The Mac-Cast", "Fanboy's Guide To The Galaxy", and "The Bothan Report", and have performed live at Comic Book Conventions and Fan Gatherings in Connecticut, Florida, and Dallas, and are looking to expand their horizons even further. "Acoustic Prog Pop", their long-awaited full-length album release is a collection of their greatest hits from the past 3 years, and ranges from iPhone Voice Memos, to home studio demo recordings, to full-blown studio productions. The album, being offered exclusively as a free download on their official website, serves as a perfect introduction to the imagination, creativity, and collaboration amongst friends that is "High Adventure". We encourage you to share this link with your own circle of friends. Adventure Rock Has A Name!
More to come…check back!
