While Brooklyn native Wilson Cruz has achieved Sci-Fi fame as the fan-favorite Dr. Hugh Culber on STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, he has been a trailblazer throughout his career. In 1994 he became the first openly gay actor portraying an openly gay character on MY SO-CALLED LIFE. In addition to recurring roles on PARTY OF FIVE and NOAH’S ARC, his other TV appearances include ER, THE WEST WING, ALLY McBEAL, NCIS, THE CLOSER, and MONK. Wilson’s other credits include: Angel in RENT on Broadway, voicing three characters on AMERICAN DAD! and portraying Joaquin in the film NIXON. Although for decades Wilson has been a role model, mentor, volunteer, board member, and Grand Marshal for the LGBT community, he has recently appeared on the covers of THE ADVOCATE and of the UK magazine ATTITUDE, alongside his co-star Anthony Rapp, celebrating their historic roles as the first gay couple kissing onscreen in STAR TREK.

Sherilyn Fenn will always be best remembered for her iconic role of Audrey Horne in the groundbreaking TWIN PEAKS, as well as last year's TWIN PEAKS revival on Showtime, where her dance was named by Vulture as the best musical moment of 2017. But Sherilyn has enjoyed a 30+ year career in Hollywood, including memorable roles on the series SHAMELESS, RAY DONOVAN, GILMORE GIRLS and RUDE AWAKENINGS, and in films like the recent horror film WISH UPON, OF MICE AND MEN, and the cult classics TWO MOON JUNCTION and THE WRAITH. Ms. Fenn has also recently published her first children’s book called NO MAN’S LAND, which tells the story of a child on the autism spectrum. She has a recurring role on S.W.A.T, and a mystery role on the new live action TITANS series.

Jénel Stevens is a SAG-AFTRA award-nominee stunt performer and actress best known as one of the principal Dora Milaje, the elite all-female bodyguard for King T’Challa in the Marvel Studios films BLACK PANTHER, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, and its currently-filming sequel. Jénel has an extensive sports and martial arts background, holding many titles including: third degree Black Belt in Jeet Kune Do, a Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a White Glove in Savate, a Level 9 practitioner in Balintawak, and a Kru in Muay Thai. She is also an undefeated New York State WKA Lightweight Muay Thai Champion and a certified Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Martial Arts instructor. Her many performances enhancing fight scenes and action sequences on TV shows and movies include: LUKE CAGE, IRON FIST, BLINDSPOT, QUANTICO, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, BULL, THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA, and many others.

For more than thirty years, Johnathon Schaech has built a reputation as an actor of exceptional skill and range. He exploded onto the scene in the Tom Hanks feature THAT THING YOU DO, and since then, he’s barely had time to breathe. With a steady stream of roles Schaech has established himself as go-to talent for meatier, featured and starring roles, while also working opposite some of the biggest names in show business, including Jessica Lange, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ed Harris, Mark Ruffalo, and Idris Elba. Schaech’s turn as movie star Sean Walker on Showtime’s breakout RAY DONOVAN captured the attention of critics and fans alike. Lionsgate recently announced a four-picture deal featuring Schaech, and he returns to the CW’s DC universe as gun-slinging anti-hero Jonah Hex in LEGENDS OF TOMORROW, THE FLASH, and ARROW.

Cas Anvar is a multi-talented, award-winning actor with over 100 credits in both film and television. From his big break in the Golden Globe and Spirit Award nominated movie SHATTERED GLASS, he’s appeared in THE TERMINAL, SOURCE CODE, THE VATICAN TAPES, PUNISHER: WAR ZONE, and the multi-Oscar winners ARGO and ROOM. Cas is captivating in ASSASSINS CREED, STAR TREK CONTINUES, THE STRAIN, THE EXPANSE, LOST, NEVERLAND; A favorite in the Syfy hit THE EXPANSE, he is the wisecracking Martian pilot with a Texas drawl: space cowboy Alex Kamal. His character Sanjay Desai in THE STRAIN has become a cult favorite. Cas is an incredible voice actor, as heard in STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS and his fan-favorite ASSASSINS CREED character: Altair, and fans can sometimes see him donning the Altair garb and will always catch him with his hidden blade strapped to his arm!

Jennifer Cihi has been performing since she was a young girl in San Francisco, California. Before reaching her teen years, she landed the role of Pepper in the Broadway National Tour of ANNIE. After establishing herself as a Broadway performer, she moved to Los Angeles, where she honed her skills as a professional singer. Without skipping a beat, Jennifer made the transition from stage to screen playing the lead singer on Nickelodeon’s hit TV show ROUNDHOUSE. Her most notable job was landing the role as the singing voice of the iconic anime character, SAILOR MOON. She also sang for CITY HUNTER and PRINCESS MONONOKE. If none of that rings a bell, she is also the voice behind the Hot Pockets commercials. Jennifer is currently living in Nashville, where she continues to sing professionally.

-- FIRST CON EVER! -- C.J. Ramone was the bassist for the RAMONES until the band’s retirement. A former Marine, he took over for Dee Dee and helped the RAMONES survive and thrive for over seven years and eight albums. C.J. sang back up, wrote songs, and occasionally sang lead. The RAMONES’ youngest member, he gave them a breath of fresh air and has kept their spirit alive. The RAMONES’ power, notes and melodies influenced countless bands’ music and style. From albums, to TV and movies such as ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL and Stephen King’s PET SEMATARY, the RAMONES were multi-media Rock leaders. Since the band’s retirement, C.J. has played in a few bands and toured and recorded as a solo artist, releasing three studio albums: RECONQUISTA, LAST CHANCE TO DANCE, and AMERICAN BEAUTY. C.J.’s equipment consists of Mosrite Basses, Fender Basses and Amps, Live Line Straps and Cables, SIT Strings, and PickWorld Picks.

After 20 years as a musician, Jerome made the transition to acting via modeling, TV commercials, and the Actor’s Institute. A speculative audition for KENNEDY’S CHILDREN brought him to the attention of Emmy award winner, Charles Serio. After several years and numerous productions with The Serio Ensemble, he met and formed a continuing working relationship with director Craig McCall including award-winning projects for EMI Records and General Motors. He broke into feature films with FIRST KNIGHT followed by THE FIFTH ELEMENT, starting a long involvement with creature-effects work which would later include all three of the STAR WARS prequel trilogy (THE PHANTOM MENACE, ATTACK OF THE CLONES, and REVENGE OF THE SITH) and the feature film version of THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. His most recent theatre work was appearing in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST. His latest project is the interactive movie console game THE BUNKER.

Michael Copon broke into Hollywood with his first audition for POWER RANGERS TIME FORCE where he played the Blue Ranger. He was the main lead actor in Universal's SCORPION KING 2 and BRING IT ON: IN IT TO WIN IT. He starred on the hit TV show ONE TREE HILL as Felix and as part of the famous "Boyz N Motion" boy band on Disney's THAT’S SO RAVEN. He has guest-starred on CSI MIAMI, HAWAII 5-0, RENO 911, SCRUBS, and many more! Alongside with these roles Michael has shown his diversity through horror movies like NIGHT OF THE DEMONS, 247F, KILLER HOLIDAY. He continues to show his heroic side in action films like AWAKEN and WORTH THE PRICE. An actor/singer, philanthropist and movie director/producer, Michael is a force to be reckoned with.

-- FIRST NYC CON EVER! -- John O’Hurley is one of television’s busiest actors. He's also a best-selling author and Billboard chart-topping composer. O’Hurley is best known as “J. Peterman” on SEINFELD. He was named one of PEOPLE MAGAZINE’s “Sexiest Men Alive". One of the most recognizable voices in entertainment, he is the voice of many animated characters: King Neptune on SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, the Mayor on Disney’s PHINEAS AND FERB, and characters on FAMILY GUY, ARCHER, LOONEY TUNES, SCOOBY DOO, BUZZ LIGHTYEAR OF STAR COMMAND, DUCK DODGERS, THE MULLETS, and THE FLINTSTONES. His TV show credits include: THE X-FILES, BOY MEETS WORLD, ALL MY CHILDREN, GENERAL HOSPITAL, and SANTA BARBARA. John has hosted FAMILY FEUD and TO TELL THE TRUTH. Capturing America’s heart on Season 1 of DANCING WITH THE STARS, he won the ABC series with the highly contested “Dance Off". O’Hurley is the regular host of THE NATIONAL DOG SHOW, a Thanksgiving tradition.

Martial Arts Hall of Fame Inductee Taimak Guarriello hails from NYC. He began his martial arts training early, and at 18 he won the New York State kickboxing championship. He was then cast by Berry Gordy to play the lead role in the cult classic film THE LAST DRAGON, portraying Leroy Green (a.k.a. Bruce Leroy). Taimak was quickly catapulted into Hollywood with a career that has spanned over three decades and has performed in live theatre many times. As a martial arts choreographer and teacher he’s worked with Madonna, Debbie Allen, and Gavin Rossdale. His directorial debut with his short film noir detective story I’VE SEEN THINGS had its world premiere at the SOHO International Film Festival last June, and will be showcased at other film festivals around the U.S. this year. Taimak is currently on his National tour promoting his autobiography (available on Amazon) TAIMAK, THE LAST DRAGON.

Larry Storch is a beloved actor best known for his comic television roles, including his portrayal of the bumbling Corporal Randolph Agarn on F TROOP and Eddie Spenser on 1975's "THE GHOST BUSTERS". He was also well known for his voice-over work for cartoon shows and he was the first actor to voice Batman's arch enemy, "The Joker", in THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN segments of THE BATMAN/SUPERMAN HOUR produced by Filmation Associates animation in the late 1960s, reprising the role several years later for THE NEW SCOOBY-DOO MOVIES. Decades later he voiced characters for FOOFUR, BEETLE BAILEY and GARFIELD AND FRIENDS. Larry has appeared in more than 25 feature films and also has one of the longest spanning careers on Broadway having made his first Broadway appearance in 1956 and last in 2004.

Actor Nicholas Brendon is best-known for his co-starring role as Xander Harris on the TV series BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER in 143 of 144 total episodes from 1996 TO 2003. He also voiced Xander in THE ANIMATED SERIES in 2004 and in two video games. Nicholas gained extra comics cred when he wrote (with Christos Gage) stories published by Dark Horse Comics in issues 3, 4, 5, and 7 of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON TEN in 2014! His other TV work includes: regular roles on CRIMINAL MINDS and PRIVATE PRACTICE, in series such as: FAKING IT, HOLLYWOOD HEIGHTS, ROBOT, NINJA & GAY GUY, TURBO DATES, KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL, DAVE’S WORLD, and MARRIED WITH CHILDREN as well as the TV movies CELESTE IN THE CITY and FIRE SERPENT, and films like REDWOOD, INDIGO, COHERENCE, BIG GAY LOVE, THE PORTAL, and PSYCHO BEACH PARTY.

Lua Stardust is an Alternative Model, Cosplayer and Internet personality from New Jersey. Her love for comics, video games, horror & anime has allowed her to create incredible costumes. She takes pride in her gender-bent and original costume designs. Since 2012 Lua has attended many events & conventions all over the USA as a cosplay guest, panelist, judge and event host. She is most known for her Gamora, Kida, Rogue and Jessica Rabbit cosplays. Lua has a large list of features and publications that you can find at luastardust.com

Captain Zorikh is a filmmaker, writer, artist, musical entertainer, swordfighter, grappler, and low-flying geek icon. He has appeared in SCI-FI SCIENCE, JEDI JUNKIES, BIG GIANT SWORDS, JAKE LOVES MOVIES, BREAKUP AT A WEDDING, and countless off-Broadway performances, as well as some of the finest subway singing spots in the city. He has produced and directed four documentaries about medieval armored combat in the modern world, and hundreds of YouTube videos. He is writing the definitive history of all the Captain Marvels. He has managed a team of female wrestlers. He has a stock portfolio. On top of all this he has been hosting the costume contest and interviewing celebrities at the Big Apple Comic Con since 2003.

Ming Chen’s road to being the technical expert for Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash began in 1995, when the college student, video store employee, and Kevin Smith follower developed a CLERKS fansite. Smith appreciated Chen’s work, and asked him to create the website for View Askew Productions. 22 years later, Chen works on all of Smith’s online projects and has ventured into hosting a weekly podcast called I SELL COMICS! with Michael Zapcic on Smith’s radio network, S.I.R.!: SModcast Internet Radio. Chen serves on the board for the non-profit Root to Rise. He also co-owns a podcast studio with Mike Zapcic called “A Shared Universe” and is a partner in a coffee, gaming and comics café called “Coral Sword” in Houston with MLB player Hunter Pence. Ming and Debbie, married 15 years, have two children. And of course Ming can be seen regularly on AMC’s COMIC BOOK MEN.

Gary Sohmers has appeared for 13 seasons on the PBS Television Program ANTIQUES ROADSHOW as an expert in records, toys and pop culture. He also hosts CALLING ALL COLLECTORS radio programs, and does popular cultural appraisal services for insurance as Wex Rex Collectibles. Gary has also produced over 1,000 concerts and is currently producing the self-composed BEASTIES: A SCI-FI ROCK OPERA for the stage.

Chuck and Brad are on a mission to seek out new ways to incorporate pop culture into their alternative comedy stage show. They will perform retold untold story of "The Avengers" at the Big Apple Comic Convention as a primer before "Avengers: Infinity Wars" hits the big screen. A Big Apple Special Event.

Comedians Chuck Staton and Brad Rohrer are the characters animating the "The Chuck and Brad Podcast". Chuck is also frontman in the long-running punk band Senior Discount, and Brad a Chicago-trained improv veteran and videographer. Chuck directed and edited the comedy special 'Tell 'Em Steve-Dave: Live at the Gramercy Theatre' starring AMC's Comic Book Men, as well as Quinn and Sal from TruTV's Impractical Jokers. The Chuck & Brad podcast regularly includes in-depth interviews with bands like Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Bowling for Soup and director Jeff Tremaine.

Josh Sussman is an American actor best known for his appearances as Jacob Ben Israel on GLEE, Hugh Normous on WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE, Cecil Greenblatt on MTV’s WARREN THE APE and the voice of Randy Pincherson on the animated show FISH HOOKS. He recently made a special cameo appearance in the award winning film TANGERINE currently streaming on Netflix.

John Cassaday is the Eisner Award winning artist best known for the acclaimed DC/Wildstorm series PLANETARY, co-created with Warren Ellis, and Marvel’s best-selling ASTONISHING X-MEN with Joss Whedon. In 2015 John illustrated the launch of the highly successful STAR WARS on-going comic series from Marvel. Cassaday's work has been exhibited in Hong Kong, New York City and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.

Mike Royer's career began assisting Russ Manning on various titles for Gold Key Comics, drawing stories for Warren magazines, and laying out 1/3rd of the first SPIDER-MAN animated series. He is best known as Jack Kirby’s inker on THE NEW GODS, THE DEMON, KAMANDI, MISTER MIRACLE, THE FOREVER PEOPLE, and SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN at DC Comics and CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE ETERNALS, DEVIL DINOSAUR, MACHINE MAN, 2001 A SPACE OSYSSEY, and BLACK PANTHER at Marvel Comics. For 21+ years Mike worked full time as a product designer/character artist for Disney Licensing and the Disney Store. Since 2001 he's done product design for a variety of clients and even found time for comics work with Steve Rude and others as well as record album covers.

As an author, illustrator, musician, art director, magician, designer, escape artist, filmmaker, pop-culture lecturer, and publisher, Steranko has cut a ferocious path through the entertainment arts. More than 150 innovations he created as artist-writer on Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D., CAPTAIN AMERICA, and X-MEN revolutionized the comics form and, as an illustrator, he painted a multitude of book covers, including 30 SHADOW paperbacks.

A legendary and prolific artist whose career as a penciler and (mainly) inker spans the Forties to the Eighties, Joe Giella is currently celebrated as the oldest living Classic Batman artist. Although his art has graced the pages of early comic book publishers Hillman, Ace Magazines, American Comics Group, St. John, and Dell Comics, he has spent most of his career at Timely/Marvel Comics and especially DC Comics. He is also known for his syndicated newspaper comic strip art on FLASH GORDON, MARY WORTH, SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE PHANTOM, and BATMAN. In 2006 the US Postal Service honored Joe by using his artwork for two postage stamps as part of the DC Super-Heroes Collection, and he has been the winner of the prestigious Ink Pot Award in 1996 and the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Harvey Award.

A prolific and popular multi-media author, Peter David began his career in the mid-Eighties. His work for Marvel includes: numerous SPIDER-MAN titles, a ground breaking 12-year stint on THE INCREDIBLE HULK, and popular runs of X-FACTOR and CAPTAIN MARVEL. His writing for DC encompasses STAR TREK, SUPERGIRL, AQUAMAN, and THE PHANTOM, and his creator-owned titles include: FALLEN ANGEL, SACHS AND VIOLENS, and SOULSEARCHERS AND COMPANY. He has written many beloved STAR TREK books such as the NY Times bestseller IMZADI and the NEW FRONTIER series. His own novels include KNIGHT LIFE, HOWLING MAD, and the SIR APROPOS OF NOTHING, PULLING UP STAKES, and THE CAMELOT PAPERS series. His TV work spans BABYLON 5, SPACE CASES, and the animated BEN 10, YOUNG JUSTICE, X-MEN, and ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN. He has scripted and co-produced several films for Full Moon Entertainment and won the Eisner, Wizard, and GLAAD Media Awards.

Making a rare convention appearance for Big Apple Con, Sy Barry has earned worldwide fame as the artist for 33 years on THE PHANTOM newspaper strip for King Features, as well as his work on FLASH GORDON and TARZAN assisting his brother Dan. His diverse comic book work from the Forties to the early Sixties spans many genres, encompassing super-heroes, romance, science fiction, mystery, adventure, and westerns. His work on characters including The Phantom Stranger, Superboy, Hopalong Cassidy, Johnny Quick, and Rex the Wonder Dog are fondly remembered by generations of readers. Of special historical note he drew the promotional comic book MARTIN LUTHER KING AND THE MONTGOMERY STORY, which was a milestone during the Civil Rights Movement and has since been reprinted and cited in textbooks.

The amazing comics artist, graphic designer, and animator Esad Ribic hails from Croatia, where he graduated from the School of Applied Arts and Design in Zagreb. He began his European career in the early Nineties, contributing to the magazines PLAVI (Croatia) and GESPENSTER GESCHICHTEN (Germany). His film animation credits includes the series THE LITTLE FLYING BEARS and LAPITCH THE LITTLE SHOEMAKER. His work for the North American market began a few years later and includes: the series STRANGE ADVENTURES V.2, FOUR HORSEMEN, and FLINCH for DC/Vertigo and the graphic novel 24SEVEN for Image Comics. Most of his recent credits have been interior work and covers for Marvel Comics, such as: UNCANNY X-MEN, CABLE, X-MEN CHILDREN OF THE ATOM, THE BROTHERHOOD, THOR: GOD OF THUNDER, THE AVENGERS, LOKI, ULTIMATE COMICS: THE ULTIMATES, and SECRET WARS (2015).

A pioneer of female comic book artists, Ramona Fradon is among the most fondly remembered veterans of Comics’ Golden, Silver and Bronze Ages. A year prior to graduating from the Parsons School of Design in 1950 she was first published by DC Comics in GANG BUSTERS, and a year later she began an epic run as a defining artist of Aquaman in ADVENTURE COMICS and WORLD’S FINEST COMICS. Her other titles for DC included MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY, DETECTIVE COMICS, STAR-SPANGLED WAR STORIES, PLASTIC MAN, FREEDOM FIGHTERS, and SUPER FRIENDS, but she is best known for co-creating with writer Bob Haney the kooky fan-favorite METAMORPHO. In 1980 she took over as artist on the popular newspaper strip BRENDA STARR for 15 years, during which time it was adapted to the Silver Screen. In 2012 she wrote and drew a delightful children’s book, THE DINOSAUR THAT GOT TIRED OF BEING EXTINCT.

Arthur "Zombie King" Suydam is an award winning artist for The Walking Dead, Marvel Zombies, Deadpool, Black Panther (cover artist), Army of Darkness, and much more. Suydam’s work for the smash hit series Marvel Zombies helped prompt an international Pop-Culture zombie phenomenon. Recent awards include: The Spike TV Scream Award (best writer, best artist, best comic of the year), the prestigious, Spectrum Gold Award for Institutional Art , The San Sebastian Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award, U.O.M.E.S Lifetime Achievement Award and numerous fan-site favorite awards across the globe. Suydam and contemporary Richard Corben are credited with first introducing fully painted sequential art to mainstream comics in the 70s and 80s to American comic book audiences.

New Jersey native Reilly Brown is a fan-favorite comic book artist and writer for Marvel and DC Comics, known for bringing a sense of character and personality to the projects that he works on, balancing a combination of light-hearted humor with fast paced superhero action. These talents have been on full display in the pages of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, INCREDIBLE HERCULES, LOBO, and many others, perhaps most notably DEADPOOL, Marvel's infamous, rapid-healing, Merc-With-A-Mouth! He is also a pioneer in digital storytelling, utilizing new ways of making comics for tablets and smart phones with his creator-owned series POWER PLAY via Comixology, as well as several stories for Marvel, including DEADPOOL: THE GAUNTLET, and SLAPSTICK. Reilly currently draws the comic OUTRAGE, which can be read for free on the Line Webtoon website. Check out the ADVENTURES OF DASH HUDSON at https://www.ghostekproducts.com/dash
www.ReillyBrownArt.com
To purchase original artwork, contact his art rep Anthony Snyder:
http://www.anthonyscomicbookart.com/artistgalleryroom.asp?artistid=1172

Michael Golden is a legend in the comic book industry, but one that has never stopped adding to his legacy as a storytelling professional. Co-creator of the X-men's Rogue character, Spartan X and Bucky O'Hare, Michael is known worldwide for his groundbreaking work on "The Nam, Micronauts, G.I. Joe Yearbook, Dr. Strange, among much more. Golden's work can be seen on covers from The Walking Dead, Marvel Civil War, Rom, Micronauts, Spawn, Nightwing, Iron Man, Heroes for Hire, Exiles, Demon's Regret, Spiderman, Vampirella, Captain American, The Punisher, The Hulk, as well as numerous other titles.

Bob Camp is the world famous co-creator of the hit sensation, THE REN AND STIMPY SHOW. His work on the groundbreaking animated series was nominated for two Emmys, a Cable Ace award, and an Annie Award. He wrote many popular songs for the show including “Happy Happy Joy Joy”, “Log”, and “The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen Anthem”. This beloved cartoonist/illustrator, writer, storyboard artist, designer, director and producer has worked on many TV series and feature films for such studios as Warner Brothers, Fox, and Nickelodeon. Bob first came to national acclaim as an illustrator at Marvel Comics on many comic titles including: G.I. JOE, CRAZY MAGAZINE, MARVEL AGE, BIZARRE ADVENTURES, SAVAGE TALES, CONAN THE BARBARIAN and THE ‘NAM. He has also done covers, comics and editorial illustrations for FAMILY WEEKLY MAGAZINE, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, and NATIONAL LAMPOON. Bob is presently developing concepts for film, TV, gaming and the Internet.

J. David Spurlock is an award-winning author, historian, educator, artists’ rights advocate, documentary filmmaker and associate to star talents Frank Frazetta, Basil Gogos, Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Joe Kubert, Carmine Infantino, Julius Schwartz, and many more. In 2012, Spurlock was appointed Director of the Wallace Wood Estate. Spurlock's recent book HOW TO DRAW CHILLER MONSTERS (Random House) was #18 on the Bookspan bestseller list. His IPPY Award-winning book, THE ALLURING ART OF MARGARET BRUNDAGE, has been universally acclaimed including by MTV and the Village Voice, who proclaimed it one of The Best of 2013. Additionally, Spurlock's works have been lauded by: the Eisner Awards, Rondo Awards, The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, National Public Radio, Time Out New York, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, the Hugo Awards, Locus Awards, and The Society of Illustrators. He has also funded multiple scholarships and has appeared in many documentaries, interviews, and speaking engagements.

Writer, editor, and color-artist Renee Witterstaetter is the author of "Nick Cardy: The Artist at War", "Excess: The Art of Michael Golden", "Tex: The Art or Mark Texeira", the children's book "Kerry and the Scary Things", "Dying for Action: The Life and Films of Jackie Chan", and "Nick Cardy: Wit-Lash", among many others. Renee began the comic phase of her career working on such titles as "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Superman", "Silver Surfer", "Conan The Barbarian", "The Punisher", and "Conan Saga".

Brian started his illustration career at Marvel Comics in 1994, working on popular characters such as the X-Men, Captain America and Fantastic Four. From 2001-2005, Brian produced over 25 custom comics for MLB & NBA franchises!

Billy Tucci is an award-winning cartoonist 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 and has sold more than 3 million comic books. He is also known for DC Comics’ SGT. ROCK, HARLEY’S LITTLE BLACK BOOK, and the Eisner Award Nominated story “Batman – Trick For The Scarecrow.” His earnest graphic novel retelling of the Christmas story, A CHILD IS BORN, has quietly turned into an international blockbuster after winning the Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award. 2018 sees the release of the all-new SHI-RETURN OF THE WARRIOR graphic novel, along with two new creator owned projects, ZOMBIE-SAMA!, APPALACHIAN APOCALYPSE, and several mainstream projects to be announced.
www.apostlearts.com
www.crusadefinearts.com

Neal Adams has been a driving force in comic art for over 50 years, beginning with Archie Comics, the BEN CASEY newspaper strip, and CREEPY & EERIE magazines before moving to DC Comics in 1967. There he blew fandom away with his amazing cover art and also his interiors for the Deadman strip in STRANGE ADVENTURES and Batman in THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD. His revolutionary art for The Dark Knight continued in BATMAN and DETECTIVE COMICS, where he created Ra's al Ghul, the League of Assassins, and Man-Bat with writer Dennis O'Neil. Adams and O'Neil’s award-winning work on GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW brought social relevance to comics. Adams’ art for Marvel included X-MEN and THE AVENGERS. His company Continuity Associates (now Studios) has produced many decades of comics, film/TV storyboards, and commercial art. He is currently back at DC working on various Deadman, Batman, and Superman titles.

Ivan Brandon is writer for a number of media, including film, television and video games. He is currently a writer on ABC's FOR THE PEOPLE and is arguably best known for his work in American comics where he co-created VS, BLACK CLOUD, DRIFTER, VIKING, THE CROSS BRONX, NYC MECH and the Eisner-nominated series 24SEVEN. He's worked for every major American comics publisher on books including BATMAN, NEMESIS, WOLVERINE, DOC SAVAGE, SECRET INVASION and FINAL CRISIS.

Graig Weich is an independent comicbook artist/writer/director (winner of HBO sponsored UAS Award) & featured in THE HUFFINGTON POST. Graig was poster artist for SPAWN #30 (Image Comics, Todd McFarlane, publisher: THE WALKING DEAD). Graig appeared on AMC’s COMIC BOOK MEN, ABC News 20/20, E! Howard Stern: https://youtu.be/AAxbN5PZyL0 . Graig’s Instagram hit 58,000 followers & 2.2 MILLION views on YouTube. Ice-T’s model-wife: Coco, showed Graig’s work (hitting a ½ MILLION views on Instagram) to 15 MILLION combined followers on her social media (drawing her as his SuperHeroine “CLEO” from his comic GEKIDO (B.Wilson). Cleo is licensed into an Action Figure (Phicen/TBLeague). Gekido stars: Cary Tagawa (MORTAL COMBAT/THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE), Adrianne Curry & Howard Stern’s Gary “Baba-Booey.” Marvel & DC Comics’ distributor signed Graig. Ask your Comic Store to order Gekido & Cleo (with seamless synthetic skin) in PREVIEWS MAGAZINE.
FOLLOW: www.BeyondComics.TV www.Instagram.com/GraigWeich www.FaceBook.com/Graig.Weich www.Twitter.com/BeyondComics www.YouTube.com/BeyondComicsTV

John Orlando's career began in 1994 as a penciling assistant for Rich Buckler at Visage Studios. His early works include: SYPHONS THE SYGATE STRATAGEM for Now Comics, ZAANAN for Mainstream Comics, and GENE RODDENBERRY’S THE UNIVERSE for Tekno Comics. In 1995 he was promoted to Production Manager for Visage Studios. In 1996-1998 he released his creator-owned CYBERGEN, THE INTRUDER, JOURNEY INTO MADNESS, and DOC BEHEMOTH with Roy Thomas. In 2012-2013, with the help of Joe Martino he released his creator-owned Underground series, FHA-Q. John Orlando now works with Jonathan Miller and his wife Jill Orlando at Macrospasm Studios NYC. His earlier works have been collected into the VISAGE STUDIOS ANTHOLOGY and FHA-Q trade paperbacks. Other current and upcoming titles include HUMANS, MONSTERS, U.S. PRESIDENTS AND OTHER HISTORICAL TYPES, and MONSTER MEMES STICKERS.

British penciler, inker, and painter Glenn Fabry’s first professional comic strip work at age 15 was “Jackinblack” in STRANGLED, the fan club magazine for the Rock band THE STRANGLERS. In 1984 he started work on “Slaine” in 2000AD, and was published in other British comics including CRISIS, A1, DEADLINE, REVOLVER, THIRD WORLD WAR, and JUDGE DREDD THE MEGAZINE. After working pre-production for Paramount Pictures, his first American job was the cover for HELLBLAZER #52 for DC in 1992. He married Nikki in 1993, and they have two children, Tom and Kitty. He painted his first PREACHER cover in 1995 and his last for the acclaimed series in 2002. His other US credits, for covers and interiors, include THOR: VIKINGS, THE SPECTRE, JAMES BOND, UNITY, BLOODSHOT REBORN, PREDATOR VS. JUDGE DREDD VS. ALIENS, THE AUTHORITY, NEVERWHERE, and THE SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS. He won the 1995 Eisner Award for Best Cover Artist.

Artist, writer, and musician Timothy Truman burst onto the comics scene in the early Eighties with GRIMJACK for First Comics and SCOUT and SCOUT: WAR SHAMAN for Eclipse. Among his Marvel credits are KA-ZAR: THE GUNS OF THE SAVAGE LAND and MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS, and his later DC work includes HAWKWORLD, JONAH HEX: TWO-GUN MOJO, and JONAH HEX: RIDERS OF THE WORM AND SUCH. His acclaimed historical graphic novels TECUMSEH! and WILDERNESS: THE TRUE STORY OF SIMON GIRTY will be followed by SCOUT: MARAUDER which starts this month on Kickstarter, even as Studio 8 just renewed its option to develop SCOUT as a feature film! Truman’s band The Dixie Pistols dropped a flexi-disc 45 into SCOUT #19, and in the Nineties he drew Grateful Dead CD covers, posters and t-shirts, and illustrated songs in GRATEFUL DEAD COMIX and the GRATEFUL DEAD ALMANAC. He’s currently recording with the Terry Strongheart Band.

Danny Fingeroth was the longtime editorial director of Marvel's SPIDER-MAN comics line and writer of comics featuring SPIDER-MAN, IRON MAN, and other iconic characters. He’s the author of SUPERMAN ON THE COUCH: WHAT SUPERHEROES REALLY TELL US ABOUT OURSELVES AND OUR SOCIETY and DISGUISED AS CLARK KENT: JEWS, COMICS, AND THE CREATION OF THE SUPERHERO. Danny was Director of Education at MoCCA and created innovative programming for Wizard World conventions from 2013-2017. He was an Eisner Awards judge in 2017 and an NCS Graphic Novel judge in 2018. Fingeroth is a consultant to Will Eisner Studios and to the “Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes” exhibition, opening April 21 at MoPop in Seattle. Danny is writing a biography of Stan Lee for St. Martin’s Press, due out in 2019. He has spoken and taught on comics-related topics at Columbia University, the Smithsonian Institution and many other venues. For more: www.dannyfingeroth.com

The multi-talented James T. Sherman is a: comic book artist, political cartoonist, books and magazines illustrator, sequential narrative graphic artist, and a storyboard artist for TV & movies. His pencils, inks, and coloring for interiors and covers have been published by many companies including: DC, Malibu, First, Image Comics and Dynamic Forces, Harvey Pekar, Archie, Marvel, Eclipse, and Now.
He became an instant fan-favorite for his beloved run on SUPERBOY & THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES. His numerous credits include: ADVENTURE COMICS, ALL-NEW COLLECTORS’ EDITION, AMERICAN FLAGG!, AMERICAN SPLENDOR, THE BEST OF DC, BLOOD SYNDICATE, BLUE RIBBON COMICS, CRAZY MAGAZINE, HARDWARE, ICON, KATO OF THE GREEN HORNET II, THE PUNISHER, STAR TREK, STAR WARS, THE TARZAN FAMILY, THE VIGILANTE, WEIRD WESTERN TALES, ALPHA FLIGHT, CLASSIC X-MEN, EPIC ILLUSTRATED, THE DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU, DREADSTAR, THE FLY, HOUSE OF MYSTERY, and KAMANDI.

Mark Schultz is an American cartoonist, illustrator and author who works with varying combinations of pictures and words, depending on the story. His interest in adventure fiction and the sciences led him to create his award-winning XENOZOIC comics series. He has illustrated a collection of Robert E. Howard’s CONAN OF CIMMERIA and written the science primer THE STUFF OF LIFE: A GRAPHIC GUIDE TO GENETICS AND DNA, as well as scripted a four year run on SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL. His illustrated novella, STORMS AT SEA, was released in 2015. Currently, he writes the adventures of PRINCE VALIANT for the Sunday funnies, produces cover images and commissions, and is hard at work on a new XENOZOIC story.

Born in Osaka, Japan, legendary artist Toshio Maeda is a true pioneer of the Hentai (erotic or perverted) genre of Manga. Prolific in the 1980s and ’90s, some of his many credits include: KAITEN ARASHI, AKURYO SHIMA, YOKUBO NO RINBU, BANQUET OF DESIRE, FUUUN KUROZUKIN, CHI NO WANA, BLACK BOARD JUNGLE, ONI GARI, and KAIRAKU SHIGOTONIN. Several of Maeda’s works have been used as a basis for Original Video Animations (OVA) including LA BLUE GIRL, ADVENTURE KID, DEMON BEAST INVASION, DEMON WARRIOR KOJI, and his most infamous work, UROTSUKIDOJI: LEGEND OF THE OVERFIEND.

Born in 1971 Bulgaria, Alex Maleev went to the High School of Arts and his first comics work was published there in the early Nineties in the magazines RIKS and RIKO, with his strips “Godan” and “The Carthel of Dead”. In 1995 he moved to the U.S. and enrolled in the Joe Kubert School for four months before swiftly finding work here with publishers such as: DC, Valiant, Dark Horse, Kitchen Sink, Image, and most frequently Marvel. Some of his many credits include: DAREDEVIL, BATMAN, HALO: UPRISING, THE CROW, HELLBOY, AVENGERS, SPIDER-WOMAN, SCARLET, MOON KNIGHT, STEVEN KING’S THE DARK TOWER, SAM AND TWITCH, ALIENS VS. PREDATOR, and SUPERMAN VS. PREDATOR. He’s won the Russ Manning Award in 1996 for Most Promising Newcomer and the Eisner Award for best ongoing series in 2003. He lives in Brooklyn. Contact his art rep Anthony Snyder to get on his show commission list: anthony@anthonysnyder.com

Sean Chen is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University where he received a Bachelor's degree in industrial design. He started his comics career after being discovered by Barry Windsor-Smith. He began his career at Valiant Comics, penciling their flagship title, X-O MANOWAR, as well as BLOODSHOT, HARBINGER and RAI and the FUTURE FORCE. His debut book, RFF #9, sold over 900,000 copies. After Valiant, he then moved on to Marvel Comics, where he drew IRON MAN for over three years. His other works include WOLVERINE, ELEKTRA, NOVA, and the maxi-series X-MEN: THE END. Chen also lends his talents to Marvel's Creative Services Division where he contributes to style guides and licensing art, including box cover illustrations for the Iron Man video game and various promotional items such as lunchboxes, t-shirts and posters.

When folks think of Scott Roberts, they think of PATTY-CAKE, or his more grown up graphic novel CLICK TRACK. His work also includes NICKELODEON and CARTOON NETWORK comics, and SPONGEBOB COMICS. Scott is the colorist and letterer for PRINCE VALIANT. With John Zakour he has two online strips: WORKING DAZE and MARIA’S DAY, and the graphic novel KID SPACE PATROL. With Eisner nominated writer Lee Nordling: ANDREW THE SEEKER and BELINDA THE UNBEATABLE. Scott too holds a few Eisner and Ignatz nominations. He wrote THE TROUBLING STONE, and the Kindle books: THE KING’S WINGS and THE KING’S BIRTHDAY.

Writer/Performer Elaine Lee wrote the graphic novel and subsequent series STARSTRUCK (illustrated by Mike Kaluta), which was originally published in 1982 in serialized form in the Spanish ILLUSTRACION+COMIX INTERNACIONAL and later in HEAVY METAL in the US. It was first collected as MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #13 and continued as an ongoing series under the Epic imprint. It was based on her earlier NYC Off-Broadway science fiction comedy play. In 1987 Lee and Kaluta spun STARSTRUCK off as the series GALACTIC GIRL GUIDES for Comico, and it was revived and expanded in later editions by Dark Horse Comics and IDW. Lee has also written a variety of titles for DC, Dark Horse, and other publishers, including: INDIANA JONES AND THE SPEAR OF DESTINY, PRINCE VALIANT, RAGMAN, and VAMPS.

Jim Salicrup is Editor-in-Chief of Papercutz, the company devoted to publishing great graphic novels for all ages: ARIOL, DREAMWORKS TROLLS, GERONIMO STILTON, GUMBY, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA, MANOSAURS, THE LOUD HOUSE, THE ONLY LIVING BOY, SMURFS, and more. Plus two imprints: Super Genius (HIGH MOON, Neil Gaiman titles, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, TRISH TRASH, THE WENDY PROJECT, THE JOE SHUSTER STORY, and more) and Charmz (CHLOE, THE SCARLET ROSE, and more). Jim worked at Marvel Comics for twenty years, editing SPIDER-MAN (with Todd McFarlane), X-MEN (with Claremont & Byrne), FANTASTIC FOUR (with John Byrne), IRON MAN, and more, including MARVEL AGE. Jim wrote SPIDEY SUPER STORIES, TRANSFORMERS, VISIONARIES, the SPIDER-MAN Child Abuse Prevention comic, THE A-TEAM, KOOL-AID MAN, the Marvel toilet paper, and more. Jim was also Editor-in-Chief at Topps Comics, Senior Writer/Editor for Stan Lee Media, and a Trustee for MoCCA, the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art.

Mike Diana was born in Geneva, New York in '69, and moved with his family to Florida in '78. As a teen, his art got more warped in the Southern surroundings, so at age 17 he started making zines of his comics. In '89 he started BOILED ANGEL, a zine that would get him charged with obscenity for issues #7 and #8. He ended up world famous, in jail, and then on probation, so he escaped to NYC in '96 to pursue his art free of the Florida law. His comix have also been published in many titles including: SUPERFLY, FIREBRAT, and SLAUGHTERHOUSE COMIX. You can find his art via: http://mikedianacomix.com/boiledangel.html

Dan Fogel is a leading authority and historian of Underground, Alternative, and Adult comic books. He is the author and publisher of the 2006 FOGEL'S UNDERGROUND COMIX PRICE GUIDE, its 2010 SUPPLEMENT, and the current FOGEL'S UNDERGROUND PRICE & GRADING GUIDE V.1: Underground Comix, which is the industry standard for retailers, collectors and investors. His companies Fogelcomix, Hippy Comix, and Apex Novelties have published dozens of titles and helped keep classic Underground Comix art in print including several remastered collections of work by R. Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, and Spain Rodriguez. His writing, editing, and publishing career began in the early '90s with Larry Welz's best-selling line of books starring CHERRY (POPTART). When he's not making and/or selling comic books and books about comic books he's also the art agent for Dan O’Neill and Ted Richards of the notorious Air Pirates Studios, and the licensing agent for Dana Crumb Associates.