Guests

Represented this year by Publisher Hart Seely, Chief Creative Officer Frank Cammuso, and Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer.

Attending Saturday only

Bill has inked hundreds of comics for Image, Mirage, Comico, DC, and Marvel Comics, including the Silver Surfer, Wolverine, Venom, and the X-Men. The first issue of his latest project, Crimson Storm, has been published, and the second issue is due out at any time.

Philip Bond is a British comic artist with credits including KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND, THE INVISIBLES, EVE STRANGER, and CUD: RICH AND STRANGE, a regular feature in the BLACK CROWN QUARTERLY. He is half of Off Register Press, where he is currently drawing the Britpop comic book GEEZER.

Jim is a Syracuse cartoonist, illustrator, painter and teaching artist who has created illustrations for books,, promotional items, character design, and much more. He has worked as a freelance artist, contributed cartoons to CNN, and taught art to children.

Caytlyn's YA novel Dark Flowers is available from BHC Press. She has been writing stories since she was young, imagining beautiful fairy tales and grand adventures. Yet as she grew up, she turned typical innocent creatures into lethal beings, shedding light on their darker tendencies. A graduate of U. Albany, she holds a degree in Psychology and studied how fear affects the mind and body. Living in Elmira, NY with her husband, two children, and an overweight tabby cat, she currently runs a daycare by day and writes dark fantasy/horror stories by night. She promises there are no kids buried in the backyard.

Frank Cammuso is the author/illustrator of the several graphic novel series. They include Edison Beaker Creature Seeker for Viking/Penguin, The Misadventures of Salem Hyde from Abrams/Amulet Books and Knights of the Lunch Table from Scholastic/Graphix. Cammuso is a professor of Comics & Sequential Illustration at Syracuse University.

Attending Saturday only.

Pete Carlsson wears many hats: art director, graphic designer, production manager, letterer, editor, and colorist. He got his start in comics almost 30 years ago working with Joe Kubert at the Kubert School. Today, he freelances with multiple publishers and creators on numerous comics and graphic novels. Pete designed a book called Young Men In Love, published by A Wave Blue World, which won Outstanding Original Graphic Novel Anthology at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards! He is excited for new projects and opportunities, both big and small.

Cosplaying as the 1960's Batman!

Co-Publisher: A Wave Blue World

From his early careers in teaching and humanitarian aid work, Tyler Chin-Tanner took the leap into his lifelong passion for comics, attending The Kubert School from 2003 to 2006 and co-founding AWBW with his wife Wendy in 2005. Publishing through AWBW, Tyler writes graphic novels including the New York Times featured American Terrorist and edits anthologies such as the New York Times featured All We Ever Wanted, art books like Punkrock* Jazz, and creator-owned projects including Jack The Radio: Creatures.

Speculative fiction author Thomas R Clark is a two-time Splatterpunk Award Nominee (Best Novella, 2021 for BELLA’S BOYS and Best Short Story, 2022 for FIREFLIES & APPLE PIES). His most recent release is IMMORAL DILEMMAS, a collection of Extreme horror. His journalism and entertainment critiques have appeared in Rue Morgue, Stranger With Friction, House of Stitched Magazine, This Is Infamous, and miscellaneous internet outlets. Tom lives in Central New York with his wife and their canine companions.

Chris Condon is the writer of the ongoing Image Comics series THAT TEXAS BLOOD with artist Jacob Phillips along with its Wild West spinoff, THE ENFIELD GANG MASSACRE, which was selected as one of the best comics of 2023 by The Hollywood Reporter, The Comics Journal, CBR, and The Comics Beat. He has also written for DC, Marvel, Z2, AfterShock, Mad Cave and Dark Horse. His most recent series is NIGHT PEOPLE, adapting the Barry Gifford novel for ONI Press.

Maegan Cook is a southern transplant in the New York finger lakes. She's an artist and author with many projects in the works. You can find her published books on Amazon; she also enjoys collaborating in zines and is working on a webcomic. When she isn't glued to a computer screen, she spends time working in the garden, catering to her dog's every whim, or taking long drives in the countryside with her family.

Storn is an artist, art teacher, and fantasy illustrator. His clients include AEG, Hero Games, and Wizards of the Coast.

Dave Dellecese is a writer and author of children’s books, graphic novels, comics, and more.​ ​He is the co-creator and writer of the all-ages graphic novel series Lacey & Lily from Darby Pop Publishing, co-creator and writer of the adult comedy series Holidaze, has written prose for AHOY Comics, is the author of the children’s picture books The Little Lamp and Lucy and the Ghost take the Stage, as well as the WWII Christmas tale, Frank the Barber.​ ​A former journalist and news anchor, he has lent his voice to The Brass Lantern old time radio adventure podcast playing former reporter-turned private investigator, Wam Dixon, and has voiced characters in the video game Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries.  

Andy has a public access show that features a puppet that draws pictures. The puppet's name is E. L. Fink and he'll be there to draw pictures.

Stephen Saperstein Frug came to Ithaca for a Ph.D. and just stayed. He is the author and illustrator of Happenstance, a photo-based graphic novel of which SF writer Samuel R. Delany said "It’s among the best graphic novels around; and certainly the best photocomic I’ve ever read” and cartoonist Barry Deutsch said “As a rule, I don’t like photo comics. Stephen Frug’s Happenstance is the wonderful exception… a unique graphic novel that everyone who likes smart comics should read.” So you should read it! Frug is also the author of a number of things which, sadly, are just text and have no pictures at all, and thus won’t get a shout-out here, but feel free to come by his table in the dealer’s hall and ask. He lives in Ithaca where he is writing more words, and all-too-rarely making pictures.

Gold co-founded First Comics in 1983. serving as president and editing several of their titles. He later became a senior editor and Director of Editorial Development at DC Comics. In 2006, he co-founded Comic Mix and published columns there for 11 ears. He currently is a columnist at Pop Culture Squad. Outside of comics, Gold co-founded The National Runaway Switchboard and has worked for many social causes involving drug education, sex education and youth. In 2011. Mike was awarded the Hero Initiative's first Humanitarian Award at the Baltimore Comic-Con's Harvev Award Ceremony.

SHP was founded by Shawn Hainsworth in 2021. He wanted to bring his thought-provoking screenwriting into the world of comics and enlisted the help of some world class talents. SHP already has 3 acclaimed series coming to comic shops in the fall with a brand new adventure slated for 2025.

Bob Harrison is a lifelong fan of Comic Books, fantasy, and sci-fi storytelling. He is a comics journalist, interviewer, and historian. He is the Editor at PopCultureSquad.com and is the co-host of the Pop Culture SquadCast.. He strives to craft interviews with a conversational style to elicit interesting stories from guests about their history and creative process. He is also an accomplished comic convention programming coordinator and panel host.

Keith Haugen, a former student of the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic art, is an artist from the Albany, NY area. His published credits include: Shriek #1 & #2 by FantaCo Enterprises, Ghost Investigator #1 by Spirited Comics, Hudson Valley Zombie Apocalypse, GN by Eagle Press, Argo5 38 by Argo Comics, Quandary Magazine #1. Keith also has a self-publishing project: WTF (What The Freak) Comix Anthology. Along with his published credits, Keith has also produced numerous commissions, prints, and other assorted art.

Best known for his portrayal of the Klingon officer General Martok from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Hertzler has appeared as several different characters in various Star Trek series and provided voices for multiple Star Trek computer games. He has also co-written two Star Trek novels, The Left Hand of Destiny: Book 1 and Book 2. In addition to his Star Trek-related work, he appeared in 38 episodes of the 1991 Zorro TV series as Alcalde Ignacio de Soto, and in many other TV series.

Kevin Lucia's short fiction has been published in many venues, most notably with Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, David Morell, Peter Straub, Bentley Little, and Robert McCammon. His first novel, The Horror at Pleasant Brook, was published by Crystal Lake Publishing, October 2023.

The OlderNDumber podcast is the story of three dumb friends just trying to make it on this planet we call Earth! We're a comedy, just chatting podcast that dip our toes in a variety of pop culture topics on every episode. From video games to Dungeons & Dragons, movies, music, and TV, we probably chat about it and how it moves us. Made up of artist Joey Schichtel, voice actor Hunter Taylor, streamer, photographer, and editor May Piazza, and local business owner Carter Ruttle, this group of friends each bring a unique perspective to the things that make geek culture great. You can tune in for new episodes every Friday on Youtube, Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to podcasts! 

Joe Orsak was inspired to become a comic book artist at the age of eleven by the artwork of JOE SINNOTT in TREASURE CHEST and JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY.  In 1982 Orsak launched a comic strip in the newspapers of Syracuse, NY, THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN 'CUSE.  The strip ran weekly for eight years.  Joe turned to sports comics in the 1990s, working on bios of MICKEY MANTLE, BROOKS ROBINSON and DUKE SNIDER for MAGNUM COMICS.  These books gave Joe the chance to work with his inspiration… Orsak's pencils were inked by Joe Sinnott!

In 2001 Orsak was picked by his friend ROGER STERN to pencil and ink a two-page tale for the 9-11 tribute book 9-11ARTISTS RESPOND for DARKHORSE.

In 2008 he returned to comic strips with SALT CITY, another strip about his hometown, this time with a female superheroine, written by Douglas Brode. The comic strip drew the attention of people at MCFARLAND and Co., who asked Joe and Doug to launch their line of graphic novels. Joe and Doug created YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS the Myth of Emily Morgan and VIRGIN VAMPIRES for MCFARLAND Inc.

Joe is now working with AHOY Comics doing illustrations in the third series of MY BAD and is also involved with new comic book projects for STELLAR COMICS

Nick Parisi is the celebrated author of Rod Serling: His Life, Work and Imagination and a leading authority on Rod Serling. Nick has become a frequent guest lecturer at Ithaca College and we are grateful to welcome him back to ITHACON.

Megan J. Parker lives in upstate New York and is normally found lounging in the writing office with her husband and fellow author, Nathan Squiers. Since the debut of her first novel, Scarlet Night, Megan J. Parker has gained international recognition and has been a bestseller in paranormal romance and dark fantasy. In 2016 she became a USA Today bestselling author and has been on the list three times. On her down time, she likes reading and designing new logos and videos. Her passion for telling stories is portrayed in all her work and when there’s a story to tell, you can be sure she’ll tell it to its full extent. She is finally fulfilling her dream of owning a design company along with her literary career at EmCat Designs.

Best known for his revamp of the DC Comics' character Hourman, Peyer is currently writing The Wrong Earth and High Heaven for AHOY Comics.

Attending Saturday only

Executive Editor at Dynamite Entertainment

Hart Seely has written numerous books, including The Juju Rules: A Memoir of a Fan Obsessed (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012) and Mrs. Goose Goes To Washington (Simon & Schuster, 2007) He also edited several books of “found poetry,” including O Holy Cow: The Selected Verse of Phil Rizzuto (ECCO/Harpers, 1993) and Pieces Of Intelligence, the Existential Poetry of Donald Rumsfeld (Simon & Schuster, 2003). His works have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Slate, and on National Pubic Radio. He is publisher and co-founder of AHOY Comics, which has been making great comics since 2019.

Hart had to cancel due to a family emergency