We are still confirming guests. Please check back often to see the latest information.
Featured Guests
Comics editor and writer Will Dennis
Dennis is a graduate of Ithaca High School and the Park School of Communications at Ithaca College.
He was an editor at Vertigo/DC Entertainment for more than fifteen years, specializing in genre fiction comics and graphic novels.
His award-winning titles include 100 Bullets, Y: The Last Man, Scalped, DMZ, Joker
and many more.
Since then, he has worked as a freelance editor for Image Comics, comiXology, and DC Entertainment.
He was the editor for the book Where We Live, A Benefit for the Survivors in Las Vegas.
He also wrote The Art of Jock for Insight Editions.
(Attending Saturday only)
Comics artist and writer Don Simpson
Don Simpson is best known as the creator of the satirical superhero series Megaton Man for Kitchen Sink Press and Image Comics,
the science fiction saga Border Worlds (collected by Dover in 2017), and Marvel’s one-shot CRAZY! reboot (2019).
A veteran of the 80s-90s indy movement, Don worked for every major comic book imprint in the late twentieth century
including Mirage Studios (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Image Comics (Splitting Image,
The Savage Dragon vs. Megaton Man, 1963), Fantagraphics (King Kong), and DC (Wasteland, Flash Annual,
Secret Origins, Action Comics Weekly). Under his Fiasco Comics imprint, Don self-published 17 issues of Bizarre Heroes,
a universe of characters surrounding the cast of Megaton Man. More recently, Don has been authoring his weekly prose novel,
The Ms. Megaton Man Maxi-Series, a sober but wry sci-fi take
on his imaginative universe. Most recently, Don teamed up with William Messner Loebs, Jason Moore, and Tom Orzechowski on
Victory Folks—The Golden Age Public Domain Supergroup in the newly-released YEET! Presents #50 in 2022.
Comics editor and writer Mike Gold
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 years. 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 Harvey Award Ceremony.
Comics writer Roger Stern
Roger Stern has written for radio, television, the stage, and the Internet, creating scripts for everything from sketch comedy to flash-animation.
For ten years, he was the senior writer of the Superman titles for DC Comics. Stern has written hundreds of stories about such diverse characters as Green Lantern,
Supergirl, Starman, the Atom, and the Justice League for DC Comics; and Spider-Man, Captain America, Doctor Strange, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man,
and the Avengers for Marvel. His first prose novel, The Death and Life of Superman, was a New York Times bestseller.
Featured Publisher: AHOY Comics
represented by
AHOY! Comics publisher Hart Seely
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.
(Attending Saturday only)
Cartoonist and AHOY Comics Chief Creative Officer Frank Cammuso
The creator/artist/writer of the Max Hamm: Fairy Tale Detective series, and of Knights of the Lunch Table,
Frank is also a political cartoonist. Frank and Hart’s short humor and satire 2007-Eleven And Other American Comedies was published by Random House in 1999.
(Attending Saturday only)
Inkpot Award-winning artist and writer Jamal Igle
Jamal is the artist on AHOY Comics' The Wrong Earth, and is also the creator, artist, and writer of Molly Danger published by
Action Lab Entertainment. He received the Inkpot Award for outstanding achievement in comic art in 2011.
Writer and AHOY Comics editor Tom Peyer
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)
AHOY Comics' Hart Seely, Tom Peyer, Frank Cammuso, and Jamal Igle
Featured Cosplay Guests: Garrison Excelsior
Garrison Excelsior is part of the 501st Legion of Imperial Stormtroopers,
a professional costuming group that takes great joy out of constructing movie
accurate costumes from the Star Wars Universe. Ithacon attendees have been amazed by their incredible costumes and droids for several years.
Be careful if you see a Jawa - they’re not to be trusted!
Star Trek guest
Actor and writer J. G. Hertzler
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.
Guests
Artist Miguel Amaro Santiago
(Attending Sunday only)
Artist and inker Bill Anderson
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.
Cartoonist Jim Brenneman
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.
Writer Caytlyn Brooke
whose YA novel Dark Flowers is available from BHC Press.
Caytlyn 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.
Artist and graphic designer Pete Carlsson
Pete studied with Joe Kubert at the the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art
and stuck around to work closely with him on PS Magazine for the U.S. Army and other projects as Senior Art Director
of Tell-A-Graphics until Kubert's death in 2012. Now residing in Ithaca, Pete continues to work as a graphic designer;
among his recent projects, he designed the IDW Captain Action Classic Collection.
Publisher Tyler Chin-Tanner
Author Tom Clark
Cartoonist and Horror/Halloween artist from Cortland NY Jim8ball
When he was last at ITHACON, Jim provided the shortest bio. This year, he's making up for it:
"I'm a grumpy middle aged cartoonist from upstate NY. I'm an artist by trade, was once an actor, I've buried a real dead person in a cemetery,
and in 2023 I will be holding my 40th annual Chiller Haunted House in my driveway. Since I'm an antisocial person who tends to stay locked in his
room drawing all of the time, COVID didn't change my life change much.
I'm trying to get back out there doing shows and interacting as best I can but all of you people give me the shivers!
I love Halloween! For me, that is the end of the year because on November 1st I start to count down to next Halloween.
I like anything scary and I love the Haunted Mansion at Disney World. As a matter of fact, I love Disney World. So sue me.
I can't get enough of the place and it's the only reason I'll get on an airplane and fly.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go chase some kids off my lawn!"
Comic book artist and fantasy illustrator Steve Ellis
Steve, as an artist and story developer, has worked with companies such as Marvel Comics, DC Comics,
Dark Horse Comics, Wizards of the Coast, and Blizzard Entertainment. He has worked on two award-winning graphic novel series,
High Moon and The Only Living Boy, with an upcoming follow-up series The Only Living Girl in the works.
Steve has also been teaching in the illustration department at Syracuse University for over ten years.
Artist Andy Finkle
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.
Superman comic strip archivist Sid Friedfertig
(Attending Saturday only)
Comics journalist Bob Harrison
columnist and Head Comic Reviewer at Pop Culture Squad.
Artist Keith Haugen
A former student of the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic art, Keith's credits include Ghost Investigator by Spirited Comics,
Hudson Valley Zombie Apocalypse by Eagle Press, and Yellow Squad by RATO Illustrated. Keith also has a self-publishing project in the works,
WTF (What The Freak) Comix Anthology.
Comics editor and writer Tyler Jennes
A 2021 graduate of Ithaca College, Tyler Jennes is an assistant editor, working with Will Dennis
for the past two years on comic titles by creators
such as Jeff Lemire, Rick Remender, Brian Azzarello, Jason Aaron, and Scott Snyder. You can check out what he's currently working
on at Snyder's Substack newsletter, Our Best Jackett. The Most Important Comic Book on Earth, an environmental
benefit anthology featuring his first written works, was released internationally in late 2021.
PM Press publisher Ramsey Kaanan
PM Press publishes around 35 titles a year, including a whole range of books (and pamphlets) on comic art, graphic art, and the like.
They have published several books by Peter Kuper, Eric Drooker, as well as numerous graphic novels, comic books, and work by artists such as
Banksy, N.O.Bonzo and the like, as well as a range of SF work from the likes of Ursula K. Le Guin, Meg Elison, Nisi Shawl, Kim Stanley Robinson,
and Marge Piercy. As of March 2023, they are the new owners of
Autumn Leaves Used Books on the Ithaca Commons.
Comics creator Aaron Lee
Aaron is an artist who has had a wide range of experience, working both traditionally and digitally by doing
illustration, graphic design, and package design. He has also written several comic series, including Prizza’s Pizza: Son of a Prizzaman,
Wesley the Robot, and The Creep of the Crop.
Horror author Kevin Lucia
Author of the Clifton Heights series
set in the Adirondacks. Kevin's 2020 novel Mystery Road is available from
Cemetery Dance Publications
Artist Shane Moore
Shane is the artist for Electromagnetic Press' Flagship book The OMENS. A “Jack of all trades”, Shane has worked out
story ideas, pencils, inks, greytones, and letters for the soon to be released Omens graphic novel.
(Attending Sunday only)
Illustrator Joe Orsak
Joe is a Syracuse comic book artist and graphic designer. In addition to doing illustrations for AHOY Comics, he is noted
as the creator of Captain 'Cuse, a comic strip in local newspapers in the 1980s. In 2008 Joe teamed up with Doug Brode to create a new comic
strip Salt City in the Syracuse New Times.
The duo teamed up again to create graphic novels for McFarland & Company: Yellow Rose Of Texas, The Myth of Emily Morgan, and
Virgin Vampires, or Once Upon a Time in Transylvania.
Twilight Zone expert Nick Parisi
The author of the definitive book on Rod Serling,
Rod Serling: His Life, Work, and Imagination,
Parisi serves as president of the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to
preserving and promoting Rod Serling’s legacy. He is a former staff writer and editor for Good Times magazine in Long Island.
He is also a musician and vocalist. In 2010, his former band, Arioch, released a CD with the Serling-inspired title Between
Light and Shadow on Retrospect Records.
Author Megan J. Parker
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 has gained international recognition and has been a bestseller in paranormal romance and dark fantasy.
Scarlet Night was a runner up for 2013’s Best New Series Award on the blog Paranormal Craving. She is a three time USA Today bestselling author for her works
Riding on Fumes, New Moon, and Gilded Revenge.
In 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.
Along with her literary career, she is finally fulfilling her dream of owning a design company at EmCat Designs.
Artist Rob Piecuch
(Attending Sunday only)
Watercolorist Regan Ralston
Regan, also known as the Witch of Whimsey, is an Ithaca watercolorist who creates whimsical art inspired by witchcraft and magic. One popular series of her works is the “Witch Aesthetic”
series, which focuses on how witches get by in the world.
Fan artist Joseph Schichtel
Game designers Harold Sipe and Meg Stivison
Harold and Meg designed and developed games such as Takeout: The Card Game and The Caption Action Card Game, under their indie game design
studio Small Monsters Games. In addition, Harold Sipe has worked as a designer and manager with companies such as
GoComics, Paramount Pictures, National Geographic, and Merscom. Meg Stivison has also worked as a writer, providing
freelance journalism and contributing her writing to Indie Game Magazine.
Author Nathan Squiers
USA Today bestselling author Nathan Squiers resides in upsate New York with his loving wife and fellow author
Megan J. Parker, two incredibly demanding demons wearing cat-suits, and a pair of “fur baby” huskies.
When he isn’t dividing his time between writing or “nerding out” over comics, anime, or movie marathons,
he’s chasing dreams of amateur body building.
If he can’t be found in a movie theater, comic shop, or gym, chances are “the itch” has driven him into the chair at a
piercing/tattoo shop... or he’s been “kidnapped” by loving family or friends and forced to engage in an alien task called “fun.”
His Crimson Shadow series has gained international recognition and has been a bestseller in urban fantasy and dark fantasy.
His novel Curtain Call won best Occult & Paranormal Thriller in the 2013 Blogger Book Fair Awards.
Artist Emily Swan
Emily is an artist currently focusing on logo and avatar illustration. In addition, she hosts Twitch streams
with a focus on art, which features several series such as Doodle Crew and Sketching Shakespeare.
Emily’s art has also been featured in published works, including Red Stylo Media’s 27 Club Anthology
and THE STRIP, A Twisted Vegas Comic Anthology.
(Attending Sunday only)
Artist Burton Taylor
Burton has exhibited his art at ITHACON before; this year he is joined by his daughter Nikara Taylor, representative of Shamans Crossing.
At thirteen years old she has learned the ancient art of making chainmaille and placed a modern twist on it using
her own designs and modern materials. Stop by the table and check out the items!
Voice actor Hunter Taylor
Artist Cayetano Valenzuela
Ithaqa comic writer Michael Watson
Michael writes the comic series Ithaqa, which is set in Ithaca during the roaring 20’s.
Readers with an attention for historical detail
will appreciate the faithful recreations of the Wharton Silent Film Studios, Cornell University,
and underground speakeasies of Ithaca, NY, all used as backdrops for a story that takes place at the beginning of
Prohibition and Women’s Suffrage.
Artist Ken Wheaton
Ken has worked on many TV tie-in comics such as the official adaptation of
Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, and Simpsons comics, contributing to Bart Simpson's Manual of Mischief, vol.2
in the "Vault of Simpsonology" series. He drew several issues of IDW's Popeye series,
and is currently working on a creator-owned project, The Doomsday Brigade.
Artist Brandon Whipple
Brandon, often seen under the monicker of Illustronics, is a traditional and digital illustrator.
Developing a unique style through decades of freelance illustration and comic
art creation, Brandon brings numerous characters from various geekdoms to life with his own twist.
Never content to rest on his laurels, Brandon is constantly developing and growing his art style through
exploration of new tools and techniques.
In addition to his story and art contributions, Brandon also acted as assistant editor
and contributing cover artist for the anthologies of Robots and Monster Carnival.
Artist and colorist Glenn Whitmore
Glenn is an artist and digital colorist who has worked for Marvel, DC, Big Bang, TwoMorrows, Rude Dude,
Archie, and Moonstone, and is currently working for Dark Horse. He was the colorist on many of the Death of Superman issues, and will be the judge for
the Coloring Contest at ITHACON 46!
Science fiction and Fantasy author J. Scot Witty
An adventurous soul having hiked across the United States in his early life, J. Scot Witty became rooted in ideas rather than places.
With a fascination for words, storytelling became second nature at a young age. He has created new worlds in his writing with a strong focus and
preoccupation on character building. Currently living in Ithaca NY, when not writing, Witty enjoys time with his wife and children, and playing fantasy role-playing
games with the local children at the elementary schools.
Artist Ed Yancey
(Attending Sunday only)
Last updated April 18, 2023