Special Guests

The following special guests have been confirmed for Comic-Con International 2018.

Daniel José Older

Daniel José Older at Comic-Con International, July 19-22 at the San Diego Convention Center

Photo © Kevin Kane

Daniel José
Older

Author, Shadowshaper, Bone Street Rumba series

Daniel José Older is the author of the New York Times bestselling Shadowshaper, Star Wars Last Shot, the popular Bone Street Rumba urban fantasy series, and the upcoming middle-grade historical fantasy Dactyl Hill Squad. Daniel won the International Latino Book Award and has been nominated for the Kirkus Prize, the Mythopoeic Award, the Locus Award, the Andre Norton Award, and yes, the World Fantasy Award. Visit him online at DanielJoseOlder.net and follow him on Twitter@djolder.

Randy Reynaldo

Randy Reynaldo at Comic-Con International, July 19-22 at the San Diego Convention Center
Randy
Reynaldo

Writer/artist, Rob Hanes Adventures

Randy Reynaldo is the writer, artist, and creator of the long-running Rob Hanes Adventures, an independent comic book series published under Randy's WCG Comics imprint that debuted as a small press zine in the 1990s. The series is a contemporary comic book action-adventure series in the tradition of Will Eisner's Spirit and Milton Caniff's Terry and the Pirates that’s earned extensive coverage and numerous accolades from critics and industry trade publications. Issue 19 of the series will debut at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con where Randy has exhibited since 1993, as well as a fourth trade paperback volume compiling the series.

Trina Robbins

Trina Robbins at Comic-Con International 2018, July 19-23 at the San Diego Convention Center

Photo: Rachelle Steele

Trina
Robbins

Cartoonist, comics herstorian, Wimmin’s Comiz, Women and the Comics

Trina Robbins has been drawing and writing comics since 1966, when she drew comics for the East Village Other, New York’s iconic underground newspaper, while at the same time designing and selling clothes from her Lower East Side boutique, Broccoli. In 1970, she produced the very first all-woman comic book, It Ain't Me, Babe. In 1972 she was one of the founding mothers of Wimmin's Comix, the longest-lasting women's anthology comic book (1972–1992).

In the mid-1980s, tired of hearing publishers and editors say that girls don't read comics and that women had never drawn comics, she co-wrote (with catherine yronwood) Women and the Comics, the first of what would become a series of histories of women cartoonists.  She has been responsible for rediscovering previously forgotten early women cartoonists such as Nell Brinkley, Tarpe Mills, Barbara Hall, and Lily Renee.

In 1986 she became the first woman to draw a Wonder Woman comic book.

In 2013 Trina was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.  In 2017 she was inducted into the Wizard World Hall of Legends, and at the San Diego Comic-Con she received the Eisner Award for editing the two-volume reprint collection of The Complete Wimmin’s Comix.

R. A. Salvatore

R. A. Salvatore at Comic-Con International 2018, July 19-22 at the San Diego Convention Center
R. A.
Salvatore

Author, Forgotten Realms, Crimson Shadow, DemonWars series

Thirty years ago, R. A. Salvatore created the character of Drizzt Do’Urden, the dark elf who has withstood the test of time to stand today as an icon in the fantasy genre. His novels in the Forgotten Realms, Crimson Shadow, DemonWars, and other series, have sold more than thirty million copies worldwide and have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list more than two dozen times. He splits his time between Massachusetts and California, with his wife, Diane, and their three dogs, Ivan, Pikel, and Dexter. He still plays softball for his team, Clan Battlehammer, and enjoys his weekly DemonWars:RPG game.

Scott Shaw!

Scott Shaw! at Comic-Con International 2018, July 19-22 at the San Diego Convention Center
Scott
Shaw!

Cartoonist, Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew!; comics historian, Oddball Comics

For 47 years, Scott Shaw! has written and drawn underground comix (Fear and Laughter, Gory Stories Quarterly), kids’ comic books (Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew!, Sonic the Hedgehog, Simpsons Comics), comic strips (Bugs Bunny, Woodsy Owl), graphic novels (Annoying Orange), TV cartoons (Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies, The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley, Camp Candy), toys (McFarlane Toys’ line of Hanna-Barbera and Simpsons action figures), and advertising (Pebbles Cereal commercials starring the Flintstones). His work has garnered him four Emmy Awards, an Eisner Award, and a Humanities Award. Scott is also known for presentations of “the craziest comic books ever published,” Oddball Comics Live! (with a long-awaited book coming in Summer 2019 from TwoMorrows), and his regular participation in Quick Draw! with Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragonés. He was also one of the kids who created what is currently known as Comic-Con International: San Diego. His most recent projects have been illustrating Dark Horse’s How to Win at Life by Cheating at Everything!; designing, drawing, and art directing Play Tone LLC’s Marooned Lagoon, a children’s picture book; designing and illustrating the wraparound cover for Bear Manor’s Long Title: Looking for the Good Times—Examining the Monkees’ Songs, One by One; writing the introduction to photographer Greg Preston’s new collection of portraits of cartoonists in their studios, The Artist Within: Book 2—Behind the Lines; and art directing Topps’ Garbage Pail Kids mobile app game.

Jeff Smith

Jeff Smith at Comic-Con International 2018, July 19–22 at the San Diego Convention Center
Jeff
Smith

Cartoonist, BONE, RASL

We regret to announce that Jeff Smith will be unable to attend Comic-Con 2018.

William Stout

William Stout at Comic-Con International 2018, July 19-23 at the San Diego Convention Center
William
Stout

Artist, illustrator, The Dinosaurs, Legends of the Blues

William Stout illustrated Coven 13 while attending CalArts, then assisted Russ Manning on the Tarzan of the Apes newspaper strips and Eisner Award-winning graphic novels. Stout worked for Cycle-Toons and Car-Toons, joined Kurtzman and Elder on Playboy’s  "Little Annie Fanny," and collaborated with Will Eisner and Moebius.

An early American contributor to Heavy Metal, Bill created the advertising for Wizards and 120 other films, then worked as a designer on over 40 films including Buck Rogers, the Conan films, Predator, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Disney’s Dinosaur, Men In Black, Masters of the Universe, and Pan’s Labyrinth. Return of the Living Dead made him the youngest production designer in film history.

Ray Bradbury's Dinosaur Tales and The Little Blue Brontosaurus (1984 Children's Choice Award and the basis for The Land Before Time) followed Stout's groundbreaking The Dinosaurs—A Fantastic New View of a Lost Era. Michael Crichton acknowledged Stout's work as an inspiration for Jurassic Park. Stout has twelve prehistoric murals in the San Diego Natural History Museum and two more at the San Diego Zoo.

Stout co-founded the Comic Art Professional Society, designed their logo and was their tenth president. Over 24 million William Stout trading cards have been sold. Bill recently wrote and illustrated a story for Spook House and is the author-illustrator of Legends of the Blues. Stout has attended every single San Diego Comic-Con.

Larry Stroman

Larry Stroman at Comic-Con International 2018, July 19-22 at the San Diego Convention Center
Larry
Stroman

Writer, artist, Tribe; artist, Alien Legion, X-Factor

Larry Stroman grew up in Boston. He moved to New York City and spent the first few years as a street artist. In the mid 80s he did ghost work for Howard Chaykin, then work for DC and First Comics. After that he began a long run on Alien Legion then moved on to do a few one-shot Marvel books featuring Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Punisher, and Cloak and Dagger. He took on X-Factor in the early 90s and his most successful creator-owned book Tribe, with Todd Johnson. He’s still drawing and enjoying comics, and currently working on new Tribe art. 

Matt Taylor

Matt Taylor at Comic-Con International 2018, July 19-22 at the San Diego Convention Center
Matt
Taylor

Illustrator, Mondo posters, book covers

Matt Taylor is a British born illustrator and comic book artist. He has worked as a freelancer illustrator for the last fifteen years and his work can be seen on book covers—most notably his ongoing work with John le Carre—albums—including Scream from Michael Jackson—and his extensive movie poster work with Mondo. He has also worked with the likes of the New York Times, Lucasfilm, and Burton Snowboards amongst others.

His work in comics includes Wolf with Ales Kot from Image Comics, and covers for Vertigo, Dark Horse, BOOM!, and Archie Comics. He lives on the edge of the Sussex countryside on the south coast of the United Kingdom with his wife, daughter and cat.

Maggie Thompson

Maggie Thompson at Comic-Con International, July 19-22 at the San Diego Convention Center
Maggie
Thompson

Writer, editor, Comics Buyer’s Guide, Comic-Con’s Toucan blog

Award-winner Maggie Thompson recently came across a comic book that she’d bought when she was 3½, which means that that’s when she began collecting comic books. She and Don Thompson launched their Comic Art fanzine when she was 17. These days, she continues to collect, write, and edit in the course of a career that includes 30 years of Comics Buyer’s Guide and her current monthly contribution to Comic-Con’s Toucan blog, weekly post for Gemstone Publishing’s Scoop newsletter, and maintenance of her own www.maggiethompson.com website.

Peter J. Tomasi

Peter J. Tomasi at Comic-Con International, July 19-22 at the San Diego Convention Center
Peter J.
Tomasi

Writer, Superman, Batman and Robin, The Bridge

Peter J. Tomasi is a New York Times bestselling author known for his work on SupermanBatman and Robin, Green Lantern Corps, Detective Comics, Brightest Day, Superman/Wonder Woman, Batman Arkham Knight, Emerald Warriors, Nightwing, and many others. Over the course of his career with DC Comics, Peter also served as a group editor ushering in new eras for Batman, Green Lantern, and JSA, along with special projects like Kingdom Come. Peter is the author of the creator-owned books The Bridge (Abrams), House of Penance (Dark Horse), Light Brigade (Dark Horse), and The Mighty (Dark Horse).

Ron Turner

Ron Turner at Comic-Con International 2018, July 19-23 at the San Diego Convention Center
Ron
Turner

Publisher, Last Gasp

Ron Turner is the long-time proprietor of Last Gasp, the San Francisco based publisher of comix and books. He began publishing in 1970 with Slow Death Funnies, an ecological underground comic anthology, and immediately followed it with the first all-women underground comic, It Ain’t Me, Babe. He subsequently published Zap, Weirdo, Young Lust, and hundreds more titles over nearly 50 years in business. He’s studied engineering and experimental psychology, was a Peace Corps volunteer in Sri Lanka, worked as a railroad brakeman, tutored blind students in statistics, and managed a drive-in theater. He is married, has two children and three grandchildren.