Comic-Con 2019 will be held July 18-21 (with Preview Night on July 17) at the San Diego Convention Center. The following special guests are confirmed for this year's event.
Special Guests
Scott Shaw!
Cartoonist, comic historian, Captain Carrot, Oddball Comics
For forty-eight 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 (Shrek, 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), trading cards (Garbage Pail Kids), video games (also GPK), and advertising (Pebbles Cereal commercials starring the Flintstones). His work has garnered him four Emmy Awards, an Eisner Award, and a Humanitas Award. Scott also is known for his presentations of “the craziest comic books ever published”, Oddball Comics Live! (with a long-awaited Oddball Comics book coming in Summer 2020 from TwoMorrows) and his regular participation in Quick Draw! with Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragonés. He was also one of the kids who helped start what is currently known as Comic-Con International: San Diego. More info: www.shaw-cartoons.com
Barry Short
Former Comic-Con assistant executive VP
Barry Short attended his first San Diego Comic-Con in 1974, and he's been at every one since. In 1976, at the urging of Gene Henderson, he began volunteering, working first in security and running projectors. He directed the Masquerade in 1980, and then served as program director from 1981 to 1986. In 1983 and 1984 he served as assistant executive VP. He was also auctioneer for the Art Auction for close to 15 years in the ‘90s and beyond.
Barry was a comics retailer from 1986 to 2004, operating 21st Century Comics in Orange County, which was nominated for the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award.
Kevin Smith
Writer, director, Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot; comic writer, Daredevil, Green Arrow
Kevin Smith has been saying silly cinematic sh•t since his first film Clerks, released way back in 1994. He had a heart attack and almost died last year but survived solely so he could direct his magnum opus, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. A polygamist, he’s married to both his wife Jen and podcasting.
Scott Snyder
Photo: Mitchell Haddad
Writer, Batman, American Vampire, Wytches
Scott Snyder has written comics for both DC and Marvel, including the bestselling series American Vampire, Batman, and Swamp Thing, and is the author of the story collection Voodoo Heart (The Dial Press). His latest projects include Justice League, The Batman Who Laughs, Batman: Last Knight on Earth (all for DC), and Wytches (Image). He teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College, NYC and Columbia University. He lives on Long Island with his wife Jeanie, and his sons Jack and Emmett. He is a dedicated and un-ironic fan of Elvis Presley.
Mark Stadler
Comic-Con former VP
Mark Stadler has been involved with comic books as a fan, a Comic-Con organizer and a published writer. He has been a comic book fan for more than 50 years. He discovered the San Diego Comic-Con in 1972, and has attended all but one Comic-Con since. Mark joined the Comic-Con Committee in 1979 and was a member for 15 years, serving as board secretary, films coordinator and a vice president, among other positions. He wrote comics for two publishers in the 1980s. He created and wrote a feature titled “Hunter XX” for FantaSci, published by Apple Comics, and he wrote several issues of Hero Alliance, an Innovation Publishing title.
Steranko
Writer, artist, publisher, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain America
Steranko is one of the most controversial figures in contemporary culture, with careers as a musician, author, carnival fire-eater, publisher, male model, historian, magician, and designer. As an escape artist, his death-defying performances inspired the character Mister Miracle. Stan Lee hailed him as one of the prime architects of the Marvel Age. As writer-illustrator of Marvel’s X-Men, Captain America, and the co-creator of Nick Fury: Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D., he rocked the comic world with a revolutionary narrative approach that changed the medium—forever. Popular polls cite Steranko as the 5th Most Influential Comics Artist in the history of the form.
Brinke Stevens
Comic-Con volunteer; actress, author, director, Brinke of Destruction
Then known as Charlene Brinkman, Brinke Stevens got involved with Comic-Con in 1973. For many years she ran the Masquerade, while presenting elaborately choreographed dance numbers during intermission. For a decade, she modeled for her artist husband Dave Stevens as “Bettie” in The Rocketeer comics. Brinke later wrote and published her own comic book series, Brinke of Destruction, and a sci-fi novel, Dangerous Toys. She’s starred in 194 films to date, mostly fantasy, sci-fi and horror. She co-produced two documentaries, Shock Cinema and Something to Scream About, and also wrote and directed the movie Personal Demons (2018).
William Stout
Artist, Fantastic Worlds: The Art of William Stout
Comic Art Professional Society co-founder and tenth president William Stout has attended every Comic-Con. He’s assisted Russ Manning, Harvey Kurtzman, and Will Elder and collaborated with Moebius and Will Eisner. Fantastic Worlds: The Art of William Stout covers Bill’s 50-year career. Legends of the Blues is the first of three volumes.
Stout drew the Wizards poster. Film work includes both Conan movies, Predator, Masters of the Universe, Return of the Living Dead, and Pan’s Labyrinth. Bill’s dinosaur books inspired Jurassic Park and The Land Before Time. The Houston Museum of Natural Science, Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom, San Diego Natural History Museum, and the San Diego Zoo display Stout murals.
J. Michael Straczynski
Writer, producer, Babylon 5, Sense8; Author, Becoming Superman
J. Michael Straczynski has written hundreds of comics for DC, Marvel, Image, and others, created Babylon 5, co-created Sense8, received Eisner, Inkpot, Icon and Hugo Awards, penned Clint Eastwood’s Changeling, and wrote for such films as WWZ, Thor, and Underworld Awakening. He is head of the creative council for Artists, Writers and Artisans, the new comic company from Bill Jemas and Axel Alonso; worked in the writer’s room for the upcoming Kong vs. Godzilla feature film; is writing a series pilot for USA Network; and his autobiography, Becoming Superman, from HarperCollins Voyager, will debut here at Comic-Con.
Tui T. Sutherland
Photo: © Jeremy West
Author, Wings of Fire series
Tui T. Sutherland is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Wings of Fire series—Book #13: The Poison Jungle releases in June—and the graphic novel adaptation series—Book #2 released in February. She has also written the Menagerie trilogy and the Pet Trouble series, and she is a contributing author to the bestselling Spirit Animals and Seekers series. She lives in Massachusetts with her wonderful husband, two adorable sons, and two very patient dogs. More info: www.tuibooks.com
Sam Sykes
Photo: Libbi Rich
Author, An Affinity for Steel, Bring Down Heaven trilogy
Sam Sykes—author, citizen, mammal—has written extensively over the years, penning An Affinity for Steel, the Bring Down Heaven trilogy, Brave Chef Brianna, and now the Grave of Empires trilogy, starting with Seven Blades in Black (Orbit, April 2019). At the time of this writing, no one has been able to definitively prove or disprove that he has fought a bear.
Janet Tait
Photo: John Rogers
Former VP, Events
A former VP of Events for Comic-Con, Janet Tait ran films and programming in the 1980s and created Comic-Con’s first website in the early ‘90s. In 1989, she won an Inkpot Award for her contributions to comics fandom. She was also a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards in 1992.
Janet was married to longtime Comic-Con President John Rogers, who passed away from brain cancer in 2018.
Janet currently writes fantasy and science fiction and is the author of Cast into Darkness, an Amazon Top 100 bestseller in Urban Fantasy. She is hard at work on the sequel.