Comic-Con Special Edition will be held on November 26–28 at the San Diego Convention Center. The following special guests are confirmed for this year's event.
Special Guests
Henry Barajas
Author, La Voz De M.A.Y.O. Tata Rambo, Helm Greycastle
Henry Barajas is a Latinx author best known for his graphic memoir about his great-grandfather Ramon Jaurigue, La Voz De M.A.Y.O. Tata Rambo, and for Latinx fantasy Helm Greycastle. He has contributed to anthologies such as Where We Live and The Good Fight. Recently, Barajas wrote the Marvel/SOMOS Healthcare Avengers #1 to inspire the fine people of New York City and the Latinx community to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Ryan Benjamin
Artist, WildCats, X-Men, Iron Man, Batman Beyond
Ryan Benjamin is a professional artist who started his career in comics in 1994 with Image and Wildstorm. His credits include such top-selling comics as Brothers Bond, WildCats, Grifter, X-men, Star Wars, Iron Man, Grifter/Midnighter, Batman Beyond (#1 in the NY Times), Batman, and many more. Ryan’s current works include the Brothers Bond Board Game and his creator-owned comic, Spark. He also founded Comic Pro Boot Camp in 2019, where he teaches how to draw comics alongside top industry professionals.
Kevin Eastman
Co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Kevin Eastman co-created Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird as a small-press comic book starting in 1984. The Turtles quickly made the leap to other media and went on to star in multiple movies, animated TV series, and toy lines over the years. Kevin also owned Heavy Metal magazine for more than 20 years, until 2014, and he continued to serve as its publisher until 2020.
Greg Evans
Cartoonist, Luann
Greg Evans grew up near Disney Studios in Burbank and yearned to be an animator. Walt never called, so Greg got a credential at CalState Northridge and taught high school art in El Centro and, with his wife Betty, in Australia. Three kids, several jobs and numerous syndicate rejections later, Greg hit with Luann, a strip inspired by his daughter, Karen. In 2003, Greg received the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year. And in a perfect full-circle, Karen now co-writes the strip. "I'm glad Walt never called," says Greg.
Karen Evans
Writer, Luann
As a kid, Karen's silly antics inspired her dad, Greg, to create his Luann comic strip; as an adult, she tries to be a smidge more serious, conspiring with her dad as co-author of the strip. She is also an educator, event organizer, and accountability coach and proudly serves as the national representative for the National Cartoonists Society. Karen lives with her husband, horses, and one old cat in San Diego's north county and is thrilled to see everyone at SDCC Special Edition.
Sina Grace
Writer/Artist, Iceman, Wonder Woman, The Haunted Mansion
Sina Grace is a writer and artist known for a prolific library of work that balances slice-of-life, blockbuster action, and everything in-between. His groundbreaking Iceman series at Marvel Comics paved the way for Grace to work on all of his favorites: Jughead's Time Police for Archie, Wonder Woman for DC, Go Go Power Rangers for BOOM! Studios, and The Haunted Mansion for Disney/IDW. He is currently promoting Getting it Together and the upcoming Rockstar and Softboy at Image Comics, as well as the comic book continuation of the hit game 2064: Read Only Memories for IDW.
John Jennings
Writer/Artist/Academic, Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, Kindred
Writer/artist John Jennings, a professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of California at Riverside, is co-editor of the Eisner Award–winning collection The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of the Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art. His projects include the horror anthology Box of Bones (Rosarium Publishing), The Eisner- and Hugo-nominated adaptation of Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower (ABRAMS ComicArts, with Damian Duffy), and the award-winning New York Times bestselling graphic novel adaptation of Butler's classic dark fantasy novel Kindred.
Minh Lê
Writer, Lift, Drawn Together, Green Lantern: Legacy
Minh Lê is the award-winning picture book author of Lift (Eisner Award nominee) and Drawn Together (winner of the 2019 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature). He is also the author of the graphic novel Green Lantern: Legacy for DC Comics (which introduced the newest Green Lantern, Tai Pham). He serves on the board of We Need Diverse Books and has been published by NPR, the Huffington Post, and The New York Times. Outside of spending time with his wonderful wife and kids at their home in San Diego, Minh’s favorite place to be is in the middle of a good book.
Jae Lee
Artist, Before Watchmen: Ozymandias, Batman/Superman, Inhumans
Jae Lee is a Korean American comic book artist known for his dark style. In 1990 he became one of the youngest artists ever to work for a major publisher. He is an Eisner Award winner for his work on Marvel's The Inhumans. His art can also be seen in Stephen King's Dark Tower, Before Watchmen: Ozymandias, and Batman/Superman.
Sam Maggs
Writer, Marvel Action: Captain Marvel, Rick & Morty, Con Quest!
Sam Maggs is a bestselling writer of books, comics, and video games. Her most recent novels are The Unstoppable Wasp: Built on Hope and Con Quest!, and the graphic novels Marvel Action: Captain Marvel, Rick & Morty Ever After, Tell No Tales: Pirates of the Southern Seas, and Critical Role: Mighty Nein Origins—Jester. Her game writing includes work on Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Marvel's Spider-Man DLC, and the upcoming Call of Duty: Vanguard, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, and the Knights of the Old Republic Remake. A Canadian in Los Angeles, she misses Coffee Crisp and bagged milk.
Dustin Nguyen
Artist, Descender, Batman
Dustin Nguyen is a New York Times bestselling and multiple Eisner Award–winning comics creator best known for his work on the creator-owned Image series Descender and for his various iterations of Batman for the past 20 years. Included in his body of work are creations for DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, BOOM! Studios, IDW, Mattel, Konami, AMC Networks, Cartoon Network, and many more.
Alex Niño
Veteran Filipino Artist, DC, Heavy Metal, Warren
Alex Niño, an Eisner Hall of Fame nominee and a pioneer of the Filipino invasion of American Comics in the 1970s, is best known for his unique style, which appeared in horror stories published by DC, Heavy Metal, and Warren Publishing. He was also a visual developer for Disney, having worked on features such as Mulan, Treasure Planet, Atlantis, and The Emperor’s New Groove. Alex continues to produce stunning and incredible art for commissions. His recent works are available at AlexNino.net.