Announcing the First Group of Guests for Comic-Con 2024!
Special Guests for 2024 will include Charles Ardai, Rodney Barnes, Daniel Clowes, Gerry Conway, Naomi Novik, and Julia Wertz.
Charles Ardai
Charles Ardai is the Edgar Award–winning creator of the bestselling Gun Honey comics and co-creator of Hard Case Crime, whose authors have included Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Brian De Palma, and Ray Bradbury. He was a writer/producer on the TV series Haven and authored the novel of Shane Black’s movie The Nice Guys, as well as Songs of Innocence, which won the Shamus Award and was called “an instant classic” by the Washington Post. His newest works are the collection Death Comes Too Late and Gun Honey: Collision Course.
Rodney Barnes
Rodney Barnes is an award-winning writer, producer, and comic book creator whose vibrant, emphatic voice has established him as a Hollywood mainstay. Barnes was most recently an executive producer and writer for HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, chronicling the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Showtime Lakers. His publishing imprint, Zombie Love Studios, is dedicated to storytelling through unique BIPOC perspectives, including Killadelphia (nominated for a 2023 Eisner Award), Blacula (an adaptation of the cult horror classic), and Monarch, an apocalyptic sf adventure series following a group of Compton school kids in the midst of an alien invasion.
Daniel Clowes
Daniel Clowes is an acclaimed American cartoonist, illustrator, and screenwriter. He gained fame with his comic book series Eightball, which was notable for its dark humor and commentary on modern culture. Clowes’ work often explores themes of social isolation, personal identity, and the complexities of human relationships. His graphic novel Ghost World received particular acclaim, becoming a cult classic and later adapted into a feature film. More recently, his books Patience and Monica have been critically acclaimed, showcasing his continued innovation and depth in graphic storytelling.
Gerry Conway
Known forever to fandom as “the man who killed Gwen Stacy,” Gerry Conway is also the co-creator of The Punisher, Firestorm, Power Girl, Man-Thing, Werewolf-by-Night, The Jackal, Killer Croc, Tombstone, Tarantula, Count Vertigo, Vibe, Vixen, Commander/Citizen Steel, and many other popular (and not so popular) characters for Marvel and DC Comics. Gerry sold his first story to DC editor Murray Boltinoff a few weeks before he turned 16. At 18 he was writing for Marvel full time; by 20, he was scripting Marvel’s flagship title, Amazing Spider-Man.
Naomi Novik
Naomi Novik has written the Scholomance trilogy, the novels Uprooted and Spinning Silver, and the Temeraire series. She is a founder of the Archive of Our Own. Her next book, Buried Deep and Other Stories, will be available in September. She is currently working on a project called Folly.
Julia Wertz
Julia Wertz is a cartoonist, urban explorer, and amateur historian. Her graphic novels include Museum of Mistakes, Drinking at the Movies, The Infinite Wait, Tenements, Towers, & Trash, and Impossible People. She does regular short story comics for The New Yorker. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, she spent a decade in New York City before settling in Sonoma County, CA, where she lives with her partner and son. She’s currently working on the graphic novel Bury Me Already (It’s Nice Down Here) to be released in 2025.
Appearing Friday through Sunday