The following special guests have been confirmed to appear at WonderCon 2016, March 25–27, at the Los Angeles Convention Center!
Special Guests
Sergio Aragonés
Cartoonist, MAD magazine, Groo
One of MAD magazine's longest-running cartoonists (only Al Jaffee has been around longer) and the creator of dim-witted barbarian Groo the Wanderer, Sergio Aragonés is one of comics’ most popular creators. In addition to his continuing work for MAD, Sergio—the man some call the world’s fastest cartoonist—had his own comic book series at Bongo Comics, Sergio Aragonés Funnies. His most recent work includes a 12-issue maxi series from Dark Horse Comics, Groo and Friends.
Kyle Baker
Cartoonist, Why I Hate Saturn, Nat Turner
Cartoonist Kyle Baker has authored over 15 graphic novels and illustrated hundreds more in a career which extends over three decades long. His animation has appeared on MTV, Showtime, Disney Channels and Cartoon Network. He has contributed as a writer and artist to shows such as Phineas and Ferb and Looney Tunes.
Baker is the winner of 8 Eisner Awards, 4 Harvey Awards, and an Inkpot Award and Glyph Award, among others.
A pioneer in the graphic novel format since the 1980s, works such as Nat Turner, Why I Hate Saturn, and King David helped define and evolve the medium. In addition to licensing and products, his work now expands into digital realms with new apps, streaming animation, and game design.
Brian Michael Bendis
Writer, Invincible Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Powers
Brian Michael Bendis is an award-winning comics creator, a New York Times bestseller, and one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics.
Sony’s live-action series based on Powers, the Eisner Award-winning comic series by Brian and Mike Avon Oeming on the Playstation network with Brian as executive producer and contributing writer, has been renewed for a second season.
For Marvel, Brian is currently the writer of Invincible Iron Man and Guardians of the Galaxy. He is also a member of Marvel Studios’ creative committee, which consults on their numerous ongoing film projects. He is the co-creator of the new Netflix series Jessica Jones, which debuts in November. His creator-owned projects include Scarlet (with Alex Maleev), Brilliant (with Mark Bagley), and Powers.
Brian’s book Words for Pictures is an intricate look at the creation of comic books and graphic novels based on the graphic novel class he teaches at Portland State University.
Amber Benson
Author/actor/director, The Witches of Echo Park, Calliope Reaper-Jones series
Amber Benson is a writer, director, actor, and maker of things. She wrote the five-book Calliope Reaper-Jones urban fantasy series and the middle-grade book Among The Ghosts. She co-directed the Slamdance feature Drones, and she co-wrote and directed the BBC animated series The Ghosts of Albion. She also spent three years as Tara Maclay on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her latest book is The Witches of Echo Park.
Stephen Blackmoore
Author, Mythbreaker, City of the Lost, Hungry Ghosts
Stephen Blackmoore is the author of the noir urban fantasy novels Mythbreaker, City of the Lost, Dead Things, Broken Souls, and the upcoming Hungry Ghosts. He has written tie-in fiction for the role-playing game Spirit of The Century, the video-game Wasteland 2, and the television series Heroes Reborn. His short stories can be found online and in the anthologies Deadly Treats and Uncage Me. He co-hosts the bi-monthly crime fiction reading series Noir At The Bar L.A. He can be found online at stephenblackmoore.com.
Peter Clines
Photo by Colleen Cooper
Author, The Fold, 14
Peter Clines spent years toiling in the Hollywood trenches, working on such films and TV shows as Psycho Beach Party, Mystery Woman, and Veronica Mars, while also writing articles, reviews, and interviews for Creative Screenwriting magazine, before finally turning his hand to writing fiction full-time. He is the author of The Fold, the bestselling Ex-Heroes series, and the acclaimed standalone thriller 14. He lives in Southern California.
Russell Dauterman
Artist, Thor, The Mighty Thor
Russell Dauterman is a comic book artist best known for drawing Marvel’s female-led Thor series and its current follow-up, The Mighty Thor. Written by Jason Aaron, Thor’s collected edition debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List for graphic novels. Previous work includes the launch of Marvel's Cyclops with writer Greg Rucka, and a stint on Nightwing for DC Comics, written by Kyle Higgins. Russell has also illustrated covers for Valiant Entertainment titles Shadowman, Quantum + Woody, Punk Mambo, and Unity. Earlier, Russell collaborated with writer Grace Randolph on the BOOM! Studios series Supurbia. For more on Russell’s work, visit russelldauterman.com.
Ming Doyle
Writer/artist, Constantine, Archie
Ming Doyle is a Boston-based comic book artist and writer. Her art has appeared in works published by Image, Marvel, DC/Vertigo, Candlewick Press, Valiant, BOOM!, and more. She is noted for her distinctively inky style, strange turns of phrase, and ever expanding collection of unsettling vintage Halloween masks.
Mark Evanier
Writer, producer, comics historian, The Garfield Show, The Art of the Simon and Kirby Studio
Mark Evanier has been writing professionally since 1969, delving into comic books, animation, live-action TV, screenplays, books, magazine articles, and anything else he dreamed, as a kid, of writing. His comic book career commenced in 1969 when he apprenticed with the legendary Jack Kirby and also began writing comic book scripts for Disney. Over the years, he has worked on preexisting characters and his own co-creations, including The DNAgents and Crossfire, along with collaborating since 1983 with Sergio Aragonés on Groo the Wanderer. He began writing live-action TV in 1976 and animation in 1978. He is the author of several collections of columns as well as MAD Art and Kirby, King of Comics, a book about his mentor that won two Harvey Awards and one Eisner Award. Mark is currently writing, producing, and voice-directing The Garfield Show, and his latest book—The Art of the Simon and Kirby Studio—showcases the work of one of comics' greatest creative teams.
Jason Fabok
Artist, Justice League, Detective Comics, Batman Eternal
Jason Fabok is a comic book artist living in Southern Ontario, Canada. He is currently working on DC Comics’ Justice League with acclaimed writer Geoff Johns. Fabok has also worked on such DC titles as Batman Eternal with Scott Snyder and Detective Comics with John Layman.
Francesco Francavilla
Writer/artist, The Black Beetle; artist, Afterlife with Archie
Francesco Francavilla, an Eisner and Eagle Award winner and New York Times bestselling creator, is best known for bringing his signature style (Neo-Pulp) to the comics industry, from superheroes to horror and sci-fi.
Francesco has worked on such acclaimed series as Batman, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Guardians of the Galaxy. He is currently illustrating his own creator-owned The Black Beetle for Dark Horse and Afterlife with Archie for Archie. The Black Beetle vol.1 was listed in Amazon's top ten Best Graphic Novels of 2013.
Francesco is also an acclaimed cover artist and has won several awards, including an Eisner for Best Cover Artist.
Agnes Garbowska
Artist, My Little Pony, Jem and the Holograms
Agnes Garbowska is best know for her work on My Little Pony (IDW), Jem and the Holograms (IDW), Sonic Universe Off Panel Stripes (Archie Comics), Li’l Vampi (Dynamite Entertainment), Girl Comics (Marvel), Spider-Ham 25th Anniversary Special (Marvel), and more.
She has also illustrated cover art for many IDW titles, including My Little Pony, Jem and the Holograms, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, Dexter’s Laboratory, and Littlest Pet Shop, as well as Dynamite Entertainment titles including Grumpy Cat, Red Sonja, Li’l Dynamite, and Doodle Jump. Agnes has also done cover work for Sonic Universe (Archie Comics).