2026 Exhibitors

Table	Exhibitor	Bio
206	2dcloud	publisher in search of some transcendent moment — a piece of liberating information. comics, art, literature, and the internet. est. 2007.
707B	51 Personae	51 Personae is a self-sustaining independent art publishing project, believing that publishing is both an urgent and valid artistic practice. It places special emphasis on life experiences in Asia and the Third World, as well as marginalized voices under suppression, exploring the contemporary forms, possibilities and potential of "realism" in art as expressive actions.
904A	Abby Kacen	Abby Kacen aka Mild Pain is a midwestern/southern cartoonist. She makes fictional punk rock and introspective autobio comics.
405A	Alec Valerius	I’m a cartoonist and illustrator based in Columbus, Ohio. I primarily self-publish small-press and narrative comics.
506B	Alexandra Gallant-Lee	Alexandra Gallant-Lee (She/Her) is a multi award-winning cartoonist, science communicator, artist, and designer based in Boston. With over fifteen years of experience communicating scientific ideas and concepts through visual communications, she has worked with some of the most cited researchers in the world on some of the most high profile and high impact research in medicine. Her comics and zines usually focus on pop culture, technology, nature and science and are colorful and playful, especially her comics about growing tomatoes and a frog called Lionel J. Frogby (the "J" is for 'just a lil guy'). She was the recipient of a 2023 MICE Mini-Grant for her memoir comic, How to Learn to Code in Ten Easy Steps While Planning a Trip to Paris and Influencing People and the Grand Prize Winning recipient of a 2025 MICE Mini-Grant for her comic, BRAINS, a love letter to the brain and the beauty of thinking and perceiving in the face of so-called 'AI' (which sucks).
403A	Ana Two	Ana Two is a cartoonist and painter living in Vermont. They make thriller and romance comics that explore themes of Americana, paranormal romance and queer desire.
901A	Anna Reishus and Matt Griffin	Anna and Matt are a married comic creator duo from Chicago who make fun, heartfelt, and absurd stories for all ages. They create stories with a range of traditional illustration and digital collage, and all their publications must pass the rigorous standard of their editor, Spooky the dog.
906A	Aquatic Panda Distro	Aquatic Panda Distro is a small press comic and art zine distributor. Started by Chicago cartoonist Andrea Pearson in 2023, Aquatic Panda’s mission is to highlight artists of color as well as bring artists of all kinds together through comic and art anthologies and meetups. We sell comics and zines on a range of topics and have a little something for everyone.
302B	Ari Ganahl	Ari Ganahl is a Chicago-based artist who works in a variety of mediums to create comics and zines, illustrations, and laser cut art. He is particularly interested in using art to explain scientific topics and to depict trans bodies.
402B	Arianna Unabia Aquino	Arianna Unabia Aquino is a Filipina-American printmaker and illustrator. They love risograph and making comics about things that only kinda matter in the grand scheme of things.
109A	Art of Pill	Pill is an illustrator and story teller based in Kansas City, Missouri. He lives with their other half, various fosters, three tea cats, and many plants. When not working on art, Pill likes to think about bees pet cats, and sling coffee.
601A	Arthur Janecek	I am an LA-based cartoonist and risograph printmaker! My work is inspired by nature, narrative, and comedy.
905	Ashley Robin Franklin	Ashley Robin is a queer cartoonist and illustrator based in Austin, Texas. They make comics for all ages. Some notable works of theirs are The Skin You're In, an adult horror anthology, and The Hills of Estrella Roja, a YA queer paranormal mystery graphic novel.
602A	Asia Miller	Asia Miller is a mixed, Chinese-American comics artist who enjoys stories about people, places, things, and all that's in between. They have published several works, such as LINDSEY CHENG DATES A WHITE BOY!!! (2026) and YOUR HEART IS A MUSCLE THE SIZE OF YOUR FIST (2024).
804B	Athena Naylor	Athena Naylor is an autobiographical cartoonist currently based in Washington, DC. Her work uncovers the humor and absurdity within the mundane-- she enjoys finding large stories within small moments. Their comics have been featured in the Washington Post, Nat Brut, and the Fantology anthology series.
803	Avery Hill Publishing	Avery Hill is the UK's most prestigious graphic novel publisher, with a mission to raise up the voices of UK comics creators and give emerging and debut authors a platform to share their work. Avery Hill publishes high-quality graphic novels by authors such as authors including Tillie Walden, Zoe Thorogood, Lizzy Stewart, George Wylesol, Taki Soma, and Owen Pomeroy.
504	Beth Hetland	Beth Hetland is a critically acclaimed and award winning cartoonist and educator. She is an Assistant Professor of Comics at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her most recent book, Tender (Fantagraphics), was the recipient of the Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize for 2025.
406B	Bianca Xunise	Bianca Xunise is an illustrator, writer, and educator based out of Chicago, Illinois. With two Ignatz Awards under their belt, Bianca enjoys being a voice for those who march to the beat of their own drum. In 2020, Bianca became the first nationally syndicated non-binary cartoonist (and the second black woman) when they joined the comic strip Six Chix. Xunise has also collaborated with Vogue, The Washington Post, The Nib, and Believer Magazine. When Bianca isn’t doodling away, they are usually at an underground DIY punk show dancing with friends by the Chicago riverside.
108A	Bonnie Guerra / Alice	Bonnie Guerra is a furry cartoonist living in chicago IL who mix's cute animals with the overall messyness of trans-lesbian sexuality. With her humor, wits, charm, and DD cups, she is going to change the comics industry as we know it.
805A	Bred Press	Bred Press is an artist books, comics, and zine publishing house located in Chicago. Started by Brad Rohloff in 2014, it provides a platform by which to support contemporary artists working within the medium of printed and published matter.
303B	by jiayin	Jiayin is an illustrator and designer whose work focus on the whimsy of life.
109B	Carmen Pizarro	Carmen Pizarro is a Latine Comics Creator and Illustrator based in New York City. Their work consists of self-published comics and zines along with prints, stickers and shirts. The work she creates focuses on relationships, tough babes, bold color palettes with a splash of cult classic movies and fashion references.
110A	Caroline L Smith	Caroline L Smith is a cartoonist, artist, & graphic designer from the American South. She has produced her own hand-crafted zines for over a decade, combining her love for comics, storytelling, & design. She likes drawing aethereal ladies, boozy satyrs, & infinite libraries.
703A	Chelsea Akpan	Chelsea Akpan is a cartoonist with a penchant for color, whimsicality and cartoon absurdity. Most of her work is comprised of self published comics, with LOVEFOOL being her ongoing, satirical-romantic comedy series. Her comics center around using humor and exaggeration to explore themes of arrested development and yearning.
806A	Citizen Christensen	Citizen Christensen explores themes of shared human experience in their comics, drawing inspiration from observing utility poles across the country. Their massive cross-like stature and widespread presence create an entity that bares constant witnesses to our daily and eternal journeys, providing a holy network that connects our roadside memorials to the unseen forces that make us.
302A	Cold Boy Press	Cold Boy Press is a small self publisher in Chicago with a focus on queer stories and the fantastical.
902B	Connie Davey	I'm Connie Davey, I'm an Asian/Caribbean American illustrator based in Austin TX. In my illustration work I like to capture things that spark a story for me in the things I experience. Recently my time has been taken with creating the Noktpapilio comic. When I'm not working on the comic, I spend a lot of time absorbing other stories via movies, books, and games. I also love exploring Austin by bike, cooking, and testing new recipes.
501B	Coodos	Artist and Animator makes comics that are inanely colorful, and cute with odd, and uncanny stories.
903A	Cosmic Lion Productions	Cosmic Lion Productions is an independent publishing house lead by Eli Schwab with a diverse team of super-creatives making comics like the world has never seen. From Spy-Fi Action Adventure to Manga and everything in between, CLP promises "Comix of every kind for every mind."
107	CRAM books	CRAM books is a Risograph publisher started in 2021 based in Brooklyn, run by Andrew Alexander, making fun, sad and honest art books. All CRAM books are made by hand with the hope that they will decay from loving use. All CRAM books are made by hand with the hope that they will decay from loving use. CRAM books has won MoCCA Award of Excellence for “Big Gamble Rainbow Highway” by Connie Myers and has been nominated for two Ignatz Awards for our anthology, CRAM Comics.
605B	Create Everywhere	I am Elliana Miller, the owner and artist of Create Everywhere. My drawings relate to identity and emotions, using self analysis and character work to explore the ways in which I’m impacted by varying aspects of life. The whimsical nature of animation and comic books greatly influence my artwork.
909	Crucial Comix	Crucial Comix is the home for essential nonfiction comics and zines. Founded in 2024, we are a cartoonist-run press that publishes narrative nonfiction comics and offers compelling classes on comics-making and practice.
810B	Daimon Hampton	Daimon Hampton is Comic book artist and master dishwasher out of Chicago, Illinois. He has been self publishing comics since 2012, and was selected to be in DC comics Milestone Initiative in 2022. He’s making his comic industry debut with Jon Kent: This Internship is My Kryptonite, (w/ Sam Camp, Seraji) for DC Comics, he’s also known by dozens of people for the comics Microphone Misfits: Escape From Babylon, Become, The Rose Society, The Archon Experiment And Story of Solace.
407A	Dane Georges	Dane Georges is a cartoonist and designer living in Evanston, IL. He self-publishes comics and zines—Doom Skull, Fish & Chip, and Jiggly Bub—that blend humor, horror, and surrealism. He also hosts Dangerous Comics on YouTube; find his work at danegeorges.com.
808A	Dave Ortega	Dave Ortega is a cartoonist and illustrator from El Paso, Texas, now living near Boston. He creates comics rooted in family history and Latin American narratives, including Días de Consuelo, his graphic novel about his grandmother’s early life during the Mexican Revolution which was featured in the Society of Illustrators 65 Annual. His work spans self-published comics, museum collections, anthologies, and comics festivals. In their review of Hacienda, his current comic series, The Comics Journal wrote, "Comic book writing doesn't get better than this."
902A	Design Nurd Diego Gomez	Diego Gómez is a Queer Mexican-American multidisciplinary artist and teacher. They created the books 1963 Is Not an End But A Beginning, Hell Babes, Piss and the City, Hard Femme EX-MEN, Uncanny X-Slur, Totes Masc, Daddy Issues magazine and so many stickers. You can find them across social media @DesignNurd
907B	Días Cómic	Días is a collective of artists composed of Rosaura Rodríguez and Omar Banuchi. Since 2011 they have collaborated in the creation and publication of graphic narratives about daily life and society in Puerto Rico. They both write and draw stories based on their experiences and observations.
603	Diskette Press	Queer & trans riso publisher based in Detroit, MI.
306A	Dr.Lollipop MD	In the art world, I’m known as Dr. Lollipop MD. I have created a series of comics that address social issues and everyday horror in fantasy settings. My work focuses on the horrors of social inequality and the brutal influence of larger institutions on communities.
701A	Eddie Campbell	Eddie Campbell is the artist of From Hell and the writer/artist of Bacchus and Alec. In 2025 he was inducted into the Eisner Awards Hall of Fame.
204B	Eileen Chavez	Eileen Chavez is a comics artist from Oakland, currently based in Chicago. They make experimental comics about plants, dogs and the cosmos. They spend most of their time managing a coop, running and slowing down dog dancing videos on youtube.
807B	El Carrel	El Carrel is a nonbinary, kidlit Illustrator based in the Chicago Area. Born in Normal, Illinois, they currently attend Columbia College Chicago, studying for a Bachelor of Arts in Illustration. Their dream is to write and illustrate stories that inspire the future artists of the world.
102A	Ellis Weiler	Hi, my name is Ellis Weiler and I’m a recent graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, currently living in Chicago. I primarily create stories for Middle Grade/YA readers, featuring themes such as horror, monsters, coming-of-age, asexuality, and queer friendship.
110B	Emery Wardin	MK Widener is a Milwaukee based comic creator. Her work spans across genres, from horror to queer autobio to how-to. On top of her comic work, she is also a printmaker and silly sticker connoisseur.
602B	Emma Jayne	Emma Jayne is an Ignatz and Prism Award-winning cartoonist based in Michigan. She is best known for her works LSBN, The Other Jay & Eve, and Trans Girls Hit the Town.
901B	Fantastic Frogs Frolicking in Fields of Foxglove Flowers	Len, Percy, and Katrina all explore the human condition within their work in various ways. Katrina utilizes fantastical elements to discuss social power, corruption, and mortality in their cartooning work. Percy shares in this discussion of mortality while also examining identity, relationship, and the resilience of the human spirit in their animation and comic work. Finally, Len explores human emotions and what it means to reconcile with them in her writing and comic work.
809	Fieldmouse Press	Fieldmouse Press is a 501(c)3 nonprofit comics publisher dedicated to thoughtful, distinctive graphic narratives. We champion work that pushes boundaries, explores unique voices, and challenges conventions in the comics medium. Our catalog features everything from intimate personal stories to experimental visual narratives; books that might not find a home elsewhere but deserve to be in readers' hands.
704	Gabriel Mason Howell	Published by Secret Acres, Reptile House Comix, Cold Cube Press, Entropy Editions, and Bred Press. Chicago based Ignatz award nominated cartoonist & Koyama grant recipient. Co-owner & resident tattooer of Mind Palace Chicago in West Loop.
805B	George Porteus	George Porteus is an artist and writer active in the Chicagoland Zinesphere. Reared along the Massachusetts coast, he attended art school in Baltimore before resettling in the Midwest, where he began producing comics, zines, prints and pamphlets, with titles including Mountains, Lies (2015), Extremetites (2019) and What Shape is Ideas? (2023).
806B	Geov	Geov is a trans/nonbinary multimedia artist living in Brooklyn, NY. Using clay, ink, and esoteric digital methods, they make comics for and about outcast beings. These works often involve living objects and animal-people traveling through surreal places. Geov has created comics for Northwest Press, ShortBox Comics Fair, and Peow Studio's Ex.Mag.
605A	Go Press Girl!	Go Press Girl! is a new comics micropress with a focus on the experimental, eccentric, and heartfelt. Run by cartoonists Rachel Bivens and Violet Kitchen and based in Vermont on unceded Abenaki land.
707A	Gren Bee: She-Male Sex Terror Press	Gren Bee is an intersex dyke transsexual from Texas who's now living large in the red meat capital of the world, Chicago Illinois! she prints comics and distributes films under the name She-Male Sex Terror Press, and she just put out a new graphic novel: "New Hole"
404B	Hardscrabble Café	Hardscrabble Café is a hobby risograph studio located in Chicago run by Hannah Larson ✨ and Alex Nall.
703B	Hink	Hink is a comic artist, muralist, and printmaker from Chicago. No matter the medium, Hink is fueled by narratives that explore queerness, the 'other', and the absurd. Their master plan is to encourage others to get familiar with their own respective creature inside.
207	Iron Circus Comics	Hi there, everybody! We're Iron Circus Comics! We were born in 2007, and we're the premiere publisher of award-winning, critically-acclaimed graphic novels in the American Midwest—a small-mid house built from the ground up by our founder, C. Spike Trotman! Our mission? To showcase the Strange and Amazing in comics! Our books are off the beaten path, one-of-a-kind, and one thousand percent worth the trip! We hope you'll come along!
506A	Isabella Rotman	Isabella Rotman is a cartoonist and illustrator from Maine. Her art is usually about the ocean, women, crushing loneliness, people in the woods, or sex. Isabella is the author of A Quick and Easy Guide to Consent, co-author of Wait, What? A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up, and co-author of Abortion Pill Zine. Isabella is the creator of the This Might Hurt deck family, including This Might Hurt Tarot and This Might Help Oracle.
203	Issue Press	Issue Press is a tiny publisher and Risograph print shop operated by George Wietor in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Since 2011, it has worked with an elastic mandate to publish captivating works by artists of all mediums that trade in humor, history, and exploration of place.
101B	Ivy Rose Zines	Ivy Rose is an underground comic artist who creates zines and is currently based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since 2017, they self publish their personal comic journal entries and fictional stories. Recently, her work has been focused on the genre of magical surrealist pulp fiction.
104A	J.E Paeth and Jada Shields	J.E Paeth is a Chicago-Based Illustrator and Cartoonist currently pursuing a Bachelor in Fine Arts and Studio at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Paeth’s work often centers themes of transsexuality, queerness, transformation and angels. Paeth seeks to critically highlight how religion and queerness often intersect and explore the various ways community and interpersonal relationships can balance against faith. Jada Shields is a black queer Chicago based artist. Her work centers queerness, intersections of womanhood, black beauty and the human condition. Often, she plays with reality, trying to capture the complexity, subtle horror, and the dysfunctional ways of life. Working towards a BFA at The School of the Art Institute Of Chicago, Jada seeks to combine fibers and a multitude of printing methods from risograph to screen printing, often combining the 3-D with the 2-D.
604	Jamila Rowser	Jamila Rowser is an award-winning writer, editor, and publisher. She’s known for her debut graphic novel, Wash Day Diaries, co-created with Robyn Smith, and as the founder of Black Josei Press.
501A	Jasjyot Singh Hans	Jasjyot Singh Hans is an illustrator unendingly inspired by an explosive neon mix of fashion, music and pop culture. He has a constant regard for things past and a voracity for all that is current. His self published comics and zines center themes of body image, sexuality and human connection.
503	Jeremy Tinder	Jeremy Tinder is a cartoonist and comics educator based out of Chicago.
702B	Jessi Zabarsky	Jessi Zabarsky is a cartoonist and illustrator living in Chicago, making comics about small journeys and big feelings, with queer themes and folksy environments. Her first two graphic novels are 'Witchlight' and 'Coming Back', and she self publishes smaller comics. She also works for the Chicago Parks District, ask her about native plants!
304	Jim Terry	Jim Terry (he/him) is a Ho-Chunk storyteller who's called Chicagoland his home for over ten thousand years, and has worked in comics for the last fifteen or so. His memoir COME HOME INDIO was nominated for the LA Bookprize and the Ignatz, and his visual essay PAPER CUTS is currently being taught in several schools.
305A	Jonathan Sims - SKELENAUT	Jonathan Sims is an artist, designer, comic creator, illustrator, and mural painter living in Iowa City, Iowa. A Coe College alum, he has exhibited his work at many comic book and zine conventions and has been a guest speaker at The National Czech and Slovak Museum, The Iowa City Public Library, The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, and One Book Two Book, Iowa City’s children’s literature festival.
407B	KAITLEN + CHALKY	Kaitlen and Chalky love telling thoughtful stories set both in reality and imagined worlds. Years of working in animation has shaped their storytelling sensibilities, and they love to tug on readers' heartstrings.
202B	Kaitlin Kostus	Kaitlin is an artist and self publisher from Chicago, IL. She makes scrappy yet beautiful mini comics about the body and nature.
804A	Kevin Huizenga	Kevin Huizenga lives in Bridgeport and draws a comic book named "Fielder" and a monthly electronic magazine "F." His last book was "The River at Night," published by Drawn & Quarterly.
802	King-Cat Comix/Spit and a Half Distro	John Porcellino was born in Chicago in 1968 and began self-publishing his autobiographical zine King-Cat Comix in 1989. He's run the Spit and a Half Distro since 1992.
701B	Landis Blair	Landis Blair is the author and illustrator of "Vers le Sud," "The Night Tent," and "The Envious Siblings: and Other Morbid Nursery Rhymes," as well as the illustrator of the New York Times bestseller "From Here to Eternity," by Caitlin Doughty and the graphic novel "The Hunting Accident," by David Carlson which won the 2021 Fauve d’Or and the 2020 Quai des Bulles prize. His illustrations have appeared in numerous print and online periodicals including The New Yorker, the New York Times, Chicago magazine, VQR, and Atlas Obscura. He lives in Chicago.
105B	Leah "Lee" Spears	Leah "Lee" Spears is a cartoonist based in the Chicago-land area. Lee has been a storyteller for several years having sold a number of artwork at various indie comics festivals. She's been a panelist for Graphic Content: Eroticism in Queer Comics during Pride in Panels (2024), and provided a voiceover during a comics reading for cartoonist Rupert Kinard's work. Her own comics span a variety of different genres, with a focus on slice-of-life, humor, and the occasional horror. Lee received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a Masters of Fine Arts in Comics at California College of the Arts. You can find her on instagram @imani_draws0110.
606	Lucky Pocket Press	Lucky Pocket is an award-winning micro-publisher and risograph press run by two best friends since 2019. Our aim is to make work slowly and with intention; we center artist-led projects fueled by passion. Through lovingly handmade books, objects, and prints, and an emphasis on working sustainably and gradually, we hope that our books feel like fragments of memory. Like a beloved, forgotten treasure you've found at the back of your bookshelf ❤️.
104B	Mad Sparrow	Mad Sparrow is a queer cartoonist who makes comics about queer characters. When not making comics they can be found playing DND and staring at their pet tortoise, Clyde
101A	Madeleine Williams	Lainey Williams is a Nevada-born, Chicago-based cartoonist. She works in bright color and soft shapes, and makes a mix of horror, romance, slice of life and fantasy comics.
401B	Madeline McGrane	Madeline McGrane lives in Minneapolis and makes comics. She is the author and illustrator of The Accursed Vampire graphic novels. She regularly self publishes minicomics.
505B	Marnie Galloway	Marnie Galloway is an Eisner nominated cartoonist who makes poetic memoir comics and diary comics, and she is best known for her Xeric Award winning wordless graphic novel, In the Sounds and Seas. She spent many years organizing CAKE, the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo, and worked for a decade as staff cartoonist at the children's science magazine Ask, answering science questions for kids every issue. She teaches comics at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is working on a new graphic memoir.
201B	Michelle Duni	Midwest queer artist Michelle Duni is an illustrator that captures whimsical scenes of sentimental childhood recollections and growing up. Michelle has been featured in the Faethetic magazine for The Toledo Museum of Art's Playtime gallery, and in a curated Etsy Martha Stewart's Must-Haves for Fall Moments list for her pet costume design costumes. She specializes in watercolor and pen and ink hand-drawn illustrations.
404A	Mike Freiheit	Mike Freiheit is a cartoonist, sometimes comics instructor, illustrator and Chicago resident. He has made three graphic novels, and is working on another one for young adults. He loves cats - crazy, right?
505A	Mili St. John	Mili St. John is an Ignatz award nominated cartoonist from Portland, ME. She loves the cozy, the horrifying and the gothic. Her comic And Up, They Sprung! is the recipient of the 2025 CAKE Cupcake Award.
307B	MILK	Milwaukee Indie Local Comics (MILK) is dedicated to cultivating a growing community for making and sharing comics. We work to shine a light on the talent that resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and create events to physically connect artists and comic fans alike.
502A	Milo Miller	Milo Miller is a Chicago-based punk comics artist and writer working in dark fantasy and contemporary mythmaking. He creates relevant fictions on contemporary political issues such as fascism and colonialism, while using the language of myth, folklore, and literature.
706A	Molly Colleen O'Connell	MCO (b. 1986, Florida) is an interdisciplinary artist, cartoonist, comics historian, writer, educator, amateur clown and haunter.
402A	Muchen Wang and Lili Xie	I make “Fun Art” that makes you go “Uoo!” Hence the name Uoo Art. I celebrate small moments, originality, culture identity as well as queerness with my work
306B	Nat Toner	Nat Toner is a cartoonist who loves focusing on the midwest and the absurd.
706B	Nicole J. Georges	Nicole J. Georges is a queer autobiographical cartoonist & author the zine Invincible Summer and graphic memoirs Calling Dr. Laura and Fetch: How a Bad Dog Brought Me Home. She currently has a new book of Emotional Support Animals, teaches independent comics workshops and does a podcast called Sagittarian Matters.
903B	Nicole Rodrigues	Nicole Rodrigues is a Portuguese-American artist and educator. Their work includes making comics, prints, illustrations, screen printed shirts, and ceramics about the connections we have to nature and our journey to self-actualization. Their narratives aim to transcend timelines and dimensions while evoking a dream-like folklore experience through usage of symbols and signs as a means of interpretation.
108B	Olivia Fredricks	Olivia Fredricks is a cartoonist and illustrator based in Philadelphia. She makes risograph-printed comics about space, place, and environments.
103A	PeanutbuddarArt - Aaliyah Lachel'e	Aaliyah Lachel'e (Peanutbuddarart) is a black queer artist from the the south suburbs of Chicago. With a focus on magical realism, Aaliyah aims to bring a little bit of fantasy to her viewer’s everyday life. Her work covers the general experience of growing up as an internet obsessed, loser-ish, nerdy kid-of-color, with a little dash of science fiction mixed in. She hopes you can see yourself in the work, because representation matters. Aaliyah currently attends The School of The Art Institute of Chicago. She’s pursuing a Bachelors of Fine Arts with a focus on Illustration and Narrative Work.
205	Perfectly Acceptable Press	Perfectly Acceptable Press (Chicago, USA) publishes short-run narrative artist books ("comics"), as well as offering for-hire Risograph printing services. As a publisher, Perfectly Acceptable aims to create objects that push the boundaries of 'zine' without sacrificing accessibility, synergizing content, craft, and form.
907A	Peter Quach	Peter Quach is a comic book artist, illustrator, and graphic designer who lives in Brooklyn, New York. Peter had a cartoon published in The New Yorker magazine in 2023, and his comic "Pinan,” co-written with Carolina Alonso Bejarano, was published in English by The Believer magazine in 2018 and in Spanish by Revista BLAST in 2021. "I Am a Racist (And so Can You)," a comic investigation into the historical roots of racism in Indiana and how that history shaped Peter’s internalized racism, was a notable comic in the Best American Comics 2013 anthology.
202A	Pingnan Lu	Pingnan Lu is an award-winning comics artist and illustrator who constructs three-dimensional space through geometric forms. Her comics are guided by a strong internal logic while remaining surprising and unexpected. She integrates traditional printing and bookmaking techniques into her practice to create works that are both formally inventive and visually compelling.
910	Plum Press	Plum Press is a collective comprising of Sophie Page, Paige Mehrer, and Haejin Park. Plum publishes curated comics anthologies and zines by its members. Founded in 2016 NYC, Plum has exhibited at most major book fairs across the US in addition to organizing art shows and various other side projects. Plum comics are genre-bending, colorful, poetic, ethereal, and cute.
106	Project Onward	Project Onward is a studio for Chicago-area artists with developmental disabilities and/or mental illnesses started in 2004. Located in the the Bridgeport Art Center, we work with over sixty artists, providing studio space, art materials, mentorship, and promotion free of charge. Our artists create in a wide range of media (drawing, painting, ceramics, fibers, etc.) and over the last two years our comics offerings have flourished, with the kickoff of our annual anthology magazine "Perpetual Motion Machine" and artists' individual publications.
305B	Purgatory Comics Press (PCP)	Purgatory Comics Press publishes comics and comics-related media that explore discomfort, pleasure, pain, satire, and perversion. Based in NYC, PCP is building a community of antifascist creators and artist-owned global comics that don’t bow to market trends or safe bets, inviting our readers into stories that are risky or deviant, yet deeply human. Run by Lars Allen.
808B	Radiator Comics	Radiator Comics distributes small press and self-published comics from all over the world! Radiator Comics also publishes a few original titles every year by emerging cartoonists. Radiator Comics is run by Neil Brideau, a self-publishing cartoonist based in Miami, FL.
705A	Reptile House Comix	Reptile House Comix is an underground small press devoted to publishing Philadelphia cartoonists.
405B	Richie Pope	Richie Pope is a cartoonist from Newport News, VA who's self-published comics including “Super Itis,” the Ignatz Award-winning “That Box We Sit On,” “Around The Way,” and “Modern Housing." His comics have also been published in Youth in Decline’s Frontier, LAAB Magazine, and various group zines and anthologies. He currently lives in Los Angeles, CA.
906B	Robin Carnilius	Robin Carnilius (they/she) is a Chicago-based multimedia artist and storyteller who creates pop culture media with a focus on LGBTQ+ and PoC representation and nerd culture. As a creator who is Black and trans, they aim to entertain, engage, and entertain people through their work.
401A	Rosemary Valero-O'Connell	Rosemary Valero-O'Connell is a Minneapolis-born, Zaragoza-raised cartoonist who currently resides in Brooklyn. She's the co-creator of acclaimed graphic novel Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, alongside Mariko Tamaki, and the sole creator of Don't Go Without Me, Golden Record, and The Illuminated Carmilla, amongst others. She collects kewpie dolls and animal teeth.
507B	Ryan Claytor - Elephant Eater Comics	Ryan Claytor is the Coordinator of the Comic Art and Graphic Novel Minor and Associate Professor at Michigan State University where he teaches Comics Studio courses and spearheaded the development of the interdisciplinary Comics Minor between the Art and English departments. As a cartoonist, Claytor's achievements have included six Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo Prizes and nominations for the Eisner and Ringo Comic Industry Awards.
807A	Ryan Davis	Ryan Davis is an illustrator, designer, and writer who's work explores fairytales, dreams, and the surreal.
904B	Sam Szabo	Sam Szabo is a cartoonist and printmaker from the North Shore of Boston. Her work includes "Enlightened Transsexual Comix," "Momix," and "Comics Will Break Your Balls." Sam has seen Phish live twenty-eight times.
702A	Sarah Becan	Sarah Becan is a comics artist, author, illustrator, and designer based in Chicago. She is the creator of I Think You’re Sauceome, a food-centric autobiographical webcomic. She illustrated the cookbook The Adventures of Fat Rice and is the coauthor and illustrator of the books Let’s Make Ramen!, Let’s Make Dumplings!, Let's Make Bread!, and Let's Make Cocktails! She would be very happy to do nothing but draw food all day.
105A	ScorpiGoat	ScorpiGoat is a mixed-media artist focused on creating comics and illustrations. Some of her favorite subjects include Bovidae-humanoids, the American Southwest, and buff ladies.
403B	Sean Mac	Sean Mac is a weirdo cartoonist from Chicago who likes making comics about video games and printing them using risography. He currently has no cats.
507A	Sierra Barnes	Sierra Barnes is a DC-area cartoonist who loves history, mythology, and especially the weird places where those two things overlap. Her webcomic HANS VOGEL IS DEAD will have a second volume out through Dark Horse in Summer 2026.
307A	SLICE	St. Louis Independent Comics Expo (SLICE) is an exposition of zines, chapbooks, lit mags, poetry, comics, small press authors, indie publishers, and print culture.
601A	Slugtrain	Gabby is a multidisciplinary illustrator and comic artist based in Toronto. They graduated OCAD University's Illustration program with a Bachelor of Design in 2024. Their work often explores the contradictory forms of soft, yet jagged bodies, capturing them with a sense of spontaneity and vulnerability. Gabby also enjoys drawing creatures and people in love.
303A	Sophie Wang	Sophie Wang is a researcher, educator, artist, and zine maker currently based in the Twin Cities. She makes zines, comics, and other forms of art that bring a critical power lens to science, technology, epistemology, and knowledge-making, as well as other themes like labor history, immigration, and liberatory celebration.
406A	Steenz	Steenz (they/them) is a St. Louis based cartoonist, professor, and editor. They're the cartoonist on the new graphic novel Side Quest: A Visual History of TTRPGs, and the syndicated comic strip ‘Heart Of The City’. Steenz currently teaches at Webster University and SVA while editing titles from independent publishers and creators. They’re also Board President of SLICE (The St. Louis Independent Comics Expo).
103B	STEIN	STEIN is a queer and Latino cartoonist originally from the heat of the Southwest who currently resides in Chicago. Their work primarily focuses on the masculine queer experience mixed with the macabre, while being inspired by a deep appreciation of Old Hollywood films and the Golden Age of Comics. They have a sense of dry humor and an emphasis on internet culture within their work.
908A	Stoop Shop Comics	Queer, Baltimore-based Riso publisher. Elevating underrepresented artists and writers in comics. Showcasing the queer experience and beyond.
301A	Strange Deer Press	Strange Deer Press is a Midwestern comic & zine collective. Started in Northeast Ohio, SDP creates works that are real, accessible, wonderful, and wild - ranging from queer autobiographical comics to speculative fiction to anthologies.
204A	Taxonomy Press	Taxonomy Press is a risograph micropress based in Detroit Michigan. Founded by Rachel Hays and operating with a rotating group of collaborators, we publish the risograph quarterly "Floral Observer" a newspaper about interacting with nature.
301B	Teddie Bernard	Teddie Bernard (they/he) is a queer cartoonist and zinester. His work explores queer identity, history, and connection. They currently draws their comics in Chicago, where they wish for colder weather.
908B	The Sneep Collective	The Sneep Collective consists of Iris and Michael, two wide-eyed creatures cowering in the corner. They make comics about robots and weird little guys exploring concepts of friendship, despair, and getting really freaked out in the woods.
810A	Tony Chao	Tony Chao is a comic artist from Taipei, Taiwan and now based in New York City. He creates science fiction comics set in post-apocalyptic or cyberpunk settings.
502B	Tony DiPasquale	Tony is a cartoonist from downstate Illinois. He draws comics about a little yellow creature named Nugget, and the weird stuff he gets up to.
607B	Triple Dream Comics	Katie Longua is always looking for ways to make the world more magical. She has been publishing her own comics for over ten years, including the award-winning RÖK, Her Space Opera, and Munchies. Her newest book is Agent Cupcake, made with Triple Dream Comics and published by Oni Press.
102B	Tuyet-Nhi Pham	Viet-American artist with a knack for fantastical mundanity and multicultural semblances in comics and zines.
801	Uncivilized Books	Uncivilized Books is a boutique comics publishing house based in Minneapolis, MN.
607A	Vincent Lau	Vincent Lau is an artist from Seattle, now residing in Los Angeles. He makes surrealistic fantasy comics about nature and relationships. Sometimes he makes funnier comics too.
201A	Wayne Bruce	Wayne Bruce is a Texas born New York based multidisciplinary artist with a focus on animation, comics, character design and toy making.