MARK MARIANO
Mark Mariano is an award winning cartoonist and creative whirlwind that loves to tell stories through comics and picture books. His books include LOUD COW, PUDDLETON FARM, and FAR OUT FIREHOUSE. As proud organizer of the traveling Kids Love Comics pavilion for several comic conventions, Mark assembles the roster of super-talented artists, and creates the programming. Being an advocate of comics in the classroom, he enjoys visiting schools and sharing his love of art and storytelling.
CHRIS MARIANO
Chris Mariano is the co-creator of the award winning children’s book, CLAIRE LOST HER BEAR AT THE WORLD’S FAIR. As a pop a culture archaeologist, Chris loves to study and research the history of old toys, movies, video games, amusement parks, and anything out of the ordinary. His love of pop culture and imagination was the foundation for his popular Web Series, THE CHRIS O>MATIC SHOW, which ran for 186 episodes. Chris’ enthusiasm for the arts is contagious when he dons the famous blue jacket and becomes the ringmaster and creative coach for family events and workshops at many comic conventions.
JOHN GALLAGHER
John Gallagher is the art director of the NWF’s “Ranger Rick” magazine, cofounder of “Kids Love Comics” (an organization that uses graphic novels to promote literacy), and leads workshops teaching kids how to create their own comics. John lives in Virginia with his wife and their three kids.
NICK DAVIS
Nick Davis is an Englishman in the USA and the writer and occasional artist of the Night Guardians, the ongoing adventures of heroic kids and cuddly toys who bump back against the bumps in the night and their master, the Boogeyman.
Once upon a time in a green and pleasant land far, far away, Nick labored as a feature writer and production assistant on Games Workshops’ Monthly Hobby Magazine White Dwarf during the Paul ‘Fat Bloke’ Sawyer years with a small stint on the USA version of the magazine – it was a golden time and inspired Nick to create Alt World Studios, an independent creative voice for storytelling on the interwebs.
Post Games Workshop, Nick works as a digital web marketing architect, graphic designer, storyteller, and sometimes artist. Occasionally, he can be found plodding away on a worn out keyboard or attempting to draw or playing with Lego while he explores the tea-powered worlds of his imagination.
Adventures ahead!!!
CHRIS FLICK
Chris is a professional illustrator, cartoonist, caricaturist and UI/UX web and graphic designer working in the Washington, DC area.
In 2007, he created the webcomic Capes & Babes featuring Roy the Werewolf and has published five books on Amazon.com. You can read all 1,100 strips at
Chris attends several conventions throughout the year where he primarily draws people as cartoon werewolves and other monsters, sells mash-up posters, coloring books, stickers and so much more. He also recently published a guide to tabling at conventions called “Conventional Wisdom”. You can also listen to him on the brand new Nerd Salad podcast wherever you download your podcasts from.
DAWN GRIFFIN
Dawn Griffin is a designer/illustrator/
BRYAN TILLMAN
Bryan Tillman has been in higher education for 18 years and is currently an Associate Professor for Illustration at Montgomery College in Rockville Maryland. Bryan has a BFA and MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design, with a focus in sequential art and a minor in drawing.
Aside from being an educator, Bryan is the owner and CEO of the Kaiser Studio Productions LLC, a production studio for comics, toys, animation, and games that has been active in the industry for 22 years and has worked for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics, Valiant Comics, UpperDeck, Cryptozoic, Rittenhouse, Lucas Films, Cartoon Network, Toys R Us, T.G.I. Fridays, Focal Press, FX, Miramax and Tandem Productions.
Bryan has published three instructional books; Creative Character Design for Focal Press, Creative Design vol. 2 for CRC Press and The 30 Day Pitch Bible for Kaiser Studio Productions and has also created and illustrated a tabletop RPG trading card game, Dark Legacy, which was acquired by UpperDeck.
Aside from being an educator, Bryan is the owner and CEO of the Kaiser Studio Productions LLC, a production studio for comics, toys, animation, and games that has been active in the industry for 22 years and has worked for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics, Valiant Comics, UpperDeck, Cryptozoic, Rittenhouse, Lucas Films, Cartoon Network, Toys R Us, T.G.I. Fridays, Focal Press, FX, Miramax and Tandem Productions.
Bryan has published three instructional books; Creative Character Design for Focal Press, Creative Design vol. 2 for CRC Press and The 30 Day Pitch Bible for Kaiser Studio Productions and has also created and illustrated a tabletop RPG trading card game, Dark Legacy, which was acquired by UpperDeck.
TODD WEBB
Todd Webb lives in Virginia Beach with his wife and their cat, where he draws the daily comic strip The Poet.
Besides cartooning, he is fond of the ocean, old monster movies, synthesizers, walking through his neighborhood at night, and the sound of a clicky pen clicking.
He also performs music as Seamonster and Oahu.
If you see him at a convention, he will draw a picture of YOU in CRAYON for ONE DOLLAR – a bargain if ever there was one.
He is always drawing.
BEN PEREIRA
Artist based out of Fredricksburg, VA specializing in Media Arts, Animation, Comic Books, Sequential Storytelling, and Character Design for Games and Cartoons.
HAROLD BUCHHOLZ
Harold Buchholz is a long-time comics and entertainment veteran– a writer and executive producer of the cult sci-fi comedy TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Netflix, a podcast host of Unpacking Peanuts, exploring the masterful work of Charles M. Schulz from a cartoonist’s perspective, artist and writer of the comics series Sweetest Beasts on Instagram, a former Senior VP at the iconic Archie Comics and co-founder of the children’s literacy advocacy group Kids Love Comics.