Paige Braddock
Creator of the long-running, gay-themed comic strip Jane’s World, Eisner-nominated cartoonist Paige Braddock also records the environmental adventures of that fun-loving toad Stinky Cecil and his pond-dwelling friends for young readers in Stinky Cecil in Operation Pond Rescue, Stinky Cecil in Terrarium Terror, and Stinky Cecil in Mudslide Mayhem. In addition to serving as chief creative officer at the Charles M. Schulz Studio in Santa Rosa, Paige has illustrated several Peanuts children’s books and designed the Snoopy U.S. postage stamp issued in 2001.
Paige will appear at the Point Reyes Station Library on Saturday, September 22, from 11 a.m. to noon.
Lisa Brown
Cool and quirky may best describe the work of New York Times bestselling illustrator and author Lisa Brown, whose numerous credits include The Airport Book, Mummy Cat, and Vampire Boy’s Good Night as well as Goldfish Ghost and The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming (both with Lemony Snicket). Her Three-Panel Book Review ran for several years in the San Francisco Chronicle. Lisa also serves on the board of directors at 826 Valencia and teaches illustration at the California College of the Arts.
Lisa will appear at the Civic Center Library on Thursday, September 20, from 6 to 7 p.m.
Nidhi Chanani
Born in Calcutta and raised in suburban southern California, illustrator and author Nidhi Chanani made her graphic novel debut in 2017 with the release of Pashmina, a lively story that centers on Priyanka “Pri” Das, an Indian American teenager curious about her family background and cultural identity. Her first bilingual board book Shubh Raatri Dost/Good Night Friend will appear this October as will as her Disney Princess graphic novel Jasmine’s New Pet. An instructor in the Master of Fine Arts, Comics program at the California College of Arts, Nidhi is currently working on her second original graphic novel Jukebox with her husband Nick Giordano.
Nidhi will appear at the San Rafael Public Library on Tuesday, September 18, from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Svetlana Chmakova
In addition to her Eisner-nominated original English-language manga Dramacon (2005–07), writer and illustrator Svetlana Chmakova’s résumé includes the four-volume Nightschool (2009–10) and adaptations of James Patterson’s Witch & Wizard novels. Her more recent stories—Awkward (which netted her a second Eisner nomination), Brave, and the soon-to-be released Crush—delve into the clumsy and unpredictable world known as middle school.
Svetlana will appear at the San Rafael Public Library on Saturday, September 8, from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Ben Costa and James Parks
Friends since the second grade, artist Ben Costa and writer James Parks produce engaging stories individually as well as together. Ben’s résumé includes his Xeric Grant-winning, historical fiction chronicle Pang, The Wandering Shaolin Monk, which takes place in 17th century China. Horror fan James composed the Southern Gothic short story collection The Gospel of Bucky Dennis. In 2017, the duo launched their offbeat, fantasy comics series about a skeleton minstrel named Rickety Stitch. The second installment Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo: The Middle-Route Run made its debut this past July.
Ben and James will appear at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco on Saturday, September 22, from 2 to 4 p.m. Regular museum admission required for this special presentation. Book signing attendance is free.
Alexis E. Fajardo
A huge fan of epic literature, cartoonist Lex Fajardo gave the renowned poem Beowulf a different spin when he recast adversaries Beowulf and Grendel as 12-year-old twin brothers and sent them off on adventures far and wide for encounters with other legendary heroes and villains. The Rise of El Cid, the third volume in the Kid Beowulf graphic novel series, was released on August 7. A senior editor at Charles M. Schulz Studio in Santa Rosa, Lex served as co-editor on Celebrating Snoopy which won the 2018 Eisner Award for Best Archival Project—Strips.
Lex will appear with Alex Schumacher at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco on Saturday, August 25, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Brian Fies
Winner of the inaugural Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic in 2005 for his autobiographical webcomic Mom’s Cancer, Brian Fies appreciates the power that comics have to transcend their words and pictures. In October 2017, he chronicled the loss of his family’s home due to the Tubbs wildfire in a poignant, 18-chapter webcomic entitled A Fire Story posted on his blog. A full-length, graphic novel version of the story will be published in March of 2019. Brian’s other work includes the graphic novel Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? and his ongoing webcomic The Last Mechanical Monster.
Brian will appear at the Belvedere Tiburon Library on Saturday, September 8, from 11 a.m. to noon.
Justin Greenwood
Bay Area native Justin Greenwood really likes drawing comics no matter what the topic. That may explain why his credits include the detective thriller Stumptown, the outer space mystery The Fuse, and Alexander Hamilton: The Graphic Novel History of an American Founding Father. This summer, he and writer Landry Walker launched the new Image Comics series The Last Siege, best described as a spaghetti Western set against the backdrop bloody of medieval war.
Justin will appear with Landry Q. Walker at Blue Moon Comics in San Rafael on Wednesday, September 12, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Nomi Kane
As contributor to The Nib and The New Yorker, editorial cartoonist Nomi Kane shares humorous as well as personal takes on topics ranging from recycling and family vacations to healthcare and #MeToo. An avid fan of the Oakland Athletics, Nomi also works as a staff artist at the Charles M. Schulz Studio in Santa Rosa.
Nomi will appear at the San Anselmo Public Library on Saturday, September 15, from 11 a.m. to noon.
Ian Lendler
Having crafted amusing stories such as Saturday, Little Sid, and One Day a Dot for young readers, it’s safe to say that Marin-based author Ian Lendler knows his audience. That might explain why he and illustrator Zack Giallongo decided that animals performing Shakespeare needed to be done so they created the graphic novels The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Macbeth and The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Romeo and Juliet. Ian’s latest work The Absolutely, Positively No Princess Book will be released on September 3.
Ian will appear at the Corte Madera Library on Thursday, September 27, from 4 to 5 p.m.
Alex Schumacher
Hailing from the “Salad Bowl of the World” (look it up), Alex Schumacher keeps busy with his weekly webcomic Decades of (in)Experience for Antix Press and the monthly appearance of Mr. Butterchips in the online literary magazine Drunk Monkeys. His latest project is The Guitarist (co-created with writer C.W. Cooke).
Alex will appear with Alexis E. Fajardo at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco on Saturday, August 25, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Landry Q. Walker
Supergirl, Batman, The Incredibles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . . . New York Times bestselling writer Landry Q. Walker has worked with some big names over the course of his career. His original work includes the comic book Little Gloomy and the humorous school-age sci-fi book series Project: Terra. This summer, Landry and artist Justin Greenwood debuted their gritty medieval war story The Last Siege through Image Comics.
Landry will appear with Justin Greenwood at Blue Moon Comics in San Rafael on Wednesday, September 12, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Judd Winick
You big kids may remember him from TV shows such as MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco and . . . MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco, but Judd Winick really cut his chops writing and drawing comics. He earned an Eisner Award nomination for his autobiographical graphic novel Pedro and Me (about his late friend and AIDS educator Pedro Zamora) and later worked on iconic comic book characters including Batman, Green Lantern, and Green Arrow. These days, Judd keeps busy with his New York Times bestselling all-ages book series about a boy from outer space named Hilo.
Judd will appear at the San Anselmo Public Library on Friday, September 21, from 4 to 5 p.m.
