Alexis E. Fajardo
You may never think of epic poetry the same after reading cartoonist Lex Fajardo’s Kid Beowulf graphic novel series, which reimagines medieval adversaries Beowulf and the monstrous Grendel as 12-year-old twin brothers and sends them off on adventures far and wide for encounters with other legendary heroes and villains from literature. A senior editor at Charles M. Schulz Studio in Santa Rosa, Lex served as co-editor of the 2018 Eisner Award-winning archival collection Celebrating Snoopy.
Lex will appear at the Point Reyes Library on Saturday, September 21, from 11 a.m. to noon.
Brian Fies
On October 9, 2017, the Tubbs wildfire forced cartoonist Brian Fies and his wife Karen to evacuate their home near Santa Rosa. After returning to find only a charred lot where their house once stood, he chronicled the tragic aftermath in a poignant, 18-chapter webcomic entitled A Fire Story. Brian’s original post was later developed into an Emmy Award-winning animated segment for KQED as well as a full-length, graphic novel released early this year. Brian’s other work includes the Eisner Award-winning real-life story Mom’s Cancer, the graphic novel Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?, and the webcomic The Last Mechanical Monster.
Brian will appear at the San Anselmo Public Library on Monday, September 9, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Mat Heagerty
Both a chipper bartender and comics writer, Mat Heagerty’s main claim to Internet fame comes from being retweeted once by MC Hammer. His debut book Unplugged and Unpopular (illustrated by Tintin Pantoja and due out on October 15) centers on Erin Song, a spunky middle schooler who, after losing her online privileges, finds herself butting heads with some pesky extraterrestrials. Mat’s upcoming youth-oriented releases include Martian Ghost Centaur (2020), A Jaywalker’s Journal (2021), and Indoor Kid (2021).
Mat will appear at the Belvedere Tiburon Library on Wednesday, September 25, from 4 to 5 p.m.
Eda Kaban
Illustrator Eda Kaban infuses her eye-catching art with colorful innocence and whimsy making her playful work appealing to both the storybook crowd and their grownups. Her publishing credits include Even Superheroes Have Bad Days, Pink Is for Boys, Captain Marvel: What Makes a Hero, and the latest book Pirates Don’t Go to Kindergarten. Eda’s upcoming release Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Galaxy Needs You arrives this December.
Eda will appear at the Corte Madera Library on Saturday, September 21, from 11 a.m. to noon.
Ian Lendler
The ability of Marin’s own Ian Lendler to craft clever and engaging stories for young readers may be seen in the pages of his books including Saturday, Little Sid, One Day a Dot, and The Absolutely, Positively No Princess Book. In addition, he and illustrator Zack Giallongo created the graphic novels The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Macbeth and The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Romeo and Juliet, in which animals perform Shakespeare’s greatest hits. Ian’s upcoming works include The First Dinosaur: How Science Solved the Greatest Mystery on Earth (Oct. 2019) and The Fabled Life of Aesop (2020).
Ian will appear at the San Rafael Public Library on Wednesday, September 4, from 4 to 5 p.m.
Scott Morse
Animator and Eisner Award-nominated writer/illustrator Scott Morse earned his cartooning chops during stints at Chuck Jones Film Productions, Cartoon Network, and Pixar. His comics work includes the 1997 epic series Soulwind, Elektra: Glimpse & Echo for Marvel Comics, Catwoman, and the popular Magic Pickle series. In June, he scored another hit with the release of Dugout: The Zombie Steals Home.
Scott will appear at the Civic Center Library in San Rafael on Saturday, September 7, from 11 a.m. to noon.
Alex Schumacher
Based in Monterey County, creator Alex Schumacher produces vast amounts of cartoons for his awkward and angst-ridden weekly webcomic Decades of (in)Experience for Antix Press and the monthly appearance of the curmudgeonly Mr. Butterchips in the online literary magazine Drunk Monkeys. His published books include the satirical social and political collection Defiling the Literati and the all-ages works Benjamin and the Fish and The World’s Crummiest Umbrella.
Alex will appear at the Blue Moon Comics in San Rafael on Saturday, September 14, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Landry Q. Walker
New York Times bestselling writer Landry Q. Walker has worked with some of the biggest names in the business: Supergirl, The Incredibles, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. His original work includes the comic book Little Gloomy, the apocalyptic teen thriller Danger Club, and the humorous school-age sci-fi book series Project: Terra. More recently, Landry and artist Justin Greenwood crafted the gritty tale The Last Siege, best described as a spaghetti Western set against the backdrop bloody of medieval war, for Image Comics.
Landry will appear at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco on Saturday, August 24, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Andy Warner
A contributing editor at the daily online editorial cartooning publication The Nib, author and artist Andy Warner serves up offbeat facts and colorful tales in Brief Histories of Everyday Objects and the recently released This Land is My Land: A Graphic History of Big Dreams, Micronations, and Other Self-Made States (with illustrator Sofie Louise Dam). He also teaches cartooning at Stanford University and the Animation Workshop in Denmark.
Andy will appear at the Mill Valley Library on Saturday, September 21, from 2 to 3 p.m.
Judd Winick
In the 1990s, Judd Winick appeared on MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco; today he’s the creator of the New York Times bestselling all-ages Hilo series. In between, he earned an Eisner Award nomination for his autobiographical graphic novel Pedro and Me (about his late Real World housemate and AIDS educator Pedro Zamora), created the animated series The Life and Times of Juniper Lee for Cartoon Network, and worked on iconic comic book characters including Batman, Green Lantern, and Green Arrow.
Judd will appear at the Mill Valley Library on Thursday, September 19, from 5 to 6 p.m.
