Cartoon Crossroads Columbus announces NEW GUESTS

CARTOON CROSSROADS COLUMBUS ANNOUNCES SECOND ROUND SPECIAL GUESTS AND FULL MANGA TRACK  

Eleventh edition of citywide festival takes place September 18 – 21

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC), the international showcase for cartoon art, is pleased to announce its second round of featured guests and a full manga track for the 2025 festival running September 18th – 21st. For our eleventh festival, CXC brings cartoon storytellers, comic makers, animators, and readers together in Columbus, Ohio.

“We’re incredibly excited to add these four additional guests to what is already a spectacular guest lineup. Jhonen Vasquez is obviously a superstar in the worlds of both comics and animation for his work on Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and Invader Zim respectively. He has influenced—and continues to influence-—generations of young creatives,” said Ben Towle, CXC programming co-chair and five-time Eisner-nominated cartoonist. “Jhonen doesn’t make many public appearances, and we’re really honored to have him appear here in Columbus in the fall!”

“Ever since I was invited to Japan in the 1990’s by Tezuka Productions to spend a week meeting with manga artists and publishers, I have been fascinated with manga and anime! Launching a full manga track for the 2025 show is a natural extension of CXC’s mission to celebrate all types of cartoon arts from all over the globe,” said Jeff Smith, co-founder of the festival and creator of the graphic novel series Bone. 

In addition to the previously-announced guest list, the 11th festival will now feature:

• Deb Aoki is a comics journalist known for her expertise in Asian comics. She’s the co-host of the Mangasplaining podcast, which introduces new readers to manga, and has written about manga, manhwa and Japanese popular culture for numerous comics industry publications.

• Gigi Murakami is an Ignatz-nominated manga artist and illustrator whose work blends Japanese manga art, vintage grindhouse poster art and pulp comics aesthetics, while focusing on the dark, dramatic, fantastical, and introspective. She is most recognized for her supernatural horror manga, Resenter.

• Jhonen Vasquez is the creator of the comics Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, Squee!, I Feel Sick, and Fillerbunny as well as the animated series Invader Zim. His work in both media has been incredibly popular and hugely influential.

• Loui is a French-Ghanaian cartoonist whose manga has recently begun to be translated and published in English. His comics are rich in African motifs and legends, and fantastical tales of adventure and voodoo—all inspired by the stories of his childhood.

Festival organizers will have more information about programming in the coming months. Follow CXC on social media (Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram) or check www.cartooncrossroadscolumbus.org for the latest. 

CXC 2025 Programming will occur at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, Columbus College of Art & Design, Columbus Metropolitan Library, the Columbus Museum of Art, GFC: Gateway Film Center and the Wexner Center for the Arts.

Already announced CXC 2025 Special Guests include:

Ray Billingsley (Curtis) Charles Burns (Black Hole, Final Cut), John Canemaker (The Art and Flair of Mary Blair, animation historian), Katie Cook (Nothing Special, Gronk: A Monster’s Story), Jerzy Drozd (The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue), Kayla E. (Precious Rubbish, They Never Loved You), Michel Fiffe (Copra), Keita Katsushika (Higashi Tokyo, MachiMachi), Lucy Knisley (Sugar Shack, Relish), Marco Kohinata (My Lost Things, Light), Patrick Lay (Death Strikes, Multi), Matt Madden (99 Ways to Tell a Story, Ex Libris), Lonnie Milsap (My Nib Is Cold!, My Mother Was Human!), Tony Moore (The Walking Dead, Venom), John Musker (The Little Mermaid, Moana), Dan Nadel (Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life), Mimi Pond (Over Easy, The Customer Is Always Wrong), Ann Telnaes (editorial cartoonist), Raúl the Third (Vamos!, Stuntboy), Carol Tyler (Soldier’s Heart, Late Bloomer)

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