Guests

In 2007, we will continue to spotlight the work of some of the top female professionals in the business. Check back often for updates!

Confirmed guests so far include the following:

Shelly Bond
Shelly Bond is the editor of MINX, the new young adult graphic novel imprint from DC Comics launching in spring 2007 with the release of THE P.L.A.I.N. Janes. She is also a Group Editor at VERTIGO, best known for her work on the acclaimed FABLES and LUCIFER series.

Cecil Castellucci
Writer/Director Cecil Castellucci's first young adult novel, "Boy Proof" came out spring 2005 on Candlewick Press. Her second novel "The Queen of Cool" came out in February 2006 and will be followed in May 2007 by her third novel "Beige", both also on Candlewick Press. Her first Graphic Novel THE P.L.A.I.N. JANES will come out in May 2007 on the new DC Comics Minx imprint.

Recently she wrote and directed her first feature film “Happy Is Not Hard To Be.” It debuted in Los Angeles at the Alternative Screen series at the Egyptian Theatre.

Among other creative pursuits, she is an indie rock musician, performing under the name Nerdy Girl and Cecil Seaskull. With two CDs under her belt, and many tours across the US and Canada, she participated in musical festivals from CMJ to SXSW and Canadian Music Week. She received a B.F.A. in Film Production at Concordia University in Montreal.

Svetlana Chmakova
Svetlana was born and raised Russian, and came to Canada at the tender age of 16. She finished high school here, then graduated Sheridan College with a three-year Classical Animation Diploma and is currently a freelance artist, as well as a fledging North-American equivalent of a manga-ka.

Svetlana has drawn for how-to-draw-manga books, RPG manuals, toy designs, animation and book covers. In addition, she has written and drawn the critically acclaimed Tokyo Pop graphic novels Dramacon and Dramacon 2, and creates a monthly strip for CosmoGirl magazine.

Danielle Corsetto
Danielle is a very busy artist who produces the popular webcomic GIRLS WITH SLINGSHOTS, as well as the BATBOY strip for the WEEKLY WORLD NEWS from none other than Peter Bagge. Her first graphic novel CRAZY PAPERS (put out by Chatterbox Comix), which she drew and Jim Dougan wrote, is currently available through Diamond.

Willow Dawson
An illustrator and writer working out of Toronto. Willow self-publishes her own comics and zines, and is currently in the writing stages of producing her first full-length graphic novel which has received funding from the Ontario Arts Council. Willow is also the artist of the comic Violet Miranda: Girl Pirate, from Kiss Machine Presents.

Tania Del Rio
Tania del Rio, has always loved comics and she's thrilled to be working on one of her favorite titles- Sabrina The Teenage Witch. Although she received an animation degree from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, comics have always been a part of her life. She would go to comic conventions where she would sell her own self-published comics and, more recently, her comic, Lovesketch, was one of ten finalists to appear in Tokyopop's anthology, Rising Stars of Manga Volume 2!

In Japan, where manga is sold, there are many wonderful female artists, and they have inspired Tania's love of the manga style! Tania's biggest hope is that more girls in North America will get interested in comics and grow up to make comics, too! So, if you enjoy Sabrina The Teenage Witch, show it to all your friends and let them see how much fun comics can be.

Janet Hetherington
Janet Hetherington is a writer and cartoonist with a degree in Journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. She is the creator of the Eternal Romance comic book and her writing can be found in Elvira, Mistress of the Dark from Claypool Comics.

In addition to comics, Janet also writes prose fiction. Her short story “The Power Lunch” was published in Bell, Book & Beyond: An Anthology of Witchy Tales. She is a 1999 Aurora Award winner for excellence in Canadian science fiction and fantasy and has served as a judge for comics' prestigious Eisner Awards (1997) and for the Canada Council for the Arts (2003).

Janet is also a member of the Friends of Lulu organization and the Ottawa Science Fiction Society. She currently works as an Editor with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Faith Erin Hicks
Faith Erin Hicks lives and works in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her first online comic, Demonology 101, took five years and topped 700 pages before it was completed. Her second online comic, Ice, was nominated for a Shuster Award. Her third comic, Zombies Calling, is being published by SLG Publishing in November 2007. She hopes people besides her mom will read it.

Joan Hilty
Joan Hilty is a DC Comics editor. Her diverse current portfolio includes Flash: Fastest Man Alive, Blue Beetle, Outsiders, Checkmate, Manhunter, the upcoming VERTIGO graphic novel Cairo, and the Cartoon Network anthology comics. She is also the creator of the comic strip Bitter Girl, distributed by Q Syndicate.

Liana K
Liana K is known formost for her work on television's Ed and Red's Night Party! Her credits also include fan favourite segments on Space's It Came From the Basement and Slice's Plastic Makes Perfect. However, Liana is also a comic book writer, editor, and advocate of the medium. Her work can be seen in Ed and Red's Comic Strip, and the upcoming books, The Vessel -- a work with feminist theological underpinnings -- and Abe the Aborted Fetus -- a witty, biting satire about politics in America. She has recently written the forward to the trade paperback compilation of Sean Ward's Electric Comics Freak Out.

Liana is a frequent convention panelist, and participated on the organizational and nominating committees for the 2007 Joe Shuster Awards. She is also a writer and public speaker on women's issues, and has participated in very successful fundraisers for Casey House and the Emily Stowe Women's Shelter. Liana's primary feminist focus is adolescent self-esteem issues.

Liana can be also seen running around conventions dressed up like superheroes. No, really, she does. Characters include Poison Ivy, Hawkgirl, Shanna the She-Devil, Batwoman, and the ever-popular Power Girl.

Michèle Laframboise
Trained academically as an engineer and geographer, Michèle Laframboise first came to public notice through her humorous drawings. While continuing to produce comic books, she also writes highly inventive sci-fi novels with numerous twists and turns. Her YA novel Les Nuages du Phoenix was awarded the 2001 Prix Cécile Gagnon.

Tara McPherson
Tara McPherson is a painter, poster artist and freelance illustrator based out of New York City. Her array of art includes painted comics and covers for Vertigo DC, advertising and editorial illustrations for companies such as Fanta and Spin Magazine, and numerous gig posters for rock bands such as Green Day, Modest Mouse and Death Cab For Cutie. She also has exhibited her paintings and prints in fine art galleries all over the world.

Currently she is working on a painted graphic novel for DC Vertigo Comics (scheduled for a 2007 release), painting for private commissions and gallery exhibitions, designing a new line of toys for Kid Robot based on her characters, and teaches a Concept Illustration class at Parsons in NYC.

Recently released books include "Lonely Heart: The Art of Tara McPherson" (Dark Horse Press).

Robyn Moore
An invaluable part of the Strangers in Paradise team, Robyn is the Managing Editor and Co-Publisher of the long-running series.

Vesna Mostovac
As a graduate of Nelvana, she spent her time creating special F/X and painting backgrounds for the Gemini Award-winning TV series Stickin' Around, supervising digital paint and compositing and working with directors on series like psycho cartoon freakout Sam and Max. Mostovac is also the creator of the Foolish Girl - one of Toronto’s best-known and celebrated underground comics books. An animated version of Foolish Girl aired on CBC's alternative pop-culture program ZeD in February 2004.

Patricia Mulvihill
A colourist for DC, Mulvihill won an Eisner Award for her work on Vertigos cult hit 100 Bullets, written by Brian Azzarello. She is currently working on 100 Bullets and Loveless, a western also penned by Azzarello and confesses to still be starstruck when meeting other artists for the first time.

Christine Norrie
Christine Norrie was born in West Germany and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. An acclaimed illustrator and avid music lover, Norrie’s most noted works include original graphic novel Cheat and Meter’s Hopeless Savages. She’s worked with an array of clients, such as McDonald’s, Miramax Films, Cosmo Girl, and Redbook. Dubbed “a natural storyteller” by Publisher’s Weekly, Norrie has earned two Eisner nominations, A Russ Manning Nomination, and a 9th Panel and New York City Comic Book Museum Award.

Whether it’s working on comics or writing, Norrie enjoys grooving to the sultry sounds of slow jams for inspiration. She currently lives with her husband, daughter, dog, and two cats in New York City. Her latest project is the graphic novel "Breaking Up", written by Aimee Friedman coming out from the Scholastic Graphix line this Spring.

Emily Pohl-Weary
Toronto author Emily Pohl-Weary's fifth book is Strange Times at Western High, a mystery featuring 16-year-old sleuth/zine queen Natalie Fuentes. Her previous books include a novel, a book of poetry, a female superhero anthology, and a biography of her grandmother's life. She publishes funky art/lit hybrid Kiss Machine, and is currently writing a girl pirate comic - Violet Miranda, Girl Pirate, and a second mystery.

Nicola Scott
Australian Nicola Scott was a big hit at last spring's Paradise Comicon, and she will be returning in 2007 to take part in Women of Comics.

This winter, Nicola will be taking over the art duties on Birds of Prey for issues #100 - 102, with writer Gail Simone. Previous work includes various "Star Wars" titles for Dark Horse Comics, "Angel" titles for IDW Publishing, "Dead Year High" for Penguin, "Season of the Witch" from Image and Drew Edward's cult web comic "Halloween Man".

Gail Simone
Gail Simone is the current writer of DC's Birds of Prey and All-New Atom series, as well as the upcoming Gen13 revival for DC/WildStorm. Simone is also the writer of DC's 2005 Villains United limited series (part of the lead-in tow Infinite Crisis), and its spin-off, the limited series Secret Six.

Other work by Simone includes a run on the Superman title Action Comics, a brief stint on The Legion, and a Rose and Thorn limited series at DC Comics. For Oni Press, Simone wrote Killer Princesses with co-creator and artist Lea Hernandez, and the Gus Beezer specials for Marvel Comics.

Tara Tallan
Artist/Writer of Galaxion, a science fiction space-exploring story, called "one of the best comic books of 1990's".

Galaxion first appeared as one half on a minicomic called Salmagundi, and later on own in full-size format published by Helikon Comics. There are 13 total issues and one graphic novel (collecting the first 6) in print. At long last Galaxion has been resurrected as a webcomic, appearing alongside many other fine comics at GirlAMatic.

Mariko Tamaki
Mariko Tamaki is a Toronto writer and performer. Mariko has published three books: Cover Me (McGilligan Books), True Lies: The Book of Bad Advice (Women's Press), and Fake ID (Women's Press). Mariko is currently working on a full length version of the Kiss Machine Presents comic book Skim, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki, for Groundwood/Anansi Press Books. In 2006, Skim was awarded a special Honorable Mention award at the Doug Wright Awards, which celebrate Canadian comics and cartooning. In 2007, Skim was deemed "Best English Comic" at Montreal's Expozine.

Diana Tamblyn
An Ignatz-nominated Canadian cartoonist who has been actively writing and drawing mini-comics for almost 10 years now. Her work has appeared in two solo art shows, and various group shows. She’s exhibited in small press fairs in both Canada and the US. Currently living in Toronto, she works full-time as a web producer for a Canadian bank.She graduated from Concordia University in 1994 with a BFA in Film Animation.

Diana will be appearing Saturday and Sunday only.

Raina Telgemeier
Cartoonist Raina Telgemeier has received rave reviews for her minicomic Takeout and her online strip Smile. She has been nominated for numerous awards, including a 2005 Eisner Award for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition, two Ignatz Award nominations for Most Promising New Talent and Best Minicomic, and the Friends of Lulu's Kim Yale Award for Best New Talent of 2003.

Her two comics adaptations of the children's book series The Baby-Sitters Club, for Scholastic Books' Graphix line have met with both critical and popular acclaim.

Raina will be appearing on Friday and Saturday only.

Renee Witterstaetter
Writer, editor and publisher Renee Witterstaetter began the comic phase of her career working on such titles as Superman and Silver Surfer, then going on to edit such popular books as She-Hulk, X-Files, Jurassic Park, and Spartan X. Film work was a natural progression for Renee after this storytelling immersion, and she has worked on dozens of music videos for Madonna, Seal and Usher, as well as the feature films Rush Hour Two and Red Dragon.

She is the author of numerous books and feature articles including “Dying for Action: The Life and Films of Jackie Chan,” and “Arthur Suydam: The Art of the Barbarian.” In addition to on-going film work, she is the President of Little Eva Ink Publishing and Little Eva Ink Toys.


Unfotunately previously announced guests Amanda Connor, Heidi MacDonald and Jill Thompson is no longer able to attend the show.



2006 Guests

Jessica Abel | Samm Barnes | Sandra Bell-Lundy | Svetlana Chmakova | Becky Cloonan | Amanda Connor | Ramona Fradon | Friends of Lulu Toronto Chapter | Janet Hetherington | Heidi MacDonald | Linda Medley | Patricia Mulvihill | Rina Piccolo | Diana Schutz | Nicola Scott | Gail Simone | Fiona Smyth | Diana Tamblyn | Raina Telgemeier | Jill Thompson | Jen Van Meter | Renee Witterstaeter