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Holy crap! Olivia Jaimes, the pseudonym of a cartoonist who has turned the Nancy world upside down with her take on the strip, is making a PUBLIC APPEARANCE. Her very first! Jaimes will appear at Cartoon Crossroads Columbia (CXC) on a spotlight panel at 3:30 on Sunday and two mysterious personal events.

No cel phones or recording devices will be allowed at the panel, tho so we’ll just have to rely on witness accounts, the old fashioned way. And we’re looking for someone to report on the scene: please, reliable narrators only!

Will this be a Teddy Perkins moment,with Jaimes’ identity concealed, just like Batman’s privates? Or will she turn out to be someone incredibly well known and we’ll all slap ourselves and say “Oh shit I knew it all along!”

Jaimes is the pen name of an already working (and successful) webcartoonist. But even with stylistic quirks, her real identity is still not public knowledge, although she has long been linked to the Columbus scene. For someone’s identty to remain a semi-secret in the internet age is truly an accomplishment, although it does explain why CXC show runner Tom Spurgeon ran away every time he saw me at SPX – perhaps he was afraid he would crack under my relentless interrogation.

Whoever she is – and does it really matter? – the Nancy comic strip  continues to be very modern and funny.

CSC kicks off September 27-30th and other spotlight guests include Keiler Roberts, Dustin Harbin, Mark Siegel and Georgia Webber. It sounds like a great time and if I weren’t half dead and broken from all my travel I’d be there.

The whole press release is below – feel free to scour it for clews!

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Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) has announced Olivia Jaimes, the popular newspaper comic strip cartoonist responsible for Nancy, as a special guest for its comics festival in late September.

CXC 2018 will be the first major festival appearance for Jaimes, who took over the legacy feature in May 2018. The sharp contrast between Jaimes’ efforts and then-recent Nancy strips brought a surge of attention to the cartoonist and the feature. Jaimes’ Nancy mixes modern references with classic Bushmiller tropes involving formal play and multi-layered gag work.

Jaimes’ appearance at CXC 2018 is sponsored by GoComics.

Jaimes will participate in one public panel on Sunday at 3:30 PM, and a pair of non-public events designed to mark the historical moment of the cartoonist’s initial success. Cell phones and recording devices will be collected at the door of Jaimes’ Sunday event and returned to their owners afterwards.

Those wishing for more details and developments are encouraged to watch and to follow the show’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.

http://www.cartooncrossroadscolumbus.org
@cxcfestival
http://www.facebook.com/cartooncrossroadscolumbus

“We’re incredibly excited to have a cartoonist of Jaimes’ caliber at the show,” said CXC Executive Director Tom Spurgeon. “The new Nancy is a deserved sensation and we look forward to celebrating this moment in Jaimes’ career and in comics history.”

Also attending the show in featured guest roles will be the cartoonists Keiler Roberts, Dustin Harbin, Mark Siegel and Georgia Webber.

Keiler Roberts will appear on Friday (the Koyama Press panel) and Saturday (both at her own table and in a spotlight panel) in support of her new book Chlorine Gardens and to help celebrate the presence of Annie Koyama and Koyama Press.

Dustin Harbin is another Koyama Press veteran, and will moderate the Koyama spotlight panel at 1:30 PM on Friday, September 28 at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum. 

He will appear at his own table at the Expo and Book Fair, Saturday-only.

First Second Editorial Director Mark Siegel will be in Columbus in support of his creative work, primarily his collaborative contributions to the Five Worlds series. He will twice appear at the Expo and Book Fair on Saturday: first in conversation with cartoonist and exhibiting guest Zack Soto, and then in a featured signing.

Georgia Webber is sponsored by Fantagraphics and will appear in support of her new release, Dumb: Living Without A Voice, with a related presentation on Saturday at the Expo/Book Fair.

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit devoted to showcasing the best in comics and cartooning, promoting the city of Columbus as an international arts destination and assisting with the career development of young creators. 

CXC’s 2018 Festival is September 27-30.

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