Last night Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) held their CXC 2022 Announcement Party, an event at which the organization unveiled their lineup of special guests for this year’s festival. Set to take place October 6th through 9th, the guest line-up features two-dozen figures from across the world of comics, including Keith Knight, Maia Kobabe, Ron Wimberly, Trina Robbins, and many more.
Here’s the full list of CXC special guests:
Vincent Alexander (Musical Man and the Magic Kazoo)
Paige Braddock (Peanut, Butter, and Crackers, Jane’s World)
Barbara Brandon-Croft (Where I’m Coming From)
Peter Gallagher (Heathcliff)
Tom Gauld (Goliath, Revenge of the Librarians)
Laura Harrison (The Limits of Vision)
Myisha Haynes (Anne of West Philly)
Paul Jenkins (Wolverine: Origin, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Mathew Klickstein (See You at San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture)
Keith Knight (The K Chronicles, The Knight Life, WOKE)
Maia Kobabe (Gender Queer: A Memoir)
Trung Le Nguyen (The Magic Fish)
MariNaomi (Life on Earth)
Lee Marrs (The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp)
Ingrid Ochoa (The Kiss Bet)
Ed Piskor (X-Men: Grand Design, Cartoonist Kayfabe)
Trina Robbins (Wimmen’s Comix, Wonder Woman)
Jim Rugg (Hulk: Grand Design, Cartoonist Kayfabe)
Frederik L. Schodt (Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics)
Maria Scrivan (Nat Enough)
James Spooner (The High Desert, AFRO-PUNK)
Steenz (Heart of the City)
James Sturm (Off Season)
Ronald Wimberly (LAAB Magazine, Prince of Cats)
CXC 2022 will be the first time the festival has been held in-person since 2019, with the past two years’ festivals held virtually as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement accompanying the guest list announcement, CXC cofounder and artistic director Jeff Smith and CXC executive director Jay B. Kalagayan both expressed their enthusiasm at bringing the event back in-person this year:
“Every fall, the comics and cartoon art community in Columbus comes together for CXC, and once again we celebrate this beautiful, complex art form and the masters who make it,” said Jeff Smith, CXC’s co-founder and artistic director, and author of the Bone and Tuki graphic novels. “We have an incredible guest list from around the world, and we have events and activities planned for anyone who likes cartoons—which is everyone!”
“I invite audiences to use the CXC Festival as an opportunity to broaden their horizons,” says Jay B. Kalagayan, executive director of CXC, “Come find out what work hasn’t been on your radar that might speak directly to this moment in your life, or to catch on to work that is going to capture major attention in the next year.”
CXC 2022 will be held in Columbus, OH from October 6th through 9th.
