Washington’s premier Star Wars costuming groups, Alpha Base and Garrison Titan will be appearing at WWU Queer Con to raise money for Equal Rights Washington.
Rebel Legion
Taneka Stotts (she/her) is a queer little tumbleweed that stopped rolling somewhere in Portland, OR. After spending quite a few years as a spoken word artist, Taneka’s focus shifted to comics, a medium full of collaboration and imagination. Taneka writes the webcomics “Full Circle” and “Love Circuits” as well as a creator-owned comic for Stela, “Deja Brew.” Taneka has edited a few comics anthologies including most recently the award-winning “Beyond: The Queer Sci-Fi and Fantasy Comic Anthology” and “ELEMENTS: Fire” (Beyond Press). Taneka is currently working on “Beyond 2” with Sfé R. Monster and “Passion Fruit: A Queerotica Anthology.” Taneka has recently finished editing “Afar” for Image comics by Leila Del Duca and Kit Seaton.
Selected works: ELEMENTS: FIRE an Anthology by Creators of Color, Beyond: The Queer SciFi & Fantasy Comic Anthology, Beyond: The Queer Urban Fantasy & Post Apocalyptic Edition, Passion Fruit: A Queerotica Anthology by Queer Creators
TanekaStotts.com
Magdalene Visaggio (she/her) is the writer of Kim & Kim and Quantum Teens Are Go for Black Mask Studios, as well as an unannounced project at Oni. Raised in Richmond, Virginia, she currently resides in Uptown Manhattan.
Selected Works: Kim & Kim, Quantum Teens Are Go
MagdaleneVisaggio.com
Sara Ryan (she/her) is the author of the graphic novel Bad Houses, published by Dark Horse Comics with art by Carla Speed McNeil, young adult novels The Rules for Hearts and Empress of the World, both published by Viking, and various comics, short stories and essays, most recently “Openly Bisexual” in The V-Word, edited by Amber J. Keyser and published by Simon Pulse/Beyond Words, and “V.I.P.” in Sensation Comics: Featuring Wonder Woman, published by DC Entertainment.
Selected Works: Bad Houses, Empress of the World
SaraRyan.com
Taylor Smith (he/him) is the main editor of Space Goat Publishing. He’ll be available to review portfolios. Show him your best work!
Autumn Crossman Serb (she/her) is an illustrator/graphic novelist based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She has created several original comics and zines, including a reworked fairy tale based on Straggletag, and a comic for the second Beyond anthology, most of her stories are niche romances set in sci-fi and fantasy worlds.
Selected Works: “It is the East Window and you are the Sun“, “Creation”
akitron.tumblr.com | AutumnGrace.carbonmade.com
Mister Loki (he/him) is a queer comic artist and bone marrow transplant nurse living in Los Angeles, CA. His work focuses on promoting LGBTQ and racial representation in comics.
Selected Works: If There Be Magic, Those Spaces Between, Until the Last Dog Dies
misterloki.com | lastdogdies.com
Kiku Hughes (she/her) is a queer, hapa comic artist living and working in the Seattle area. She has work in anthologies such as “Beyond: the queer sci-fi/fantasy comic anthology” and “Elements: Fire”. Her webcomic “The Sublimes” features a majority LGBT+ cast-it’s about three sisters, robots, and the importance of making connections with others.
Selected Works: The Sublimes, ongoing webcomic; “Gravity assist“, short; “Sofia“, short; “Kim“, short
geniusbee.tumblr.com | thesublimescomic.tumblr.com | @geniusbeee
Anna Bongiovanni (they/them) is queer cartoonist living in Minneapolis whose work has been published online, in anthologies, and in mini-comics, and whose first graphic novel, Out of Hollow Water, was published by 2D Cloud in 2013. They are the creator of The Grease Bats, a monthly webcomic for the queer feminist website Autostraddle, as well as a contributing cartoonist to Everyday Feminism. Anna doesn’t shy away from being tough, honest, and self-reflective in their work. Their comics are casual, intimate, tender, and funny. Having self-published over thirty zines and mini-comics, Anna loves to share the joy and occasional heartbreak that comes from self-publishing with frankness and confidence.
Selected Works: Grease Bats, monthly serialized comic for Autostraddle.com; Petty Uncompromising Girlfriend, self-published comic; A Cheap & Easy Guide To They/Them Pronouns, zine; Sex Can Suck, self-published comic; Out Of Hollow Water, 2D Cloud
AnnaBongiovanni.com | @grease_bat | bikesbabesandbooze.tumblr.com
Emily Willis (she/her) and Ann Uland (she/her) are a married couple who’ve been creating queer comics together since 2014 – starting their imprint Arbitrary Muse Comics as a way to showcase their collaborations. In addition to making comics, they’ve also helped with distributing the work of fellow indie creators at conventions around the US.
Selected Works: Cassius, If the Shoe Fits
@birdiewrites (Emily) | @nymaulth (Ann) | arbitrarymuse.com | AnnUlandart.com
Allison Paige (they/them) is a queer artist from Edmonton, Canada who makes comics and mistakes with equal enthusiasm. They are currently working on Who We Are Now (with Bryce Duzan), a post-post-apocalyptic queer visual novel about picking up the pieces of the past and moving on, Whispering Ash: James (with Amber Noelle), the second installment of the alternate-regency-era horror Whispering Ash comic series, and several other soon to be announced comic projects.
Selected Works: Whispering Ash: Ophelia, with writer Amber Noelle; Work/Life Balance, with writer Steve Foxe; Slow Black River, with writer Paul Coy and inker Beth Sparks; A Swift Demise: Three Small Horror Stories that are Definitely Not About Taylor Swift
rabbitcourage.tumblr.com | @rabbitcourage | rabbitcourage.com
Mey Valdivia Rude (she/her) is a bisexual Latina trans woman living in Los Angeles. She’s one of the nation’s leading queer comic critics, experts and journalists. She has an English Degree, a cat named Sawyer and way too many black dresses.
Selected Works: I consulted on Lumberjanes and Bitch Planet as well as several other comics with trans characters, and I also write a comics column for Autostraddle.com and am the founder of the Autostraddle Comic Awards, the only awards celebrating queer women’s representation in comics.
Autostraddle
Ethan X. Parker (he/they) is a self-taught illustrator and comic artist living and working in Austin, TX. They’ve worked hand-in-hand with Strong Families, #BlackLivesMatter and Culture/Strike to create visual noise and draw attention to relevant social topics affecting the intersections of various queer, Black, and trans identities. Currently they are working on ‘一人’ [hitori], a collection of autobiographical comics centered around the discovery and unpacking of his agender, transmasculine identity. Ethan is a geeky human who loves to read comics, play video games and kick flip for social justice. He also enjoys long walks on the beach, piña coladas and clichés.
Selected Works: 一人 [hitori], on-going autobiographical queer comics documenting the discovery of Self, Identity, and Truth, readable via Patreon; Featured comic artist in The Solidarity Struggle: How People of Color Succeed and Fail at Showing Up for Each Other in the Fight for Freedom
ethandrawsstuff.tumblr.com | patreon.com/EthanDrawsStuff | pinklemon.storenvy.com | @3thanXP (Instagram) | @EthanDrawsStuff (Twitter)
Levi Hastings (he/him) is an illustrator and cartoonist in Seattle, WA. He is the cover artist for the Lambda Award-winning Beyond Anthology and is currently working on a story for the second volume. Along with writer Josh Trujillo, he is creator of the American Revolution romance comic DECLARATION. In addition to a busy freelance schedule, he creates artwork and comics that explore his lifelong obsessions with travel, culture and natural history.
Selected Works: The Beyond Anthology: A Queer Sci Fi & Fantasy Comics Anthology; Declaration, A Queer American Revolution Romance; Baggage Claim travel zine.
LeviHastings.com
Beth Sparks (they/them) is a cartoonist from the Chicago suburbs, currently living in Montreal. They’ve been making comics since around 2009, when they were lucky enough to snag a spot in Michigan State University’s first ever Intro to Comics course. Since then they’ve been happily chipping away at a long list of short, mini-comic sized stories, organizing collaborative projects, and doing a whole lot of hand stapling. Currently, they’re studying concept art at Syn Studio and working on [secret project] with Allison Paige, [redacted] with Quinlan Sparks, and Sought and Searching, a solo project.
Selected Works: Slow Black River with Paul Coy and Allison Paige; That Guy with Ryan Troock; Hugs, Kisses, and Hellfire with Quinlan Sparks
@sparksel | sparkselart.tumblr.com | solid-state-studios.com
Joamette Gil (she/her) is a queer Afro-Cuban cartoonist from the Miami diaspora. She is also the head of Power & Magic Press, an independent comics publishing company in Portland, OR.
Selected Works: Power & Magic: The Queer Witch Comics Anthology, Lulu & Diana, clearQuartz
JoametteGil.com
Nicole J. Georges (she/her) is a queer cartoonist, professor and podcaster from Portland, OR. She is author of the Lambda Award winning book “Calling Dr. Laura” and the forthcoming “Fetch: How a Bad Dog Brought Me Home”. She teaches at CCA.
Selected Works: Calling Dr. Laura, Invincible Summer
NicoleJGeorges.com
Graham Schmidt, (he/him, they/them) a contemporary house hob from the Pacific Northwest. I put sweaters on the teapots and flowers in my beard. I bake bread to nourish the body, and draw stories to nourish the soul.
Selected Works: The Creativitree (on Tapastic,) Queers Destroy Horror, Winter Painted World (in progress on Patreon,) Maven (in development)
grimmalkindrewit.com | @grimmalkindraws
Hazel Newlevant (she or they) is a Portland-raised, Queens-residing cartoonist and editor. If This Be Sin, her graphic novella about queer women and music history, received the Prism Comics Queer Press Grant. She is the editor of Chainmail Bikini: The Anthology of Women Gamers, and is currently co-editing the anthology Comics for Choice.
Selected Works: If This Be Sin, No Ivy League, Chainmail Bikini: The Anthology of Women Gamers
Newlevant.com
Josh Trujillo (he/him) is a writer, editor, and comic book creator based in Los Angeles, California. He has worked with clients including Boom! Studios, Dark Horse Comics, Telltale Games, and DC Comics, among others. Trujillo is perhaps best known for his self-published efforts, writing the technological romance series Love Machines, and editing the tabletop gaming anthology Death Saves: Fallen Heroes of the Kitchen Table. His work spans different genre and audiences, specializing in children’s fiction, fantasy, humor, history, romance, gaming, and LGBTQ issues.
Selected Works: Love Machines, Death Saves, Adventure Time: Brain Robbers
JoshTrujillo.com | @LostHisKeysMan
Ainsley Yeager (they/them) is a Seattle based cartoonist and graphic designer and 2010 Alumni of WWU.
Selected Works: ventureforthcomics.com, Mystery of La Luna, High Fantasy Herps Enamel Pins.
aainsleyy.com
Delia Gable