Brian Yanish is an author, illustrator, designer and maker. His books include the young graphic novels Zombie Doughnut Attack! (Random House 2022), Sleepaway Champs (2021), Shark and Bot (2020), Pirate Chicken: All Hens on Deck (Sourcebooks 2019) and the forthcoming Epic Roller Coaster Ride! (RH 2023) and Sweet and Sour (FSG 2024.) He has worked for Jim Henson Productions, trained as a special effects moldmaker, written and performed comedy and designed educational software, home furnishings, apparel and toys. He is the creator of ScrapKins®, a Recycled Arts Enrichment program that inspires kids to see creative potential in everyday junk. As a presenter, Brian has shared STEAM based workshops and talks with schools and institutions including the American Museum of Natural History, Boston Children’s Museum,  The World Science Festival and even appeared on Sesame Street. He lives in Rochester, NY.

Cayetano Valenzuela is a Chicano artist and illustrator. His comics integrate his love of fantasy and magical realism with his chicano cultural perspective. He is currently working on a Latinx teen horror graphic novel about a pair of brothers who stumble across a magical nexus point from which dark powers are spilling forth.

Dave Chisholm is an Eisner and Ringo nominated graphic novelist and comic artist who also happens to be an accomplished musician with a doctorate in jazz trumpet from the Eastman School of Music. His music-centric graphic novels Chasin’ the Bird, Enter the Blue, and Instrumental have been met with critical acclaim. He also enjoys making comics that aren’t necessarily about music, but, hey, it’s good to have a niche, right?! 

Frances Chang Andreu (AKA Fran Chang) is a Rochester-based artist and librarian. She has been making comic zines since 2016 and her work has appeared in the Built on Strange Ground anthology and Strumpet #5. She is one of the co-founders and organizers of the Rochester Indie Comics Expo.

Franzie Weldgen was born, raised, and lives in Webster, NY.  He received his BFA in lithography from RIT and his MFA in painting and printmaking from the University of Arizona.  He is an Associate Professor in the Visual & Performing Arts Department at MCC where he has taught the course “Comics & Sequential Arts” for nearly two decades. His comics have been exhibited in major museums throughout the U.S., and his comic depicting the “Imaginary Fate of Osama bin Laden” is painted on a ceramic bowl in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC.

Jackie E. Davis is the creator of Underpants and Overbites, the popular autobiographical webcomic inspired by her ordinary human life. She lives and works in an old lumpy house in Rochester, NY with lots of squishy plush toys and her husband Pat, the tired purple character in the comics. Jackie makes all her comics traditionally with ink and watercolor.

Jason Yungbluth is a Rochester-based cartoonist whose credits include MAD magazine, DC Comics, and numerous newspapers and magazines. He is the creator of the comic books Deep Fried, Clarissa and Weapon Brown.

Jonathan Schnapp lives in Rochester, NY with his amazing wife and son, and two obnoxious cats. He spends most of his time painting, drawing, writing, and running around the neighborhood. He has also worked with several STEM companies but was recently promoted to the position of “Stay at Home Parent.”  He received his MFA in Imaging Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2008. While not his first comic, Order of the Night Jay is his first published graphic novel.

Joshua Barkman is the artist behind False Knees, the hilarious, often existential and sometimes bizarre webcomic that features talking birds. A traditional artist, Joshua uses watercolors to paint detailed illustrations of native Canadian wildlife and pairs them with witty dialogue and a good dose of comedic timing.

Sally Peck is a Rochester native, Pratt Institute graduate, and a professional graphic designer and illustrator. She will be debuting the first installment of her independent comic series “Witchaboos” at the Comics Showcase and RICE! “Witchaboos” is about 3 dorky teenage girls who form an anime club and dabble in dark magic in order to become “magical girls” like in their favorite anime shows and manga.