2026 Program Panels

09/12/2026 | 12:00pm – 1:00pm | White Oak Room

For a kid, going to school is supposed to be about learning and growing in a supportive environment. The reality is that it can be anything but, whether it’s dealing with sadistic teachers, psychotic bullies, or simply not fitting in. Moderator Mili St. John will join Paul B. Rainey (Murder School), Mike Dawson (The Hidden Dominion Of Geordie James), Yina Kim (ESL), and Richard Mercado (Coming Out Perfect) as they explore their own troublesome school narratives.

Panelists: Mili St. John, Paul B. Rainey, Mike Dawson, Yina Kim, Richard Mercado

Special Guests: Paul B. Rainey

09/12/2026 | 12:30pm – 1:30pm | Brookside C

Join moderator Tinguu (The Cannibals) for this special gathering of some of the best and brightest cartoonists from Taiwan. Monday Recover (See You There, Beyond The Ocean), Crystal Kung (Four In Love), a ee mi (Platonic Love), Rio (Unemployed Killers Support Group), and Ding Pao-Yen (Not Ready For Real Life) will share what makes them some of the leading artists in the Taiwanese comics scene.

Panelists: Tinguu, a ee mi, Crystal Kung, Ding Pao-Yen, Monday Recover, Rio

Special Guests: A ee mi, Crystal Kung, Ding Pao-Yen, Monday Recover, and Rio

09/12/2026 | 1:00pm – 2:00pm | White Oak Room

SPX Executive Director Warren Bernard will join Derf in a discussion of his new book, The Dissidents. The author of Kent State and My Friend Dahmer has reached back in history to the incredible and frightening era of the Woodrow Wilson administration, and his use of intimidation and violence against any who dared voice dissent, including a specific group of cartoonists. It’s a story that has largely been forgotten but is more relevant than ever.

Panelists: Warren Bernard, Derf

09/12/2026 | 1:30pm – 2:30pm | Brookside C

Punk and comics have been intertwined since the very beginning. Whether it was cartoonists designing flyers for shows, artists also being musicians, or comics inspired by punk and DIY movements, punk has always had a strong visual component. Jason Hamacher, the owner and curator of Lost Origins gallery, will lead a discussion with a group of cartoonists and cartoonist/musicians. That includes Nate Powell (Diana), James Spooner (Afro-Punk, It Starts With Anger), Evan Keeling (Forming Fugazi), and Bianca Xunise (Punk Rock Karaoke), who will discuss how punk has intersected with their careers.

Panelists: Jason Hamacher, Nate Powell, James Spooner, Evan Keeling, Bianca Xunise

Special Guests: James Spooner

09/12/2026 | 2:00pm – 3:00pm | White Oak Room

It is unquestionably true that Lisa Hanawalt (I Can’t Stop Thinking About Horses and Sex) and Julia Wertz (Bury Me Already) are two of the funniest people in comics. Beyond simply being funny, both artists do comics that are raw, intimate, conflicted, and revealing. Moderator Rob Clough will join them as they discuss their days working in the same studio, how their lives and the focus of their work has changed, and how their comics have affected each other.

Panelists: Julia Wertz, Lisa Hanawalt, Rob Clough

Special Guests: Lisa Hanawalt

09/12/2026 | 2:30pm – 3:30pm | Brookside C

There’s a new wave of horror in all media with a decidedly queer edge. From body horror and transformation to subverting old tropes, queer horror has been a mix of the transgressive, the surreal, and often the erotic. Moderator Tanya Dorph-Mankey (Count The Lights) will sort it all out with Ana Two (Dark Room), Corinne Halbert (Acid Nun), Natalia Lopes (Mysto Press), and Tinguu (The Cannibals).

Panelists: Tanya Dorph-Mankey, Ana Two, Natalia Lopez, Corinne Halbert, Tinguu

09/12/2026 | 3:00pm – 4:00pm | White Oak Room

Gary Groth is one of the key individuals who thought that comics not only could and should be considered as art, but that its creators could and should be held up to an exacting standard. It all started with The Comics Journal, Fantagraphics’ flagship magazine of journalism, criticism, and interviews that set the iconoclastic tone of the company for the next 50 years. The Comics Journal turned out to be one of the most contentious magazines ever published about an art form at exactly the moment the comics profession needed a contentious magazine to inveigh against a fossilized status quo. Writer Marc Sobel (Reading Love and Rockets) interrogates Groth and revisits the 50-year-long wild ride of The Comics Journal—including its polemical origins, its critical mission, the multiple lawsuits filed against it by writers, artists, and publishers, its controversies, adversaries, milestones, and future.

09/12/2026 | 3:30pm – 4:30pm | Brookside C

Scholar and translator Ryan Holmberg, critic Joe McCulloch, and Drawn & Quarterly publisher Tom Devlin talk about alternative manga pioneer Tsuge Yoshiharu, commemorating the artist’s recent death and the homestretch of the Complete Mature Works of Tsuge from Drawn & Quarterly.

Panelists: Ryan Holmberg, Joe McCulloch, Tom Devlin

09/12/2026 | 4:00pm – 5:00pm | White Oak Room

Grief takes many forms. It can be the loss of a loved one, a traumatic event, or a troubled relationship that is left unresolved. Its course is never linear and its expressions can be unexpected. Moderator Andrew White (Together And Apart) will discuss with Carol Tyler (The Ephemerata), Jonathan Baylis (So Buttons), Sophia Glock (Before We Wake), and CK Gormally (Everything’s Fine, I’ll Just Work Harder) how they have depicted and processed grief in their work.

Panelists: Andrew White, Carol Tyler, CK Gormally, Jonathan Baylis, Sophia Glock

Special Guests: CK Gormally

09/12/2026 | 4:30pm – 5:30pm | Brookside C

What has always marked underground comics as a lasting form of comics art is not just the shock value, but the deep commitment to raw, intimate, and intense vulnerability. These comics are often unsparing, both to the reader and the artist, and that shock to the system is part of what makes them so powerful. With a new wave of artists working in that tradition, moderator John Kelly (Dummy) will discuss what it is to be an underground cartoonist with Kim Deitch (A Shroud for Waldo, How I Make Comics), Denis Kitchen (Kitchen Sink), Raquelle Jac (Bimbo Agitprop), and Heather Loase (Heather Of Love).

Panelists: John Kelly, Kim Deitch, Raquelle Jac, Denis Kitchen, Heather Loase

Special Guests: Kim Deitch and Raquelle Jac

09/12/2026 | 5:00pm – 6:00pm | White Oak Room

Graphic medicine is a growing genre of comics that tells stories about health and healthcare from the point of view of patients, their families, and healthcare practitioners. A key element is emphasizing that medicine is not about the abstract concept of sickness or the science and practice that’s related to it, but rather the notion of the very real people who are involved. Moderator Dr. Alex Hoffman will discuss these issues with Arizona O’Neill (Opioids and Organs), Dr. Nathan Gray (The Human Remains), Zareen Choudhury (New Yorker, The Nib), and Connie Hanzhang Jin (NPR).

Panelists: Dr. Alex Hoffman, Arizona O’Neill, Dr. Nathan Gray, Zareen Choudhury, Connie Hanzhang Jin

Special Guests: Arizona O’Neill

09/12/2026 | 5:30pm – 7:00pm | Brookside C

SPX is proud to present a screening of the documentary Women Laughing. To quote the description, “longtime New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly sets out to explore her lifelong passion for women’s humor and cartooning by speaking, laughing, and drawing with a diverse group of remarkable women who create cartoons for the iconic magazine” and “offers a unique insider’s look at the state of women’s humor over the last century, through the perspectives of the pioneering cartoonists, then and now, who have wrestled with some of the central social issues of our time.” Immediately following the screening Meg Lemke (MUTHA, Publishers Weekly) will conduct a panel discussion with New Yorker cartoonists Liza Donnelly, Sofia Warren, Hilary Campbell, and Rani Som.

Panelists: Meg Lemke, Liza Donnelly, Rani Som, Sofia Warren, Hilary Campbell

09/12/2026 | 6:00pm – 7:00pm | White Oak Room

Since 1997, R.Sikoryak has hosted Carousel, a series of comics readings and performances by cartoonists and theater artists. This special edition of Carousel at SPX features exhibiting artists and guests, performing live. Join us for an audio-visual journey to the place where comics and performance collide! Featuring: Rumi Hara (Different Ways to Fly), Lola Lorente (Mary Pain), Frederick Noland (Major Taylor), Noah Van Sciver (The Mess), Whit Taylor (Harriet Tubman: Toward Freedom), and Coco Fox (Let’s Go, Coco!).

Special Guests: Lola Lorente

09/13/2026 | 12:30pm – 1:30pm | White Oak Room

Fantagraphics has reached an amazing milestone for any publisher, much less one whose whole mission has been pushing the concept that comics are art: fifty years of operation! Come join moderator John Kelly (Dummy) to hear from just a few of “The World’s Greatest Cartoonists” that Fantagraphics has published: Carol Tyler (The Ephemerata), Kim Deitch (A Shroud for Waldo, How I Make Comics), Leah Hayes (Funeral of the Heart), Noah Van Sciver (The Mess), and Peter Bagge (HATE).

Panelists: John Kelly, Carol Tyler, Peter Bagge, Kim Deitch, Leah Hayes, Noah Van Sciver

Special Guests: Carol Tyler and Noah Van Sciver

09/13/2026 | 1:00pm – 2:00pm | Brookside C

As a generation of cartoonists moves into parenthood, many use their chosen medium of comics to chronicle the very earliest years of their children’s lives. From childbirth to first words to toddlerhood, this subgenre of autobio has shown its capacity for a huge variety of experiences and emotions, from fear to hilarity to sadness to frustration to hope, and much more. Moderator Johanna Draper Carlson (Comics Worth Reading) will discuss the highs, lows, and everything in between with Julia Wertz (Bury Me Already), Rachael Smith (Nap Comix), Elise Dietrich (Making Time), and Kristen Shull (Ego Gala).

Panelists: Johanna Draper Carlson, Julia Wertz, Rachael Smith, Elise Dietrich, Kristen Shull

Special Guests: Julia Wertz and Rachael Smith

09/13/2026 | 1:30pm – 2:30pm | White Oak Room

Bianca Xunise (Punk Rock Karaoke) is not only an award-winning cartoonist, they are also a talented animator. Following appearances in San Diego and at CAKE, Bianca is teaming with guitarist Mercurio  (Mania, Bad Sons) to create a live multimedia experience. Mercurio will jam while an extended animated sequence plays, creating surprising connections between the music, animation, and rats on adventures.

Panelists: Bianca Xunise, Mercurio

09/13/2026 | 2:00pm – 3:00pm | Brookside C

While Iran and the US have been engaged in a war, the people of Iran have faced oppression from within and outside their country. Merely writing about the reality of their lives and their stories is an incredible act of bravery that puts them at risk. Tom Hart (SAW) and Liz Frances (Street Noise) have published anthologies featuring many of these young artists. Moderator Zareen Choudhury (New Yorker) will discuss these anthologies (Young in Iran and I Won’t Pretend These Missiles Are Stars, respectively) along with Iranian cartoonist Shaghayegh Moazzami (Haunted).

Panelists: Zareen Choudhury, Tom Hart, Liz Frances, Shaghayegh Moazzami

09/13/2026 | 2:30pm – 3:30pm | White Oak Room

SOLRADIO, the podcast of comics criticism website SOLRAD.CO, proudly presents a deep dive into Fred Noland‘s historical biography Major Taylor. Fred will join moderator Alex Hoffman and critic Rob Clough as they explore the historical, cultural, and personal themes of the book.

Panelists: Alex Hoffman, Frederick Noland, Rob Clough

Special Guests: Frederick Noland

09/13/2026 | 3:00pm – 4:00pm | Brookside C

Frog Farm is an exciting risograph publisher that hosts regular gatherings with comics readings, comedy, and videos. Alexander Laird will host a special SPX edition with Grayson “Frogthesda” Bear (Business Insider), Josh Bayer (Unended, Utzy and Dusty), Christina Lee (Object, The Method), and Steve Wolfhard (Cat Rackham).

Panelists: Alexander Laird, Grayson “Frogthesda” Bear, Josh Bayer, Christina Lee, Steve Wolfhard

09/13/2026 | 3:30pm – 4:30pm | White Oak Room

Recent and long-standing events make it clear that history is far from being objective. Who gets to tell history is a fluid and flawed process that often seeks to excise the truth in favor of a smoother narrative that sells an agenda. On this 250th anniversary of America, moderator Francesca Lyn will lead Whit Taylor (Harriet Tubman: Toward Freedom), Peter Bagge (Founding Fathers Funnies), Joel Christian Gill (Tales of the Talented Tenth, Strange Fruit), and R.Sikoryak (Declaration Illustrated/Emancipation Illustrated) in a discussion on how they approached American history in their comics.

Panelists: Francesca Lyn, Peter Bagge, Whit Taylor, Joel Christian Gill, R.Sikoryak

Special Guests: Peter Bagge

09/13/2026 | 4:00pm – 5:00pm | Brookside C

Many artists seek out a publisher for a lot of reasons: reach, production costs, editing expertise, and (occasionally) profit. Publishing is an extremely difficult business in the best of times, and many artists realize that even if they “make it” and get published, it’s not the solution to all of their artistic problems. Join moderator Cuyler Hedlund (Oblivioun) as she discusses how to maintain a balance between DIY publishing and traditional publishing with Nicole Goux (Punk’n Heads), Maria Hoey (The Shadower), Jared Cullum (Kodi), and Brian “Box” Brown (Forevr).

Panelists: Cuyler Hedlund, Nicole Goux, Maria Hoey, Jared Cullum, Brian “Box” Brown

Special Guests: Jared Cullum

09/13/2026 | 4:30pm – 5:30pm | White Oak Room

SPX is honored to feature, thanks to Spain Arts & Culture, Don Julio and Fran Mariscal, two artists from the Portraits: Twelve Lives, Twelve Journeys anthology. The anthology “reimagines the experiences of prominent Spaniards from fields such as literature, the arts, science, and popular culture who spent part of their lives in the United States.” Don Julio contributed a story about biochemist Severo Ochoa, and Fran Mariscal’s comic focuses on Valentín Fuster, a cardiologist. Moderator John Warren will discuss the origins of the project and the inspirations for their narratives. 

Panelists: John Warren, Don Julio, Fran Mariscal

Special Guests: Fran Mariscal Mancilla and Julio A. Serrano Chocano