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Venue: Room 29AB clear filter
Thursday, July 23
 

10:00am PDT

Creature Craft: Visionaries of Horror Comics Share Their Secrets
Thursday July 23, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
From nightmare fuel to fan-favorite creatures, this panel explores how unforgettable monsters are born and how creators blend visual design, personality, and worldbuilding to create creatures that stick with readers long after the story ends, featuring Punko (WEBTOON creator), Tate Brombell (Eisner and GLAAD-nominated writer), Cat Staggs (co-creator, Death Mask; artist, Tales for a HalloweeNight, Storm King Comics), and more.
Thursday July 23, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Room 29AB

11:00am PDT

Bringing Licensing to Tabletop Games in 2026
Thursday July 23, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm PDT
Licensing is expanding to the tabletop, with brands from Cyberpunk 2077, The Lord of the Rings, Marvel, and more. These licenses are making their way to the tabletop, and publishers are working with more brands than ever. What does it take to bring a favorite license to a tabletop game, and how do designers capture the feel and story? Deirdre Cross (WiT—Women in Toys, licensing & entertainment, board member), Justin Gary (Stone Blade Entertainment, CEO), Luke Peterschmidt (Asmodee, head of active category management), Erica Hayes-Bouyouris (Spin Master, lead designer), and Anais Morgan (Renegade Games, production development) share their experiences working with licenses and tabletop games.
Thursday July 23, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm PDT
Room 29AB

12:00pm PDT

Godzilla Smashes San Diego and the Comic Industry
Thursday July 23, 2026 12:00pm - 1:00pm PDT
Godzilla has stomped the competition to become the king of the comic book industry . . . and the monster is just getting started. Toho's Aaron Gregory joins IDW as it declassifies its kaiju-sized plans for Godzilla comics in 2026 and beyond with a killer lineup of creatives, including Tristan Jones, Tim Seeley, Nick Marino, Ethan S. Parker, Griffin Sheridan, and Jake Williams.
Thursday July 23, 2026 12:00pm - 1:00pm PDT
Room 29AB

1:00pm PDT

The Asian Corner: LeUyen Pham Talks Comics and Kids' Books with Gene Luen Yang
Thursday July 23, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Eisner Award winner and Caldecott Honor winner LeUyen Pham (Lunar New Year Love Story) has created more than a hundred books in her career, but she is still feeling like a newbie in the world of graphic novels. Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) talks with LeUyen about making comics, the difference between kids' books and comics, and how their Asian history fits into the stories they tell. Q&A to follow.
Special Guests
avatar for LeUyen Pham

LeUyen Pham

Comic-Con Special Guest
LeUyen Pham is the artist of over 120 books for adults and children. Her graphic novels include the multi-Eisner Award–winning Lunar New Year Love Story with Gene Yang, the Eisner Award–nominated Templar, and the bestselling Friends series with Shannon Hale. She is the recipient of several awards, including the Caldecott Honor, The Society of Illustrator’s Bronze Medal, and the Fay B. Kaigler Southern Miss Medallion. She is the creator of the Vampirina book series, which has been... Read More →
Thursday July 23, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Room 29AB

2:00pm PDT

Spotlight on Katie Skelly
Thursday July 23, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Cartoonist Katie Skelly (Heaven) discusses her distinctive art style, as seen in My Pretty Vampire, Maids, Nurse Nurse, The Agency, and her newest book Heaven, and her influences in conversation with Briana Loewinsohn (Raised by Ghosts). Q&A follows.
Special Guests
avatar for Katie Skelly

Katie Skelly

Comic-Con Special Guest
Katie Skelly is a cartoonist based in Los Angeles. Her latest graphic novel, Heaven, will be released in July 2026 by Fantagraphics. Her previous titles include My Pretty Vampire, The Agency, and Maids, also from Fantagraphics. She is the co-host of the comics podcast Thick Lines with Sally Madden, editor of the Viscere horror anthology series, and creator of Bad Girl Tarot. She holds a B.A. in art history from Syracuse University... Read More →
avatar for Briana Loewinsohn

Briana Loewinsohn

HH-16, Comic-Con Special Guest
Briana Loewinsohn is the author of the graphic memoir Ephemera (Fantagraphics, 2023), which was listed as one of the ALA’s top graphic novels of 2023 and was awarded the 2023 Foreword Indies Editors Prize for nonfiction. Her latest book, Raised by Ghosts (Fantagraphics, 2025), won... Read More →
Thursday July 23, 2026 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Room 29AB

3:00pm PDT

Print Is the New Digital
Thursday July 23, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
The future will not be digitized. While digital dominates everywhere else, print comics are still growing, still selling, and still driving the business. Why did readers stay with print while other audiences moved on? And what does that mean for creators and publishers trying to build something that lasts? This panel comes from the front lines of publishing and retail, including Joe Keatinge (Shutter, COMICS! The Magazine), Tiffany Babb (Comics Courier), David Harper (SKTCHD), and others, where print is not nostalgia, it is momentum.
Thursday July 23, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
Room 29AB

4:00pm PDT

Tabletop GOATs: The Best Games of All Time
Thursday July 23, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
What are the greatest board games ever made? Grant Lyon (Grant's Game Recs), Amanda McKnight (VampX13), Daryl Andrews (Best in Play), Banzainator (Twitch streamer), and Jay Cormier (Off the Page Games), with moderator Alexa Cappiello, break it down across 12 categories, sharing top picks, hot takes, and hidden gems. Whether you're new to tabletop or a seasoned gamer, learn the language of tabletop and find your next favorite game.
Thursday July 23, 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Room 29AB

5:00pm PDT

Inside Indie Manga Publishing: Manga Mavericks Books Industry Panel
Thursday July 23, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Have you ever wondered what it's like to start a manga publishing company? Manga Mavericks Books co-founders Varun Gupta (CEO and licensing director, Manga Mavericks) and Siddharth Gupta (COO and operations director, Manga Mavericks), alongside indie publishing professionals Amanda Nanawa (founder and CEO, Curation Entertainment Partners, Inc.) and Harrison Doan (head of partnerships and licensing, Mahjong Pros), discuss the challenges of establishing a manga publisher today and ways to help bring more manga to English-language readers. Announcements, prizes, and surprises are included.
Thursday July 23, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Room 29AB

6:00pm PDT

Manga Publishing Industry Roundtable
Thursday July 23, 2026 6:00pm - 7:00pm PDT
Manga is one of the top-selling book categories in North America. Today, more manga and webtoons are available in print and digital formats than ever before, and more companies are entering the field as well. This panel explores the opportunities and obstacles facing publishers today, with publishing professionals including Hope Donovan (editorial director, VIZ Media), Kurt Hassler (president, Yen Press), Ben Applegate (director, publishing services, Penguin Random House), Morgan Perry (marketing manager, book publishing, Square Enix America), Ed Chavez (president and editor-in-chief, Denpa Books), Michael Gombos (senior director of licensed publications, Dark Horse), Varun Gupta (publisher, Manga Mavericks Books), and more. Moderated by Deb Aoki (Mangasplaining).
Thursday July 23, 2026 6:00pm - 7:00pm PDT
Room 29AB

7:00pm PDT

Fear and Loathing in Aztlan: Hunter S. Thompson, the Chicano Movement, and Comics
Thursday July 23, 2026 7:00pm - 8:00pm PDT
This panel examines the continued and intertwined impact of both the writings of Hunter S. Thompson (writer of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) and the Chicano Movement (including the Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War) in comics. Topics include the writings of Oscar Zeta Acosta, the art journal Con Safos, the journalism of Ruben Salazar, the art of Ralph Steadman, prints from the East L.A. art center Self Help Graphics, and the recent production of the play Aztlan (m)otherland. Featuring Xaviera Flores (librarian/archivist, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center), Lalo Alcaraz (cartoonist/TV producer, La Cucaracha, Coco), Jeaux Janovsky (cartoonist/animator, Animation Magazine, Orwell: 2 +2=5), and the cast of Aztlan (m)otherlandCrismar Chacin-Ruiz (actress, Netflix's Two Graves), Alejandro Bravo (actor, upcoming Coyote film with Esai Morales), Alan Corvaia (actor, El Sonambulo), and Seth Alexander Ernsdorf (actor/artist/designer, Ernsdorf Design). Moderated by Gustavo Alberto Garcia Vaca (artist/writer, MoMA, LACMA, Aztlan (m)otherland).
Thursday July 23, 2026 7:00pm - 8:00pm PDT
Room 29AB

8:00pm PDT

Warren Kremer: Harvey Comics' Cover Genius
Thursday July 23, 2026 8:00pm - 9:00pm PDT
When Casper the Friendly Ghost's artist visited the Marvel Bullpen, Marie Severin remarked, "They don't know it, but this is the best artist that ever walked through these doors." Was she right? Jim Thompson (A People's History of Comics; Eisner Hall of Fame judge), Alonso Nuñez (executive director, Little Fish Comic Book Studio; Eisner Hall of Fame judge), Mark Badger (artist, DC/Marvel; creator of Badgetoons), Mimi Pond (cartoonist, humorist, author of Do Admit: The Mitford Sisters and Me), Bruce Simon (cartoonist/writer, co-author of Hoo-Hah!), Steve Leialoha (artist), and Andrew Kunka (professor, USC Sumter) look closely at the Eisner Hall of Famer's greatest covers from Casper the Friendly Ghost, Wendy the Good Little Witch, Hot Stuff, Little Dot, Little Lotta, Stumbo the Giant, and Richie Rich in a master class on color, brushstrokes, design, direction, character expression, and the art of the gag.
Special Guests
avatar for Mimi Pond

Mimi Pond

Comic-Con Special Guest
Mimi Pond is an American cartoonist, humorist, and writer. In 1982, her book The Valley Girls Guide to Life (Dell) became a bestseller and launched her career. Her works include humor books such as Secrets of the Powder Room (1983) and Splitting Hairs (1998) as well as acclaimed... Read More →
Thursday July 23, 2026 8:00pm - 9:00pm PDT
Room 29AB

9:00pm PDT

The Looks of Love: The Evolution of Romance in Comics
Thursday July 23, 2026 9:00pm - 10:00pm PDT
Led by Sydney Heifler (romance comic historian), this roundtable of comics creators and experts examines how love stories have evolved in comics over time. History professor Michael Dooley (2020 Eisner Judge) discusses romance in early 20th-century newspaper strips, such as Nell Brinkley's groundbreaking, ornate Art Nouveau series "Golden Eyes and her Hero Bill." Rand Hoppe (Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center) and Bruce Simon (Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center) discuss post-WWII romance comics. John Lustig (Last Kiss), Thomas F. Zahler (Love and Capes), Jaime Jameson (comics creator and expert), and former Marvel creative director Jim Krueger (Earth X) look at modern depictions of love in comics, romance comics redux, graphic novels, and superhero comics.
Thursday July 23, 2026 9:00pm - 10:00pm PDT
Room 29AB
 

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