Cartoon Crossroads Columbus isn’t your regular comic convention. Co-founded by Jeff Smith, aka the guy behind Bone, the annual event nicknamed CXC 2024 brings together comic book artists with cartoonists and more to Ohio to celebrate the graphic art form. And this year’s 10th anniversary celebration is a doozy, welcoming Bryan Lee O’Malley, Kate Beaton, Art Spiegelman, and many, many more.
“It’s ten years of bringing the best and brightest in comics, graphic novels, political cartoons, animation and comic strips right to our doorstep of Columbus, Ohio,” said Jeff Smith, co-founder of the festival and creator of the graphic novel series Bone, via a press release provided to Comic Book Club. “This year promises to be even more special. Prepare to be dazzled by legendary creators, laugh alongside cartoonists, and be swept away by the power of visual storytelling in all its forms. Whether you’re a die-hard comic book fan, animation enthusiast, or simply enjoy a good laugh, CXC has something for everyone.”
Held September 26-29 in Columbus, Ohio, this year’s CXC24 will run all over the city, including at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, Columbus College of Art & Design, Columbus Metropolitan Library, the Columbus Museum of Art, GFC: Gateway Film Center and the Wexner Center for the Arts.
And that’s all well and good, but that’s not the list you’re looking for, right? Here are just some of the special guests announced for the festival:
- *Kate Beaton (Ducks, Hark a Vagrant)
- *Alexandra Bowman (Locher Award Winner)
- *Léonie Bischoff (Anaïs Nin: A Sea of Lies, Hoodoo Darlin’)
- *Jerry Craft (New Kid, Class Act)
- *Ryan Holmberg (The Translator without Talent, Garo Manga: The First Decade, 1964-1973)
- *Tina Horn (Why are People into that, Deprog)
- *Ahn Jae-huun (The Shaman Sorceress, Green Days, The Shower)
- *Rupert Kinnard (Brown Bomber)
- *Françiose Mouly (TOON Books, The New Yorker, RAW)
- *Chris Oliveros (Drawn + Quarterly, Are You Willing to Die for the Cause)
- *Bryan Lee O’Malley (Scott Pilgrim series, Lost at Sea, Seconds, and Snotgirl)
- *Ben Passmore (Sports is Hell, Daygloayhole, Your Black Friend)
- *Cole Pauls (Dakwäkãda Warriors)
- *L. Pidge (Infinite Wheat Paste)
- *Nate Powell (March, Fall Through, Lies My Teacher Told Me)
- *David Rickert (Pizza Pickles and Apple Pie)
- *Rafael Rosado (Giants Beware!, Call Me Iggy)
- *Jeff Smith (Bone, RASL, Tuki)
- *Art Spiegelman (MAUS, RAW)
- *Ed Steed (Forces of Nature, The New Yorker)
- *Lisa Sterle (Squad, Dying Inside)
- *Sam Szabo (Enlightened Transsexual Comix, Poison Pill)
- *Maggie Umber (Chrysanthemum Under the Waves, Sound of Snow Falling)
- *Bianca Xunise (Punk Rock Karaoke, Six Chix)
- *Chip Zdarsky (Batman, Daredevil, Spider-Man, Sex Criminals)
“Our tenth show is going to be the best yet, with a fantastic guest lineup that spans comics luminaries such as Bryan Lee O’Malley, who’s celebrating the 20th anniversary of his widely-beloved series, SCOTT PILGRIM; kids’ comics superstar, Newberry Award and Coretta Scott King Author Award recipient Jerry Craft; New York Times best-seller Kate Beaton; and tons more,” added Ben Towle, CXC Programming Co-Chair and five-time Eisner-nominated cartoonist, “Young or old, comic books or graphic novels, newspaper strips or webtoons—there will be something amazing for you at CXC 2024!”
In addition, at an event at the Seventh Son Brewing Company today, CXC unveiled the official artwork, designed by Evan Salazar.
“I am honored to have been asked to draw the poster for CXC’s tenth year. I wanted to highlight CXC’s dedication to the arts by visualizing a cartoonist’s world coming to life around them, a smorgasbord of colors and movement meant to inspire and comfort our intrepid artist and his pet pal,” said Salazar, “I also want to thank Jeff Smith for his trust with the assignment: “Draw whatever you want” were his words, proving the artist-first ethos of CXC aren’t just for show. They’re for real.”
Check out Salazar’s process on the poster, below (and click for larger versions):
Check out more info on CXC on their official website.
