Good vibrations coming to Tidewater Comicon on June 28-29, 2025 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center with celebrity guests, comic book creators, voice actors, and much more. Children 10 and under get in free with the purchase of an adult pass. Excited for Curls Studio to exhibit at Tidewater Comicon to celebrate their 11th year!
Virginia Beach Convention Center 1000 19th Street, Virginia Beach, VA 23451
On May 5 many DC area cartoonists gathered to celebrate World Press Freedom Day with a panel of legendary cartoonists out on the front lines of free speech — and for the announcement of the 2025 Robert Russell Courage in Cartooning Award by Cartoonists Rights.
The award was given to Zehra Ömeroğlu, a Turkish cartoonist who appeared on screen via pre-recorded video. She has been the target of criminal prosecution for a pandemic sex humor cartoon published in 2020 and faces a three year prison sentence (to give you an idea of the content think about a loss of taste and smell joke). I was surprised to not know about this cartoon and the cartoonist’s work/life impact… until five years later and it’s still going on.
Panel participants included Barry Blitt (The New Yorker) Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher (The Economist), Joel Pett (Tribune Content Agency), and Signe Wilkinson (Philadelphia Inquirer). The moderator was Roslyn Mazer (SU Alumna and Free Expression Champion).
Katherine Jacobsen of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) delivered a keynote address.
Event sponsored by: Cartoonists Rights, Committee to Protect Journalists, Freedom Cartoonists, The Herb Block Foundation
I had a great time at CulpeperCon on March 22, 2025 hosted by the Culpeper County Library. Curls Studio came into town the day before to settle in since the keynote would start at 9AM. We got to see some of the town and visited two comic shops in the area (Collector’s Den and Final Boss — both locations had posters up to advertise CulpeperCon). Since the event coincided with the town’s Restaurant Week, we got to take advantage of the incentive at Pinto Thai, where a robot served us our dinner meal! This is the first time I’ve had a robot bring meals to the table.
My keynote was titled, “How Comics Shape Minds and Health” — showcasing some of my portfolio in the beginning so people who don’t know me have a background on what I’ve done so far, including some items I don’t show too often. I showcased how reading comics enhance our brains and different ways of thinking and then went into my “Cartoonists First Aid” which focuses on nutrition and encourages physical movement. I provided stretches and mobility poses to implement for people who work desk and knowledge jobs. The keynote speech is available for watching on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7ELa3KbJ4k
After my keynote, many people came up to me saying they learned a lot and were going to try to take more breaks throughout the day. Some people were familiar with my work and still had no idea some of the work I showed from my portfolio in the beginning. I was good to get that instant feedback to know people got inspired to become healthy because if you aren’t healthy you can’t draw, write, or achieve your larger goals in life.
At CulpeperCon I got my blood pressure checked at UVA Health’s table, saw the robotics section, painted a rubber duck as Curls, saw the escape room table, and more. It was cool to have the whole library absorbed into a comic con event with activities and multiple tables filled with local businesses, artists, games, and more. Thank you to the keynote sponsor Fountain Hall and to Friends of the Culpeper County Library for putting this event on and thinking to ask me to be a part of the event.
Curls Studio will be at the 12th year of Awesome Con in Artist Alley Table C-38 at the DC Convention Center April 4-6, 2025. Say hi and peruse our original comics, stickers, prints, enamel pins, magnets, and more! We will have the debut of issue 22 of Magic Bullet, a large format comics newspaper featuring Washington, DC based creators.
Awesome Con Short Film Festival presented by Joe Carabeo with Astray Productions will have three days of programming (see schedule below) as well as an award show and filmmaker meet-up on Saturday at 4:45PM in Room 204 (with cake to celebrate). Check out the wrestling belts the winners receive! Hope to see you at Awesome Con.
Friday, April 4 | Action, Horror, Sci Fi | 2:00-4:30 pm Saturday, April 5 | Comedy, Drama | 2:00-4:30 pm Saturday, April 5 | Awards Celebration | 4:45-5:45 pm Sunday, April 6 | And Beyond! | 2:15-4:45 pm
In January we kicked off the year with a Make 100 Kickstarter project for Total Solar Eclipse Enamel Pin to celebrate the Total Solar Eclipse that visited North America on April 8. I got to view it from inside the path of totality in-person at Niagara Falls. I also got to visit Canada for a few hours (my first time going out of the country).
At Awesome Con I got to take part in the panel “The Other Side of the Table: Lessons from Creators” with Maria Laura Sanapo, Chris Mariano, and Marc Gaffen. Joe Carabeo presented the Awesome Con Short Film Fest.
To expand the crowdfunding opportunities, I took part in “Pintopia 2” from BackerKit by designing a Peach Fuzz Enamel Pin for my Pantone Color of the Year project (which I have been doing for the past five years). I also ran a Kickstarter for the Cicada design that was created in 2021, but I introduced a new colorway in 2024 to represent the green Annual Cicada.
A highlight of being in New York during the time of New York Comic Con was visiting Philippe Labaune Gallery for the Mike Mignola exhibit and getting to meet the artist himself! I also got to eat at Katz’s Delicatessen and attend the Harvey Awards. Ay NYCC Curls Studio had a collaboration with Cakes with Character by Jean Schapowal in which we offered a large complementary pinback button if you visited both of our booths.
We continued to exhibit at comic conventions and events. Here is our 2024 Tour list:
March 8-10 • Awesome Con May 19 • Comic Logic Spring Lot Con June 23 • STORYBOX Comics Fair August 17-18 • Fairfax Comic Con September 14-15 • Small Press Expo September 20-22 • Baltimore Comic-Con October 17-20 • New York Comic Con October 25 • McKay Used Books Book-or-Treat October 27 • Comic Logic Fall Lot Con
Overall, I did a good amount of freelance work this year with design and illustrations and that is where a lot of my time went toward as well as networking to gain clients. Curls Studio is looking forward to 2025 with a goal of creating more comics and storytelling!
