Schedule of Events

Comic Drawing for Young Artists
Instructor: Will Barnes
10 – 11am • ages 8-15

Putting Together a Comic Story
Instructor: Stan Yan
11:30am -12:30pm • ages 16 and up

Discussion Panel Q&A with local Comic Artists
featuring Amy Hadley,
John Porcellino, Galen Shoe,
Stan Yan & Jolyon Yates
1 – 2pm • all ages

Live Drawing Demonstrations and Discussion
featuring Will Barnes, Amy Hadley,
John Porcellino & Galen Shoe
2 – 3pm • all ages

Comic Art Materials
Presenter: Jolyon Yates
3 – 4pm • all ages

Artist Bios

Will Barnes, originally from New Mexico, has been a fan of comics since early childhood. He has been self-publishing the cynical, short fiction 2nd Place Comics for three years and is an authority in self-publishing and local distribution. Will often exhibits at Denver art galleries, translating his comic sensibilities into the fine art realm through paintings and original illustrations. His life long dream is to find a box of money. A lot of money. Image © Will Barnes.

Amy Reeder Hadley, a Colorado native, broke into comics through a contest called Rising Stars of Manga, held by manga publisher TokyoPop. She has since been best known for writing and drawing Fool’s Gold, a story about a headstrong girl who starts a crusade against the jerks in her school, banning girls from ever going out with them again. Fool’s Gold volume 1 is currently in most bookstores, and volume 2 will be out in December. Amy has also recently begun work with DC Comics’ imprint Vertigo, drawing for a new series called Madame Xanadu, written by Matt Wagner. A gothic love story spanning several centuries, Madame Xanadu will launch in
Spring 2008. Image © Amy Reeder Hadley.

John Porcellino has been writing, drawing, and publishing minicomics, comics, and graphic novels for the last twenty-five years. His celebrated series King-Cat Comics, begun in 1989, has inspired a generation of cartoonists. Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man, a collection of King-Cat stories about Porcellino’s experiences as a pest control worker, won an Ignatz Award in 2005, and Perfect Example, first published in 2000, chronicles his struggles with depression as a teenager. His most recent book collection, King-Cat Classix, is a comprehensive overview of the zine's first fifty issues. According to cartoonist Chris Ware, "John Porcellino's comics distill, in just a few lines and words, the feeling of simply being alive." See more of John's work at www.king-cat.net/.
Image © John Porcellino

Galen Shoe lives in Denver and works with youth on creative learning projects. He enjoys telling stories with pictures and words. Galen particularly likes comix and zines “because they’re accessible to most anyone as a means of sharing stories and ideas with others. You don’t have to be an amazing artist or writer to make an amazing comic or zine, nor do you need a lot of fancy materials or a publisher. All you need is a lot of hard work, a few pieces of paper, a pen, and the willingness to share your unique way of looking at the world, even if it might seem a little scary to do so.” Galen has been a weekly cartoonist for the Westword newspaper, as well as an illustrator for Buntport Theater’s live comic book TRUNKS. Be on the lookout for his forthcoming graphic novel entitled Sinkholes In The Motorway, which will be released in 12 page installments in a monthly publication called Catalpa Luna Station. Image © Galen Shoe

Stan Yan grew up in Denver, Colorado and went to school at the University of Colorado in Boulder where he got his bachelor’s degree in accounting. Due to the lack of sex-for-recruiting for accounting students, Yan’s life took the tragic turn into sales for the securities industry, where he wallowed in ethical poverty on-and-off for thirteen years. Yan took his frustrations out by penning comics, graphic novels and comic strips which is what he has been doing full-time as a freelance cartoonist for the past two years. His recent credits include a three year stint as daily cartoonist for the financial webcomic, The Tickle Tape; being writer and illustrator for his controversial self-published graphic novel series, "The Wang"; and being illustrator for the 4 issue geek romance mini-series published by Ape Entertainment, SubCulture. Current projects include being the co-writer and illustrator for the weekely sales training webcomic, Opal - Sales Diva and writer and colorist for the weekly post-apocalyptic car race webcomic, REVVVelations. Oh, and Stan does zombie caricatures, too. See more of Stan's work at www.squidworks.com/Stan/. Image © Stan Yan

Jolyon Yates was born in Strood, England. His first comic, a revisionist Western, was drawn at the age of three. He spent much of his indecorous youth working his way around the world and has had comics published in the UK, Japan and America. His articles and illustrations of manga and Japanese film have appeared in odd magazines since 1989. Recent comics include drawing REVVVelations for Stan Yan and Pirates of the Caribbean for Papercuts Publishing. See more of Jolyon's work at www.aesthesiaweb.com/Jolyon_Yates.htm.
Image © Jolyon Yates