CAKE 2023 SPECIAL GUESTS

 
 

DERF BACKDERF

Derf Backderf is the bestselling, award-winning author of My Friend Dahmer and Trashed, and recipient of the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for political cartooning. His weekly comic strip, The City, appeared in more than 100 newspapers for almost twenty-five years. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Backderf’s most recent book Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio released in 2020.

yOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT dERF bACKDERF AND HIS WORK here.

 

MARINAOMI

MariNaomi is the award-winning author and illustrator the Life on Earth trilogy (Graphic Universe, 2018-2020), Dirty Produce (Workman Publishing, 2021), and I Thought You Loved Me (Fieldmouse Press, 2023). Their work has appeared in nearly 100 print publications and has been featured on websites such as The New Yorker’s Daily Shouts, The Washington Post, LA Times and BuzzFeed. MariNaomi lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with their partner and a menagerie of beloved rescue animals.

yOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MARINAOMI AND THEIR WORK here.

 

M.S. HARKNESS

M.S. Harkness is known for her graphic memoirs Time Under Tension (Fantagraphics, 2023) Desperate Pleasures (Uncivilized, 2020) and Tinderella (Kilgore Books, 2018) and various self-published mini-comics. Her work is an incisive bildungsroman of growing up poor, marked by sexual trauma and various other indignities. Harkness currently resides in Columbus, Ohio where she occasionally teaches at the Columbus College of Art & Design.

yOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT M.S. AND her WORK here.

 

jOHNNY sAMPSON

Johnny Sampson (b. 1974) is an award-winning cartoonist living in Glen Ellyn, IL with his wife, two kids, and dog.  A longtime freelance illustrator with clients such as Abrams, Chronicle Books, The Reader, The Stranger, General Mills, and many more, he has truly found his calling as one of the “Usual Gang of Idiots” at MAD Magazine– for which, with Al Jaffee’s blessing, he has taken on the mantle of writer and artist of the famed MAD Fold-In. Against his better judgement, he still  self-publishes his own comics and zines. He has been a proud member of the National Cartoonists Society since 2018 and currently serves as the Chicago Chapter Chair (hit him up if you're curious).

yOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT JOHNNY AND hIS WORK here.

 

JOY SAN

Joy San is an illustrator and comic artist based in Canada. Her work features a lot of horror and bizarre themes that straddle the line between disturbing and funny. She also loves to create  autobio comics and zines. In her spare time, she films vlogs on YouTube about her life as an artist, food lover, and sticker hoarder.

yOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT JOY AND her WORK here.

 

MOLLY MENDOZA

Molly Mendoza is an artist living in Portland, Oregon. Through their work they explore the complexities of interpersonal relationships with a focus on layered visual storytelling, mark-making, and color. Their comics have centered on stories about being lost between dimensions, moody swim team drama, and the troubles of toxic nostalgia; anything that brings up the feelings we just can’t shake. Molly also illustrates for editorial clients, children’s book publishing, paints murals around PDX, and maintains their own personal art practice. Their other passions are spending too much time on FFXIV and playing with their cat Doodle.

yOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MOLLY AND her WORK here.

 

MATT ALLISON

Matthew Allison has been producing comics with his character/alter ego, Cankor, since 2011 and recently collected them in a deluxe hardcover. In addition, he's had work published by Image Comics, Black Mask Studios, Heavy Metal, AdHouse Books, Dark Horse Comics and Metal Hurlant. His next long form comic, Sweet Sepulcher, will be published in 2024. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Krystal.

yOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MATT AND hIS WORK here.

 

leigh luna

Leigh Luna is a mixed Latina artist who was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She is passionate about color, comedy, girl culture, and alternative learning. Currently living in Los Angeles; Leigh works in animation as a Color Designer (painter) on shows such as Steven Universe, Centaurworld, and Clone High. Her debut comedy graphic novel Clementine Fox will be published by Scholastic in May 2023.

yOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT leigh AND their WORK here.