Create Dynamic Dinos!

**Grades 2 – 4**
Grove Room (2nd Floor) @ 10:30 – 11:30 am

Artist Justin Castaneda uses the importance of shape in your art to create dinosaurs of different shapes and sizes. Learn how to put your own spin on these Jurassic and Cretaceous creatures.

Please Register.

The Solution Squad - Creating a Comic Book

All ages
Elgin Room (2nd Floor) @ 11 am – noon

How do you make a comic book come to life? Artists Jim McClain and Serena Guerra will talk about how to draw a complete comic as well as self-publishing, crowdfunding and software.

Manga & Anime Meet-Up

**Grades 6 – 12**
Grove Room (2nd Floor) @ Noon – 1:30 pm

Watch anime, share fan art and enjoy Japanese snacks while socializing with other fans.

Grade Your Comics Like a Pro!

All ages
Elgin Room (2nd Floor) @ 1 – 2 pm

Is your comic book in very fine or near mint condition? Is it a 7.5 or a 9.0? Jesse Buck, owner of Modern Age Comics in Algonquin and Crystal Lake, will show you the finer points of grading comics.

From Doodle to Drawing!

**Grades 5 – 8**
Grove Room (2nd Floor) @ 2 – 3 pm

Chicago-area artist and graphic novelist Justin Castaneda will introduce new artists to the basics of drawing, focusing on the importance of shapes in drawing: how to break your art down into simple shapes, and how to turn a doodle into a work of art.

Please Register.

Cosplay Meet-Up

All ages
Elgin Room (2nd Floor) @ 3 – 4 pm

Share tips, make new friends and show off your costume. Refreshments. Costume required for entry.

Superhero Trivia Wheel

All ages
Kidspace Youth Center (1st Floor) @ 10:30 am - 4:30 pm

Bring the ticket that you will find in your free comic book bag to the KidSpace Youth Center help desk. Answer a trivia question and spin the big prize wheel.

Comic Book Mania Coloring and Crafts for Kids!

Kidspace Creation Station (1st Floor) @ 10 am – 5 pm

• Create Your Own Pokémon Card
• Create Your Own Pokémon Mask
• Superhero Coloring Sheets

Meadows Community Rooms B & C @ 10 am – 5 pm 

Ali Cantarturned Chicago artist, working and playing with a BFA in illustration from Columbia College. She is the sole creator and distributer of her debut comic, The Hasty Pastry, and creates paper craft objects, coloring books, and hand-bound sketchbooks. When she is not sketching, Ali enjoys creating food, biking around her beautiful city, and leaving half-drank cups of tea around her apartment.

W.C. "Cory" Carani has made comics for DC, Marvel, Wildstorm, & various small publishers. He taught beginning illustration for 2 years at Northern Illinois University. After a brief 2-year stint at an educational software company as an animator & illustrator, he came to Madison, WI to work for Raven Software, where he makes video games for Activision. His current project is the Call of Duty video game franchise.

Justin Castaneda is a writer and illustrator from the south side of Chicago. He studied animation at the Illinois Institute of Art in Schaumburg where he earned his degree in Media Art. He is the creator of the When I Was Little children's picture book series and the hardcover children's book, HEART. He has worked on such titles as Aw Yeah Comics, Scratch 9 and Albert the Alien; he is currently working on The Kinder Guardians.

Chris Ecker has over thirty years of experience in both the creative and retail ends of the comics industry. After spending over fifteen years in management at the Moondog’s Comics chain, Chris moved into journalism and cartooning; his career included a stint as assistant to Rick Fletcher on the Dick Tracy comic strip. He also created and drew the independent comic books Ramm and Ebnn the Raven. Chris co-founded Now Comics in the 1980s and served as its first art director. Chris work has also graced the pages of First Comics, and Mirage Publishing before co-creating Big Bang Comics with Gary Carlson.

Serena Guerra worked for a number of years as a colorist on The Mice Templar by Bryan J.L. Glass and Mike Oeming, published by Image Comics. She is now working as the penciler, inker, and colorist of Solution Squad by Jim McClain. She currently lives in Illinois with her other half Jeff, and their super adorable toddler Sebastian. 

Gene Ha was born in Chicago but raised in South Bend, Indiana. He has worked since 1992 on books like Fables, Justice League, Cyclops & Phoenix, and Oktane. He won three Eisner awards for his collaboration with Alan Moore on Top 10 and one Eisner with Brad Meltzer for JLA #11. Check out his latest creation from Dark Horse Comics: Mae! 

Matthew Hansel is a cartoonist and the creator of Marty and Spud. He has been working in comics for the last 18 years with credits in Big Bang Comics, Image Comics and AC Comics. Read the Marty and Spud webcomic at www.martyandspud.com. 

 Rage Ledbetter ’s exposure to comics came from cartoons such as Spider-Man and the Super Friends. Rage has been creating comics since he was 10. He met Rich Perez met in high school; they remain friends and collaborators to this date! Rage is currently the inker and concept artist for Descent of the Dead and The Infinium for Tango Comics.

 Wally Lowe is a freelance artist, colorist, and papercrafter. His original line of paper figures were inspired by Ideal's 1970's comic book playsets. He is always willing to play a round of "Hurricane Zombie Island".

Jim McClain is the creator of Solution Squad. He writes and letters the comic and draws occasionally too. He teaches middle school math teacher with 30 years of teaching experience and a love of comic books. Jim has literally traveled from coast-to-coast, speaking as an expert on the use of comics to teach math. He has spoken at Comic-Con International in San Diego, New York Comic Con and many points between. He is married with a wonderful 10-year old daughter.

Angel Medina began his career with Megaton Publications (Berzerker, Megaton) and First Publishing (Dreadstar) in the second half of the 1980s. He moved to Marvel Comics, where he had runs on The Incredible Hulk, Warlock and Infinity Watch and The Avengers. At Image Comics, he was the artist of Sam and Twitch, a spin-off of Todd McFarlane's Spawn; he eventually began focusing primarily on the main Spawn comic. He has also drawn Kiss: Psycho Circus and Marvel Knights Spider-Man.

Jeffrey Moy is a storyteller having worked for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, IDW Publishing, most notably for a 5 year run on Legionnaires for DC Comics. In video games, Jeffrey has worked on such projects as Star Wars: Jedi Outcast, X-Men Legends, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Singularity, and Call of Duty: Black Ops .

Philip Moy has worked for Malibu, Marvel, DC, and Mirage Studios. He was the artist for 70 issues of The Powerpuff Girls comic book series. You can also see his work in Cartoon Network Action Pack, Cartoon Network Block Party, Deadpool, Elementals, Hi Hi Puffy Amiyumi, Legionnaires, Prime and many more.

Trevor Mueller works at an advertising agency by day, and writes comics by night. His latest project is Albert the Alien. He has also self-published several other works including the all-ages stories Junkyard Chase, and has contributed stories to several anthologies, including Hope: The Hero Initiative from Ronin Studios and Reading With Pictures from the non-profit of the same name.

Ron Ong has a bachelor's degree in Communication Arts from the Ateneo De Manila University. An avid reader of superhero comics, his work appeared in local newspapers in the Philippines before he moved to the U.S. Ron currently works as a purchasing professional in the health-care industry and lives with his wife in the Chicago northwest suburbs with their pets. Ron is the artist for Tango Comics’ The Infinium.

Rich Perez was a published tech author and lifelong comic fan when he entered the comics scene in 2010 with the debut of Descent of the Dead. When he is not obsessing about comic book plots, Rich is a cyber-security consultant and part-time instructor and lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and his four sons. Rich writes Descent of the Dead and The Infinium for Tango Comics.

Catherine and Sarah Satrun are Chicago based twin animators and illustrators with over eleven years of experience working in animation. They spent several years working on hand drawn animation and smoothly transitioned to working all digitally using Toon Boom Harmony, Flash, Photoshop, and After Effects. The Satrun twins have worked on a variety of projects such as Lucky Charms,Trix, and My Little Pony commercials, short films, online entertainment such as Seth Meyers' The Awesomes, book illustration and concert and game animation. They have loved to draw ever since they were old enough to pick up crayons. They are known for the energy they bring to any project. "Twin powers activate!"

Mark Stegbauer is a 20+ year veteran of comics; he has inked numerous titles for companies like Marvel, DC, and Image. His work has appeared in titles such as Nova, Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, The Flash, JLA, Steel, and The Badger. He is currently the artist of the all-ages comic Ghoul Scouts.

Ben Torres began his career as a comic book illustrator (Knight Watchman); in 1994, he began his remarkable career as a designer for Hasbro Toy Group, where he was a designer on such high profile brands as Star Wars, GI Joe, Batman, Pokemon, Aliens and more. Ben served as creative consultant on various television series such as GI Joe and Transformers; he also contributed concept designs and story content for various movies such as Star Wars and Jurassic Park. Ben is currently the artist for Marvel’s Kingpin.

Artists’ Alley Vendors

Modern Age Comics and Keith’s Komix will be offering comics and various pop culture items for sale.

Face Painting!

Artist Matt Hoffman will provide free face painting for kids.Become the super-hero you always wanted to be!

Welcome back to the STAR WARS 501ST LEGION! They will have a table outside the entrance to the community rooms, and will be roaming the library.
Say hi and get a photo!

Here to protect us all from the spirits of these long-dead dinos are none other than THE WINDY CITY GHOSTBUSTERS! They will be roaming the library; guarding against ghosts!