The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum and the Wexner Center for the Arts will host the National Cartoonists Society Showcase on August 8, bringing together more than forty cartoonists for a day of talks, signings, sketches and meet-and-greet sessions in Columbus. The community-wide program runs from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET, with activities split between the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum and Mershon Auditorium at the Wexner Center.
The event is presented in collaboration with the National Cartoonists Society and Scholastic’s Graphix imprint. According to the event pages, the showcase is timed to the National Cartoonists Society’s 80th Reuben Awards & Conference and is designed to give visitors direct access to working cartoonists across several formats. Programming includes artist talks, live drawing, book signings and photo opportunities, with the Billy Ireland site describing the afternoon as a chance to join “some of today’s most beloved graphic novel, comic strip, and comic book creators” for stories, drawing, laughter and inspiration.
Among the featured creators are Cathy Guisewite, Colleen Doran, Dav Pilkey, Jim Benton, Jamar Nicholas, Maria Scrivan and Raina Telgemeier. The Graphix-branded ticketed program at Mershon Auditorium, titled 'Graphix Presents: Comics, Courage and Creativity!', begins at 1:30 p.m. and includes spotlight presentations from Benton, Nicholas, Pilkey, Scrivan and Telgemeier. The Wexner Center page says attendees will also get an exclusive sneak peek at upcoming graphic novels before they reach bookstores, followed by a book signing and a meet-and-greet with Pilkey.
The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum will host two free presentations in the Jean and Charles Schulz Lecture Hall. 'Spotlight on Colleen Doran: Working Class Artist' is scheduled from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., with Doran discussing her career and collaborations. The museum’s event listing says her talk will survey her work across major publishers, independent presses and self-publishing, and notes projects with Alan Moore, Anne Rice, Clive Barker, J. Michael Straczynski and Neil Gaiman. Later, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., Cathy Guisewite will present 'Celebrating 50 Years of AACK! with Cathy Guisewite' in honor of the 50th anniversary of her comic strip 'Cathy'.
The museum’s event information says the day also includes signings, meet-and-greets and photo opportunities with NCS members in the lobbies of both venues. The Billy Ireland page lists the names of artists taking part in the signing and sketching stations, while noting that some Mershon Auditorium exhibitors require a ticket for the Scholastic Graphix event. The Wexner Center page likewise says additional artist signings and sales will take place in the Mershon Auditorium lobby.
At the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, the free public programming is scheduled to run alongside the larger showcase, with the museum listing doors opening at 1 p.m. and the gallery open during the afternoon. The event pages give the Columbus venues as the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at 1813 N. High Street and Mershon Auditorium at the Wexner Center for the Arts, with the latter’s special event tickets priced at $10 for the general public and $8 for Wexner Center members.
