Aaron Z. Lee, or Pens & Pedals, is a public school teacher and comics creator specializing in humorously spooky sci-fi comics. His ongoing series Wesley the Robot is about a college radio robot. Lee has also produced a graphic novella called Prizza's Pizza: Son of a Prizzaman featuring a hero battling zombie anchovies, and he compiled Creep of the Crop, an illustrated horror anthology. 

Website: https://pensandpedals.com/ 

Instagram: @pensandpedals

Alesha Williams is an illustrator, design researcher, and educator from Cleveland, Ohio. She advocates for diversity and inclusion, focusing her research on character design and the representation of marginalized and minority characters in comic books. Her work examines how minority identities are portrayed and explores methods to create more effective representations. Alesha is currently an Assistant Professor of Illustration at the Rochester Institute of Technology and is writing and illustrating her comic, God Don’t Listen to the Blues. 

Website: https://aleshamakesart.com/ 

Instagram: @aleshaewilliams

Jackie E. Davis is the creator of Underpants and Overbites, the popular autobiographical webcomic inspired by her ordinary human life. She lives (and works) in a lumpy old house in Rochester, NY with her husband, two kids, and a lot of things with googly eyes. 

Website: https://underpantsandoverbites.com/ 

Instagram: @underpantsandoverbites

Sally Peck is a professional graphic designer and illustrator from Upstate, NY. Her art and comics are inspired by the cartoons she grew up with in the 90s, and can be best described as a "gross-out comics for the girls, gays and theys." She’s one of the inaugural 2026 RICE Minicomics Grant winners. 

Website: specktoons.squarespace.com 

ko-fi.com/specktoons/shop 

Tom Galambos is a cartoonist, painter, and educator in Rochester, NY. His comics have been in several publications including Ink Brick, Top Shelf, and moderntales.com. Tom is a Xeric Grant recipient, and his paintings have been in a number of exhibitions, including the Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition and Main Street Arts. He teaches Art at McQuaid Jesuit.

Website: https://tomgalambos.com/ 

Instagram: @tom.galambos