Cartoon Crossroads Columbus returns for its 10th year to celebrate the art of comics

The iconic cartoon festival returns to Columbus for its tenth year.

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, a four-day celebration of comics and graphic novels, will return to the Ohio State University campus — at venues like the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum and the Wexner Center for the Arts — as well as other Columbus venues — including the Gateway Film Center, the Columbus Museum of Art and the Columbus Metropolitan Library main branch — Wednesday through Sunday.

According to the event website, This year’s special guests will be Art Spiegelman, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Maus, a graphic novel about Spiegelman’s father, a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor; Jeff Smith, an Ohio State graduate and author of the Bone graphic novel series, about three cousins, Fone, Phoney, and Smiley Bone, who get lost in the desert and find themselves in a world full of strange creatures; and Bryan Lee O’Malley, author of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series, about a young man who must defeat seven evil ex-boyfriends of his new girlfriend, Ramona, in order to be with her.

Caitlin McGurk, assistant professor of special collections and regional studies at The Ohio State University and curator of comics and cartoons at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, said the goal of the event is to connect the cartoon community with students and fans through panels, portfolio reviews and an art exhibit.

“One of the really cool things about this festival that sets it apart from events like San Diego Comic Con is that it’s very intimate,” McGurk said. “It was intentionally kept smaller so that people could have really important points of contact with young, emerging cartoonists and seasoned veterans of the art form.”

Although Cartoon Crossroads Columbus was founded in 2014, McGurk said the idea of ​​bringing together comic book creators and artists dates back much further, to the Triennial Festival of Cartoon Arts, which was first held in 1983 at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State University.

“We decided to revive the event 10 years ago and partner with all the citywide groups, museums and schools to make it an annual event that would be citywide and bigger and more inclusive,” McGurk said.

Jared Gardner, a member of the Cartoon Crossroads Columbus programming committee, said comics are still relevant to modern society because they have a major influence on popular culture.

“Comics have become almost a consensus in pop culture, more broadly, because of movies, TV shows and video games,” Gardner said. “They’ve kind of morphed and adapted from comics.”

Gardner said the goal of Cartoon Crossroads Columbus is to keep that influence and passion alive by creating a space where artists can showcase their skills and passion.

“A lot of popular comic book festivals, like San Diego Comic Con, tend to focus on non-superhero comics and traditional, what we might call, ‘monthly comics,’” Gardner said. “We want it to be a community show. There are challenges and limitations, but we have people from every corner of comics and animation.”

McGurk said the festival draws people from across the country, showcasing Columbus’ cultural vibrancy and artistry to artists and fans alike.

“There’s (a lot of) networking opportunities and just a good focus on community, because community is a really big part of comics,” McGurk said. “It’s a place where people can go and shop and buy really cool comics from hundreds of creators who come from all over the world.”

For more information about the Cartoon Crossroads Columbus festival, visit the festival website website.