Artist Guest of Honor: David Perry
David Perry is a freelance comic illustrator, character designer, and screenwriter, specializing in pitch material for animated series, and he is the lecturer of 2D Animation, Character Design, and Comics at Indiana University – Indianapolis. He is an award-winning writer, and has had illustrations and writing published at Butler University’s ‘Manuscripts,’ Indiana University’s ‘Genesis,” and California State University – Northridge’s ‘Northridge Review,’ as well as Flora Fiction and New York’s Hudson Valley ‘Chronogram.’ He is the illustrator for Emmy-winning Nickelodeon writer Max Beaudry’s ‘Aw, Nuts!’ middle grade graphic novel, Netflix producer Max Botkin’s ‘Jen, Glen, and the Line Between Them’ children’s early reader book, and he is the creator of ‘Mallory Bash’ (web comic and animated series concept) and ‘Pie Girl’ (graphic novel and animated short concept).
Author Guest of Honor: Matthew Barron
Matthew Barron was raised by a dog in the cornfields of southern Indiana. His biological parents coaxed him back into the house with television and comic books. He still has a healthy distrust of humans, who are much scarier than anything in his stories. Matthew enjoys writing in different genres and mediums. Most of his stories fall under the speculative fiction umbrella (horror, science fiction, fantasy). Matthew’s diverse stories have appeared in several magazines and anthologies such as Generation X-ed, And the Dead Shall Sleep No More, The Dread Machine, Ill-Considered Expeditions, and many more. In addition to his prose books and short stories, he’s produced two of his plays—I’m Not Gay (2015) and Phantom of Fountain Square (2019)—and released three graphic novels—Temple of Secrets, The Brute: Chasing Shadows andHarmony Unbound. In 2020 he started the Jack Mahler paranormal mystery series with Waking Terror, and in 2024 he finally collected 30 years of short stories in Dissonant Dreams, which is still his personal favorite. In 2025, he collected the stories too risqué for Dissonant Dreams inCringetastic Content and in 2026 had his 2012 children’s book The Lonely Princess translated into Spanish and Chin. He is currently working on a modern-day pulp adventure set in Indianapolis.
For more information, visit https://www.submatterpress.com
Or Find him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormatthewbarron/
Or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormatthewbarron
Media Guest of Honor: Samantha Newark
Samantha Newark is a Singer/ Songwriter and is best known for her voice-over work as “Jem” in the classic animated series “Jem and the Holograms” and “Transformers”. Samantha is currently writing for her 5th solo album and enjoying a resurgence of brand new Jem treasures from Hasbro, frequently making live appearances at pop culture conventions engaging with the wildly loyal and devoted following around the world. samanthanewark.com
Music Guest of Honor: Mikey Mason
Mikey Mason’s profession is creating art and music with geeky themes, using his lifelong love for fantasy, science fiction, cats, and games to inspire his music and help him evolve as person and artist . His performances are sharpened by long years of experience as a stand-up comedian. He’s performed at theaters, bars, comedy clubs, casinos, colleges, festivals, and conventions across the US, hosted podcasts, exhibited at art shows, created a coloring book, and more, continually expanding his horizons as to what his next project will be. His book, Confessions of a Geek Bard, was released in June 2023 through Falstaff Books. His 18th album, The Passage, was released on October 3, 2025.
Learn more at MikeyMason.com
Trivia Guest of Honor: Lou Harry
