A.C.E and Comic Envy are very happy to welcome the
following creators to the 2015 Asheville Comic Expo!
Steve Rude
Steve Rude is an American artist, painter, writer, and comic book illustrator. Best known as the co-creator of Nexus, Steve has worked on Batman, Superman, Spider-man, X-Men and many other mainstream and independent titles. Steve attended the Milwaukee School of Arts and the California Art Institute. He has won 7 Eisner awards, as well as a Jack Kirby Award, Harvey Award, and Inkpot Award. Currently Rude runs and owns his publishing company Rude Dude Productions, while taking commissions and teaching art classes. Stay tuned for more information about the possibility of Rude teaching a few lucky artists while in Asheville!
Mike Grell
Best known for his work on DC comics, Mike Grell is both a renowned artist and writer. He began his career in 1973 working on Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes. Grell created the characters Warlord, Dawnstar, and John Sable. He is best known for modernizing the Green Arrow with the acclaimed ‘Longbow Hunters’ series. He also worked on Batman, Phantom Stranger, All Star Comics Presents, and Aquaman.
Matthew Manning
Matthew Manning has written numerous comics for a variety of publishers, including Marvel and DC. A favorite recurring guest at ACE, Matthew’s work has appeared in the pages of The Batman Strikes!, Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century, Justice League Adventures, Spider-Man Unlimited, Looney Tunes, and Marvel Romance Redux. For DK, he has penned Wolverine: Inside the World of the Living Weapon, the updated versions of Spider-Man: The Ultimate Guide and Hulk: The Incredible Guide, the children’s reader Marvel Heroes: Greatest Battles. He is currently writing for Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman.
Kelly Yates
Kelly Yates is a comic book artist and full time graphic design specialist. He is best known for his work on IDW’s Doctor Who Comics, including The Forgotten, Ground-Control, and A Fairytale Life.
Matthew Dow-Smith
Matthew Dow-Smith is an author and artist who has worked on a wide variety of comics for both mainstream and independent publishers. Some of those titles include Doctor Who, Hellboy, Sandman Mystery Theater, Generation X, and Supernatural. Recently he illustrated and wrote an issue in Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Witches, and is currently working on X-Files Season 11.
Jeremy Whitley
Jeremy Whitley is the creator of the original comic series Princeless, Illegal, and The Order of Dagonet. His work has been nominated for two Eisner Awards, Five Glyph Awards, and numerous other honors. In addition to his original creations, he has also been a regular writer for IDW’s “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” and “My Little Pony: Friends Forever” series as well as Action Lab’s “NFL Rush Zone” and “GlobWorld” comic series. Recently, he has written for “Secret Wars: Secret Love”.
Ian McGinty
Ian McGinty is best known for his artistic work on Bravest Warriors and Adventure Time: Candy Capers. As an illustrator he has also worked on Munchkin, Hello Kitty, and Bee and Puppycat. Recently he also did a variant cover for new Invader Zim comic.
Shawn Crystal
Shawn Crystal is an illustrator for both Marvel and DC. He studied art at Townson University, and got his MFA in sequential art in Savannah. Shawn is Currently an the Program coordinator for The Sequentail Art Dept. at SCAD Atlanta. He is best known for his work on Deadpool, Deadpool and Wolverine, and Phantomex. Recently he has illustrated Arkham Manor for DC. He will also be drawing the upcoming Illuminati book for Marvel.
Meghan Hetrick
Meghan Hetrick is an artist who has been drawing for as long as she could hold a crayon, much to the dismay of both her mother and the walls of her childhood homes. Aside from the requisite art courses in school, she is completely self-taught, studying the works of artistic masters new and old with equal fervor. Never one to shy away from adversity, whenever she would come across a subject or material seemingly beyond her abilities, Meghan would push herself to overcome the challenge before her. This has resulted in the formation of an artist skilled in a variety of subjects as well as mediums, such as watercolor, marker, ink, graphite and occasionally acrylic. Her love of strong compositions, storytelling and color are common themes throughout her art.
She recently broke into comics with work on Fairest, Joker’s Daughter, and the Lois Lane one-shot. Recently she illustrated Bodies for Vertigo, and Batman Eternal and New Suicide Squad for DC.
Wilfredo Torres
Penciller, Pugilist & Pernicious Performer of Perillous Paranormal Derring-Do / Proud Purveyor of Comic Book Ass-Kickery! Wilfredo has been working professionaly since 2007 and is best known for his work on The Shadow: Year One (Dynamite Entertainment) and Batman ’66 (DC Comics) as well as Lobster Johnson: Prayer Of Nerefu (Dark Horse Comics) and Quantum & Woody (Valiant Entertainment). Most recently Wilfredo redesigned and provided Covers for The Shield (Archie Comics/ Dark Circle).
Jackie Lewis
Jackie Lewis is a comic book writer/artist best known for her art on Play Ball. Her first published work with Oni Press is a three-page introduction in Jam: Tales From the World of Roller Derby. Recently she drew Lion of Roara. Jackie studied theater in undergrad at Emory University, then went on to get her MFA in Sequential Art from SCAD Atlanta. She likes monsters, historical fashion, and tattoos.