Happy comics-makers and just-as-happy patrons of the comics art form gather together at the beautiful Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum enjoying food, drink, great conversation, wonderful exhibits, and even an awards announcement or two.

This panel features Roberta Gregory, Darrin Bell, Ricardo Padilla, John Jennings, Tim Fielder, Stacey Robinson, David Walker, and Kat Fajardo.

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) is a FREE, city-wide, four-day arts festival hosted every year by people and places with a passion for cartoon arts. CXC connects the global family of cartoon storytellers, comic makers, and animators with the people who love and are inspired by their art at a variety of venues throughout Columbus. Events include films, talks, book signings, panels, and workshops, and the Comics Expo and Marketplace. This year, CXC’s ambitious special guest list includes Lynn Johnston, Brian Michael Bendis, Sally Cruikshank, Darrin Bell, Kazu Kibuishi, Jeff Smith, and many more! The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum’s participation in CXC is proudly supported by a donation from Mary F. Gau and Kevin Wolf. We are proud to be hosting CXC special guests Darrin Bell, Lynn Johnston, and Annie Koyama. 

SÕL-CON 2018 will take place on September 27-28 at Hale Hall on the Ohio State University main campus. SÕL-CON works in partnership with the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum and CXC/Cartoon Crossroads Columbus event that will take place on OSU’s campus from September 27-30.

Schedule of Events

Meet the 2018 SOL-CON Exhibitors

Quasi at the Quackadero by Sally Cruikshank. Courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.

As part of the Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) festivities, the Wexner Center for the Arts presents Sally Cruikshank, animator and illustrator. With a career spanning nearly five decades, Los Angeles–based animator and illustrator Sally Cruikshank explores the boundaries of animated space with a distinctive, cartoony, and often psychedelic style that’s infused with an outlandish sense of humor. Her best-known film, the highly regarded Quasi at the Quackadero (1975), was named to the National Film Registry in 2009. In addition to her independently produced projects, Cruikshank has also created animations for Sesame Street, television commercials, and for Hollywood films, including sequences in Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) and Ruthless People (1986). Her work has screened at museums, festivals, and art houses all over the world.