Credit the team running the show: Founder Charlie LaGreca and the whole DiNK gang work tirelessly to gather the coolest stuff — a “laundry list of talent,” as they put it — each year.
DiNK will make its artistic mark again on Denver the weekend of April 13-14, at the McNichols Building in Civic Center Park. Start making your plans now: This short list is only the beginning of the big announcements that DiNK will be rolling out through February.
Bill Amend
If you’re a fan of newspaper comic strips, then you know Bill Amend — or at least his work. His popular daily Foxtrot ran from 1988 to 2006 and still runs new material every Sunday; it has spun off into several best-selling collections in book form. Amend himself is a five-time Gold Crown winner and was named Cartoonist of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society — all thanks to a quintessentially American family, a pet iguana and an eye for sharp pop-culture satire.
Paul Pope
Inimitable artist Paul Pope credits his inspirations as Jack Kirby, Bruno Premiani, Tony Salmons and Alex Toth, to name only a few. And you can see those influences in his impressive work, which itself has won five Eisners to date. Recently, his comic book Strange Adventures (from DC Comics) won the coveted National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for Best Comic Book of the Year. Perhaps best known for his long-running 1995 indie series THB, as well as a trunk-load of amazing work for DC and its Vertigo imprint over the years, Pope has a unique and dramatic style that feels both old-school and absolutely fresh.
Catana Comics
Catana Chetwynd’s endearing and funny bubble-eyed webcomic is very much in keeping with the DiNK philosophy of celebrating bootstrap artistic endeavors: Chetwynd is an Internet sensation whose work became a huge hit when her boyfriend shared her drawings online. Catana Comics has become a staple of the browsing habits of nearly two million followers since, and continues to charm, inspire and entertain with every panel.
Faith Erin Hicks
We announced Hicks’s appearance just a few weeks back, mentioning her work on Demonology 101 and Buffy: The High School Years. But the Eisner Award-winning writer and artist is worth noting again for her upcoming projects. She’s coming out with her first novel, Comics Will Break Your Heart, which will be in print by the time she comes to DiNK; she’ll also have a new volume in her Avatar: The Last Airbender trilogy called Imbalance (the first hit in December last year, the second comes in May) and a new original graphic novel called Pumpkinheads. Big year for Faith Erin Hicks, who’s already considered one of the most prolific graphic artists of this generation.
Devil's Due Entertainment
The inclusion of the makers of Squarriors and other awesomeness brings a new aspect to DiNK: gaming. Long a part of other comic and pop-culture cons, the gaming hobby and related industry highlights fresh possibilities for the future of DiNK, opening up new vistas of fun for this and future years of the con.
This lineup is just the beginning: More announcements will be made throughout the early part of 2019 in advance of DiNK, which runs April 13-14 at the McNichols Building, 144 West Colfax Avenue.
Already convinced? Need no further announcements to know whether you want to attend? Join the club and get your two-day passes at the official DiNK Website.
