CXC plans some in-person events for 2021, announces the Tom Spurgeon Award

This year’s Cartoon Crossroads Columbus will be a hybrid event, with some events hosted online and some in-person.

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus has announced that this year they plan to return to hosting live crowds, as this year’s event, scheduled for Sept. 30-Oct. 3, will feature both in-person and online events.

Like most comics festivals and conventions, CXC went all virtual for its 2020 show due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CXC said some events this year will be online only, including the CXC Expo, and several of the in-person events will be broadcast online. They plan to follow the city of Columbus’s health guidelines and the recommendations of its programming sponsors when determining any necessary precautions. More details on programming and locations are forthcoming.

“Every Fall the art community in Columbus comes together for CXC, and once again we’ve put together an incredible guest list of creators,” said Bone creator Jeff Smith, CXC’s co-founder and artistic director. “Whether in person or online, we have events and activities planned for anyone who likes cartoons. Which is everyone!”

poster by Gabby Metzler

So far they’ve announced four special guests:

  • Chris Samnee, artist of Fire Power, Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters, Daredevil, Captain America and many more comics titles.
  • Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, co-creators of National Book Award finalist When Stars Are Scattered.
  • Lewis Trondheim, a co-founder of the independent publisher L’Association in France and co-author of the Dungeon series.
  • Shary Flenniken, a pioneering underground cartoonist known for Trots and Bonnie.

In addition, CXC has announced a new award they plan to give out at this year’s event, named for CXC Executive Director/The Comics Reporter founder Tom Spurgeon, who passed away in 2019. The Tom Spurgeon Award will be awarded to “someone who is not primarily a cartoonist and whose support of cartoonists and cartoon art enhanced the field in a lasting and measurable way.” The award will be presented by Tom’s family.

“The breadth and depth of Tom’s experiences as a journalist, comics historian and reporter make him the ideal model for an award celebrating the contributions of non-cartoonists to the field,” said Lucy Shelton Caswell, founding curator of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University and a co-founder of CXC.

You can find more information on CXC and the award on their website.

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