Guests
Canceled: George Wyner
Film Directors
Check out Kai Kaldro and his work here:
Kai Kaldro is a film director, editor, and screenwriter born April 2001 in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for his work on rock music videos, which incudes appearing in The Chainsmokers’ 2022 hit single iPAD. This catalysts’ independent and ambitious, action productions artistically rebel against their budget restraints to emulate blockbuster spectacles. His narrative works are self-directed and self-scripted including his black and white neo-noir short Sinner’s Lullaby, followed by a short cyberpunk transmission, Dissolved Girl. Kaldro was mentored on set by his late great production sound mixer M Wolf Snyder (1985-2021), known for running sound in the 2021 best picture winner Nomanland by Chloe Zhao. Dissolved Girl was one of Wolf's final pictures and is dedicated to his memory.
As early as age 6, Kaldro expressed an affinity for filmmaking that led to the summer being consumed by making a Spider-Man fan-movie. Using his mom’s camcorder, he casted neighborhood kids with a wardrobe of Halloween costumes, and Windows Movie Maker to produce the final video. Wasting no time, Kaldro dropped out of school at the age of 16, determined and strong-willed to make it in the industry on his own, led by influences of The Wachowskis, Rob Zombie, and Alfred Hitchcock. While having an adolescent appearance, he harbors a husky baritone voice that is resonant and deep beyond his 21 years. Much like the artistic voice behind his films, which thematically explore perceived reality and troubled outcast characters, discovering their purpose within a dark city, infused with headbanging rock soundtracks, and a haunting visual style informed by Japanese animation, MTV's Headbangers Ball, and classic film noir.
A feature length version of Sinner’s Lullaby is now in production, with Kaldro returning to the director's chair, making it his feature-length debut. Joining Kaldro in the music department are master maestros Kim & Kathryn Kluge, best known for composing the score for Martin Scorsese’s Silence.
Celebrity Guests
Heather Matarazzo has over two decades of award-winning and critically-acclaimed performances in major studio films and independent cinema. She has appeared in such notable titles as The Devil's Advocate, 54,Scream 3, indie-cult fave Saved!, and Garry Marshall’s comedy hits, The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, in which she co-starred with Anne Hathaway. Her brilliant work at age 11 as the lead in Todd Solondz' Welcome to the Dollhouse (winner of the Grand Jury Award at Sundance and prizes from the Berlin Film Festival and The National Board of Review) brought Heather international recognition as one of the finest actors of her generation, and garnered her with the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance. Heather's extensive TV work includes guest starring roles on ER, Strangers with Candy, Life on Mars and Law and Order, recurring roles on Roseanne, Townies, Now and Again (earning Young Artist and Young Star Award nominations), The L Word, and an exceptional performance in Guy Ferland's ABC telefilm Our Guys: Outrage at Glen Ridge, as well as a tear jerking episode arch on Greys Anatomy. She can currently be found reprising her role as Martha Meeks in Scream, which is currently in cinemas and on major streaming platforms.
Matt Lintz has appeared in over 20 TV shows and Films. Matt most recently played Bruno Carelli in the recently released Marvel TV show Ms Marvel.
He also portrayed “older” Henry in AMCs The Walking Dead for Season 9.
Matt also played Stevie Taggart in the Emmy nominated limited series “The Alienist”——-and has guest appearances in shows such as; Sleepy Hollow, Revolution, Memphis Beat, just to name a few. He’s excited to visit Rochester (his fathers hometown).
Flash, Kick Buttowski are the big cartoons. His character from Ben 10 is also popular He starred in Diagnosis Murder Thanks Charlie Schlatter is an American actor famous for playing the character of ‘Dr. Jesse Travis’ in the CBS hit series ‘Diagnosis: Murder’ with Dick Van Dyke. He also starred as the title character in NBC's "Ferris Bueller". He can be seen now as Paul Michaels in the critically acclaimed "For All Mankind." He starred opposite George Burns in the 1988 comedy ‘18 Again!’ and also starred as Cadet Connors in "Police Academy: Mission to Moscow". You may recognize him as Dr. Dick from a famous episode of "Shameless". Schlatter has been a prominent figure in the animation world, voicing numerous characters in animated series as well as in video games in his three-decade long career. He currently voices Chad in the Nickelodeon series "Big Nate." He can also be heard as Sport on Apple Plus TV's "Harriet the Spy" and is in the process of recording the new TV series "Mattel's Hot Wheels." His legion of cartoon fans recognize him for being the voice of The Flash in various cartoons such as "Justice League Action" and "Superman: The Animated Series". He is also the voice of Robin in "Lego Batman: The Movie-DC Super Hero's Unite". He is known for being a part of popular animated shows like ‘Ben 10’, ‘Transformers: Robots in Disguise’, and ‘Avengers Assemble’. Charlie was the longest running voice of "BUZZ", The Honeynut Cheerios Bee. He is the new official voice of "E.T." Charlie has just finished voicing a character in the upcoming "Walking Dead" Video Game. His works as a voice artist in video games include ‘Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater’, ‘Neopets: The Darkest Faerie’, ‘Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops’, ‘Spider-Man 3’, "Mafia" and ‘Skylanders: Imaginators’.
Gregory French is an Actor, Stunt Man, and award-winning Director and film Producer best known for his many appearances on "The Walking Dead", where he has played around 30 different walkers in seasons 3 through 9 including the Barbed Wire Face Walker, one of the Gas Mask Walkers, several Prison Walkers, Woodbury walkers, Saviors, and Whisperers.
Greg has an impressive list of credits in other Movies and TV shows including Under the Dome, Revolution, Vampire Diaries, Sleepy Hollow, Spiderman Homecoming, Iron Man 3, Guardians of the Galaxy, We're the Millers, and many others.
He is a founding member of the production company "Coastal Independent Films" which has produced award-winning films including "Thirst of the Dead" and "The Vegetarian" which are now playing around the world on Shorts TV. He also recently started his own production company, "Z-List Productions" which is currently in production on several films.
Greg is a regular in the convention world and considers himself to be an all-around supernerd as an avid comic book collector and cosplayer. He is a member of the 501st Legion, the R2 Builders Club, and the Doctor Who Costuming Academy as well as a contributing member of the Replica Prop Forum.
Greg grew up just a few miles from here in Gouverneur, NY so he's a Local Boy! He currently lives and works in the Southeast, but says he always looks forward to coming back home where the pace is a little more relaxed and the people are real. He got his start in professional acting when a friend asked him to be in a commercial. That commercial led to several others, and before long he was acting on the big screen.
Michael Koske is an American actor living and working in Middle Georgia. His acting credits include frequent appearances as a featured "Walker" on AMC's The Walking Dead, including being Greg Nicotero's tribute to "Flyboy", from Dawn of the Dead. His zombie likenesses have appeared on t-shirts, figures, playing cards, and other official merchandise, and he's graced the pages of Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, The Walking Dead Official Magazine, the cover of The Ultimate Guide to Zombies, Rolling Stone Magazine, and most recently, the cover of TV Guide. He has also appeared as a daywalking Vampire on The Originals which is a spinoff for the Vampire Diaries, USA Network's Necessary Roughness, The Crazies, The Following featuring Kevin Bacon, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Need For Speed, Goosebumps, Captain America: Civil War, and the third installment of the Divergent series, Allegient, season 3 of Sleepy Hollow, Hidden Figures starring Kevin Costner, Hank Azaria's hit comedy Brockmire, and most recently, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2, as one of Yondu's Ravagers, and in Pitch Perfect 3 You can look for him coming up in the final season of The Originals. Michael frequently appears at conventions in support of his second life as a member of the undead community.
Holly Marie Combs is an American actress best known for her roles on "Pretty Little Liars", "Picket Fences" and as "Piper Haliwell" on "Charmed". Holly has a love for animals and is involved with many animal rights charities.
Brian Krause is an American actor who had a break out role in "Return to the Blue Lagoon" opposite Mila Jovovich. Brian is best known for his role as "Whitelighter Leo Wyatt" on "Charmed" but also has starred in Stephen King’s "Sleepwalkers" and daytime soap "Another World."
Authors and Artists
John Beatty is a veteran comic book artist, best known for his inking work for both Marvel and DC Comics. Developing into one of the industry's top inkers over his career, Beatty has worked with top pencil artists, such as Mike Zeck, Kelley Jones, and Michael Golden. Titles he is best known for include fan favorites such as Marvel Super Heroes “Secret Wars”, Captain America, The Punisher, Thanos Quest, and many Batman projects, including a highly regarded fan-favorite 3-year run on the monthly “Batman” book. Being picked or picking titles and peers to work with carefully and with cause, many of these series still remain highly regarded and collectible in today’s current comic culture.
Eric Watkins is a comic book writer and co-founder of Broken Icon Comics. Aside from running the day to day operations for BIC, Eric has worked with top-tier talents, providing scripts for some of their best selling work. His twelve year career includes writing and producing titles such as The Incredibly Odd and Eerie Tales of Two Gun Thomas Coe, The Cowboy Gauntlet and Frank. 2020 marked the beginning of a collaboration with WWE Superstar, and wrestling legend, Al Snow. The Ballad of Al Snow and Head series of comics features Al and his zany in-ring persona, and afforded him even more opportunities in both writing and publishing. Since that first issue he has written stories featuring former WWE Superstar Chavo Guerrero Jr, and former Impact Wrestling Star Jessie Godderz in a new series under the ever-widening umbrella of The Snowverse.
Nick Wentland is a comic book artist and writer from Des Moines, IA. After a long list of published credits with various independent companies, Nick worked on titles such as Spread (Image), Army of Darkness: Furious Road (Dynamite), TMNT (IDW) and GI Joe (IDW). Nick has colored industry greats like Kim Jacinto (Venom, Thunderbolts), Darryl Banks (Green Lantern), Tommy Patterson (Game of Thrones), Mark Kidwell (Rising Rebels, 68) Rod Whigham (GI Joe, Doc Savage) and Billy Tucci (Shi, Sgt. Rock). Nick is most well known for his exclusive TMNT covers including TMNT #44 The Death of Donatello. Nick is also a story collaborator and colorist for the hit series The Ballad of Al Snow and Head as well as The Adventures of Al Snow and Head featuring former WWE Superstar Al Snow.
Check out Nick Wentland and his work here:
Susan Harris is a best-selling author from Cork, Ireland with 20 novels currently available and several in the works. Although Susan is known predominantly for her paranormal series’ (The Ever Chace Chronicles and The Sanguine Crown), she’s not afraid to mix things up with a little dystopian drama, Shakespeare reimagining, or even contemporary romance. When she’s not torturing her readers with heart-wrenching plot twists or killer cliffhangers, she’s probably getting some new book-related ink, binging her latest TV or music obsession, or has her nose in a book.
Check out Susan Harris and her work here:
** Saturday Only **
Andrew Cieslinkski is the co-creator and artist of the Darby Pop Publishing all-ages graphic novel series LACEY & LILY [http:///www.laceyandlily.com] -- chronicling the adventures of a middle-schooler and her dog after both become unwitting superheroes. The second collected volume, LACEY & LILY: MAGIC & MAYHEM, will actually be making its convention debut at Flower City Comic Con this year. The year 2022 also sees the release of Andrew's latest creation - The Indestructible Dink Boy - leaping onto Webtoon for audiences everywhere. Andrew's work includes illustration for The Mike Wieringo Tellos Tribute with Todd Dezago, art for Patrick McCuen's The Devil and Mr Gandhi with Ink Puddle Press, character designs and illustration work for Dark Tree Films, and co-creating and illustrating the comedy series Holidaze for Dandy Press, Andrew's artwork has also graced many a print and poster, including for the Albany All-Stars Roller Derby and the Syracuse Crunch hockey, along with numerous private commission pieces.
Russell Brettholtz is the writer and co-creator of SIDE-KICKED, available from Darby Pop Publishing. He is a full-time real estate title searcher who spends his evenings working on his creator-owned comic book scripts, including those that will comprise SIDE-KICKED Vol. 2, dropping in early ’23. (www.darbypop.com) Russell is a contributing member of CatAtomic Studios, a New York based collective of comic book writers and artists who have, in the aggregate, published more than 25 issues of comics as well as a fantasy-themed playing card deck.
Darby Pop Publishing
Darby Pop Productions
As both a Writer and Showrunner, Jeff Kline has been responsible for nearly 1000 episodes of live-action and animated television across all dayparts. He received multiple Daytime Emmy® Awards for the CG series, TRANSFORMERS: PRIME (The Hub), and additionally co-developed and Executive Produced TRANSFORMERS: ROBOTS IN DISGUISE (Cartoon Network), TRANSFORMERS: RESCUE BOTS (The Hub), G.I. JOE: RENEGADES (The Hub), JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES (Kids WB), MEN IN BLACK: THE ANIMATED SERIES (Kids WB), GODZILLA: THE SERIES (Fox Kids), and EXTREME GHOSTBUSTERS (Synd.) to name a few. He is currently co-developer and showrunner on MAGIC: THE GATHERING for Netflix. Nearly a decade ago, Kline additionally founded Darby Pop Publishing – home to the only authorized BRUCE LEE titles in comicdom (co-created by Kline and Bruce’s daughter, Shannon Lee) as well as nearly 20 other series birthed by well- known novelists, screenwriters, and comic book heavyweights.
Check out Jeff Kline here:
Rob Dumo. is the art director for Broken Icon Comics. In addition to those duties he's also an artist. Past work includes Kill-Crazy Nymphos Attack!, written by Daniel Way (Deadpool, Astonishing X-Men) and the Soska twins (Black Widow, Guardians of Infinity), Robyn Hood for Zenescope Entertainment, and as a regular on The Gutters for Blind Ferret Entertainment. He's also drawn multiple titles for Broken Icon Comics including Nightmare Unknown, SPF, Eccentrix, The Ballad of Al Snow & Head, The Adventures of Al Snow & Head, and the upcoming Revenge of the Dragon.
Check out Rob Dumo here:
Edward Ashton (he/him) is the author of the novels Three Days in April, The End of Ordinary, and Mickey7, as well as of short stories which have appeared in venues ranging from the newsletter of an Italian sausage company to Escape Pod, Analog, and Fireside Fiction. He lives in upstate New York in a cabin in the woods (not that cabin in the woods) with his wife, a variable number of daughters, and an adorably mopey dog named Max. In his free time, he enjoys cancer research, teaching quantum physics to sullen graduate students, and whittling. His new novel Mickey7 is soon to be adapted into a major motion picture from Oscar-winner Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) starring Robert Pattinson
Special Effects Guests
Rashaad Santiago, 33, specializes in Creature suits and Special effects make-up for Tv, Music Videos, and Film. Over the last 12 years, Rashaad has become a leader for artistic quality and value in the special effects industry. In 2013 he competed in the hit TV Series "Faceoff" Earning the title of Champion of season 6. Since his appearance he has gone on to do live makeup demos for Comic conventions, as well as travel internationally and teach the art of SFX makeup. His facility in Batavia, New York is where he creates his detailed creations. He works in many different styles, producing two or three-dimensional pieces, and a wide range of art that include sculpture, carpentry and metal work. He has also crossed over to directing, he had a chance to direct his first feature "Beast of the Water" in 2016. He also created/produced and directed a 1950s stylized monster film called "Terror from Beyond Beyond"
Check out Rashaads' work here:
Cosplay Guests
Costume Designer for Sinner's Lullaby (2024), Harleen Dimopoulos rose to sartorial prominence as the executive and aesthetic director for such brands as Sweetheart Harley, revolutionizing cosmetics and couture which articulate the zeitgeist: "dress for dopamine." Entrepreneur, designer, and influencer, Ms. Dimopoulos' career spans fashion and makeup, technological science, and media psychology.
Check out Sweetheart Harley's work here:
Harley Nox is a cosplayer who has been in the game since 2012, when she went to her first convention. She has attended a number of events such as New York Comic Con and enjoyed bringing a number of her favorite characters to life. During those events she has been featured in SyFy and INSIDER for cosplays such as Steampunk Belle, Renaissance Harley Quinn, and live-action Cinderella, as well as her Vault Dweller. In 2019 she also opened up an Etsy shop featuring a small variety of video game and nerd culture charms and jewelry.
Check out Harley Nox Cosplay's social media here:
