Just two weeks left before we get to celebrate our favorite national comic book holiday(s) here at Phoenix! Get ready for Free Comic Book Day and Comics Giveaway Day 2026. Last week we covered the history and the general plan for what to expect. This week let's talk creators! 

Free Comic Book Day - Creator Signings

We’ve got five wonderful creators lined up for you this year! Creator signing hours this year will run from 12 PM - 4 PM. That said, not all of our creators may not be able to stay for the full four hours, so if there is someone on this list that you want to see, definitely plan to come early!

Ren Strapp

Joining us for the first time this year, Ren Strapp is a comic artist and gender nonconforming lesbian werewolf based in Portland OR. She started her comics career in zines and web comics and will be a zinester until she dies. Her work is inspired by risograph printing and American traditional tattooing.

Keezy Young

Keezy Young is an award-winning and Eisner and Ignatz-nominated cartoonist who writes and draws comics, including their latest graphic novel, Hello Sunshine. They enjoy mystery, horror, love stories, and ghosts, and their vibrant retro color palettes and strong sense of linework help to bring their stories to life. Their work is character-focused, and they often explore LGBTQIA characters and themes. Mental illness is also an important focus in many of their stories. Outside of drawing and making comics, they spend most of their time watching horror movies, listening to oldies tunes, and waiting impatiently for the sun to come out in the Pacific Northwest.

G Willow Wilson

G. Willow Wilson is co-creator of the Hugo and American Book Award-winning comic book series MS MARVEL (now a Disney+ television series), writer of the GLAAD Award-winning POISON IVY series, and has written for some of the world’s best-known superhero comics, including THE X-MEN, SUPERMAN and WONDER WOMAN, and now Marvel's Black Cat. Her first novel, ALIF THE UNSEEN, won the 2013 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, was a finalist for the Center For Fiction’s First Novel Prize, and was long-listed for the 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction. Her second novel, THE BIRD KING, was named one of the best fantasy novels of the decade by NPR. In 2015, she won the Graphic Literature Innovator Prize at the PEN America Literary Awards. Her work has been translated into over a dozen languages.

Creator Do's and Don't's

While it's never been a problem in the past, it's always important to note that we expect all of our customers and guests to treat our visiting creators with kindness, care, and respect for their work. All of our creators will have merchandise at our tables, and some of our creators will be bringing their own work to sell during FCBD. If a creator indicates something at their table is for sale through them, please purchase that item at that point before bringing the rest of your purchases up to the counter to be paid for there.

We'll also have team members present out by the free comic books during the majority of the time our visiting creators will be here. If you have any questions or want to run something by us, please don't hesitate to reach out!

Alright, that's a wrap for our creator line-up. Tune in next Wednesday for our final free comic book day post, where we talk about the discounts and deals to expect. If you want to make the rounds and support all your friendly local comic shops, there’s a super nice comic locator service up on FCBD’s website that can help! And please, don’t forget to support your FLCS. We all appreciate it!