Recap: Curls Studio's Year of 2025

The year 2025 was a good "growth" year for me as a person. In January I was sick most of the month, there was no productivity to lead the year because of illness. It really took the wind out of my sails for a bit. I became more physically active by February through the end of November. A big priority for me this year and moving forward is to gain strength, so I put a lot of focus on that personally. I took a break from crowdfunding this year, but am not against doing it again in the future when the timing is right.

I was asked to be speak at Culpeper Con my keynote was titled "How Comics Shape Minds and Health" and that was in March. We had a good time at Awesome Con in April and Joe presented the Awesome Con Short Film Festival with Astray Productions. In May I attended events for Cartoonists Rights and the Herblock Awards.

In July I entered a Jack White button design contest put on by @tmrcreativecollective. I won runner-up for "single button" category and they sent me a bunch of posters, a few buttons, stickers, and an enamel pin by Matthew Jacobson.

A highlight of the year for me was to be able to have a meet-and-greet experience with Benji and Joel Madden from Good Charlotte at a Southern Maryland Blue Crabs baseball game. I showed them an illustration I did of the band. It was motivating to hear their positive and encouraging words. I also got to take a photo with their mascots! That same week I entered Sloppy Mama's BBQ inaugural Pickle Party and won Best Pickle award! I even did some comic strips for Curls about the pickle contest, so I guess art imitated life in that instance.

Without knowing it at the time, we had the last Fairfax Comic Con at the Dulles Expo Center in August. The location will now become an IKEA and the convention is looking for a new location. In September my creative juices were flowing at Small Press Expo and I enjoyed being in a huge ballroom with so many talented creators.

New York Comic Con was an absolute blast this year. Reaffirming why it is the biggest show we do because it's simply an amazing place to be. The city. The food. The exhibits. I really enjoyed taking it all in. Plus the surprise of the year was meeting the wrestler and musician Real1 (formerly known as Enzo Amore) at the booth directly behind ours. Please read my NYCC 2025 recap because I covered a lot of the show aspects if you want to do a deeper dive. We actually got to visit NYC twice this year (Joe went a third time for work)! 

Baltimore Comic-Con was memorable because we got to take part in the BCC Yearbook featuring Jeff Smith's Bone. It is delightful to have a piece in the yearbook with my Curls characters interacting with Bone characters. I was not able to talk to Jeff Smith at the show, but I did see him and his long line (I have met him a couple times before). It is really cool to see him honored and respected for all his hard work and achievements in the industry.

In the fall filmmaker Joe Carabeo released "Paul Pope: THB," a documentary on best-selling comic book revolutionary and creator Paul Pope. You can watch it on YouTube.

Cartoonists Draw Blood was revived this year with some new blood (see what I did there). The National Cartoonists Society Washington, DC chapter was represented by Colleen Doran, John Gallagher, Steve Artley, Joe Sutliff, Ruthi Postow, and myself. We drew for people who donated blood. Can you believe this was our 12th event with American Red Cross and NCS DC?

To close out the year, I recently won a contest hosted by Fairfax County Public Library for their new library cards releasing in mid-January as a regular library card, keychain, and bookmark. You can read more about the process on my newly created Substack and in the FFXnow article that came out a few days ago.

Here is the full list of our 2025 tour for comic conventions and appearances:

March 22 • CulpeperCon
April 4-6 • Awesome Con DC
May 18 • Spring Lot Con
June 28-29 • Tidewater Comicon
July 19 • Dog Days of Summer
August 23-24 • Fairfax Comic Con
September 13-14 • Small Press Expo
October 9-12 • New York Comic Con
October 17-19 • Baltimore Comic-Con
October 26 • Fall Lot Con
November 15 • Local Author Book Festival
November 22 • Cartoonists Draw Blood

We also went to a number of live wrestling events (in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the District) and got to see the final John Cena match, which took place in Washington, DC. I participated in SCBWI events and am excited to learn from them. I also hope to build up the NCS DC chapter so we can do more. Curls Studio is looking forward to 2026 with a goal of creating more comics and storytelling!

FFXnow article about new Fairfax County Public Library cards

Angela Woolsey reporting for FFXnow has written about the new library cards for Fairfax County Public Library that will come out in early next year. The article documents how the designs were submitted and selected as well as the rebranding initiative that instigated the card refresh. I was able to provide some statements for the article.

https://www.ffxnow.com/2025/12/29/fairfax-county-public-library-will-offer-new-card-designs-in-new-year

I recently started a Substack to document my creative lifestyle and wrote about the creation of my winning FCPL card design "read to the dog" concept. One of the other topics I have written about is "Cloud Dancer" the Pantone Color of the Year 2026. You can read and subscribe here: https://carolynbelefski.substack.com

New Library Card Design for Fairfax County Public Library

Fairfax County Public Library is excited to share new library cards with you! Earlier this month I was recognized at the Library Board of Trustees meeting for winning their library card design contest. During the event I got to meet the three other illustrators who will also have their designs on cards. The new library cards will be available to the public for selection in the 23 FCPL branches (over 1.2 million residents served) in mid-January. I look forward to seeing these cards proudly carried by FCPL patrons across Fairfax County! 

I recently started a Substack and one of my first posts describes the process for my "read to the dog" concept to create the card design and includes my original sketch. Please read and subscribe here: https://substack.com/@carolynbelefski

Recap: Cartoonists Draw Blood 2025

Thankful for all the cartoonists and blood donors who participated in "Cartoonists Draw Blood" last month at Gainesville United Methodist Church. We even had someone drive in from Virginia Beach! 

 

National Cartoonists Society -- Washington, DC chapter is represented by Colleen Doran, John Gallagher, Steve Artley, Joe Sutliff, Ruthi Postow, and Carolyn Belefski. Hopefully we will do another blood drive next year as tradition allows (we have been doing it since 2013). 

If you are in the Washington, DC area and want to host us at your blood drive, reach out to American Red Cross of the National Capital and Greater Chesapeake Region.

Cartoonists Draw Blood 2025

Cartoonists Draw Blood -- blood drive with the American Red Cross is taking place on Saturday, November 22, 2025 from 8AM-1:30PM at Gainesville United Methodist Church 13710 Milestone Court, Gainesville, VA 20155.

Blood donors meet local cartoonists and take home a complementary sketch after their appointment. As an added incentive, I believe the American Red Cross may be providing a limited edition pair of socks featuring PAC-MAN to blood donors.

Link to schedule appointments to donate blood: https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/donation-time?zipSponsor=20155&driveType=all

Facebook invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/827009063524109

Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DRNspZ0jVeu

Please consider sharing this event notice on the socials -- it's a great way to be thankful and give back this season even if you can't give blood at this time.

Artists scheduled to appear: Colleen Doran, John Gallagher, Steve Artley, Joe Sutliff, Ruthi Postow, Carolyn Belefski

Local Author Book Festival this Saturday

You are invited to the Local Author Book Festival at the City of Fairfax Regional Library, located at 10360 North Street, Fairfax, VA 22030, on Saturday, November 15, 2025, from 11:00AM to 1:00PM. 

Come and be a part of a wonderful celebration showcasing local talent! Prepare for a day brimming with stories, creativity, and community at the library. Connect with local authors and delve into discussions about their works. Browse a variety of their books available for purchase. Delight in family-friendly activities, including balloon twisting and face painting. Don’t forget to stop by the library table for a chance to win one of two $50 Visa gift cards.

Cosponsored by the Fairfax Library Foundation. No Registration required. 

For more information and to see a list of appearing authors: https://librarycalendar.fairfaxcounty.gov/event/15078687

Recap: Baltimore Comic-Con 2025

After completing New York Comic-Con the weekend before, Curls Studio went on to Baltimore Comic-Con four days later. The main highlight of the show was the yearbook theme of Bone by Jeff Smith.

On Saturday evening, I visited three friends I haven't seen in awhile and we had pizza. One of them lives several hours away I had only seen once since high school, so it was good to catch up and be united again! During that time Joe Carabeo was directing the Ringo Awards Ceremony and working on the livestream online. You can watch the video replay here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTS-dbRrWR0

On Sunday I got to see Jeff Smith visit the table of a young artist, Sam "Kidlet" Deans, who took a photo with him to recreate a photo she took with him 13 years earlier. Her table was directly across from me, so it was an awesome moment to witness her holding her yearbook page and pose with a legendary cartoonist.

I went to the Charles Vess booth on Sunday and enjoyed seeing his work in-person. I also learned that the Baltimore Convention Center houses 70,000 bees in two beehives on the roof. We had a fun time in Baltimore and I am excited to see what 2026 will bring.