Small Press Expo 2026

This year's Small Press Expo will be held September 12-13, 2026. Visit Curls Studio at Table W63 near the front entrance at Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center (5701 Marinelli Road Rockville, Maryland 20852). 

Saturday, September 12 -- 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday, September 13 -- NOON - 6:00 PM

The latest issue of Magic Bullet (#25) will debut at SPX in full color -- look for a new Roxy and Dean story in it!

Cartoonist Showcase in Columbus, Ohio

The National Cartoonist Society is teaming up with the Billy Ireland Museum at Ohio State University for a Cartoonist Showcase sketching and signing event, open to the public. You can find me in the lobby on Saturday, August 8 from 1:00 to 5:30 PM.

Spotlight presentations from Colleen Doran and Cathy Guisewite are part of the festivities.

There will also be a ticketed event on the same day in the Mershon Auditorium featuring Dav Pilkey, Raina Telgemeier, Jim Benton, Jamar Nicholas, and Maria Scrivan from Scholastic’s Graphix imprint.

If you are near Columbus, Ohio it is a great way to meet talented cartoonists, illustrators, and authors! I'm looking forward to this event and hope to meet you there.

Details here: https://nationalcartoonists.com/showcase

NCS Exhibitors: Chuck Whelon, Joe Dator, Wayno®, Nate Fakes, Jerry Van Amerongen, Tom Stiglich, John and Anne Hambrock, Andrea Beizer, Colleen Doran, Dave Blazek, Pat Higgins, Jason Chatfield, Barbara Dale, John Rose, Richard Robert Pollak, Dee Fish, Dave Kellett, Polly Keener, Bill Morrison, Harold Buchholz, Joe Staton, Greg Cravens, Francis Bonnet, Carolyn Belefski, Thom Zahler, Milburn Taylor, Deon Parson, Tom Toro, Josh Ulrich, Mark Parisi, Dan Thompson, Wes Molebash, David Rickert, Norm Feuti, Lex Fajardo, Chuck Dillon, Ed Steckley, Dawn Griffin

Toon Talks: TED-Style Presentations by Cartoonists

I am selected to present at "Toon Talks" during National Cartoonists Society’s 80th Annual Reuben Awards and Conference in Ohio on August 7. 

Five cartoonists. Five big ideas. Ten minutes each. Inspired by TED Talks, this fast-paced session features short, focused presentations on creative breakthroughs, business pivots, technical innovations, and career insights. Topics range from process to publishing, from style to strategy. After the presentations, join table conversations with speakers to dive deeper into the ideas that resonated with you. 

Presenters: Carolyn Belefski (How Comics Shape Minds and Health), Deon Parson (Making Traditional Comics in a Digital World), Jonathan Lemon (How to Hack Your Deadlines), Sonya Saturday (So Anyway, I Saved a Dollar), Tom Gammill (How I Learned To Draw). 

Registration link: https://ncs.glueup.com/event/80th-annual-ncs-conference-and-reuben-awards-173648

There will also be National Cartoonists Society Showcase on August 8 at The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum that I will be participating in (taking place after the conference). More details to come in the next blog post.

Recap: Fredericksburg Comic Con 2026

This past weekend Curls Studio had a fun time at Fredericksburg Comic Con with the Kids Love Comics crew. I got to meet fellow NCS member John Rose for the first time in-person. Joe got to unexpectedly meet writer Robert Venditti. I had a workshop "Emoji Comics with Carolyn Belefski" and drew this code to crack 🍍🍕👍. Reply where you stand on this controversial opinion. Thank you Incredible Conventions!

Fredericksburg Comic Con 2026

Fredericksburg Comic Con is July 11-12, 2026. There will be Kids Love Comics activities and workshops, arcade games, special guests (voice actors, wresters, and comic creators), artist alley, and exhibitors. 

On Sunday at 1PM join us for Emoji Comics with Carolyn Belefski -- We’ve used them in texts and social media, now cartoonist Carolyn Belefski shows you how to use emojis in comics. From designing these easy-to-draw icons to using them to tell a story, this workshop will surely play with your emotions.

This will be the first time Curls Studio will visit Fredericksburg Comic Con. Hope to see you there!

Comic Logic's Spring Lot Con 2026

See Curls Studio this Sunday, May 17 for Spring Lot Con at Comic Logic in Ashburn, VA! The event runs from Noon to 4PM. Come meet special guest Phillip Kennedy Johnson and many members of our amazing comics community this Sunday.

Independent Bookstore Day is April 25, 2026

Meet authors and discover your next book to read at McKay Used Books in Manassas, VA for Independent Bookstore Day! Myself and other authors will be selling our books and connecting with readers from 11 AM to 3 PM next Saturday, April 25, 2026. If you find the Golden Ticket, you win a year supply of Audiobooks and there will be other exclusive giveaways while supplies last.

Blossom Bash 2026

This past Sunday I participated in "Blossom Bash" an official National Cherry Blossom Festival event, transforming PenFed Plaza into a vibrant spring destination at Tysons Corner Center. 

ArtsFairfax hosted live chalk art contest inspired by America’s Semiquincentennial: In honor of America’s 250th, chalk art reflected the natural beauty of America's flora and fauna, celebrating the plants, animals, and landscapes that make our country beautiful. 

The event “paints PenFed Plaza pink” with a curated retailer market, live entertainment, family-friendly activations, giveaways, and interactive experiences—designed to drive regional attendance while spotlighting participating retailers and restaurants.

This was my first time at this one-day outdoor program. I heard from the other artists there that they had done the event in previous years. My art was inspired by the Japanese cherry blossoms and I did a koi fish with blossom fins in the water with emphasis on movement and spring colors. 

It was definitely windy at this elevated outdoor event space and two of my name tags blew away. I am happy with my art given the parameters of the wind and physically doing it in a squat position. I rarely got on my knees, but they did advise artists to bring towels to roll up for protection. I did bring a bath towel, but didn't really use it. Many of the artists had skateboarding knee pads. I was starting to use up many of my main colors -- white, pink, and blue -- glad to make it through to complete with sparse resources. We had to tell PenFed event workers and attendees not to step on the art area (which was obviously sectioned in five foot squares with tape, so it was striking to see so many people oblivious to what we were doing -- for those that don't know the colors smear when being stepped on). It was an interesting challenge and I'm glad to be a part of it!

Recap: CulpeperCon 2026

Curls Studio experienced CulpeperCon this past Saturday with a display at their Artist Alley in the morning. Joe Carabeo debuted his new 2026 filmmaking reel during his presentation. I gave my "Fine Toon Your Life" comics workshop including an engaging Q&A segment in the afternoon. Several people walked away from the presentation with a freshly drawn comic and a start to their career in cartooning!

CulpeperCon 2026 is this Saturday

On Saturday, March 28, 2026 Curls Studio will be at Culpeper County Library for the 4th CulpeperCon. We will be giving a presentation and workshop in the afternoon. John Gallagher, the creator of Max Meow, will be giving this year's keynote at Noon.

Joe Carabeo presents How You Don’t Need Hollywood…But...
2:30-3:20PM

Filmmaking is a wonderful world, but is the reality of being a filmmaker right for you? Join Joe Carabeo as he shares a rare glimpse into his evolving process as a professional creative, while discussing the joys and hardships he endured in the evolution of being part of modern cinema making through his 20 years as a independent filmmaker and creator. 

Fine Toon Your Life with Carolyn Belefski
3:30-4:20PM

Welcome back CulpeperCon 3rd Edition Keynote Speaker, Carolyn Belefski!

In this workshop, cartoonist Carolyn Belefski will teach how to turn humor of your everyday life into clever, relatable comic strips -- because if it’s going to happen to you, it might as well be funny.

Recap: MoComCon 2026

This past Saturday I set up a display table at MoCoCon with Montgomery County Public Libraries. It was their 10th anniversary show and my first time at this show. Geoff Weber, Christiann MacAuley, Oliver Mertz, Jamie Noguchi, Carolyn Belefski, Tiny Pineapple Studio were the creators who exhibited in Artist Alley. The event also had a cosplay parade, button making activity, crafts, panels, trivia, scavenger hunt, and more. I only got to see a portion of the show because I was at the table most of the day and it was in two buildings (I didn't even see the other building). It was great to hang out and meet the other creators and also meet event attendees. 

It is super to see many libraries embrace comics and host their own library conventions. I'll be at another library convention this coming Saturday in Culpeper, Virginia called CulpeperCon.

Recap: Awesome Con 2026

Curls Studio had a great time at Awesome Con 2026. I am thankful to have people continue to discover my comic strip, Curls. Joe Carabeo showcased his film "PAUL POPE: THB" at the Awesome Con Short Film Festival. I got to spend a bit of time at the Science Fair area, saw 3D printed goods in the vendor section, and slightly participated in the Disney-themed 40,000 piece group jigsaw puzzle. We had the debut of issue 24 of Magic Bullet, a large format comics newspaper featuring Washington, DC based creators. It was enjoyable to see how Awesome Con embraced their 13th year with a horror theme because the event started on Friday the 13th.

The event highlight for me was moderating "The Other Side of the Table: Lessons from Creators" with participants Shawn Martinbrough, Karen Hallion, Jimmy Gownley, Kata Kane, Rich Woodall, and Joseph Schmalke. The panel gave a lot of hopeful insight to fuel your success in the comics industry and was jam packed with inspiration.

Awesome Con returns April 23-25, 2027 at the DC Convention Center -- that's in 399 days! What is something new you'd like to see from Curls Studio?

Awesome Con 2026

Curls Studio will be at the 13th year of Awesome Con in Artist Alley Table C-36 at the DC Convention Center March 13-15, 2026. Say hi and peruse our original comics, stickers, prints, enamel pins, magnets, and more! We will have the debut of issue 24 of Magic Bullet, a large format comics newspaper featuring Washington, DC based creators.

A new edition of "The Other Side of the Table: Lessons from Creators" is Saturday, March 14, 2026 from 11:15AM to Noon in Room 204. We have a massive amount of panelists joining us from a wide variety of backgrounds in comics, podcasting, films, and other creative outlets. If you ever wonder how to break into the industry or enhance your career, this is the place for your professional development. Panel participants: Shawn Martinbrough, Clint McElroy, Jimmy Gownley, Kata Kane, Rich Woodall, Joseph Schmalke, Carolyn Belefski

Awesome Con Short Film Festival presented by Joe Carabeo with Astray Productions will have three days of programming (see schedule below) as well as an award show and filmmaker meet-up on Saturday at 4:45PM in Room 204. Hope to see you at Awesome Con.

Friday, March 13 | Horror, Sci Fi, Action | 6:45-9:45 pm
Saturday, March 14 | Comedy, Drama | 1:30-4:30 pm
Saturday, March 14 | Awards Celebration | 4:45-5:45 pm
Sunday, March 15 | And Beyond! | 2:00-5:00 pm

VOTE FOR 2026 AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
astrayproductions.com/vote

MoComCon 2026

Curls Studio will be making a first appearance at MoComCon on March 21, 2026. Montgomery County Public Libraries is celebrating 10 years of MoComCon this year. 

MoComCon is a free celebration of all things comics, graphic novels, and fandoms! The schedule of events is currently being finalized, but you can expect an Art Contest, Sci-Fi Workshops, Pokemon Trivia, a Cosplay Parade, a Superhero Dance Party, and more! Friends of the Library, Montgomery County (FOLMC) will host a Comic Sale (Saturday) at BlackRock as well as a Booksale (Sunday) at Germantown Library.

For more information: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/library/programs/mocomcon.html

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