Hello from the Comics Advocacy Group! We’re thrilled to spotlight the recipients of our second mini grant, which received over 1200 applications from around the world. Each and every applicant had different needs, goals, and stories to share, and these awardees are just one representative slice. Thank you for strengthening your communities, for continuing to create independent art, and for sharing your voices in the face of all that stands before you.
Read on to learn more about this round’s awardees!
Adelya Hovanesian
Adelya Hovanesian is a rising animator as well as settled illustrator and comic artist. She is a dedicated artist creating art pieces for game companies and working on her first self published comic series.
I’m working on releasing my first ever comic, Postponed Post Office! Stay tuned and follow me for updates.
Saya
I’m Saya, a cartoonist based in Karachi, Pakistan. When not drawing, I can be found pampering my cats Nakku and Tax Fraud. In my work I try to draw from my surroundings, the queerness that exists in it despite its hostility, and the people I know and love dearly.
I’m excited to get a chance to afford some breathing space to work on my short comic projects, including resuming my Urdu webcomic ‘If the Shoe Fits’.
Joy San
Joy is a Filipina Canadian illustrator and comic artist. She has been self-publishing her comics since 2015. Her work features a lot of horror and bizarre themes that straddle the line between disturbing and funny. She also loves to create autobio comics and zines. In her spare time, she films vlogs on YouTube about her life as an artist, food lover, and sticker hoarder.
Thank you so much to CAG! I’m at a loss for words since this is my first ever comic grant…I’m so inspired and can’t wait to make more comics. I’m working on longer form watercolour comics, hopefully to be published in spring/summer 2025!
Maddi Bacon
Maddi Bacon lives their life with one foot in the conservation world and one foot in the art world, though to them it feels one and the same; two legs on the same body. They have worked for conservation corps, the Forest Service and the National Park Service, doing a variety of projects including invasive species removal, biological monitoring protocols, trail building, and wildland firefighting. Their art practice moves fluidly between painting, writing, animation, and possibly most passionately with comic making. These narratives aren’t just a nature documentary talking about the environment, but that draw connections between nature and gender, the environment and public health, and climate change and what humans deem as valuable.
Thank you so much for choosing me as a recipient of this grant. In the past couple of years I have had the privilege of working in amazing collaborations and residencies with so many smart and creative people. I have gotten to work with people who have never really engaged with comics before, and it has been an intimidating position to be their first glimpse into a community and art form that is so diverse and varied, and hope that I am interesting enough that they will want to keep supporting and reading comics.
In one of those projects, the Terminus Project at Olympic National Park, our art was shared with Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, right before the change in administration. I wasn’t there, but it was shared with me that the Madame Secretary was deeply moved by the art we had made about climate change and our disappearing glaciers. To my cohort in this project I responded with the following:
“I think especially with this upcoming shift in leadership, it is important to get this validation and support while we can. Because I think it is about to become much harder to do good work and to remember why we are trying so hard to do good work in a system that often feels thankless and unconcerned with meaningful progress. I remember during the last presidency when the words “climate change” were scrubbed from many government websites, and the NPS was discouraged from talking about it. I have heard horror stories of NPS employees being reprimanded for refusing to stay quiet about climate change during the Trump presidency.
When this starts to happen again, we will know that we have already made our statement about climate change through the Terminus project that can not be scrubbed away. That our art and words are already out there, living lives totally disconnected from us. Several months ago, someone told me that they had seen my comic Mount Steel at a climate library in the Seattle Art Book Fair (an event I did not attend, and certainly hadn’t sent my book to) yesterday I opened my email to this insane photo of my book on the table in front of the Secretary of the Interior. Somehow, I made this thing that felt personal and small, but it has walked off and started to have its own life and experiences without me. The same way all of the art created for Terminus is out in the world, living and affecting people without us ever being able to know its full reach. I want to remember this special feeling, of the power of art and science to make a United States Cabinet member emotional, and know that it is meaningful and worthwhile to keep trying.”
And in this first month of the new Administration, I fear that I was correct. The federal hiring freeze has left my position as a seasonal biological science technician with the National Park Service in limbo. Many of my friends are getting fired. People who I was collaborating with to write comics about science, pollution, and fire ecology are losing jobs and losing funding. People who have advocated for me. Advocated for comics as a way to share science and knowledge. Some one of these projects will probably not happen any more. But with this grant money, I promise to keep making comics. I promise to keep making art that is personal and messy. I promise that I will make it even if I’m scared, because that probably means the right people think it’s dangerous. And I hope everyone else promises to keep making art as well, because I’ve learned recently we might never know the full power of its reach.
Maggie Umber
Maggie Umber paints, prints, and programs graphic novels and zines. She’s published four graphic novels — Chrysanthemum Under the Waves, Sound of Snow Falling, Time Capsule, 270° — and her work has been widely anthologized.
With the CAG Mini Grant, I’ll buy supplies and reduce my touring so I can paint the second half of my “Georgia & Beauford” graphic novel. “Georgia & Beauford” is about American Modernist painters Georgia O’Keeffe and Beauford Delaney. I’m fascinated by the periods in their lives when they focused most heavily on abstraction and on the portraits Georgia did of Beauford. I can’t thank CAG enough for giving me this opportunity!
Cai Tse
Cai Tse is an author, artist and lion dancer. She creates stories about lion dance, the myths and traditions behind lion dance and its modern day evolution into a competitive sport, and most importantly, about the real human stories of the lion dancers behind this burgeoning culture.
Thank you so much! I’m super excited to be bringing more lion dance stories into the world – there’s so many to tell! Currently, I’m working hard on a story that twists and reshapes the original myth of lion dance and the legend of the nian beast. It’s going to be so fun!!
Cristina Valdez
Cristina Valdez is a Latin American comic artist and illustrator in Middle Tennessee who loves all things art and storytelling. They have aided in the production of several comic series as a freelance artist assistant and strives to achieve their dream of launching their own comic series. Their current project is an action-packed supernatural thriller that empowers readers to find who they are in a crazy world.
Thank you so much for this opportunity! I am honored to receive the CAG Mini Grant to aid in funding my comic project. This Grant will bring me a step closer in achieving my dream of launching my own comic series by allowing me to pay a small team of Artists, Writers, and Editors a fair wage to produce the first couple episodes of my supernatural thriller series. I am forever grateful for CAG’s support!
Nico
Nico, also known as swordheart, is an artist that writes and draws stories with a narrative central focus on generational trauma, loss of identity and internalization of gender and sexuality and their intersection with race, class and disability. It has been making comics since 2017, art since inception and it loves you very much.
Thank you so so much for this! I can’t even begin to express just how much this means to me. I am currently working on Must Be Desire, a comic set in 1910s New Orleans about a reclusive priest who falls into a complex entanglement with two vampires. As I’ve always done, I’m working solo on this specific project – however, I am also collaborating with other creators on other more longterm projects but those are still in the early stages at the moment but I will be updating regularly about them on my social media!
Orion Fern
Orion Fern AKA Ovaettr is a queer disabled multidisciplinary artist based in North Texas. His expertise includes illustration and motion graphic design. They have been self-publishing zines and comics since 2021, and love to share the magic of creativity by teaching zine and drawing workshops virtually and in-person. Orion is dedicated to making the world a better place for trans youth through ‘artivism’ (a term coined by his art hero Keith Haring.) The majority of their zines touch on educational LGBTQ+ topics, and their storytelling comics feature the humanity and beauty of queer love and trans joy.
Thank you so much to the Comics Advocacy Group for your support! I am thrilled for the assistance with printing the 2nd print run of ‘THE FOX WHO BECAME A GIRL’, our all ages trans and queer fairy tale comic! Thanks to CAG, the 2nd printing will be out in Spring 2025. Both Chloe Bear (the writer) and I are so grateful for the chance to continue bringing stories of trans joy to youth and adults alike who need it in these current dark times.
Sequential Artists Workshop
The Sequential Artists Workshop is a grassroots, non-profit comics school and creative community. We teach people how to tell stories and make comics in Gainesville, Florida, USA, and around the world via our online courses and resources.
We are so appreciative of this support for what we do! We are currently serving both online and in-person comics communities with working groups, draw jams, short courses, yearlong programs, graphic novel intensives, and our very first zine festival at SAW. We love sharing resources with cartoonists, creators, writers, illustrators – anyone who is interested in storytelling, really!
Gina Nguyen
Gina is a Los Angeles based character designer working primarily in animation & graphic novels. Currently, she is writing & illustrating her debut middle grade graphic novel which is planned for publication in 2026.
Thank you so much for choosing me as a recipient! I am currently working on my first of two graphic novels, and I’m so excited to be able to continue creating stories to share with everyone. I hope to be able to keep doing this for as long as I can.
Giorgio Pandiani
Giorgio Pandiani is Comics & Graphic Novels Author, Illustrator and Graphic Designer born in Lecco (Italy) and living in Northampton (UK). He’s been writing, drawing and self-publishing his own independent comic books since 2006, exploring themes such as our relationship with the environment, climate and social justice, and the soft boundaries between reality and imagination.
Thank you so much! The Mini Grant will really help me to complete the new 28-page black and white comic I’m working on. Although set in a distant future, it’s a very personal story about the danger of trading democracy for comfort, and how art and artists could help, or not, in this process (it probably also talks about AI, at some level!).
Saleha Chowdhury
Saleha Chowdhury is a comic artist and illustrator based in New York. She is interested in making comics with humor and fantastical elements.
I am so grateful to be a recipient of the Comics Advocacy Group’s Mini Grant. Thank you for choosing to support me and my work. I will be working on a webcomic along with a few short comics that I hope to be releasing this year with the help of this grant. I am excited to get to work and keep producing more comics.
Vincy Lim
Vincy (they) is a Chinese Canadian non-binary lesbian disabled award-winning cartoonist, multimedia illustrator, and workshop programmer. Blurring the line between memories, the subconscious, and day to day actions, they create dreamy worlds which we are invited into for an intimate heart to heart conversation. Striving for community care and connection for survivors by a fellow survivor, growing and learning to love and accept the love given to them wholeheartedly.
Thank you!! :o) I’m really happy to be one of the recipients of this mini grant! With this grant it not only eases my financial worries a little bit (being disabled is expensive!) but also let me know that my work is important, or at least well deserving enough to obtain a grant like this out of such a high pool of applicants! Thank you! I’m really happy <3
A lot of my comics work is a love letter to (abuse) survivors from somebody who’s been through extreme horrors and wanting to say, I see you and I love you. If that’s something that you need right now, I just wrapped up a project with an organization supporting survivors of gender based violence, the Learning Network (in affiliation with Western University), a comic resource about utilizing comics to heal and share your own story. The comic is called, “You are a flower and I care for you not because you are beautiful, but because I appreciate you” so watch out for that! I’m currently in the process of recording the audio files to make it more accessible (along with typed transcripts alongside the pages!).
That’s it! Thank you so much for rewarding me with this grant! I love that this exists, it’s so needed in the comics community, thank you for your hard work! And to all the survivors, forever and always, I love you.
Vivian Zhou
Vivian Zhou is a Canadian cartoonist who loves writing stories filled with magic and fantasy. She is the creator of “Atana and the Firebird”, and upcoming release “Atana and the Jade Mermaid”. When she isn’t busy drawing, she can be found fruitlessly lint-rolling her cats’ fur from her couch.
Thank you so much to the Comics Advocacy Group for this opportunity, I’m excited to use the grant to spread more comics into the world! Comic making is often a lonely endeavor, so I’m really grateful for the community support. I hope to bring that energy with me and give back to the community however I can. Let’s all make more comics!
Casper Pham
Casper Pham is an illustrator and concept artist based in Saigon, Vietnam. He has worked with poets, costume designers, dice-rollers, and maniacs. He hopes to make his own work one day soon.
Casper is currently working on his first comic book, The Luminary Lark Mirror.
Sam Grinberg
Sam Grinberg is a cartoonist originally from New Jersey and now based in Los Angeles. He has been self-publishing comics as long as he can remember and frequently collaborates with bands on designing merchandise and flyers. His newest comic, Scumburbia: Mega Sized Mall Issue, is now on sale at comic shops across the country, and he is currently working on the follow-up, Scumburbia: Slice Of Life.
I am truly honored by this award and cannot express how much it means to me to be one of the recipients alongside so many talented cartoonists. Thank you so much to everyone at CAG for supporting my work. As every cartoonist knows, working countless hours at the drawing table can be isolating, all while hoping our self-published work will make its way into the hands of readers once we finish. Receiving this CAG award not only allows me to print a larger run (increasing the chances of reaching an audience), but it also moves me deeply that the CAG team recognizes something in my work that is worth funding. I started my comic series Scumburbia as a way to process, revisit, and understand my own youth growing up in suburban New Jersey (and to make myself laugh). I’m currently churning away on the follow-up issue! What to expect? Skee ball, pizza parlors, sleepovers, faltering friendships, the shore, family dynamics, and much more.
Clover Ajamie
Clover Ajamie is a queer artist and recent graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies. They make art about queers, nature, and queers in nature. They were raised on stories and are excited to be telling their own through the magical medium of comics.
In such a deeply destabilizing time, grants for artists such as this mean more than ever, and I feel so grateful to be a recipient. I am excited to use this grant to continue my ongoing comic, “Gatherwing,” a collection of vignettes revolving around teenage fairies, and heavily inspired by my observations of nature. I hope it brings readers joy and encourages us all to notice the small things that grow in our world.
Spokane Sequential
Spokane Sequential is a free quarterly comics zine that shows up at local cafes, comic shops, and other businesses in the city of Spokane, Washington! Our mission is to provide a platform for local creators, spread interest and enthusiasm for comics in our community, and grow into a beloved local establishment.
We are so grateful for this award! Every quarter we’re working on a new issue, so there’s always something exciting going on and there always seem to be new challenges in production. It means a lot to have some financial support behind us. Right now we’re planning for our next issue to debut at the Spokane Zine Fest. Being able to hand our zines out to people in person and introduce new folks to our project is really fun and meaningful, we can’t wait!
Nancy Chelagat Cherwon
Nancy Chelagat Cherwon, also known as a Chelwek, is a mixed media creative who oscillates between digital media and graffiti murals to promote social change within vulnerable communities in Kenya. Her biggest inspiration is the people of the African soil, the vibrance of the African story, the brilliance of feminine thought, and the relevance of African spirituality.
I am so grateful to be one of the recipients of the CAG grants. I am working on a collection of stories that tell the stories of my childhood and the people I encounter on this journey of life. This grant will be helpful in the creation process and I am looking forward to sharing my stories soon as well as inspire more people to follow their dreams no matter what situation comes their way.
Juan Hernandez
Juan Hernandez is an incarcerated artist, writer, and comics maker. His artwork has been exhibited at the Design Museum of Chicago, Art in Odd Places: NYC, and Angelica Kauffman Gallery, amongst others. His writing has appeared in publications such as Prison Journalism Project and Teen Vogue, and he has received support from The Puffin Foundation and the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures.
Shout out to Comics Advocacy Group and its Board of Directors for giving my comic characters recognition outside these prison walls and seeing the potential in them. I’m very appreciative for the support of my creativity and for the honorarium which will go a long way to keep Convicted Graphics going. I have great things in store for my comics and I welcome everyone along for the ride!
Alan Cortes
Alan Cortes is a Chicago raised illustrator with an interest in horror and kaiju. He has worked as an illustrator, comic artist and character designer for over half a decade and within that time has contributed character designs for multiple animation projects, as well as a few tabletop games.
I’m very thankful for the CAG team, to be picked among so many amazing artists is a big honor! And I’m happy to be able to use the grant for some cool upcoming comics that I have in the works!
Eli Estrella Pérez
Eli Estrella Pérez (she/they) is a Cuban-American illustrator and graphic novelist, but mostly just identifies as a “Chicagoan”. As an emerging comics artist, they received the 2024 Cupcake Award at the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo. The only thing that distracts Eli from her Young Adult/Adult comic work is her bossy cat.
I am beyond grateful and blessed to be a part of this group of talented comic artists. I hope to make CAG proud. This year, I’m excited to be tabling at local Chicago comics events such as C2E2, and I will be able to create some awesome new work thanks to this grant. I am currently developing my graphic novel pitch that nabbed first place at Kids Comics Unite 2023 Pitchfest.
Sara Elmeniawy
Sara Elmeniawy is an illustrator, comic artist, and graphic designer based in Cairo, Egypt. She loves storytelling through her work and creating witty characters, drawing inspiration from nature, fantasy, and everyday life.
I’m grateful to receive this grant, which will help bring my comic to life. It’s a graphic novel about growing up and self-discovery, set in Egypt, and it tackles the power of crafting your own path. Excited to share more soon!
Ralph Barrientos
Ralph Barrientos is a Filipino Visual Artist and Comic Book Author. His works often revolve around queer Asian identity , exploring cultural beliefs and practices, and recontextualizing them to address contemporary social issues.
I’m really grateful for being awarded this grant. As a creator who needs to take multiple gigs to stay afloat, this really means something to be given some breathing room to be able focus on my own projects.
It also feels incredibly validating, to be seen, and to have a community that acknowledges that the labors of love we make are worth doing.
With the support from this grant, i’m excited to continue creating works rooted in magical realism and Filipino folk beliefs. This support takes off a lot of pressure and i just feel excited to be able to freely experiment and play around with storytelling as an art form.
With all my heart, thank you for believing in and supporting independent creators.
Ripley Ash
Ripley Ash is a nonbinary artist living in Queens who loves bright colors and dark themes. They have been working as an illustrator primarily for years and is venturing into comics that focus on the horror, fantasy & sci-fi genres.
I am so honored to have received this grant! I am working on a few short stories this year, but the one I’m excited to share soon is my completed one-shot dark fantasy/horror about a character getting too much of what they bargain for with escapism.
More About the CAG Mini Grant
The CAG Mini Grant provides small, unrestricted funding to comic creators who are in need of additional resources. As the cost of food and rent are growing prohibitive, many creators find themselves taking on additional work with time they do not have in order to make ends meet. Our goal in offering this $500 mutual aid grant is to give cartoonists some time and space to work on the projects most important to them.
This effort was made possible by many wonderful donors. If you would like to contribute to our future grants and other initiatives, please consider making a tax-deductible donation (or setting up a recurring donation) – or let us know if you’d be interested in sharing your expertise as an in-kind contribution!
If you would like to receive updates from the Comics Advocacy Group, please follow us on social media (bluesky). We are a young nonprofit, and your support makes all the difference. Thank you!!
