Cookeville Comic Arts Festival
A Celebration of Sequential Art in the Upper Cumberland
May 2nd & 3rd, 2026 // Cookeville, TN
The Local Comics Expo
Cookeville
Community Center
240 Carlen Dr, Cookeville, TN
May 3rd, 2026 1 - 5pm
Free For All!
Meet local comics creators,
shop from their works, and get your free copy of the
2026 Community Anthology (while supplies last).
Exhibiting Artists for 2026
Audrey McDonald is an illustrator and mixed media artist based in Middle Tennessee. They specialize in comic art and narrative illustrations. Their illustrations emphasize the human body as an element of art by embellishing line work and color. To Audrey, art is a constant journey that cannot be satiated by one medium. While they prefer drawing, they are sometimes compelled to paint, throw clay, crochet, and linocut print. Audrey's career goal is to publish a series of graphic novels and inspire others to get creative.
I make comics and paintings and sometimes write prose.
Lorn Pup
Lorn Pup is an artist and comic enthusiast with a passion for upcycling and creating mixed media. His work often tackles themes of mental health, upeycling, and music. Using art as a way to process and express an array of emotions, his work manifests through many different mediums. By blending different materials and styles, Lorn Pup brings new life to forgotten objects. A lover of music, movies, and the outdoors he finds inspi- ration in the world around him. Lorn Pup continues to channel his experiences into his art, embracing his unique journey.
Bryan lives in Celina. He occasionally draws comics but mostly listens to bluegrass and complains about the local hockey club.
I’m a horror and comic illustrator who grew up on 80s slashers, junk food mascots, and way too many comic books. That stuff never really left. These days I make bold, character-driven art—prints, pins, and whatever else I can turn into something collectible. Most of it leans into horror and superheroes, with a heavy dose of exaggeration and nostalgia. I also created Killer-Aid, a line of cartoon juice mascots pushed into horror territory. It’s weird on purpose. At the end of the day, I’m just making the kind of art I would’ve wanted to own growing up—and putting it out there for people who get it.
John Haney is a lifelong cartoonist and comic creator based in Hermitage, Tennessee. John's work has been published in newspapers, magazines, books, and on the web for over 20 years. Currently, John is working on his first full-length graphic novel project, NO END IN SIGHT. The first volume was self-published in 2026.
The central idea portrayed in my art is an expression of absurdity. There have been many moments in my life when I feel like an alien, misunderstood and unintelligible. Drawing has been a central part of my life, being the outlet of expression that comes easiest to me. Keeping an open mind is key to having these experiences. As I grow as an artist I discover more about my own feelings, conscious and subconscious. I attempt to express the seemingly unending absurdity of life by drawing these inter-dimensional situations.
A comic artist and illustrator who likes anime and video games maybe a bit too much. Working on the original comic, Sealed Off!
The Illustrious Sanguine is an anti-genre, multimedia cyberweird illustrator. His work explores processes of automation, assimilation, and exploitation within information systems, particularly his long-form comic project ELDERNET. His comics and drawings are held in public and private collections and have been featured at COOP Gallery, Random Sample, and The Curb Center at Vanderbilt.
Kite is an illustrator, cartoonist, painter, and general art fiend in Cookeville. He enjoys camping, volcanoes, video games, cats, and capybaras - pretty much all of his work has to do with some or all of these.
Dylan Stephens (she/her) is a primarily digital artist with penchant for animated femme fatale and space cowgirls. After modeling for over 10 years, with stints both in New York and LA, she now resides on a farm with 50 ducks and even more peppers. It is in the hustle of a budding farm business where she found her passion for more traditional art again. With all the creative experience gained from the world of fashion and entertainment, she started her own small art shop, DreamFever.co where she strives to create as a means for inserting intentional pockets of fantasy and joy into every day life.
Chuck Acheson makes silly comics of all lengths that touch on topics of identity, fantasy, and the outdoors. Before moving back to Tennessee, he studied and taught comics at the University of Florida, where he published a portion of this dissertation in the comics medium. He currently works at Vanderbilt University as an instructional designer in the School of Nursing.
Code 001
I love art and I do anime art is the style of jojos bizarre adventure and sailor moon I’ve been making art for 5 years now. and I also paint warhammer space marines and necrons and statues for the miniature game
David is a cartoonist whose work spans several genres including horror, science fiction, and autobiography. Best known (so far) for his comics Yankee Doodle Strangler, Heat Death Love, and Playboy Dan; which was featured in the Ignatz Award winning anthology, Rust Belt Review. He lives and works in the mountains of Tennessee.
Daizo Shpata
Big fish in a small pond
Liana Shpata
I love drawing anime and creating my own characters.
I’m a comic book artist who specializes in rendering monsters, superheroes, and dinosaurs with Graphic and poppy linework and colors
Luke Birdwell
My artwork is inspired by the energy and attitude of rock and roll, especially bands like AC/DC, KISS, Motörhead, and Guns N’ Roses. I like to create bold, powerful designs that feel loud and exciting, like music you can see. I also enjoy drawing comic book characters, especially teams like the X-Men from Marvel Comics, adding my own style to make them look more intense and unique. Movie characters are another big inspiration for me, and I like reimagining them with strong details and dramatic poses. My artwork often uses sharp lines, high contrast, and creative designs to make each piece stand out. Overall, my goal is to create artwork that feels energetic, expressive, and full of personality, showing the things I enjoy and the creativity behind every piece I make.
I have been self-publishing my comics, along with my friend, Matt Bushnell, since 2022. We created Flyby Publishing in order to share our stories with others. Our titles include Rogue, Will o the Wisp, and our anthology digest called Flyby Double Shot.
Stephen Fox is a 48-year-old husband and father who has made comics, off-and-on, for 20 years. Published a few times by indie comic publishers, Stephen now focuses on making an eclectic collection of his own projects. From a comedy about southern superheroes to intense body horror — his work is always a little weird.
Art teacher, illustrator, character designer, world builder, writer, actor and filmmaker!
Matt Knieling is an illustrator and cartoonist living in Cookeville. He has a passion for sequential art, producing one-shot mini comics as well as the occasional self-lambasting journal strip. He is proud to have been organizing CCAF since the first festival in 2013.