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Supanova Sydney 2025: Confirmed Guests, Cosplayers, Date + What You Need to Know
- The Curator
- 1 day ago
- 48 min read
Supanova Sydney 2025: The Ultimate Guide for Supa-Fans
Strap on your utility belt, charge your cosplay batteries, and prep your con snacks — Supanova Sydney 2025 is warping back into the city like the Enterprise on a deadline. From intergalactic icons to local legends, this two-day nerdvana promises fandom-fueled chaos, comic book carnage, and enough cosplay brilliance to short-circuit your camera roll. Here’s your definitive guide to surviving — and thriving — at the wildest pop culture convention on the Aussie calendar.
Tips for First-Timers
This ain’t your average stroll through Artist Alley. Supanova is a full-throttle fandom fest, so come prepared:
Buy your tickets early. VIPs sell out faster than you can say “Kamehameha.”
Cosplay is king. But whether you're a Sith Lord or a subtle muggle, the vibe is 100% inclusive.
Bring cash and card. That limited-run Hellboy print won’t wait.
Hydrate. Seriously. Dehydrated Deadpools are a real thing.
Plan your signings. Celeb queues can eat your whole afternoon if you’re not careful.
Where & When
Sydney’s calling, and Supanova’s answering with a twin-saber swing.
Supanova Sydney 2025 will take place on:
Dates: June 21–22, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM both days
Address: The Dome, Sydney Showground, 1 Showground Road, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW
This is the heart of the con — giant halls, killer sound systems, and more nerdgasms than you can count. Whether you're there for panels, merch, or just to ogle some perfect Ahsoka body paint, this is your temple.
Where to Stay (and Crash Between Missions)
You’re not gonna want to trek across Sydney in full armor. Base yourself nearby:
Budget Bounty Hunter: Ibis Budget Sydney Olympic Park
Mid-Tier Mage: Novotel Sydney Olympic Park
Luxury Loot Goblin: Pullman Sydney Olympic Park
Book early, or risk waking up in Blacktown with a crumpled cape and no Uber in sight.
Exhibitors: Where Your Wallet Goes to Die
Welcome to geek heaven. Expect a tsunami of:
Comic book royalty (indie savants, Big Two heavyweights, and local ink-slingers)
Merch mountains (funkos, plushies, enamel pins, cursed swords)
Gaming overload (VR demos, tabletop throwdowns, retro arcade nostalgia)
Artist Alley insanity (stickers, zines, and fan art that'll melt your brain)
It’s capitalism with capes, and you’ll love every second of it.
Signings: Star-Powered Chaos in the Best Way
Let’s talk headliners. Supanova Sydney 2025 isn’t pulling any punches:
Sam Heughan (Outlander) — making kilts cool since 1743.
The Critical Role Trinity — Matt Mercer, Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey. It’s a voice actor apocalypse.
Evangeline Lilly (Ant-Man) — dropping in for one day only to bless your weekend.
Pro tip: Pre-book photo ops and autographs if you want to skip the conga line of regret.
Scroll down for the full guest-list.
Confirmed Guests
Whether you’re attending for the pop culture panels, celebrity meet 'n' greets, cosplaying, or to find a new comic book - Supanova Sydney 2025 promises an unforgettable experience.
I've prepared a list below of the confirmed guests including their works and associated links.
Ernie Hudson
Actor
Ernie Hudson is the unsung MVP of pop culture’s paranormal playgrounds and prison dramas alike. As Winston Zeddemore in Ghostbusters, he was the everyman in a jumpsuit who grounded the ghost-chasing chaos with charm, grit, and just the right amount of side-eye. But Hudson didn’t stop at busting specters — he ruled the brutal halls of HBO’s Oz, dished out justice in The Crow, and even brought swagger to Miss Congeniality. At nearly 80, the man’s still flexing red carpet drip and going viral like it’s proton-charged clockwork. Ernie Hudson doesn’t just show up — he levels up every scene like a cinematic cheat code.
Katee Sackhoff
Actress
Katee Sackhoff is the battle-scarred queen of sci-fi badassery, cutting her teeth as the chain-smoking, whiskey-fueled Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica and never looking back. With a voice that could command a fleet and a glare that could melt Stormtrooper armor, she brought Bo-Katan Kryze to life across Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Mandalorian, proving once and for all that she is the way. From Wyoming sheriff in Longmire to space-faring commander in Another Life, Sackhoff doesn't just play tough — she is tough, both on-screen and off.
When she’s not laying waste to typecasting or lighting up your gaming console in Halo or Call of Duty, she’s podcasting, raising hell for charity, and proving that genre royalty can have grit, heart, and a killer right hook.
Evangeline Lilly
Actress
Evangeline Lilly isn’t just another Hollywood face — she’s the barefoot badass who broke our brains as Kate Austen in Lost, went full elf-warrior in The Hobbit, and buzzed into the MCU as the Wasp with sting to spare. Born in Alberta and raised in BC, she hustled her way from oil changes to flight attendant gigs before being “discovered” into stardom. But don’t let the blockbuster resume fool you — Lilly’s got brains, bite, and a book series (The Squickerwonkers) as twisted as a Roald Dahl fever dream.
Between humanitarian missions in Rwanda and public mic drops about stepping away from acting in 2024, Lilly’s proven she’s more than just capes and close-ups. She’s a walking genre pivot — equal parts heart, grit, and unapologetic weirdness.
Sam Heughan
Actor
Sam Heughan isn’t just the smouldering slab of Highland fantasy fueling your Outlander obsession — he’s Scotland’s cinematic export with a kilt, a killer smile, and a side hustle in whisky and wanderlust. Bursting out of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland like a Celtic freight train in 2003, Heughan became a pop culture juggernaut as Jamie Fraser — the time-traveling heartthrob who made bodices quake and swords gleam. But don’t box him in with just tartan and time rifts — he’s flexed his action chops in Bloodshot, rom-com’d in Love Again, and even played spy games in The Spy Who Dumped Me.
Off-screen, he’s a whisky lord (The Sassenach), a bestselling author (Clanlands), and the road-tripping bromantic partner of Graham McTavish in Men in Kilts. Add in his charitable work and theatre roots, and you’ve got a Scottish icon who’s not just here to steal hearts — he’s rewriting the playbook while pouring you a double.
Alex Kingston
Actress
Alex Kingston is the time-hopping titan of British genre TV — the kind of actress who could quote Shakespeare one minute and outwit Daleks the next without missing a beat. Bursting out of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art with stage swagger and Shakespearean fire, Kingston carved her name into pop culture with a scalpel and a sonic screwdriver. She ruled the ER as Dr. Elizabeth Corday, slicing through hospital drama with poise and precision, then time-crashed into Doctor Who as River Song — the whip-smart mystery wrapped in spoilers and space dust who stole hearts (and scenes) across the universe.
But this queen of sci-fi and soap opera hasn’t slowed down, flexing her genre muscles in Arrow, A Discovery of Witches, and her own River Song novel, The Ruby’s Curse. Whether she’s casting spells, breaking hearts, or rewriting timelines, Kingston is the kind of on-screen presence that demands reverence, mischief, and maybe a gin martini on standby.
Billy Zane
Actor
Billy Zane is the tuxedo-clad chaos merchant of '90s cinema — the smirking villain who made you want to punch rich people in Titanic and the purple-suited pulp hero who proved The Phantom could still punch evil in the face. Bursting out of Chicago with a jawline carved from Mount Olympus and a flair for scene-stealing, Zane came up through cult faves like Critters, Dead Calm, and Demon Knight, before dominating big-budget melodrama as Caledon “That’s a Titanic-sized ego” Hockley.
But he didn’t stop at film — Zane’s dipped his boots into TV, voiced villains in video games (Kingdom Hearts, anyone?), and even moonlighted as a fine artist with a paintbrush as bold as his career choices. These days, he’s still out there doing Billy Zane things — playing Brando, slinging action flicks, and proving that charisma and chaos are forever part of his brand.
Tia Carrere
Actress / Model
Tia Carrere is the guitar-slinging, action-kicking, Grammy-winning goddess who crash-landed into pop culture like a fireball in leopard print. First spotted in a Waikiki grocery store (because legends shop local), she went from soap stints to shredding as Cassandra in Wayne’s World — making hard-rockers swoon and Hollywood take notice. She tangoed with Arnie in True Lies, chased ancient relics in Relic Hunter, and voiced big-sis energy as Nani in Lilo & Stitch.
Off-screen? She’s dropped Grammy-winning Hawaiian albums and raised a transgender son with nothing but love and ferocity. From ‘90s It-Girl to eternal icon, Tia Carrere didn’t just party on — she rewrote the damn playbook.
Robert Taylor
Actor
Robert Taylor is the gravel-voiced Aussie outlaw who brought law and order to the wild west of Wyoming as Sheriff Walt Longmire (in Longmire) — and somehow made cowboy hats sexy again. Before all that, he survived a shipwreck, worked oil rigs, and basically lived the backstory of every rugged action hero Hollywood's ever dreamed up. With a face built for Westerns and a stare that could stop a brawl, Taylor carved out a career that swung from The Matrix’s stone-cold Agent Jones to deep-cut genre flicks like Vertical Limit and The Meg.
Offscreen, he’s more chill than Sheriff — helping run a farmers market, married to film producer Ayisha Davies, and living proof that real grit doesn’t come from scripts. It comes from surviving the waves — and still showing up to ride the next one.
Chandler Riggs
Actor
Chandler Riggs went from Georgia theater kid to zombie-slaying teen icon as Carl “Coral” Grimes on The Walking Dead, growing up in real time while dodging walkers, trauma, and Rick’s emotional breakdowns. Cast at age 10, he became the poster child for post-apocalyptic puberty and earned multiple Saturn Awards along the way. Since Carl’s gut-wrenching exit in 2018 (yes, we’re still mad), Riggs has refused to stay in one lane — flexing his acting chops in indie sci-fi, becoming a DJ under the name “Eclipse,” and even suiting up as Superman in animated form.
Whether he’s spinning beats or web-slinging in fan films as Peter Parker, Riggs is proving there’s life after the apocalypse — and it comes with a killer playlist.
Rena Owen
Actress
Rena Owen is the Māori acting juggernaut who tore the screen wide open as Beth Heke in Once Were Warriors — a role so gut-punching and volcanic, it still echoes through cinema like a war cry. Born in the Bay of Islands and trained in London, Owen brought Shakespearean chops back to Aotearoa and flipped the script on what New Zealand film could be. Since then, she’s bounced between galaxies (Star Wars: Attack of the Clones), Spielbergian sci-fi (A.I.), and fantasy shores (Siren, The Orville) with the kind of intensity that demands your full damn attention. Three decades deep and still commanding every frame, Rena Owen doesn’t just play characters — she burns them into your brain.
David Berry
Actor
David Berry is the brooding, velvet-voiced heartthrob who stepped out of a Jane Austen fever dream and into our collective thirst radar — first as the emotionally repressed James Bligh in A Place to Call Home, then as the impossibly noble Lord John Grey in Outlander. Born in Canada, raised in Australia, and trained at NIDA with the kind of polish that screams “period drama royalty,” Berry’s screen presence is pure slow-burn intensity. But he’s not just eye candy in a cravat — the man can sing opera, host a podcast (Outcasts), and still have time to be a family man off-screen. In short, David Berry is the thinking fangirl’s fantasy: equal parts candlelit charm, artistic depth, and buttoned-up chaos just waiting to unravel.
Charles Vandervaart
Actor
Charles Vandervaart is the fresh-faced firecracker tearing into the world of prestige TV with the poise of a veteran and the smirk of a future heartbreaker. Hailing from Toronto, this former kid actor (The Stanley Dynamic, Camp Rock 2) has officially traded sitcom punchlines for sabers and saddle time — now galloping through Outlander Season 7 as William Ransom, the brooding, secret son of Jamie Fraser. He’s got the chops, the charm, and the horse-riding finesse to make any time-traveling clan drama go full tilt.
Off-camera? He’s a triathlete, fluent in French, a musician, and casually knocking out a University of Toronto education like it’s a side quest. Charles Vandervaart isn’t just one to watch — he’s the next damn headline.
Brendan Wayne
Actor
Brendan Wayne is the helmeted badass behind The Mandalorian‘s silent strut — the physical force beneath all that beskar armor — and yes, he’s Hollywood royalty with John Wayne blood pumping through his blaster-wielding veins. Trained in drama, raised on cowboy grit, and packing screen credits in everything from Cowboys & Aliens to Sons of Anarchy, Wayne didn’t just inherit a legacy — he saddled up and charged into the galaxy far, far away with it. As the man who physically embodies Din Djarin, he’s the reason Mando moves like a space Western outlaw with unfinished business.
Off-set, he’s wrangling horses, coaching his kids’ soccer games, and living out the kind of real-world grit that matches his on-screen mythos. Brendan Wayne isn’t just walking in his grandfather’s footsteps — he’s stomping down a whole new trail through sci-fi legend.
Adam Bartley
Actor
Adam Bartley is the soulful sidekick with a badge and a big heart who made Longmire’s Archie “The Ferg” Ferguson one of TV’s most loveable deputies — a role that mixed small-town warmth with moments of surprising grit. Hailing from Minnesota and forged in the fires of regional theatre across America (from New York to Alaska), Bartley turned his theatre-honed chops into a screen career that refuses to stay in one lane. From exorcisms in Annabelle: Creation to political chaos in Vice, and heartfelt turns in This Is Us and Night Sky, he brings an everyman gravity that sneaks up on you.
Off-camera, he belts jazz and Broadway numbers like a boss and passes the torch as an acting coach in LA. Adam Bartley isn’t chasing stardom — he’s carving out a career one real, grounded, scene-stealing role at a time.
Stephen Hunter
Actor
Stephen Hunter is the dwarf with the booming heart and bigger laughs who brought Bombur to glorious, bearded life in The Hobbit trilogy — proving that even in Middle-earth, screen presence isn’t measured by dialogue count. Born in Wellington and battle-hardened on both Kiwi and Aussie TV (All Saints, Janet King), Hunter’s carved out a career that jumps from survival horror (Killing Ground) to prison breaks (Escape from Pretoria) to straight-up cosmic weirdness as the Fur God in Thor: Love and Thunder.
Offscreen, he’s a voice-over ace and a global ambassador for dementia awareness, turning his platform into something as meaningful as it is mighty. With decades in the game and a face you swear you’ve seen before (probably under prosthetics or a warhammer), Stephen Hunter is the cult-favorite journeyman who keeps popping up in all the right kinds of weird.
John Jarratt
Actor
John Jarratt is Australia’s cinematic shape-shifter — part outback legend, part walking nightmare, and 100% unpredictable. After cutting his teeth in classics like Picnic at Hanging Rock and going full bushranger as Ned Kelly in The Last Outlaw, Jarratt went from respected thespian to horror icon with one blood-curdling grin in Wolf Creek. As Mick Taylor, he gave the slasher genre a snarling Aussie upgrade, and Quentin Tarantino noticed — throwing him into the bloody ballet of Django Unchained. But Jarratt isn’t just genre grit — he’s hosted lifestyle shows, made indie films, and rocked the small screen with the same chaotic charm he brings to his kills. Five decades deep, John Jarratt is the guy who can serve you a beer or bury you in the desert — and somehow, you’d thank him for both.
Lincoln Lewis
Actor
Lincoln Lewis is the golden-boy-turned-grit-machine who burst out of Brisbane and into Aussie screens as Home and Away’s Geoff Campbell — the rugby-playing, scripture-spouting heartthrob who could break tackles and teenage hearts with equal skill. Son of league royalty Wally “The King” Lewis, Lincoln swapped try-lines for tight scripts, earning a Logie and then leveling up to action hero status in Tomorrow, When the War Began and the teeth-clenching chaos of Bait. But it hasn’t all been red carpets and surf shots — Lincoln’s weathered personal storms, including being entangled in a brutal catfishing scandal that rocked his mental health. Still, like any true-blue battler, he’s come back swinging with big-screen turns in Land of Bad and Good Cop/Bad Cop. From soapie hunk to screen survivor, Lincoln Lewis is living proof that charm, resilience, and a good left hook can still take you the distance.
Matt Doran
Actor
Matt Doran is the blink-and-you-miss-him MVP of late-‘90s and early-2000s genre cinema — the kind of actor who parachuted from Home and Away straight into the pop culture hall of fame as Mouse in The Matrix, the twitchy hacker who loved his guns and met his end in a digital blaze. If that wasn’t enough geek cred, he turned up in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones as the death stick dealer who got Jedi mind-tricked into rethinking his life.
From war-torn dramas like The Thin Red Line to cosmic weirdness in Farscape, Doran’s made a career of slipping into major worlds, delivering maximum impact, and ghosting like a cult legend. He’s the kind of screen presence you remember even if you can’t quite place the name — and honestly, that’s part of the magic.
Matthew Mercer
D&D Content Creator / Voice Actor
Matthew Mercer is the gravel-throated spell-slinger who didn’t just roll a nat 20 on charisma — he reshaped the entire landscape of nerd culture with one booming “How do you want to do this?” As the Dungeon Master and lore-summoning warlock behind Critical Role, Mercer took a friendly home game and turned it into an empire of epic quests, heartbreaking deaths, and pop culture domination. He’s the voice of anime titans like Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan), gaming icons like McCree/Cassidy (Overwatch), and about a hundred NPCs that fans would die for in Exandria.
With The Legend of Vox Machina tearing it up on Amazon and Darrington Press cranking out fresh worlds, Mercer isn’t just running the game — he is the game. Welcome to the Mercerverse, where the dice are heavy, the stakes are deadly, and the DM is a rockstar with a thousand voices.
Marisha Ray
D&D Content Creator / Voice Actor / Executive Producer
Marisha Ray is the chaos gremlin queen of Critical Role — the kind of creative cyclone who can drop a poetic soliloquy one second and shatter emotional stability the next with a single dice roll. As Creative Director of CR and one of its founding faces, she’s embodied everything from the painfully earnest druid Keyleth to the no-nonsense monk Beauregard, and now the delightfully deranged sorcerer-of-undeath, Laudna. Off the battlefield, Marisha’s the brain behind Exandria Unlimited, a voiceover dynamo in anime and games, and a co-executive producer on The Legend of Vox Machina. Married to DM deity Matthew Mercer, she’s a bard-barbarian hybrid of brains, brawn, and beautiful chaos — the nerd world’s patron saint of going off-script and making it unforgettable.
Travis Willingham
D&D Content Creator / Voice Actor / CEO
Travis Willingham is the vocal thunder god of Critical Role — part CEO, part chaos engine, and 100% the guy you want rolling Intimidation at the table. Whether he’s swinging an axe as Grog Strongjaw, brooding with eldritch power as Fjord Stone, or going full lycanthropic grandpa with Chetney Pock O’Pea, Travis brings the boom and the laughs in equal measure. Off the table, he’s the voice of anime royalty (Roy Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist), Marvel muscle (Thor in Avengers Assemble), and the iconic Knuckles in the Sonic universe. As the CEO of Critical Role Productions, he’s not just playing the game — he’s steering the whole damn ship. Married to voice-acting legend Laura Bailey, he’s part of tabletop’s ultimate power couple and one of the driving forces behind turning Critical Role from a game night into a global geek empire.
Laura Bailey
D&D Content Creator / Voice Actor / Executive Producer
Laura Bailey is the voice-acting juggernaut with a sugar-sweet laugh and a chaotic streak that could melt gods — a founding member of Critical Role and the kind of talent that turns every dice roll into a fanfic-worthy moment. Whether she’s precision-sniping as Vex’ahlia, turning divine mischief into an art form as Jester Lavorre, or navigating psionic storms as Imogen Temult, Bailey’s characters always come wrapped in wit, heart, and just enough unhinged sparkle to wreck your emotions.
Off the table, she’s voiced everything from BAFTA-winning heartbreak (Abby in The Last of Us Part II) to Marvel’s Black Widow and Warcraft’s Jaina Proudmoore. She’s also a powerhouse behind the curtain — co-founder of Critical Role Productions, executive producer of The Legend of Vox Machina, and half of tabletop’s royal couple alongside Travis Willingham. Laura Bailey doesn’t just steal the spotlight — she owns the whole damn stage and leaves glitter in her wake.
Ashley Johnson
D&D Content Creator / Voice Actor
Ashley Johnson is the forever-legend of geek culture — a child star turned genre icon whose voiced, healed, and battle-raged her way into tabletop royalty. From the wide-eyed genius in Growing Pains to the voice of a generation as Ellie in The Last of Us (BAFTA wins, baby), Johnson has done it all — and then some. As a founding force in Critical Role, she’s given us everything from sweet cleric Pike Trickfoot, to the stoic storm that is Yasha Nydoorin, and now the feral chaos gremlin Fearne Calloway.
Off the battlefield, she’s the president of the Critical Role Foundation, bringing heart and hustle to real-world causes. Whether she’s saving the party, saving the world, or just wrecking your emotions with a single dice roll, Ashley Johnson isn’t just part of the pop culture pantheon — she is the moment.
Liam O’Brien
D&D Content Creator / Voice Actor
Liam O’Brien is Critical Role’s resident angst artisan — the soft-voiced stormcloud who’s turned quiet devastation into a god-tier storytelling weapon. Whether he’s guiding Vax’ildan through a deal with death itself, dragging Caleb Widogast through arcane trauma and slow-burn redemption, or playing Orym, the pint-sized paladin of loyalty and loss, Liam brings a level of emotional depth that hits like a psychic crit. Off the table, he’s a voice acting heavyweight — Gaara (Naruto), Illidan (World of Warcraft), Doctor Strange — with a résumé that reads like a geek’s dream playlist.
As co-founder of Critical Role Productions and curator of stories like Der Katzenprinz, Liam’s not just shaping characters — he’s helping carve the emotional backbone of the entire CR universe. He’s the bard you don’t see coming — until your heart’s in pieces and you’re thanking him for the wreckage.
Sam Riegel
D&D Content Creator / Voice Actor / Voice Director / Executive Producer
Sam Riegel is Critical Role’s resident agent of chaos — a voice-acting wild card who can wreck your sides with a joke, then wreck your heart with a single dice roll. Whether he’s belting out dirty limericks as Scanlan Shorthalt, playing trauma and redemption as Veth Brenatto, or unleashing existential sweetness as the aeormaton Fresh Cut Grass, Riegel’s characters are equal parts absurd and achingly human. Off the tabletop, he’s the voice of Donatello (TMNT), Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney), and an Emmy-winning voice director who’s been shaping your childhood without you even knowing.
Behind the scenes, he’s a co-founder of Critical Role Productions and executive producer of The Legend of Vox Machina, proving his brand of chaos comes with strategy. Sam Riegel doesn’t just play the game — he flips the table, sings about it, and somehow still makes you cry by the end.
Taliesin Jaffe
D&D Content Creator / Voice Actor
Taliesin Jaffe is Critical Role’s goth-fueled warlock of weird — the velvet-voiced, Victorian-laced chaos engine who turns every character into a cryptid you’d die for. From the tortured genius of Percy de Rolo to the glitter-slicked anarchy of Mollymauk Tealeaf, the mushroom-loving zen of Caduceus Clay, and now the rage-and-glass-fueled punk barbarian Ashton Greymoore, Jaffe never plays it safe — he plays it poetic. A child actor turned voiceover alchemist, he’s given life to everyone from The Flash (Injustice 2) to Eizen (Tales of Berseria), and has haunted both sides of the mic as a director. He’s also the mind behind Candela Obscura, Critical Role’s occult-flavored horror spinoff, where he moonlights as the Lightkeeper of your darkest fears. Taliesin doesn’t just bring vibes — he is the vibe. Think haunted mansion meets dice-rolling divinity.
Anjali Bhimani
D&D Content Creator / Voice Actress
Anjali Bhimani is the polymath performer who dominates every dimension she steps into — be it screen, stage, voice booth, or tabletop. You’ve heard her command the battlefield as Symmetra (Overwatch) and Rampart (Apex Legends), and seen her light up the MCU as Auntie Ruby in Ms. Marvel. But she’s not just a scene-stealer — she’s a full-blown narrative architect, conjuring unforgettable characters like Fy’ra Rai (Exandria Unlimited) and Charlotte Eaves (Candela Obscura). In true multi-classed fashion, she’s even dropped her own D&D module (The Malady of Minarrh) through Road to Ithaka Press, proving she’s just as deadly behind the DM screen as in front of the camera.
Whether she’s casting spells, dropping sass, or writing whole worlds into being, Anjali Bhimani is the genre-hopping force of nature you wish was in your party.
Jay Anthony Franke
Actor / Voice Actor
Jay Anthony Franke is the six-string rebel who shredded his way into ‘90s teen icon status as Jake Sommers on California Dreams — the leather-jacketed guitarist with enough charm to melt a surfboard. But he didn’t stop at beachside bops. Franke leveled up into cyberpunk royalty as the gravel-toned voice of J.C. Denton in the OG Deus Ex, dropping conspiracy-laced one-liners that still echo through gaming forums today. With voice credits in sci-fi hits like Mass Effect: Infiltrator and a fan-favorite rep on the con circuit, this American export now calls Melbourne home.
Whether he’s jamming onstage, voicing digital antiheroes, or showing up at Supanova with serious nostalgia power, Jay Anthony Franke is the cult-classic crossover king who never really left the stage — he just hacked the next level.
Allanah Fitzgerald
Voice Actor
Allanah Fitzgerald is the voice acting shapeshifter who slid out of YouTube fandoms and straight into your neural net as Cyn—the glitchcore nightmare fuel of Murder Drones. Starting with viral impression reels under the alias FitzyVA, Fitzgerald quickly proved they weren’t just another internet mimic — they were a full-blown genre chameleon. From the eerie melancholia of The Gaslight District to the sweet chaos of Crush Crush’s Ranma, their vocal range swings from sentient horror to flirty visual novel realness.
Equal parts indie darling and digital ghost in the machine, Allanah Fitzgerald is the kind of talent that doesn’t just ride the algorithm — they rewrite it with every line.
John Whitfield
Voice Actor
John Whinfield — aka JakVox — is the Aussie vocal chameleon turning indie games and animation into his personal audio playground. From the smoky menace of Al Sweetman in Fallen Aces to the glitch-born madness of Mud and Jack in The Gaslight District, and straight into nightmare territory as the Entity in Magenta Horizon, Whinfield’s range hits like a fever dream with a pop filter. Starting out in 2018 with a Blue Yeti and zero soundproofing, he’s clawed his way into cult-voiceover status with a mix of grit, snarl, and wild-eyed theatricality.
Whether he’s growling through a noir monologue or tearing through multiverse madness, John Whinfield is the kind of voice that sticks in your head like a cursed radio transmission — and we mean that as the highest compliment.
Neil Fanning
Stuntman / Voice Actor
Neil Fanning is the Aussie stunt devil turned voiceover legend who gave Scooby-Doo his unmistakable “Ruh-roh!” in the early 2000s live-action flicks — and somehow made it look effortless. Before barking his way into pop culture history in Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Fanning was launching himself off buildings and into chaos at Warner Bros. Movie World’s stunt shows, crashing cars and cracking jokes for over a decade. His stunt resume includes wild rides in Ghost Ship, First Strike, and Daybreakers, but it’s his voice that etched itself into millennial brains forever.
These days, he’s still bringing the laughs with The Brodie and Dad Show, his podcast with his son, and showing up at conventions like Supanova to prove once and for all — behind every legendary dog, there’s an Australian with impeccable timing and zero fear.
Alex Proyas
Film Director
Alex Proyas is the cinematic necromancer who stitched gothic grit, cyber-noir paranoia, and philosophical mind-melt into some of the most genre-defining films of the last three decades. Born in Egypt, raised in Sydney, and wired for mythmaking since age 10, Proyas broke through with The Crow — a film that turned tragedy into cult legend and made eyeliner the new armor. Then came Dark City, a bleak, beautiful fever dream that made you question reality before The Matrix even booted up. With slick studio juggernauts like I, Robot and apocalyptic puzzle boxes like Knowing, he proved he could swing between arthouse and blockbuster without dropping the existential dread.
Now, through ventures like Vidiverse and the Heretic Foundation, Proyas is flipping the bird at the Hollywood system while building a sci-fi sandbox for the next wave of outsider auteurs. Visionary, rebel, mythmaker — Alex Proyas is still out here, directing shadows and pulling strings behind the veil.
Scott Brewer
Actor / Director / Stuntman
Scott Brewer — aka Ryctor — is the Aussie genre outlaw carving his own sci-fi empire from the cinematic wasteland. A stuntman, actor, director, musician, and all-around creative hurricane, Brewer’s career reads like a mixtape of action and ambition. He’s shared sets with legends like Ray Liotta and Keanu Reeves, trained under Mad Max royalty, and flipped through roles in The Matrix and Chronicles of Narnia with a bruised-knuckle finesse. But his magnum opus? Garrison7 — a sprawling, independent sci-fi universe built from the ground up through his powerhouse production hub, Gena8 Studios. Whether he’s dropping his own rock album or bleeding into genre storytelling with full-throttle intensity, Brewer isn’t waiting for permission from Hollywood — he’s building his own damn galaxy.
Garrison7
Showcase
The Garrison7 universe is a full-throttle, indie-fueled sci-fi juggernaut built from the scorched ground up by Scott-Andrew Brewer — aka Ryctor — and it’s not just a story, it’s a full-blown multimedia invasion. Anchored by the upcoming Garrison7: The Fallen, the saga kicks off with an elite special forces commander who stumbles into a military conspiracy and loses everything, igniting an intergalactic manhunt drenched in betrayal, tech, aliens, and political powder kegs. Think Predator meets The Expanse, with the emotional punch of a revenge epic and the chaos of a universe on the brink. Through Brewer’s Gena8 Studios, this beast has expanded into books, audiobooks (voiced by the legendary Jim Meskimen), merch drops, wearable gear, and even themed sweets — because nothing says dystopian warzone like eating your feelings in chocolate form. With every new release, Garrison7 isn’t just gunning for your attention — it’s declaring open war on cookie-cutter sci-fi.
Tiger Cop: Project A
Showcase
Tiger Cop is a high-kicking, punch-slinging love letter to ’80s Hong Kong action cinema — born in 2013 as a 45-second fight clip and now a full-blown cult sensation with fists of fury and a flair for the absurd. Channeling the spirit of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao, this Aussie homage exploded from fake trailers (Tiger Cop 1 & 2) to an online short-form series for ABC iView, pulling in none other than Hong Kong action legend Richard Norton to go full villain mode. With Jackie Chan himself giving it the nod, Tiger Cop roared back in Toilet Paper Hero (2020) and Yes Madam (2023), proving Tiger doesn’t just fight — she flies.
Now, in Tiger Cop: Project A, the stakes (and roundhouse kicks) are higher than ever as Tiger throws down with her ultimate nemesis, The White Ghost. Bigger brawls. Wilder stunts. Pure VHS-fueled chaos. Tiger is back — and she’s not pulling punches.
Flying Bark Productions
Showcase
Flying Bark Productions is the animation juggernaut quietly running the Saturday morning cartoon multiverse — from Sydney to LA to Madrid — cranking out high-octane, heart-filled animation that hits just as hard for kids as it does for nostalgic adults. This full-service studio doesn’t just animate — it dominates, with credits on everything from Marvel’s Emmy-winning Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and What If…?, to LEGO Monkie Kid, Glitch Techs, and the Annie Award-winning Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They’ve also flexed original muscle with FriendZSpace and the 100% Wolf saga.
Currently, they’re bringing Shaun Tan’s dreamlike Tales from Outer Suburbia to life, while tag-teaming with Netflix for Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 and a secret Ghostbusters project. Oh, and they’re animating The Legend of Aang for Paramount. Flying Bark doesn’t just make cartoons — they craft the next generation of animated icons with the kind of global swagger that proves indie spirit and blockbuster scale can absolutely co-exist.
Residence
Showcase
Residence is a riotously bleak, blood-splattered, and bitingly funny dystopian dramedy that sinks its teeth into Australia’s multicultural psyche and refuses to let go. Imagine a zombie apocalypse hijacked by an indie fever dream, where emotional wreckage meets slapstick savagery and deep cultural reflection. At the center is Charlie (Jeanette Coppolino), a layered anti-heroine navigating chaos with a band of equally unhinged survivors — including a zen medic (Kym Valentine), a pun-slinging bruiser (Ruby James), a vacuum-obsessed entrepreneur (Luke Benson), and a nonverbal child who radiates fragile hope. Throw in Bruce the scenery-chomping druid (Don Bridges), a deranged stalker, and a medieval fun park turned battleground, and you’ve got a post-apocalyptic hero’s journey that’s one part Mad Max, one part Shaun of the Dead, and all heart. Equal parts tragic, hilarious, and visually unhinged, Residence is the kind of genre-busting gut-punch that makes you laugh while it breaks you — and maybe, just maybe, helps you figure out where home really is.
Backlash
Showcase
A crew of trash-talking teen gamers get a brutal dose of karmic lag when they’re snatched IRL by a masked maniac and thrown headfirst into a real-world deathmatch ripped straight from their favourite kill-or-be-killed video game. After a run of cyberbullying and keyboard bravado, they’re now in a twisted arena where every XP point comes with a body count — and respawning isn’t an option. Welcome to the endgame where bullets are real, trust is lethal, and the only way out is through the blood-soaked leaderboard. This time… it’s not just a game — it’s payback with a power-up.
Fear Below
Showcase
Australia, 1946 — where post-war grit meets blood in the water. A crew of hard-nosed divers are sent down to retrieve a sunken car from the riverbed, only to find themselves stalked by a cold-eyed, flesh-hungry bull shark with zero interest in letting them surface. But the real predator might be topside — their employers aren’t just shady, they’re ruthless criminals hellbent on recovering a cache of stolen gold bullion. Trapped between tooth and trigger, the divers must outwit both beast and bastard before the riverbed becomes their watery grave.
Think noir-drenched survival horror with fins — and no one gets out clean.
Snatchers
Showcase
Snatchers rips the guts out of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Body Snatcher and slaps them straight into a blood-soaked dystopia just one power outage away from reality. In this twisted future, lifelong mates and morally bankrupt orderlies Mac and Fettes try to score some quick cash by flogging fresh organs off a corpse — until their “Jane Doe” corpse decides she’s not done kicking. What follows is a surgically sharp descent into madness, betrayal, and scalpel-sharp survival instincts. It’s a wicked cocktail of greed, gallows humour, and the kind of gut-wrenching twists that’ll leave your ethics in a body bag. Snatchers isn’t just a game of life and death — it’s a jet-black morality play with teeth.
Lauren Roberts
Author
Lauren Roberts is the BookTok-born fantasy juggernaut who exploded onto the YA scene with Powerless — a romantasy thrill ride dripping with enemies-to-lovers tension, high-stakes trials, and rebellion against a magic-drenched elite. What started as a self-pubbed gamble at 21 has spiraled into The Powerless Trilogy, a global sensation with over 5 million copies sold and a Prime Video adaptation in the works. Think Throne of Glass meets Red Queen, but with sharper banter, deadlier kisses, and a heroine who fakes being psychic just to survive the ruling class bloodsport. With sequels Reckless and Fearless raising the emotional stakes and body count, Roberts has built a romantasy empire fueled by grit, gray morality, and swoon-worthy chaos. Welcome to Ilya — where power corrupts, hearts break, and Roberts writes like she’s aiming straight for your throat.
Lynette Noni
Author
Lynette Noni is Australia’s reigning empress of YA fantasy — a literary spell-slinger who’s turned teen trauma, elemental trials, and magical rebellion into a million-copy empire. She kicked open the portal door with The Medoran Chronicles, a genre-mashing blend of Hogwarts heart and superhero swagger, before leveling up with The Prison Healer trilogy — a brutal, breathless saga set in the deathtrap of Zalindov where survival is earned, not given. With deadly trials, sizzling betrayals, and slow-burn romance that cuts like a dagger, Noni’s worlds are as lush as they are lethal. Winner of multiple ABIA and Inky Awards, and with her next book Wandering Wild dropping in 2025, Noni writes like she’s got magic ink in her veins and a map to every fantasy lover’s bookshelf.
Luke Arnold
Actor / Author
Luke Arnold is the swaggering genre shapeshifter who went from swashbuckling across the high seas as John Silver in Black Sails to penning grimy, post-magic noir as the author of The Fetch Phillips Archives. Before that, he channeled rock god energy as Michael Hutchence in INXS: Never Tear Us Apart, proving he’s got as much range as he has reckless charm. But Arnold doesn’t just act — he writes like a man possessed, dropping us into The Last Smile in Sunder City, a bleak, booze-soaked urban fantasy where magic’s dead, the hero’s haunted, and everything tastes like ash and regret. Whether he’s commanding a ship or crafting a metaphor, Luke Arnold is the rare talent who pulls off tortured and magnetic in every medium he touches — and leaves you wanting more.
Alan Baxter
Author
Alan Baxter is Australia’s resident conjurer of cosmic nightmares — a black-belt horror author who writes like Clive Barker crash-landed in the Outback and started mainlining whisky and weirdness. Whether it’s the myth-soaked terror of The Gulp, the brutal noir brawls of the Alex Caine trilogy, or the blood-splattered chaos of The Roo, Baxter’s stories are soaked in grit, guts, and the kind of dread that lingers like smoke in a haunted pub. He’s got shelves full of Australian Shadows and Aurealis Awards, over 100 short stories to his name, and a writing style that punches first and philosophizes later. If you’re into horror that grabs you by the throat, screams in your face, then hugs you when you’re not looking — Baxter’s the literary bruiser you’ve been waiting for.
Olivia O’Flynn
Author
Olivia O’Flynn is the rising Aussie romantasy powerhouse conjuring gods, grit, and sapphic slow-burns into a genre that’s been screaming for fresh blood. After a decade in the book trenches as a bookseller and award-winning audio storyteller (Nocturnal Worlds), O’Flynn is kicking down the fantasy gates with her debut novel Ever Blessed — dropping June 2025. Picture a crumbling world of divine chaos, where a warrior princess and a shadowy witch are forced into a deadly dance of trust, betrayal, and maybe something a little more sinful. With echoes of Sarah A. Parker and Rebecca Yarros but drenched in O’Flynn’s sharp prose and spellbinding worldbuilding, this is romantasy with teeth. Forget promise — Ever Blessed is a thunderclap debut that marks O’Flynn as the next big name in genre rebellion.
Bronte-Marie Wesson
Author
Bronte-Marie Wesson is the queer Aussie fantasy phenom kicking down genre doors with dragonfire and revolution in her veins. Her debut, The Brass Wyvern (2025), is a high-stakes dragon heist soaked in anti-colonial fury, found family vibes, and enough queer rage to light up an empire — think runaway slaves, brothel-born rebels, and a chained wyvern ready to scorch the status quo. But Wesson’s just getting started. With her Broken Cycle trilogy (launching 2026 with The Ascension of Souls) already snapping necks on BookTok and scoring a three-book Penguin deal, she’s serving reincarnated lovers, cursed empires, and prophecy-soaked betrayal like it’s a five-course meal. A former bookseller turned genre disruptor, Wesson writes like she’s got a war cry in her heart and a battle axe in her pen — and the fantasy world better take notice.
Juliet Marillier
Author
Juliet Marillier is the Celtic soul-weaver of fantasy fiction — the myth-slinging, heart-shattering storyteller who turned Irish folklore into an emotional battleground with Daughter of the Forest. That debut kicked off the legendary Sevenwaters series, a saga soaked in ancient magic, familial curses, and heroines who endure the unendurable. From Viking sagas (Saga of the Light Isles) to Pictish epics (The Bridei Chronicles) and the emotionally bruising Blackthorn & Grim series, Marillier writes like a druid channeling the gods of grief and grace. A real-life member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, her stories hum with the power of nature, spirit, and sacrifice. If you’re after fantasy that feels like a prayer whispered through blood and leaves, Juliet Marillier is the literary oracle you’ve been waiting for.
Kate Forsyth
Author
Kate Forsyth is the fairy tale sorceress of Australian fantasy — a spell-slinger of myth, magic, and badass heroines who refuses to let ancient stories stay quiet. With a doctorate in fairy tale studies and a pen that bleeds both history and heart, Forsyth reimagines the classics with fierce feminist grit. From the Celtic-fuelled chaos of The Witches of Eileanan to the lush, tangled retelling of Rapunzel in Bitter Greens, and the wartime heartbreak of The Crimson Thread, her stories hit like enchanted daggers: beautiful, brutal, and unforgettable. With 40+ books translated worldwide and more awards than most witches have herbs, Forsyth is the literary enchantress rewriting folklore for a modern world — one dark, dazzling tale at a time.
Maria Linwood
Author
Maria Linwood is the German-born, Aussie-adopted fantasy conjurer delivering myth-soaked epics with grit, grandeur, and a heroine who doesn’t just survive — she scorches. Her debut English-language novel Mistress of Amber and Flame (2024) throws readers into a fractured realm where ancient magic oozes from the cracks and nightmares bleed in from a cursed brother-world. At the center? Tábalainthe — a flame-wielding force of nature wrestling with destiny, power, and the kind of dark lore that bites back. With a PhD in literature, a brush in one hand, and a tamed Brumby named Nico by her side, Linwood isn’t just writing fantasy — she’s living it. If you like your epic worlds steeped in history and humming with fire, Maria Linwood is the new name to burn into your bookshelf.
Megan White
Author
Megan White is the grimdark fantasy scalpel slicing through the genre with blood, beauty, and bone-deep precision. Hailing from rural NSW and now haunting the Scottish highlands, White’s debut The Anatomy of Songs is a vicious, lyrical ride where healer-by-day, assassin-by-night Kasira Severen plays a deadly duet with divine power — and maybe even Crown Prince Veridian Erris. It’s a world where the Songs of Life and Death don’t just shape reality, they demand sacrifice. Backed by a background in physiotherapy, a love of morbid anatomy, and a quiver full of archery skill, White writes like someone who knows how to stitch wounds — and rip them open again. With sequel Anatomy of Gods looming and her presence felt at conventions like Supanova, Megan White isn’t just here to tell a story — she’s here to carve it into your memory.
C.C. Davie
Author
C.C. Davie is the sapphic spell-slinger from Aotearoa New Zealand rewriting high fantasy with queer fire, courtly chaos, and worldbuilding that crackles with every page. Her breakout saga, The Wytchling Chronicles, launches with Heliacle Rising — a slow-burn FFM epic of orphans, empires, and ancient power plays, dripping in political tension and romantic yearning. Sequels like The Shadow of Wings and The Heir of Vasilica expand the mythos with rebellions, crowns, and queer magic that refuses to play by old-school rules. Not stopping there, Davie flips Arthurian legend on its head in The Pendragon Wytch, making Morgana the centre of her own shadow-drenched destiny. Bold, immersive, and unapologetically queer, C.C. Davie is the genre disruptor fantasy’s been summoning for years — and she’s answering with a roar.
Joe Jusko
Comic Book Artist
Joe Jusko is the muscle-bound maestro of comic book art — the Bronx-born painter who made Marvel legends look like gods carved from oil and thunder. Bursting onto the scene with Heavy Metal at just 18, Jusko became a visual wrecking ball, fusing Frank Frazetta’s primal energy with old-school Renaissance polish. His 1992 Marvel Masterpieces card set? A game-changer that turned collectible art into high fantasy gold. From The Punisher to Vampirella, Savage Sword of Conan to Tomb Raider, and even the hallowed lands of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jusko’s brush has bled across pop culture’s best. Oh, and he also swapped his sketchpad for a badge as an NYPD cop — before roaring back into art with the fury of a supernova. Now a Hall of Famer, Jusko doesn’t just paint heroes — he immortalizes them with every stroke.
Liam Sharp
Comic Book Writer and Artist
Liam Sharp is the cosmic conjurer of comics — the British-born, heavy-metal scribbler who made Wonder Woman mythic, Green Lantern trippy, and Starhenge an interstellar fever dream of Arthurian sci-fi. Bursting out of 2000 AD with grimy precision, Sharp leveled up through Death’s Head II before becoming Grant Morrison’s go-to visual alchemist. Whether he’s conjuring gods, monsters, or multiversal madness, Sharp’s art isn’t just pretty — it’s mythic architecture built in ink and lightning. With a mind that bends narrative as much as linework, he’s also co-founded Mam Tor Publishing and the digital comics playground Madefire. Bottom line? Liam Sharp doesn’t just draw comics — he forges mythologies with the intensity of a black hole and the soul of a poet.
Mico Suayan
Comic Book Artist
Mico Suayan is the Filipino art god turning comic book pages into sacred altars of muscle, madness, and meticulous cross-hatching. Bursting out of Parañaque with pencils sharper than Wolverine’s claws, Suayan hit Marvel hard in 2007 and never looked back — blessing titles like Moon Knight, X-Men: Legacy, and Batman: Arkham Unhinged with hyper-detailed, jaw-clenching visuals that feel like anatomy textbooks possessed by demons. But it was Bloodshot: Reborn with Jeff Lemire that blasted him into legend status, making Valiant’s top-selling issue look like a renaissance war cry. Then came his Wave variant cover — a salute to his Filipino roots that sold out in a flash and made headlines across geekdom. Whether it’s Asgard or Gotham, Suayan doesn’t just draw heroes — he forges them like comic book demi-gods ready to wreck your pull list.
Lipwei Chang
Comic Book Artist
Lipwei Chang is the Malaysian comic crusader fusing kinetic linework with pure narrative thunder — a one-man artstorm whose gone from Penang to the global stage without breaking a sweat. Best known for co-creating the 42-chapter paranormal banger X-Venture Unexplained Files, Chang’s work swings between horror, high fantasy, and hyper-stylized superheroics like a multiverse-surfing ninja with a sketchpad. Whether he’s dropping cover heat for Thundercats, W0rldtr33, or The Me You Love in the Dark, or slinging Marvel fan-favourites onto trading cards and tabletop showdowns (Marvel Anime Vol. 2, Crisis Protocol), Lipwei’s style is sharp, slick, and soaked in story. A teacher turned full-time art warlock, he’s dropped his own fan art collection and continues to level up like his portfolio’s on boss mode. Simply put: Lipwei Chang is what happens when precision meets passion — and your eyeballs are lucky to witness it.
Redcode
Comic Book Artist
Redcode is the Malaysian artstorm tearing through the comic scene with panels that punch, bleed, and burn into your retinas. Formerly known as Cicak under the Gempak Starz banner, Redcode’s been the creative pulse behind mega-hits like X-Venture and Dinosaur Explorers, slinging thrills across Asia and North America like it’s his day job — because it is. But don’t box him in: this genre chameleon has dropped killer work across horror, sci-fi, romance, and hard-hitting action, and his variant covers for Transformers, Supermassive, and The Closet are pure eye candy with teeth. Repping titles from IDW, Boom!, and Image Comics, Redcode blends manga muscle with Western grit — a dual-threat artist with award-winning finesse and a style that doesn’t ask for your attention, it takes it.
Kang “KJ” Jing
Comic Book Artist
Kang Jing — aka KJ — is Singapore’s comic book wrecking ball, slinging fists, steel, and soul across the page with a style that hits like a flying kick to your frontal lobe. As the mastermind behind Chiral Comics, KJ smashed into the scene with The World My Arena, a no-frills martial arts drama, and cranked it to eleven with ZHAO, a blood-slicked wuxia epic that dances between honour and chaos. But he’s not just slaying the indie battlefield — his variant covers for Power Rangers, Green Hornet, and Shadow Ghost have made collectors sweat, while his officially licensed Star Wars sketch cards pack more cinematic energy than a blaster fight in Mos Eisley. From tribute art drenched in Singapore skyline pride to collaborations with Viking metal gods Týr, KJ brings East-meets-West fury and a visual signature that doesn’t whisper — it roars.
David Yardin
Comic Book Artist
David Yardin is the Aussie art assassin who’s been unleashing superhero chaos on comic shelves for over two decades — with a pencil stroke so clean it could slice adamantium. From his scene-stealing run on X-Factor covers to crafting iconic looks for Storm, Gambit, and District X, Yardin’s work pulses with kinetic drama and razor-sharp style. DC tapped his talents for Injustice, Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad, and The Flash, while Marvel leaned into his powers for everything from Avengers to Wolverine to the fall of Krakoa in Fall of the House of X. His visual firepower even hit the big leagues — lending his brush to promo art for Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, and Civil War. If it’s capes, claws, or cosmic carnage — chances are Yardin’s drawn it, and made it unforgettable.
Mark Raats
Artist / Animator
Mark Raats is the cinematic spellcaster keeping old-school movie magic alive with nothing but a brush, some gouache, and the kind of draftsmanship that could make a Sith weep. Born in South Africa, now based in Perth, Raats is the man behind some of the most breathtaking hand-painted posters for Lucasfilm and Disney — we’re talking Indiana Jones, Blade Runner, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, The Mandalorian, and Solo. His style? Pure analog alchemy. No AI, no digital shortcuts — just raw talent channeling the spirit of Drew Struzan with every stroke. George Lucas himself owns some of Raats’ work, because when the Force looks that good on canvas, even the maker has to hang it on his wall. In a world drunk on digital noise, Mark Raats is painting the rebellion — one masterpiece at a time.
Queenie Chan
Comic Book Writer and Artist
Queenie Chan is the Aussie manga conjurer weaving ghosts, queens, and fairy tale revolutions into panel-busting perfection. Exploding onto the scene with The Dreaming — a gothic boarding school mystery dripping in dread — Chan became one of TOKYOPOP’s original OEL powerhouses before tagging in with Dean Koontz on In Odd We Trust. She’s flipped folklore inside out with her fantasy-politics mashup Fabled Kingdom and now rewrites forgotten matriarchal histories in her bold, history-soaked series Women Who Were Kings. Whether teaming with Kylie Chan on Small Shen or flexing her PhD-fuelled comic craft, Queenie doesn’t just tell stories — she digs up the bones, wraps them in stardust, and makes them scream with life.
Stewart McKenny
Comic Book Artist
Stewart McKenny is the Aussie chameleon of comic book art — a visual shapeshifter whose pencils have tag-teamed with Jedi, Caped Crusaders, Time Lords, and even pastel-coloured ponies. With a portfolio that rips through Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Transformers, Doctor Who, and more, McKenny’s style is as adaptable as it is electric. One minute he’s channeling classic Saturday morning cartoon chaos, the next he’s laying down panels that pulse with space opera swagger. A mainstay across Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, IDW, and Titan, he’s repped Australia’s comic elite like a one-man art army — with a sketchbook that refuses to sit still. In a sea of digital slickness, McKenny’s work hits with the nostalgic crackle of hand-drawn power — wild, precise, and unapologetically bold.
Scott Wilson
Comic Book Writer
Scott Wilson is the storytelling storm behind the Indigiverse — Australia’s first Aboriginal superhero universe — and the creator turning Dreamtime into four-color fury. A Gooniyandi and Miriuwung Gajerrong visionary from Western Australia, Wilson cracked open the comic book cosmos with Dark Heart, a genre-bending tale where ancestral spirits and modern chaos collide. Sick of seeing his culture sidelined in the stories he grew up with, Wilson built a hero — Adam Heart — who fights not just evil, but erasure, armed with ancient power and deep roots. Through Ice Cream Productions and Gestalt Publishing, he’s leading a revolution inked in Indigenous pride, cultural truth, and superhero swagger. And when he’s not rewriting comic history? He’s tackling mental health and clean energy through Gevolve Solutions like a real-world superhero. Scott Wilson isn’t just creating comics — he’s shifting the narrative, one panel at a time.
Wolfgang Bylsma
Comic Book Editor / Comic Book Publisher
Wolfgang Bylsma is the godfather of Australia’s indie comic rebellion — the mad genius behind Gestalt Publishing and the storyteller-smith hammering out tales that actually matter. Since 2005, he’s been the backstage alchemist turning raw voices into graphic gold, launching careers like Tom Taylor’s and birthing genre-busting hits like Neomad and Cleverman. But he’s not just slinging panels — Bylsma’s deep in the trenches lettering, designing, producing, and championing First Nations creators through Comics On Country and the Indigiverse. From the ink-slick pages of Lustration to the animated deep-dives of The Deep, Wolfgang doesn’t follow trends — he builds new mythologies. In a comics landscape overrun by spandex clones, Bylsma is the renegade editor forging storytelling with guts, soul, and cultural fire.
Lauren Marshall
Comic Book Artist
Lauren Marshall is the Perth-based visual brawler dishing out attitude and ink across the indie and mainstream comic trenches. With a style that crackles with punk energy and big-panel bravado, she’s left her mark on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (IDW), Power Rangers Prime #1 (BOOM! Studios), and even snuck into Spider-Man 2 on PS5 with her graffiti-styled flair. But it’s her creator-owned beast Lana Leuka and the thrash-fueled ride Maurice & The Metal where her art truly moshes into something mythic. Equal parts grit, glam, and guts, Marshall’s work hits like a steel chair to the face — stylised, savage, and impossible to ignore.
Daniel Picciotto
Comic Book Artist
Daniel Picciotto is the Sydney-born comic book powerhouse who draws like every panel is a punch to the gut and a kiss on the cheek — all at once. A self-taught art warlock, Picciotto’s been shredding through Marvel’s A-list with pencils that bleed attitude across Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch, Miles Morales: Spider-Man, X-Force, Wolverine #50, and the xenomorph-riddled nightmare Alien: Romulus #1. But don’t box him in — his creator-owned project Mercer packs noir grit, emotional depth, and indie edge like a graphic gut-check. He’s even brought his visual chaos to the small screen with ABC’s award-winning Ready for This. Bottom line? Daniel Picciotto isn’t just drawing comics — he’s carving mythologies with ink and fire.
Alex Trpcevski
Comic Book Artist
Alex Trpcevski — aka Trip — is the Sydney-based art tactician who took a spinal curveball and flipped it into a career steeped in pop culture dominance. After ditching the print-and-design world for a diploma in 3D animation, Trip hit the gas on his true calling: comics, covers, and high-octane visuals. From splashing ink across The Phantom for Frew to creating promo fire for Mortal Kombat and Aquaman, this guy doesn’t miss. He’s flexed his style on Alpha Clash TCG and now slings heroes and villains for Marvel: Crisis Protocol like a seasoned ink-slinger with a cosmic vendetta. Through Trip Design Studio, he’s building an art empire one kinetic brushstroke at a time — and trust us, you’re gonna want front-row seats.
Austin Mengler
Artist
Austen Mengler is Australia’s high priest of the grotesque — a creature-conjuring chaos engine whose art bleeds from the page like a nightmare given flesh. Based in Perth and armed with 15 years of carnage under his belt, Mengler’s hell-born creations have slithered into films like The Faceless Man, album covers, video games, and self-published monsterscapes like Execution, Scary Sketches, and My Shadows. He’s the mad scientist remixing pop culture icons into horror showstoppers, blending sci-fi, gore, and dark humour into a visual style that’s as visceral as it is unforgettable. Whether he’s dropping jaw-melting prints at conventions or unleashing his technique through live demos, Mengler doesn’t just draw — he exorcises.
Anthony Christou
Artist / Comic Book Artist
Anthony Christou is the myth-slinging, brush-wielding world-builder from Adelaide whose art doesn’t just tell stories — it opens portals. Best known as the creator of Luminous Ages, Australia’s indie fantasy juggernaut that crushed Kickstarter and kept going, Christou weaves gods, dragons, and dreamscapes into a surreal visual cocktail of comics, fine art, and tabletop RPGs. His work has graced video games like Path of Exile and Disney Worlds, and his eco-conscious art studio pumps out everything from psychedelic acrylics to ethereal digital commissions. Whether it’s gallery walls or game boards, Christou’s creations are drenched in lore, spirit, and a hell of a lot of magic — making him the fantasy architect Australia never knew it needed.
Jamie Johnson
Comic Book Artist
Jamie Johnson is the Sydney-born art slinger turning cult icons into cover gods — and doing it with the kind of style that could punch a hole in nostalgia. With over 20 Phantom covers across Frew, Hermes Press, and Lightning Strike Comics, Johnson’s brushwork is equal parts golden age grit and modern comic muscle. He’s dropped variant heat for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #100, lit up indie firebrands like Killeroo: Old Man Rufus and Fractured Shards, and even brought storytelling swagger to brands like Jack Daniels and V Energy. When he’s not conjuring pulp heroism on canvas, he’s mentoring the next wave of artists through workshops with Copic and Wacom. In short? Jamie Johnson isn’t just drawing legends — he’s becoming one.
Camillo Di Pietrantonio
Comic Book Artist
Camillo Di Pietrantonio is the Sydney slayer of panels and pulp — a pop-culture-obsessed powerhouse whose art comes at you like a mutant axolotl with a grudge. From the underground grit of Killeroo to his high-voltage variant covers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Last Ronin, Camillo’s artwork is a kinetic blast of horror, humour, and radioactive nostalgia. He’s splattered his vision across Primordial (Image), Canceled (Scout Comics), and Cult of Dracula (Source Point Press), all while unleashing Camillo’s Wonderverse — his own warped anthology brimming with cryptid chaos, tortured superheroes, and sci-fi psychedelia. Toss in gigs with Nickelodeon, Pizza Hut, and Smash the House Records, and you’ve got an artist who doesn’t just play in pop culture — he weaponizes it. Camillo’s not just drawing comics; he’s building a freakshow multiverse one mutant masterpiece at a time.
Louie Joyce
Comic Book Artist
Louie Joyce is the Wollongong wizard of comics — a visual storyteller who turns quiet moments into explosions of colour, emotion, and pure narrative magic. With critically acclaimed titles like Haphaven and Past the Last Mountain, Joyce balances whimsy with heartbreak, blending Saturday-morning cartoon energy with indie comic soul. His self-published gems MISHMASH and HODGEPODGE prove he’s not afraid to get weird, wild, and wonderfully personal. When he’s not weaving tales that punch you right in the feels, he’s in the trenches teaching workshops and mentoring the next wave of visual alchemists. Louie Joyce doesn’t just draw comics — he makes the mundane mythic, one panel at a time.
Shaun Keenan
Comic Book Writer / Comic Book Publisher
Shaun Keenan is the Melbourne-born comic book brawler who turned childhood reading struggles into a full-blown indie publishing empire. As the founder of COMICS2MOVIES, he’s the architect behind Xtreme Champion Tournament (XCT) — Australia’s top-selling indie series where myth, mayhem, and muscle-bound clones collide. But Keenan didn’t stop there. He’s dropped the dystopian fire with Terralympus, brought Greek mythos back from the dead in Talos of Sparta, and co-created the cyberpunk-noir juggernaut Fractured Shards with Spartacus star Dan Feuerriegel. A mainstay on the convention circuit and a mentor to up-and-coming creators, Keenan is building a comics multiverse with grit, ambition, and straight-up gladiator energy.
Darren Koziol
Comic Book Writer / Comic Book Editor / Comic Book Publisher
Darren Koziol is the pulp-soaked puppet master behind DARK OZ — the indie comic juggernaut pumping grindhouse blood and sci-fi venom into Australia’s veins since 2009. As the mad architect of DECAY and Retro Sci-Fi Tales, Koziol has rallied over 200 creators to craft savage, surreal, and unashamedly Aussie tales that channel everything from vintage EC Comics to full-throttle Ozploitation. Think vampire priests, chrome-washed wastelands, and killer crocs ripping out throats at the speed of a panel flip. With nods from Heavy Metal magazine and comic spin-offs of cult classics like Stunt Rock and Midnite Spares, Koziol isn’t just telling stories — he’s resurrecting a blood-splattered legacy one anthology at a time.
Jenny Mackintosh
Horror Artist / Comic Book Artist
Jenny Mackintosh is Perth’s reigning queen of the creeps — a horror illustrator with a flair for the weird, the wicked, and the wildly unsettling. After a decade in graphic design, she flipped the switch and dove headfirst into the dark arts, conjuring nightmare-fuel illustrations that blend pop culture with pure panic. Her twisted fingerprints are all over the award-winning poster for The Guard Station and the haunting character Luna in Justin Randall’s graphic novel CAVITY. Through her online store and con appearances, she’s unleashed a cult of gore-loving fans hooked on her Blood Reaper prints and deliciously demented merch. Jenny’s art doesn’t just haunt your walls — it crawls under your skin and grins.
John Hanna
Comic Book Writer / Comic Book Artist
John Hanna is Sydney’s underground comic book engine — a high-octane one-man army churning out gritty panels like he’s got nitro in his veins. As the founder of Midnight Runners Comics, Hanna has soloed over 15 graphic novels and 2,000+ pages across genres like cyberpunk, horror, rom-coms, and high-stakes street racing. Whether it’s the heist-fueled speed of Limit, the existential circuitry of Machine//Heart, or the dystopian burn of You Can’t Kill Us, his stories hit like a pipe bomb wrapped in cell-shaded adrenaline. He even brought Matthew Reilly’s Hover Car Racer to life in graphic novel form.
Off the page? He’s a motion designer and amateur drift racer who walks the walk. Hanna isn’t just making comics — he’s drifting through genres, engines roaring, paintbrush blazing.
Mike Krome
Comic Book Cover Artist
Mike Krome is Melbourne’s master of the cover tease — a pinup powerhouse and comic art virtuoso whose hyper-detailed, jaw-droppingly polished style has become the gold standard in fantasy, horror, and sci-fi covers. Bursting onto the scene with JP Roth’s Ancient Dreams, Krome’s art has since blessed the pages of Zenescope, Aspen, Dynamite, Image, Coffin Comics, and beyond. From myth-soaked goddesses to demon queens and cyber sirens, Krome blends traditional and digital techniques like a wizard with a Wacom tablet. His talents stretch from comics to children’s books, magazines, games, and even film promos — all while wrangling a home life with two kids and some surprisingly well-behaved cacti. When he’s not lighting up con floors like Supanova and Metro Comic Con, Mike Krome is busy reminding us why the cover game still matters — because damn, this guy doesn’t miss.
Silver Fox Comics
Comic Book Publisher
Silver Fox Comics isn’t your run-of-the-mill indie press—it’s a full-blown Aussie fever dream forged in beer, blood, and B-grade brilliance. Founded by Don "The Silver" Ticchio and Sorab "The Fox" Del Rio, this Sydney-based outfit leapt from Zorro fanfic royalty to dropping thunder with original chaos like Bazza the Bogan Barbarian — an outback antihero wielding a talking cricket bat and backed by drop bears with attitude. Their lineup oozes grindhouse grit and backyard bravado, from Zombie Cities to Vampires and Vegemite, all soaked in satire and loud enough to wake Ned Kelly. This isn’t comics — it’s cultural carnage with a sausage sizzle on the side.
Leanbh Pearson
Author
Leanbh Pearson is the kind of author who crawls out of the crypt clutching ancient folklore in one hand and a blood-stained quill in the other. Hailing from Canberra, Pearson weaves gothic horror, queer mythos, and bone-deep historical dread into every page like they’re conjuring spirits from the Australian bush. With twisted gems like The Devil & the Loch Ard Gorge and Three Curses & Other Dark Tales, they’re not just writing stories — they’re bottling nightmares. Add in their academic chops in archaeology and you’ve got a creator who digs up forgotten truths and turns them into literary hauntings. Pearson’s work doesn’t whisper — it howls.
JM Merryt
Author
JM Merryt is the literary lovechild of cosmic horror and haunted folklore, freshly clawed from the Aussie underbrush. Her stories don’t tiptoe into the uncanny — they plunge face-first into necrotic tongues, bog goddesses, and Lovecraftian reboots of Arthurian legend. With tales like Necroglossia and She Who Devours, Merryt slathers myth in dread and dares you to look away. Featured in freakish anthologies like Spawn and Killer Creatures Down Under, she’s the kind of writer who visits haunted sites for inspiration and probably leaves creepier than she arrived. If horror had a heartbeat in Australia, it might just thump to her rhythm.
Hayden Fryer
Comic Book Artist / Comic Book Writer
Hayden Fryer is the ink-slinging ghost in the machine of the Aussie indie comics scene — equal parts storyteller, illustrator, and haunted brushstroke technician. From the shadowy hills of the Blue Mountains, Fryer conjures up moody, minimalist dreamscapes with his signature ink-and-wash style, carving out cult-status hits like Billy: Demon Slayer, Cobber, and the spine-tingling Bristlemouth: A Cove Horror. Through his self-made label Siberian Productions, he’s been churning out visceral, visual poetry for over two decades — where every panel feels like it’s been dipped in melancholy and dragged through a fever dream. Fryer’s art doesn’t just tell stories — it lingers like a ghost in your peripheral vision.
Stephen Kok
Comic Book Writer
Stephen Kok is the indie comics dynamo you didn’t know you needed but won’t be able to ignore. As the mastermind behind Sigmate Studio, Kok has dropped everything from steampunk sagas (Word Smith) to cyberpunk gut-punches (Fractured Shards), racking up awards, international library placements, and a fanbase that spans schoolyards to cons. His debut Tabby turned Romeo and Juliet into a silent cat opera, and he’s only gotten weirder — and sharper — since. With Word Smith now powering toward animation, and his stories stitched into the DNA of over 500 libraries worldwide, Kok’s not just making comics — he’s building a legacy one genre mashup at a time.
Paink
Artist
Paink — real name Monty — is the Melbourne-based street art alchemist who blends torn paper, spray paint, and graphic design into visual gut punches that stick to your soul. A former Perth designer turned full-time art renegade, Paink doesn't just paint faces — he layers secrets, symbols, and soul fragments into every chaotic collage. From the glitchy glamour of Miss Monroe to explosive live sets at Supanova, his work feels like a punk rock mixtape for the eyeballs—raw, hypnotic, and bleeding with intent. This isn't just mixed media — it's controlled mayhem on canvas.
Steamkittens
Cosplay Photographer
Steamkittens — real name Leigh — is the lens-slinging wizard behind Australia’s most cinematic cosplay portraits. Since 2013, he’s turned comic cons into battlegrounds of light and shadow, snapping costumed crusaders like they’re fronting blockbuster posters. From free Supanova floor shoots to cover credits on Rat Queens and collabs with cosplay royalty like Yaya Han, Steamkittens doesn’t just take photos — he weaponizes them. Armed with moody lighting, razor-sharp focus, and a flair for the theatrical, his work feels like it’s ripped from the frames of a lost Zack Snyder fever dream.
WhereIsDanielle
Cosplayer
WhereIsDanielle — aka Danielle Debs — is the cosplay sorceress from Sydney casting 3D-printed spells and foam-forged magic across the geek multiverse. Whether she’s stepping into the battle-scarred armor of Destiny 2’s Micah-10 or channeling Blizzard-grade badassery, Danielle doesn’t just cosplay — she crafts living, breathing legends. With over a decade in the game and collabs with giants like Bungie, Ubisoft, and Epic Games, she’s a one-woman forge of sci-fi dreams. Add in her TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch coven of followers, and you’ve got a creator who’s turning hot glue and EVA foam into full-blown mythmaking.
NebulosityCosplay
Cosplayer
NebulosityCosplay — aka CJ — is the cosplay conjurer from Newcastle who stitches dreams, pixels, and fan obsessions into jaw-dropping, handmade reality. Since 2016, they’ve been shape-shifting into icons like Vi (Arcane), Link (Zelda), and Ahsoka (Star Wars) with the kind of precision that makes EVA foam look like forged steel. Equal parts costume sorcerer, visual artist, and behind-the-lens wizard, CJ’s not just serving looks — they’re rewriting the cosplay playbook with every needle drop and TikTok tutorial. Whether it’s a con floor or a photo spread, NebulosityCosplay shows up like a glitch in the matrix — and we’re all better for it.
Cosplay Jay
Cosplayer
Cosplay Jay — aka Jay Vecchio — is the Aussie cosplay juggernaut who went from zero to superhero faster than a speeding Batmobile. Since 2019, he’s donned the threads of Marvel icons, Disney darlings, Sith lords, and Gotham’s finest, all with blockbuster-level precision. From collabs with Marvel, DC, Sony, and Disney to stepping behind the camera for fan films like The Vigilante and Deadpool Down Under, Jay isn’t just playing the part — he’s rewriting the fanboy rulebook. Now Sydney-based and strutting his stuff at Supanova’s Cosplay HQ, Cosplay Jay is the human Easter egg in the cinematic universe of Australian geekdom.
ReyDeyCosplay
Cosplayer
ReyDeyCosplay — aka Rey — is the UK-born, Melbourne-based cosplay spellcaster turning pixels and panels into living, breathing icons. From Arcane’s Vi to Demon Slayer’s Mitsuri and Final Fantasy VII’s Tifa, Rey doesn’t just cosplay — she inhabits. What started with a killer Jinx look has spiraled into a full-blown costume crusade, backed by tutorials, behind-the-scenes builds, and a loyal fandom across TikTok, Instagram, Patreon, and Ko-fi. She’s a Supanova Supa-Star, a con-floor standout, and a one-woman fantasy factory bringing anime dreams and gaming gods to life — one stitch at a time.
Kitracha.Cosplay
Cosplayer
Kitracha.Cosplay — aka Kit — is the Sydney-based stitch witch conjuring couture straight out of your screen and onto the con floor. Trained at NIDA and born for the cosplay spotlight, Kit’s been bending fabric and fandom since 2015, with builds that range from pixel-perfect screen replicas to full-blown K-pop-inspired showstoppers. As a Supanova Cosplay Ambassador and Netflix collab veteran (yes, they nailed Wednesday), Kit’s not just making costumes — they’re crafting wearable hype. Whether co-hosting panels or owning Cosplay HQ, Kitracha isn’t following trends — they’re cutting the damn pattern.
DragonJerkyCos
Cosplayer
DragonJerkyCos — aka Karina — is the cosplay shapeshifter tearing up the ANZ scene with fabric, fire, and a side of frosting. Since 2016, she’s morphed into anime titans, gaming gods, and pop culture icons with a precision that hits harder than a boss battle. Equal parts cosplay sorceress and pastry chef (yeah, she bakes too), Karina is a former Supanova Cosplay Ambassador who blurs gender lines, bends materials to her will, and has even caught Netflix’s attention. Whether she’s melting fondant or minds, DragonJerkyCos isn’t just playing dress-up — she’s dropping cosplay mic drops, one killer look at a time.
Sons of Obiwan
Organisation
The Sons of Obiwan Saber Academy isn’t your average dojo — it’s where Star Wars meets stage combat and personal growth gets force-choked into gear. Founded by Luke Boyton and based in Tuggerah, this lightsaber-swinging sanctum teaches theatrical combat with a Jedi twist, blending longsword techniques and Filipino stick fighting into a galaxy-brained training regime. They’re NDIS-approved, fully inclusive, and dead serious about making sure anyone—from teens to neurodivergent padawans — can wield a saber with purpose. Whether performing at Supanova or crafting combat-ready gear, Sons of Obiwan isn’t just building warriors —they’re forging real-life legends, one swing at a time.
Jon Sommariva
Comic Book Artist
Jon Sommariva — aka Red J — is the Aussie art-slinger whose pencils hit like a Saturday morning cartoon brawl at full throttle. Since 2002, he’s been tearing up the comic scene with explosive, candy-coated chaos across Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars Adventures, Batman/TMNT Adventures, and Marvel Action: Avengers. Whether co-creating the split-personality superhero saga Gemini or teaming up with Tom Taylor for the award-winning, punk-rock Peter Pan reimagining Neverlanders, Red J doesn’t just draw — he detonates the page.
When he’s not working with Disney, Hasbro, or Nickelodeon, he’s running The Red J Art Store with his wife, shipping pop culture joybombs around the globe. Sommariva’s style? Pure kinetic sugar rush with a black belt in badassery.
Richard Rankin
Actor
Richard Rankin is the Scottish shapeshifter who swapped a future in IT for the stage spotlight — and never looked back. From sketch comedy in Burnistoun to gut-punch drama in Outlander as Roger Wakefield MacKenzie, Rankin’s carved out a career that’s as brooding as it is bold. With his recent turn as the titular detective in the BBC’s gritty Rebus reboot, he’s cemented his place as the go-to guy for tortured charm and simmering intensity. But don’t box him in — Rankin’s also a sharp-eyed photographer, with gallery cred and a visual style just as nuanced as his performances. He’s not just playing roles — he’s dissecting them, frame by frame.
Are you heading to Supanova Sydney 2025?
Supanova Sydney 2025 is shaping up to be an unmissable event for fans of all things pop culture. With a stellar guest list, diverse exhibitors, and a vibrant community, it's the perfect place to celebrate your fandoms. Remember to plan your trip in advance, stay hydrated, and most importantly, have fun!
For the latest updates and ticket information, visit the official Supanova website: (supanova.com.au)
Note: All information is accurate as of the time of writing. Please refer to official sources for the most current details.