C2E2 Panels about Horror Comics and Crowdfunding Feature Insights and Camaraderie

Tom Kelly, left, Dan Mendoza, Alton Simpson, Tim Seeley and Nick Ulanowski, right, at the ‘Why Horror Comics?’ panel on Saturday, March 28, in Room S405-A at C2E2. (Photo by Nick Maro)

Author’s Note: This is a selected excerpt from my Substack article about C2E2 2026. I’m posting it here because Google plays nicer with Medium, and I want information about the panels I hosted readily available.

The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), an annual convention owned by ReedPop, was held at McCormick Place in Chicago from Friday, March 27, through Sunday, March 29. About 100,000 people attended C2E2 2026, according to a ReedPop press release.

I, Nick Ulanowski, hosted, organized and moderated the ‘Why Horror Comics?’ panel on Saturday, from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. in Room S405-A, and the ‘Why Comic Book Crowdfunding?’ panel on Sunday, from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in Room S404-B. Horror comic creators Tim Seeley, Alton Simpson, Tom Kelly and Dan Mendoza joined me on stage for the ‘Why Horror Comics?’ panel. Simpson joined me again at the ‘Why Comic Book Crowdfunding?’ panel, along with Kickstarter comic creators Dan Paren

Horror Creators Share Laughs and Reflections at the ‘Why Horror Comics?’ Panel

Tim Seeley, Alton Simpson, Tom Kelly and Dan Mendoza Join Me on Stage

Tom Kelly, left, Dan Mendoza, Alton Simpson, Tim Seeley and Nick Ulanowski, right, at the ‘Why Horror Comics?’ panel on Saturday, March 28, in Room S405-A at C2E2. (Photo by Nick Maro)

“Just like there are different types of horror movies, from slashers to psychological horror to campy monster movies, the same is also true for horror comic books,” I said during my opening remarks at the ‘Why Horror Comics?’ panel on Saturday.

After pausing briefly, I added, “Unfortunately, Kat Calamia and Phil Falco of Lifeline Comics aren’t here today, but we have the one and only Dan Mendoza here.”

I wanted to acknowledge the loss without dwelling on it. At the same time, I couldn’t downplay how exciting it was that Mendoza was on stage with us. Mendoza wrote and drew Zombie Tramp #13, a comic I called “one of the best horror comics ever made” in a review published by CBR in Jan. 2025.

Calamia and Falco were originally scheduled to be on stage at both my panels at C2E2 2026. The next day, in my opening speech at ‘Why Comic Book Crowdfunding?’, I explained they couldn’t make it due to a family emergency, adding, “but we have the one and only Eric Palicki with us.”

Hack/Slash and Revival co-creator Tim Seeley at the ‘Why Horror Comics?’ panel on Saturday, March 28, in Room S405-A at C2E2. (Photo by Nick Maro)

Seeley, co-creator of Hack-Slash and Revival, told the ‘Why Horror Comics?’ panel audience why he sees comics as an effective way to tell a horror story.

“There’s a relationship in comics, which is the panels, and then between them is the gutter. […] I told you what was in the panel — here’s some characters, here’s some mood, here’s some lighting, here’s some background. And in the gutter is you — you did that, I implied it.’

“Comics are great for horror because it’s all about you participating in this process,” Seeley said. “If you think about most horror movies, if you see the monster right away, you’re like, ‘Man, I’m out.’ But if the monster is implied, and you do a lot of work, it’s far better. And comics have that advantage completely.”

“You don’t have a soundtrack,” Kelly said, emphasizing why building mood is crucial in a horror comic. “You don’t have an actor or an actress to save you if the writing’s a little weak.”

Simpson said that when he wrote Vampires of New Jersey, Witches of Westchester and Werewolves of Brooklyn, he was inspired by people he met at a gothic nightclub in the 1990s who believed they were real vampires, witches and werewolves.

“I was fascinated by whether or not people believe that, as we know vampires and werewolves, or is it just how they choose to live?’

“I wrote about an underground vampire club in Newark, New Jersey,” Simpson said, referring to QXT’s Night Club, adding that the club contacted him six months later. “The head vampire is Madam X. She became a friend of mine. She invited me up for a couple of events.”

Kelly reflected on how his interpretation of Mary Shelley’s original Frankenstein novel from 1818 inspired him to create Foot Fist Frankenstein.

“My main character is Frankenstein’s monster. And you read Mary Shelly’s book, and you realize the monster’s the good guy,” Kelly said. “I explored the father-and-son element in my book. You make your own monster and then have to deal with it because it’s your responsibility. Or you don’t because you’re a shitty dad, and then he comes back for you.”

Zombie Tramp creator Dan Mendoza, left, and Vampires of New Jersey writer Alton Simpson at the ‘Why Horror Comics?’ panel at C2E2. (Photo by Nick Maro)

Mendoza said that when he created Zombie Tramp in 2009, he was in a different place in life, and it was easier to write about someone committing deadly violence against abusive men and other wicked, power-hungry individuals.

“Everything was done from the standpoint of a female character who’s had a terrible life. She’s been through human trafficking and all this other bad stuff. And then on top of all of that, one day, she gets turned into a zombie. […] I started doing all these stories about people in general who are the worst of people, and she became a beacon of bad karma.’

“It was 16 years ago when this started. I was a completely different person. I was very morbid and hateful towards the world. So, it was easier to write her,” Mendoza said. “I’m 51 now, so I’ve kind of, like, matured.”

The audience laughed.

“You became a good person, and you ruined everything,” Seeley said, making the audience laugh harder.

Kickstarter Creators Talked Self-Publishing at the ‘Why Comic Book Crowdfunding?’ Panel

Dan Parent, Alton Simpson, Joseph Duis and Eric Palicki Join me on Stage

Nick Ulanowski, left, Eric Palicki, Dan Parent, Alton Simpson and Joseph Duis, right, at the ‘Why Comic Book Crowdfunding?’ panel on Sunday, March 29, from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in Room S404-B at C2E2. (Photo by Nick Maro)

“We don’t have to ‘get published’ to have a book,” I said in my opening remarks at the ‘Why Comic Book Crowdfunding?’ panel on Sunday, quoting the Acknowledgments in my 2023 horror novel Massacre at the Comic Shop. “The more successful your self-published book is, the more you’re showing these companies that, like a straight-shaving razor, the old ways are unnecessary.”

“The stuff on Kickstarter — it’s unfiltered,” Parent said, describing why comic book fans should support crowdfunding campaigns. “People are putting their ideas and their projects up there that haven’t gone through corporate companies. They haven’t been through editors who make you change things and revise things.”

Palicki said that Manticore, a 56-page hardcover graphic novel written by Palicki and drawn by Chris Peterson, is “not something that an American publisher is going to be interested in,” adding that comics like Manticore are more popular in Europe.

“This is something that I can put on Kickstarter and find an audience,” Palicki said. “Whereas, most of the publishers you think of off the bat aren’t going to touch this kind of a book, if only for the expense of production. Making a hardcover is quite a bit more expensive than a softcover.”

Nick Ulanowski (me) hosting and moderating the ‘Why Comic Book Crowdfunding?’ panel at C2E2, sporting an anti-AI button. (Photo by Nick Maro)

“Doing Kickstarter has allowed me to make comics for over 10 years,” Duis said.

‘Why Comic Book Crowdfunding?’ panelists discussed stretch goals, add-ons and reward tiers offered to supporters of their Kickstarter campaigns.

“My most successful add-on is just a Dropbox link to that entire back catalog of comics [I’ve made.] It costs me nothing to make it, aside from my yearly subscription to Dropbox,” Palicki said. “Anyone who backs my Kickstarter at that tier level has access to 400 or 500 pages of additional material.”

Duis said that his Kickstarter campaigns have offered lapel pins depicting the medieval symbol, the Order of the Dragon, as it appeared in Order of Dracula, a comic book series written by Duis, drawn by various artists, including Don Cardenas, and published by Heresy Studios LLC.

Parent said that if a Kickstarter campaign for Die Kitty Die, a comic book series he writes and draws with Fernando Ruiz, raises a certain amount of funds, the books are automatically upgraded from a paperback to a hardcover.

“If you’re doing stretch goals, you need to know before you launch how much your stretch goals are going to be, what your backer or your monetary threshold is going to be for that stretch goal,” Duis said. “It’s just like setting your campaign length or campaign goal. All that stuff you need to figure out ahead of time.”

“It’s okay to fail, as long as you learn from your mistakes,” Simpson said.

Cover reveal for Nick Ulanowski’s upcoming book, Truth Before Comfort: Confessions of a Comic Book Journalist, at the ‘Why Comic Book Crowdfunding?’ panel. (Photo by Nick Maro)

Simpson fondly recalled meeting indie filmmaker Kevin Smith after copies of his comic sold out at Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, a comic shop that Smith owns in Red Bank, New Jersey.

“I told Kevin, ‘You’re the indie guy that inspires everybody,’” Simpson said. “You shot a movie with this guy’s money, and this guy’s credit card, and you made it. […] When I look out, I see hundreds of Kevin Smiths. And he literally started tearing up, and we started hugging.”

Near the end of both ‘Why Horror Comics?’ and ‘Why Comic Book Crowdfunding?’, I showed audience members Jorge Santiago Jr.’s cover artwork for my upcoming book, Truth Before Comfort: Confessions of a Comic Book Journalist, available for pre-order on Kickstarter this May.

The complete audio of the ‘Why Horror Comics?’ and ‘Why Comic Book Crowdfunding?’ panels is available on my YouTube channel.