Pages and Panels Writer, Xenia ‘Xenon’ Honchar Wins Best Colorist
On May 28th, 2026, she is teaching a Fundamentals of Digital Coloring class! If you are interested, check out her IG page @honchair.
Written by Katelynn Virgous
The first annual Zelda Awards was held on April 11th, 2026, celebrating 150+ creators. The Zelda Awards are an annual award ceremony for women in comics, named after Zelda Jackie Omes, the first Black cartoonist in the United States of America. They aim to spotlight the undeniable contributions of women who are shaping the comic book industry.
Winning the preliminary “Best Colorist” award was Xenia ‘Xenon’ Honchar.
Comics have been a part of Xenon’s life since they were a child, and that has only bloomed throughout their young adulthood. With a strong love of comic art, bright colors, and overall busy artwork, Xenon has made a name for themselves as an Editor at Crucial Comics, showcasing their work in many galleries over their college career, becoming a finalist for the Senior Show & Celebration Competition, and currently serving as their Alumni Scholar in Residence at their alma mater, PCAD. Xenia is an illustrator, comic colorist, editor, and writer for Pages and Panels based on the East Coast. We are excited to announce that she won the Zelda Award for Best Colorist. We are so excited to share this celebration with you all, and we wish Xenon the most success in all of their future endeavors.
How does your nomination and win make you feel?
Honestly, grateful is the only word I feel like I can use. As a colorist, I can’t do what I do without the rest of the team and so I just could not be more grateful to the wonderful people that I get to work with and the fact that I get to do this work in the first place. It also feels absolutely amazing to see my name up there alongside so many, incredibly talented women, I just genuinely could not be more grateful.
Which of your works are you the most proud of?
That one is so incredibly tough and I feel like I leave each book with a different reason to be proud of myself and the comic as a whole, if I was to pick one truly, though, I think it would be my work in the upcoming Star Trek: Celebrations. Both for the actual execution of my work, but I feel like I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of a pride issue.
I grew up spending my summers in my uncles comic bookstore in Detroit and as I got older and as a tween girl, I felt less and less welcome in the comic stores around me in Jersey. I think I was about 14 and the issue of DC bombshells where Harley and Ivy kissed, came out and it was life-changing for me. I literally went out and bought all the comics I could and went so far as to get Harley Quinn perfume from the bombshells line at hot topic. Queer representation and comic books is so important and all my heart wants is to be a part of telling stories about women and queer stories.
I will say, though I did just get to hold event horizons: Inferno issue one in my hands for the first time and I did audibly in a very busy comic shop say “oh this turned out so sick” so I can’t deny how proud I am of that one.
How does this award motivate you going forward?
I think it really kicked my ass and the self-confidence department. I am young and I feel like I’m still so new to the working comic world. Winning, it felt like evidence that I’m not just running around conventions nervously hoping I belong. Like I have a place within the comics community and the only mistake I could make at this point is not seizing it. Ultimately, I think that’s also why the Zelda awards are so important, women in any industry are so quick to be way too humble about their achievements and understate their accomplishments, no matter how grand, and celebrating the voices and work a female creators, kind of forces us to recognize that we have a place and we’re fucking killing it!!
Who are your top 3 most influential artists in terms of your art style?
I could talk about art and comics for hours so answering this question in a succinct way, really is my worst nightmare.
Comics wise the obvious answer feels like Jordie Bellaire she was a huge motivator in the beginning when I got started. I reached out to her for advice early on and she sent me these like huge incredibly encouraging emails right when I was considering becoming a colorist that gave me so much insight on both the soft skills and technical skills that coloring requires.
Jaden Vargen is a big one, they are a Swedish illustrator. I've been following their work since 2018 roughly. They have an incredible way with color and I don’t get an opportunity often to really execute the studies I’ve done of their work since it’s so unique but all I wanna do all day is just stare at their art.
Tamara Bonvillain is also a huge inspiration, specifically her work on Once Upon a Future. I had a specific page of hers open on my desk I think my entire senior year of college just to stare at and study.
What tips do you have for those who are new to the coloring/comic space, and don’t know where to start?
I have emotional advice and then I have like really utilitarian advice.
Do it and do it bad. The first page you ever color is not going to be of an execution that belongs in let say The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, but how do you think Filipe Andre got there? The worst thing you can do is quit on yourself.
Show interest in the rest of the comic world as well. Study colorists, but also study writers, inkers and letters. Comics are a team effort and we all are inspired by each other.
Study comics, but also study things that aren’t comics. Go to your local theater and study how they did lighting for a tragic scene, go to a weird museum, watch movies and be inspired by the world around you!!
Be friendly! The worst thing you can do is let ego or anxiety stand in the way of making great art with amazing people.
And then my like really utilitarian piece of advice for if people are saying like I don’t know where to start I’ve never coloured comics before. Go on social media or art station and type in comic inks, find a page you really like, color it. Now you’ve done it, the fear of the first page you ever colored is over. NOW you can start to study people’s work, try and emulate them, try and understand what makes their work something that you love. Build your portfolio, be proud of yourself and go meet amazing people!!