It would be easy to associate the city of Houston as being synonymous with NASA, oil companies, and an extensive range of cuisines. However, a hidden charm of this city of sprawl is its connection to a rich and vibrant literary scene.

Writer and native-Houstonian Milton Lawson has crafted an epic story by simply asking: What if Orson Welles’ legendary War of the Worlds radio broadcast wasn’t a dramatization?

Based out of St. Louis, Steenz Stewart is the lead cartoonist for the syndicated comic strip Heart of the City and co-creator of the graphic novel Side Quest: A Visual History of Roleplaying Games.

Keaton Patterson’s passion for sequential art stories extends beyond the casual reader. As a book buyer for Houston’s oldest indie bookstore, Patterson doesn’t just keep a pulse for what’s popular, but influences a growing readership in comics and graphic novels.

For more than 15 years comic books have had an unsung champion whose work creates new readers and empowers indie creators. Moni Barrette is an energetic force to be reckoned with and a never-ending idea machine on ways to better community—which makes sense—after all, she is a Librarian.

“My goal with Women in Comics is to keep up hope. It’s hard to find, but it doesn’t go anywhere—it’s just a matter of finding it. I want to always be a resource for creators and make sure people know there’s a place for them in this industry.”