-The Staff

AJ Herrera: Founder, Podcast Host, Writer.  In 2005 AJ took his love of writing and creating to a whole new level and founded Forbidden Panel. Since then he has managed to surround himself with some of the best artists and creative minded people in the world. He is the creator of the books ZKS: Zombie Kill Squad, Forbidden Tales, Subject 242, as well as the mastermind behind The IE Comic Expo, and the IE Zombie Beauty Pageant. He is currently writing the web comic “Lunch Break with Jimmy Purcell and his weird meta web comic, “I Can’t Draw. He also hosts the podcast PanelCast and The Side Panel.

Justin White: Art Director, Chief Creative Officer, Artist. Justin White is an artist/writer, born and raised in Southern California. In the early 2000’s he started his own illustration and graphic design company, Necro-Sapien Press. His first published work was a comic strip called “The Graves” that he co-created. Justin has traveled throughout California and Nevada working conventions while selling prints and merchandise based on his artwork. Justin has been the primary artist on the ZKS comics, as well as providing the artwork for posters, prints, t-shirts and other merchandise. Justin also wrote, penciled, and inked a story called “The Mask of Devouring” for the Forbidden Panel horror anthology, Forbidden Tales.

Janelle is a creative writer, performer, homeschool mom and small business owner of Breakthrough Vocals; a whole-person focused, vocal expression studio for music and active listening. Having worn many hats since she began with Forbidden Panel in 2007, Janelle currently serves the company as Website Content Manager, Copy Editor/Proofreader, creating policy and managing employee relations. Occasionally, she gets to write about life as a geek mom raising her younglings known as “Dragon” and “Lion”, on the column “Lessons from the Mothership”. Janelle has been grateful to Forbidden Panel for providing a creative outlet for her love of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, comics and the paranormal, while also allowing her to help others grow within a company she can believe in.

Joey LaBartunek Is a cartoonist, writer, filmmaker, and animator. Collaborating with Sean Belcher, he co-created the noir, sci-fi webcomic Tom Sparks, Atomic Detective and fantasy, horror graphic novel A Man Called Kraken. You’ll also find his work in the terrifying Forbidden Tales horror  anthology comic series by Forbidden Panel.  Born and raised all over Southern California, Joey now calls Los Angeles home, where he continues to explore his love for comics, film, motion graphics, and animation. He spends his daytime hours working in TV, film trailers, music videos, documentaries such as You Don’t Nomi and From the Ground Up, a slew of commercials, storyboards, and just about everything in between.

Danny Graham is an illustration artist from Apple Valley, CA who specializes in retro-styled horror and fantasy themed work. For the past ten years he has been creating gig posters, album covers, logos and shirt designs for bands around the world, but has recently stepped into the world of comic art with Forbidden Panel. Danny is also the singer / lead guitarist of the rock & roll band Fever Dog who have toured internationally and released multiple albums since their start in 2012.

Website: https://www.dannygrahamart.com

Email: info@dannygrahamart.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannygrahamart/

John Hartranett‘s contribution as a writer stems from decades of writing short stories, screenplays, unpublished science fiction novels, formal essays, and historical papers on 3rd-century martyrs. With his short stories at Forbidden Panel, his goal is to provide a momentary escape from everyday life.

Andrea Broehl: Press and Media Relations. Andrea comes to Forbidden Panel with a wealth of information in comics, business and the geek culture. She creates our t-shirts and other swag, while also managing all marketing, media and promotions for the company. She can often be found managing our booths at conventions and other events, speaking with industry professionals, press and fans. For any and all marketing, press and calendar questions, she is the one to contact.

Katie is Forbidden Panel’s Brand Ambassador. She supports, promotes and lends a hand wherever needed but does most of her work as the embodiment of Forbidden Panel’s mascot, “The Witch”. Katie is a life-long lover of comics, movies and anime, she gets to share her love of the culture while promoting Forbidden Panel as a booth promoter. A fierce mom with a killer instinct, Katie knows what it takes to command and dominate a crowd! She is thrilled to be with a company that allows her to dive into the subcultures she loves while helping to grow the Forbidden Panel community through her work as model and in booth promotions. Look for her at our next event, but be warned; she will definitely put a spell on you!

Anthony White: Panelcast Co-Host/ Columnist. Into all manner of things across geekdom: Tech, Science, Manga, Anime, Video games (PS3, PS4, PS5 and PC), Movies of all kinds, Music across all genres, and, of course, Comic Books. Also a Browncoat at heart, despite his all black wardrobe. And last, but not least, a writer trying to get his ideas down on paper and make something of all the stories in his head.

Joel Katz: Artist and DJ.  His art style and musicianship exhibits a unique blend of style and charismatic colors set in a chaotic whirlwind of whimsy and fun.  You can find his unique blend of humor in his collaborations and unboxings.  He is a constant staple in the convention community and hopes that his infectious smile can contaminate FP, but without the headshot.  He is an occasional cohost to the Side Panel and PanelCast, as well as the live draw sessions hosted on FP.  He can also be found under his own banner of Fictional Studios.

KS Jr: Gamer/Writer/Creative Growing up in a family with a passion for the imaginative, his creativity was nurtured from childhood and has grown into a lifelong love for gaming, writing and creating. He enjoys playing video games (especially MMORPGs) and writing stories, his favored genre being fantasy. In his off time he listens to music, enjoys lounging with his animals and watching streams. He hopes one day to be able to write an entire series of books/stories and maybe even create a video game. 

Jason GrahamWriter/Webmaster/Dungeon Master/Father/Husband/Brother.  Jason was a lifelong comic book and role playing game fan as well as horror and sci-fi writer. Jason passed a few years ago but not before making his impact known in the FP universe. His column, Lamentations Of The Grognard, was a waking guide through his imagination and his childlike enthusiasm in expressing it. He was loved and admired by all and will be forever in our hearts and our steins.

Richard Duron: Poet/Artist/Collector/Friend/Brother/Father. Richard grew up a fan of comics, collectibles and art; his journey into collecting began as a passion shared by his father and blossomed from there. He had a love for DND, Star Wars, GI Joe, superheroes, horror and all things nerdy. In sharing that passion he found many friends and family along the way, which brought him to FP. He supported FP through it’s journey as often as he could, and when he created his business, KS Kollectibles, that support turned into a joint podcast between him and AJ and a partnership between FP and KSK. He will be remembered for his love, kindness, giving nature and passion for others.