Featured Speakers

Breakout Session Speakers
Contest Judges & Tournament MCs

SPECIAL GUESTS

Craig Titley

Craig Titley is a feature film and television writer/producer whose credits include the first live-action Scooby-Doo movie (shared credit with James Gunn), Cheaper by the Dozen, and Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. He most recently wrote the Ancient Aliens movie in development at Legendary Pictures and a modern adaptation of the classic Quatermain adventure novels. To date his movies and their sequels have earned nearly a billion dollars in worldwide box office receipts.

In television, Titley worked with George Lucas and Lucasfilm Animation, penning episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He was a writer/producer on the NBC super-hero series The Cape and an Executive Producer and writer on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He is currently developing a series for NetFlix and the producers of Stranger Things.

Titley is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University (with degrees in both English and Business Management) and spent countless hours in the stacks at Booth Library, which he considered his second home at EIU. He also received his MFA in Film Production from the University of Southern California’s Peter Stark Program, and is currently completing a Ph.D. in Mythological Studies.

Paul Niemeyer

Paul E. Niemeyer received a Bachelor of Arts from Eastern Illinois University in 1979. While at EIU, he studied 2 and 3 dimensional art, graphic and advertising art, and an un-scheduled, and unexpected, education playing pinball in the Student Union!

Paul is probably best known for being the artist of the first Mortal Kombat game cabinet, control panel, and header, including illustrating the Mortal Kombat logo, but Paul's artwork appears on dozens of other iconic and famous games as well. The most notable are TRON, Tapper, Satan's Hollow, Spy Hunter, Wacko, Super PacMan, PacMan Plus, Professor PacMan, and Demolition Man Pinball. Most recently he did the sculpts for the American Pinball game "Legends of Valhalla," and has done a myriad of other games and prototypes in years of doing electronic game art, including being an employee of Bally-Midway from 1982-1984

From the mid-1980s Paul freelanced for big ad agencies on movie licenses like Jurassic Park 2, Men in Black, Star Trek 6, Little Mermaid, Hercules, Star Wars Phantom Menace, Pirates of the Caribbean, and many more.

From 2000-2005 he was part owner of Eagle Games Board Company, which is now Eagle-Gryphon Games. Paul designed and illustrated dozens of games and their components, as well as being the overall creative director. Eagle Games published titles like "Railroad Tycoon", "Age of Mythology", "Sid Meier's Civilization", "Napoleon in Europe", "The American Civil War", and dozens of other board and tabletop games. After selling Eagle Games, Paul designed and illustrated many games in Europe and the US, including the very popular "Through the Ages" and the hugely successful PopCap games, Peggle and Bejeweled 2.

Paul owned and ran ABYSS Haunted House, a top 10 haunted attraction in the Chicagoland area, from 2006-2014 and has recently done packaging artwork on 9 Nintendo Switch Games (Super Blood Hockey, Pigeon Dev Games Bundle, Demons Tier +, A Robot Named FIGHT, Cathedral, Rack 'n Ruin, Super Dungeon Maker, and Turbo Kid) for Premium Edition Games, and very recently the packaging art for the re-release of the 1982 cult classic, Satan's Hollow.

Paul now designs and builds props & dark rides for theme parks, escape rooms, seasonal fests, and haunted attractions all over the world. Paul's murals and sculptures are in dozens of restaurants and venues all over America. Paul has an endless treasure trove of behind the scenes stories and experiences from the early gaming days of the 1980's and 30+ years in Chicago ad agencies.

BREAKOUT SESSION SPEAKERS

Dr. Jon Coit
Jon wanted to play ttrpgs for a very long time before finally getting it going in 2014 with the 5th edition of Dungeons and Dragons. He has since played and run a lot of games in different settings and with different rulesets. He graduated with an MS in School Counseling from EIU in 2022. He is currently an Outpatient Therapist at RISE Behavioral Health and Wellness in Tuscola and works in conjunction with HOPE of East Central Illinois.

Dr. Dan Hagen
Dan Hagen graduated from EIU in 1977 with a double major in philosophy and journalism, and later taught journalism at EIU for more than a decade. In between, he worked as a newspaper reporter and editor, and as a freelance writer for various national magazines, specializing in popular culture. In the 1970s, Dr. Hagen wrote several articles for Marvel Comics, and I later interviewed Stan Lee, Roy Thomas and many other central figures from comics, TV and movies. He has five blogs, three of which focus on comics.

Lea Houpt
dweeb.cos (aka Dweeb or Lea) is a passionate Illinois-based cosplayer with four years of experience bringing characters to life from One Piece, Soul Eater, and more. Her work has been featured in Lights Camera Cosplay magazine, and she recently guested at Peoria Con. Whether styling wigs, crafting cosplays, or connecting with fans, Dweeb pours her heart into the community. She’s thrilled to be a guest at EIU ComicFest and can’t wait to meet everyone!

Damien LeVeck
Damien LeVeck is quickly emerging as a distinctive voice and creative iconoclast in modern horror filmmaking. His debut feature, The Cleansing Hour (2020), became one of Shudder's most-watched titles, earning praise for its relentless pacing and inventive twist on the exorcism genre. He followed it with A Creature Was Stirring (2023), a holiday horror thriller starring Chrissy Metz (This Is Us), Annalise Basso( Oculus),and Scout Taylor-Compton( Halloween),further cementing his reputation for delivering stylish, unsettling, and emotionally grounded genre films.

Damien approaches horror not just as a vehicle for scares, but as a lens to explore morality, evil, and the deeper questions that haunt human existence. His films aim to provoke thought as much as fear, leaving audiences with narratives that resonate well beyond the final frame. His work as a director has been greatly influenced by over two decades of professional film and TV editing. As an Editor, he developed an intuitive sense of story structure, rhythm, and visual storytelling-skills that make him efficient and decisive on set.

Damien grew up in Mattoon, Illinois and graduated from Mattoon High School before moving to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California.

Dr. Jeannie Ludlow
Jeannie Ludlow is Professor of English and director of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Eastern Illinois University, where she also teaches for the minors in Health Humanities and Latinx Studies. She publishes about abortion, reproductive justice, and contemporary literature and popular culture. This presentation is part of a longer work forthcoming in the journal Humanities.

Allison Nichols
Allison Nichols recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in English Education from EIU in the spring of 2025, and is currently working towards her master's degree in Rhetoric and Composition through EIU as well! Allison has always had a passion for teaching others, and is very excited to be presenting about her passions and providing new knowledge to others. Booth library is also the best place to go on campus when it comes to finding books for research projects or even reading for fun, and Allison hope that new or returning students, family and friends, or community members enjoy what Comic Fest has to offer!

Luke Ryan
Luke Ryan is an American screenwriter, producer, and global franchise specialist who has over two decades of experience working with the largest entertainment properties in the world.

As a screenwriter, Luke specializes in adaptations of complex intellectual property as well as rewrites and on-set script work. He most recently delivered the official Fleetwood Mac biopic, RUMOURS, to Warner Music Group. Luke’s previous work includes an adaptation of History Channel’s ANCIENT ALIENS documentary franchise into a feature film for Legendary Entertainment, who came to their senses and hired his longtime friend, mentor and fellow EIU alum, Craig Titley after Luke delivered a script no one liked, as well as adaptations of Jon Milton’s PARADISE LOST, also for Legendary with Bradley Cooper attached to star, children’s favorite WALTER THE FARTING DOG for Paramount, Chinese classic THE WATER MARGIN for CMC Capital Partners/BaseFX, and Roger Zalazny’s epic sci-fi/fantasy book series THE CHRONICLES OF AMBER.

Luke is currently executive producing a tentpole streaming adaptation of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s fantasy novel series FROM BLOOD AND ASH for Amazon Studios with Anne Cofell Saunders (THE BOYS, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) attached as showrunner and has previously served as a producer or production executive on hit feature films such as HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE, HOT TUB TIME MACHINE, PACIFIC RIM, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON, , and GODZILLA (2014).

Luke is also consistently hired as an expert in the management of global entertainment franchises and has spent the last decade consulting on the creative, marketing, and licensing aspects of titles such as AVATAR 2, LORD OF THE RINGS, WHEEL OF TIME, and DUNE.

He has served as a senior executive at New Line Cinema, MTV/Paramount, and MGM.

RJ Vanderwerf

RJ Vanderwerf is a member of the EIU ITS department. In the past he has assisted the CSI with maintenance of their 3D Printers and worked with students/faculty on completion of printed projects.

He is an avid collector of comics, movies and has attended multiple comic conventions around Chicago and Indianapolis.

CONTEST JUDGES & TOURNAMENT MCs

Cosplay Contest Judges

Becky Castillo
From ghostly to geeky, Becky Castillo brings the best of both worlds to the convention scene. As a seasoned paranormal investigator, Becky has explored the strange, the spooky, and the unexplained — and she's not afraid of a few ghosts. When she’s not chasing spirits, she’s diving into Azeroth as an avid World of Warcraft gamer. Becky is also the mastermind behind CIL-Con, a unique convention celebrating all things paranormal, horror, anime, and gaming. Whether you’re into hauntings or high scores, Becky’s passion and energy make her a true multiverse explorer — and a fan-favorite at any con.

Star
Star, creates fun cosplays with her own creative twists. She loves making her costumes be more than just screen accurate, often adding more details such as embroidery and bead work. She personalizes each one so that her own personal aesthetic can still shine through. Even though needle work is what she does the most, Star works in all aspects of crafting, including jewelry and armor making, wig sculpting, and prop making. Star shares her work and progress under the handle strokeofstarlight on all social media platforms. 

Megan Wells
Megan Wells is Director of Procurement at EIU and a cosplay aficionado.

E-Sport Tournament MCs

Austin Perez Ackerman
I'm super excited to take on this opportunity for the EIU Comic Fest! Hailing from Urbana, I am a Sports Media Relations major along with a sports reporter for WEIU, but gaming is my passion. My whole life, I’ve loved competitive video games and have been involved with Smash Bros. For about 2 years. I'm looking forward to helping run this tournament and make this the best experience to kick off the year! 

Magic: The Gathering Tournament MCs

Bryce Eubanks
Bryce Eubanks' love for game stores began with a family friend, Dave, who was like a father to him. Dave's store was like a second home, and that sense of belonging and community struck a chord. Bryce started Cosmic Games with a few ideas scribbled on paper and a belief that Mattoon deserved a place where gamers could gather, connect, and feel welcome no matter their experience level.

In Bryce's view, Cosmic Games is a true community center. Friday Night Drafts bring together newcomers and veterans alike. Cosmic Games hosts pre-releases, casual learn-to-play nights, and even big convention weekends like CIL-CON. Cosmic Games is about the scope of friendships, creativity, and possibility that gaming brings into people's lives. If you walk into Cosmic Games, you're not just a customer, you're part of the Cosmic Family.

Riley Eubanks
Riley Eubanks works full time as a machine operator at Mars Petcare and also helps run Cosmic Games with his husband, creating a place where everyone feels welcome and included. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering, especially anything played at flash speed, but his favorite part of the game is the people he meets through it. Riley makes sure every player has a seat waiting for them and something to look forward to after a long week. At EIU Comic-Fest, he’s bringing that same energy to the college library, helping run the Magic: The Gathering tournament and building a space where gamers can connect, compete, and have a great time.

Trivia Contest Judges

Jedi Master of Trivia Lee Patterson
Dr. Patterson teaches Ancient History at EIU and is a science fiction and comic book enthusiast. He is nearly unbeatable at Marvel Cinematic Universe Trivia Pursuit. Ask him about Legendary: The Marvel Deck Building Game.

Sith Lord Darth Bruns
When he's not recruiting new apprentices to the Dark Side of the Force, Sith Lord Darth Bruns moonlights as a mild-mannered Head of Scholarly Communication at Booth Library. In his secret identity, he manages EIU's institutional repository The Keep and the research information system Scholars@EIU. His hobbies include gaming, collectibles collecting, playing with his two cats, and annihilating the Jedi order.