2026 EAGLECON Schedule

What happens when educators treat popular culture as curriculum? This panel brings together higher education practitioners who have successfully integrated comics, film, television, music, and other media into courses, orientations, and student programs to help first-generation students see themselves reflected in the stories that shape our culture—and imagine new possibilities for their own.

Featuring Dr. Martha Enciso (My Tribe Media and University of Redlands), Dr. Rick Trevino (USC), Ariela Canizal (University of San Diego)

Moderator: Echo Valencia

Sponsored by My Tribe Media

Join us for a hands-on workshop discussing and demonstrating the techniques of translating the Dark Knight into brick form!

Local academics present new research on the place of the city and the power of the urban in our popular culture.

Moderated: Ramon Contreras

A celebration of the greatest monster maker in cinema history, Jack Pierce, who worked at Universal Pictures from 1928-1947 and had his hand, quite literally, in every monster character created by the studio during that period: The Man Who Laughs, Frankenstein, The Old Dark House, The Mummy, The Black Cat, The Raven, The Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, Man Made Monster, The Wolf Man, the Phantom of the Opera, and myriad 1940s sequels to most of the aforementioned.

Introduced by Houra Maleki

Presenter: Prof. Scott Essman

A combination feline detective story, Gothic mystery, and occult horror, FELIDAE follows green-eyed protagonist Francis and his grizzled, one-eyed companion Bluabart as they unravel the mystery around killings stretching back decades, involving a mysterious death cult and genetic experimentation. FELIDAE is an impressive and haunting animated feature rarely seen in the US.

Sponsored by Gravitas Animation Society CSULA

Introduced by Craig Rogers (Deaf Crocodile)

View Felidae (1994) Trailer

Meet some exciting creators in the LA comic book scene. In this panel and discussion, local creators will discuss their art, their process, and their thoughts about the power of the comic book medium.

Moderator: Prof. Mercedes Chavez

Three designers from the world tabletop gaming will convene to discuss the practice and purpose of constructing compelling, immersive, and meaningful games.

Moderator: Prof. Michael Clarke

This panel takes the form of a conversation between Dr. Jeannette Vaught, Assistant Professor of Environmental Humanities in Liberal Studies, and Cybele Lyle, whose artistic practice combines ecological and personal reflection.

This conversation will explore the role of the arts in understanding and living through climate change alongside all the other human experiences that make up our lives. At this panel, the Cal State LA Urban Ecology Center will launch its call for submissions for the Habitat and Home Student Art Competition, which seeks proposals from any interested Cal State LA students to create ecologically-themed artworks representing a range of media and points of view.

Humanoids began under the name Les Humanoïdes Associés in the turbulent early 1970s in Paris, which—like San Francisco and New York—was alive with the spirit of artistic revolution. As young people were debating ideas in unprecedented ways, graphic novel artists Jean Giraud (known as Mœbius) and Philippe Druillet, along with writer Jean-Pierre Dionnet were determined to push the limits of their art and of the medium as a whole. They joined forces to create a comics magazine like none before: Métal Hurlant (French for "Screaming Metal"). Today, Humanoids carries on this great tradition, relaunching Métal Hurlant and positioning itself as a major content provider for the growing worldwide entertainment industry.

This presentation will host the publisher in a broad ranging presentation on the illustrious past and exciting future of this groundbreaking comic book publisher.

Introduced by Ali Dehbozorgi

Ever wonder what it takes to build compelling, immersive experiences? Peter Lange, lead designer of Tales from Elsewhere, will lead a small group through the process of building engaging games using nothing more than a standard piece of paper folded into a tri-fold brochure.

Crowdsourcing has become a great leveler for aspiring creative looking to fund and support their projects, but managing and leveraging these tools can be job onto itself. In this panel, three successful creators from across media talk about their experiences with these platforms, sharing tips, tricks, and best practices.

Moderator: Prof. Cynthia Wang

Jesse Moynihan is a Peabody Award winning cartoonist, animation director and designer. He is best known for writing and storyboarding for the animated television series 'Adventure Time' and as the art director on the Netflix series 'The Midnight Gospel'. He created the animated short 'Manly' through Cartoon Hangover and continues to produce the graphic novel series 'Forming' for Fantagraphics Books. In 2025 his animated short "Jesus 2" screened at the Sundance film festival and Fantastic Fest in Austin.

Jesse joins us for a presentation on his recent animation work and the recent publication of his graphic novel, Forming.

Introduced by Madison Fancelli

Jesse Burneko is a professional video game developer with over 20 years experience. He self-publishes tabletop role-playing games and related material under Bloodthorn Press. He focuses on situation driven games with gothic aesthetics and elements of psychological horror.

In this gaming session, Jesee will lead players through his own game, Horrible Children, a mash-up of Edward Gorey and Tim Burton where things always seem to end badly!

With unwavering passion and rare musicality, Libre inspires audiences throughout Southern California. Libre, a Los Angeles based saxophone quartet, has performed numerous Cal State Los Angeles recitals, business banquets, weddings and more. The quartet consists of Emily Hsiao on soprano saxophone, Alexis Marias on alto saxophone, Matthew De La Torre on tenor saxophone and Nicholas Vega on baritone saxophone. Libre was founded by the late world-renowned saxophonist Harvey Pittel and the Professor of Saxophone at Cal State Los Angeles in 2023. Their mission is to heal the world through music and music education.

Introduced by Enrique Gomez

Introduced by Prof. Mercedes Chavez and Ali Dehbozorgi

View Godzilla VS. Mothra (1964) Trailer