About
A celebration of comics and cartoon art from all over the world, with superstar guests... online for 2020!

NCSFest is the brainchild of Steve McGarry, the syndicated cartoonist and story artist who serves as President of the NCS Foundation, the charitable and educational arm of the National Cartoonists Society. To help fulfill his vision of putting the NCS at the heart of a free cartoon arts festival to rival the great European events, he enlisted the aid of Julie Tait, Director of the fastest-growing festival in the UK, the Lakes International Comic Arts Festival. With the aid of an incredibly strong team and an army of volunteers – as well as the expertise of Mathieu Diez, the Director of French festival Lyon BD – and the full support of the city of Huntington Beach, NCSFest was born in 2019.
Formed in 1947, the National Cartoonists Society is regarded as the most prestigious organisation of professional cartoonists in the world, with such legends as Peanuts creator Charles M Schulz, Walt Disney, Rube Goldberg and Milton Caniff among its alumni. Today’s membership numbers more than 400 eminent cartoonists and many of these world famous creators are appearing at NCSFest. The NCS will also stage its annual Reuben Awards – the comics and cartoons equivalent of the Oscars – during the Festival.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need any special software or a link to access NCSFest?
No. The Festival is free and open to the public. All you need to do is visit NCSFest.com on the day, from 10AM EDT to watch the live stream. We will be streaming on multiple platforms, but primarily on Youtube live, so you don’t have to download any software to view it.
Can I watch it on my phone or tablet?
Absolutely. In fact the stream will be optimized for whatever device you are viewing it on, be it your Desktop PC, Mac, Laptop or any other internet-connected device that has a screen.
Can I tune in for just one panel or do I have to watch the whole thing?
You’re welcome to drop in for however many sessions you like. The full schedule with times is available at NCSFest.com/schedule. The timing may be slightly off from time to time depending on internet connection speeds, the individual streaming platforms or other factors, but these are the times for a guideline for which sessions will appearing and when.
Will you be announcing the awards?
We sure will! All divisional nominees are up online here, and the Reuben nominees are up online here, and we will be announcing the winners in blocks of four awards throughout the day. We considered that this was a better way to announce the awards than having you sit through a 4-5 hour live streaming ceremony over Zoom. We hope you’ll agree!
We hope that you’ll join us for this, our first online NCSFest presentation. We were devastated to have had to cancel our Kansas City Reubens this year, and we’re making the best of a bad situation, so please be patient with us if there are any technical hiccups on the day. We’re hoping it will all run smoothly as planned.
NCSFest 2020 COMMITTEE
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Steve McGarry
Director
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Julie Tait
Director / Additional Content
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Tom Richmond
Associate Director
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Jason Chatfield
Associate Director / Marketing & Promotion / Video Editing & Transcription / Talent Liaison & Scheduling
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Joe McGarry
Web Design & Technical Director / Live Streaming Administrator / Additional Content
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Bob East
Video Graphics
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Joe Wos
Sponsorship Chair
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Ellen Liebenthal
Social Media Director
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Luke McGarry
Logo Design / Additional Content
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Ed Steckley
Acceptance Video Coordination / In Memoriam Production
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Karen Evans
Acceptance Video Coordination
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Bill Morrison
Acceptance Video Coordination / In Memoriam Coordination
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Heather Steckley
In Memoriam Production
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Latisha Moore
Administration
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Jeff Keane
Additional Content
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Brian Walker
Additional Content
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David Walker
Additional Content
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Greg Cravens
Additional Content
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John Lotshaw
Additional Content
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Charlie Adlard
Additional Content