KCU Pitchfest Showcase 2026 (Shortlist)
Entire 2026 Gallery | List of Judges | 2025 Showcase
Comics creators from around the world have submitted their unpublished projects to be previewed online by editors and agents. A panel of judges have selected the top pitches. The projects are archived here so that industry pros may view them and discover new talent.
The Antronauts and the Phantom Mantis.
Magic space Moths, an emanate Beetle invasion, and a Totem with power over bug-death fuse in this campy, Star Wars meets A Bug’s Life space adventure!
While leaving Mars to investigate his father’s crash site, K.Y.L.E, a young ant pilot, is captured by a ruthless Beetle officer and forced to recover a buried relic to resurrect its insect god.
Soon caught between the Beetles' hunger for the Mantis’s rebirth, and a manipulative moth sorceress bent on exterminating them, the fate of his colony lies in the hands of a kind, yet 'lacks excellence', bug-boy…with plans to revive his heroic Antronaut step-pops to save the day instead.
A story about self-kindness, and overcoming labels/insecurities, to become the hero you don’t feel like inside.
Age Range:
Middle Grade (approx ages 9-12)Genre:
Adventure, Fantasy, Science FictionPage Count Estimate:
250
My Why:
I’ve been obsessed with space since I was a pupa, even subscribing to NASA news magazine by age eight. Yet after crashing in a Science Center mission-simulator later that year, I thought: maybe art?
Like my protagonist, I have always struggled with feelings of low excellence, being looked-over or imposter syndrome - so I wanted to create a lighthearted story about those challenges... with magical space bugs! Yet, while writing, my “pops” was diagnosed with inoperable cancer, and so the motivation to rescue or revive a legendary stepdad became the story’s deeper heart.
The Antronauts has been a two year journey of discovery: overcoming self-doubt and exploring the struggles this “Ant” may face, from the loss of a parent. *par-ant.
Comp Titles:
5 Worlds Series, by Mark and Alexis Siegel; Lightfall, by Tim Probert; (and a little) Catstronauts, by Drew Brockington.Anthony Lawler
An artist, designer, educator and story teller. Ant received his MFA from Montclair State University in 2017 and is currently living and art-ing in Denver, Colorado with his book-nerd veterinarian wife, impulsively-silly teenage son, and two aggressively cuddly cats.
He can often be found at his DnD table, playful complaining why on Mars he hasn’t created a board game yet, or hiking-climbing-snowboarding in the wild mountains all around him.