I first came across comics self-published by Jay B. Kalagayan at a small con around the corner from my house a few years before the pandemic. A vet of the Cincinnati theater and comics scenes, he was branching out into the Columbus area and would soon make a splash by being named the executive director of our burgeoning comics festival, Cartoon Crossroads Columbus. Though he stepped down after the ’23 show, it was during that time that I got better acquainted with the relentless self-starter.