SDCC 2026 Interview: White Cat Entertainment Founder Chris Mancini

Chris Mancini, founder of White Cat Entertainment, an independent studio working on projects including both comics and podcasts, discusses his latest project, comic series Alpha Cat.

Though much of the attention of San Diego Comic-Con’s attendees is focused on the larger comic book distributors and other exhibitors, the Exhibit Hall’s Small Press Pavilion is worth checking out for comics and other creations created by independent creators.

White Cat Entertainment, founded by Chris Mancini, is an independent studio creating comics, podcasts, and more. Their current project, Alpha Cat, is a space adventure comic series starring animal characters written by Mancini and illustrated by Fernando Pinto. The Geekiary spoke with Mancini to discuss Alpha Cat and creating comics.

The Geekiary: What inspired you to start White Cat Entertainment?

Chris Mancini: I’ve always loved storytelling. In 2020, I decided to take everything I learned and liked doing, writing to stand-up comedy, to independent filmmaking and podcasting, and put it all into one company that focused on comedy and genre storytelling but with an emotional core. That’s what White Cat Entertainment is like, our slogan is: Outer Worlds, Inner Journeys.

TG: Your current project that you have a Kickstarter for is Alpha Cat. What were your influences in creating that world?

Mancini: That’s a great question. One of the influences was Star Trek. Also, we’re both gamers, me and Fernando Pinto, who is the artist, we also like Ratchet & Clank and Looney Tunes. Basically everything we grew up loving, we put in a blender, and out came Alpha Cat. But the other thing that’s interesting about this title is it wasn’t one of our launch titles. People would come up to the table, look at our logo, because it’s a White Cat Entertainment logo, it’s a cat with a jetpack, and ask, “Where is this book?” And we were like, “What do you mean? We don’t have that.” More people kept doing it, and I called Fernando, and I said, “We should make a White Cat Entertainment book, call it Alpha Cat, and have it star a cat with a jetpack.” And Fernando went, “I’m down.” That’s how it was born actually, from people asking for it.

TG: What lessons did you learn from your previous comics that you applied to the creation of Alpha Cat?

Mancini: There’s too many to list, I’ve learned a lot. Every campaign teaches you something, something that you did really right, something that you did really wrong. Everything from tiering, how to price them, how long of a comic to make, and how much of it to give away at one time. They’re all variables, and for each creator it can be different. With every campaign, we learn, and we dial it more to what the fans want, more of what we can offer, and we try to find that happy medium so people get what they need, get what they want, and we can keep making them.

TG: What is the collaborative process between you and Fernando like?

Mancini: The collaborative process is great; Fernando and I have been working together for over a decade. Alpha Cat is the first title that we’ve worked on from scratch. It’s been really great, and we have a shorthand, so when I write the script and he creates the character designs, he starts sending me pages. Since we’ve been working together for so long, sometimes I email him and go, “Well, you just drew exactly what was in my head. How did you get that exactly right?” That’s the thing about collaboration with artists that you work with for a long time. Once you kind of get to know each other, you develop a kind of shorthand and you can do things quicker and less is lost in translation.

TG: What can fans expect in future issues of Alpha Cat?

Mancini: They can expect that the story will expand and grow, and the mysteries will be revealed. Everything from the mysterious robot temples to why the robots went to Robot Moon, why things are stirring, and why the insects and the robots, some of the bad robots, may be up to no good. We’re not sure yet; Alpha’s trying to unravel the mystery. It will be a mixture of exploration, action, and character development; we’re putting all of those together in future issues.

We’re really close. The Kickstarter for Issue 2 is almost fully funded. It’s about 95%, so we’re really close. It’s also a good entry point, even though the campaign is for Alpha Cat #2, there’s catch-up tiers where you can get Issue 1, you can get commissions from Fernando. You can get all different things, like if you really want to immerse yourself, if you just want the books, if you want other White Cat Entertainment books you may have missed, you can add all of those on. Every Kickstarter we make sure is an entry point for new fans, so no one gets left behind.

TG: You have written comics in both the sci-fi and fantasy genres. Are there any other genres you would like to explore in the future?

Mancini: I have one more that is also action/martial arts, which is always a fun one to do because I grew up watching Black Belt Theater and all of these great Jackie Chan movies. Big Trouble In Little China is one of my favorite movies of all time. For Rise of the Kung Fu Dragon Master, we put all of those things together, everything from buddy comedies to the ridiculous sound effects that are always in every one, but it’s part of the fun. That was a direct influence there. Fantasy, martial arts, science fiction, I would say that’s the bulk of what I do, where I see myself going to.

TG: What advice do you have for those seeking to create their own comics?

Mancini: It’s very simple, just do it. Don’t wait for permission, don’t wait for someone to tell you when to do it. Now, with all of the tools available, you can find an artist if you are a writer. If you’re an artist, you can find a writer. There’s Facebook groups, there’s all different companies that can put you together, and catalogs. The other thing you can do, if you’re a writer, every artist has an Instagram or a portfolio page. You can literally search, contact the artist if you feel that you guys want to work together, you can find it that way. The one thing I would say not to do is wait for permission. You want to make something, go make it.

TG: In addition to Alpha Cat, are there any upcoming projects that you can tease?

Mancini: Yes, but they’re in the podcast space. There’s going to be a new season of Conversations From The Abyss, which is our horror podcast; it’s an anthology. That’s another one you can jump in at any time because they’re all self-contained stories, so they don’t build or they’re not serialized. We also have a relaxation podcast that’s also story based called Quiet Journeys With Professor Atwood, that’s going to come back later in the year along with an album release. Those are the things we have on deck.

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You can find out more about Alpha Cat and support their Kickstarter campaign here.

You can keep up with The Geekiary’s San Diego Comic-Con 2026 coverage here.

Author: Jessica Wolff

Jessica Wolff is a graduate of Drexel University with a BS in Film/Video. She has a passion for entertainment and representation in entertainment. She currently resides outside of Washington, DC.

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