Kelly Mellings
Award-winning art director, illustrator, and writer. Co-writer of Ghoster Heights and illustrator of The Outside Circle.
📍 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Kelly Mellings is an award-winning art director, illustrator, and designer who brings over two decades of creative experience to the comics industry. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, he serves as Owner and Art Director of Pulp Studios Inc., a multiple award-winning boutique illustration studio that has worked with clients across comics, television, publishing, and digital media.
Kelly’s career spans a remarkable range of projects—from comic books and magazine illustrations to museum exhibits, TV commercials, and video games. His versatility as both a writer and visual artist makes him a unique voice in the indie comics space.
He is best known as the co-writer of Ghoster Heights, a heartwarming middle-grade graphic novel published by Vault Comics in 2022. Working alongside writer Corey Lansdell and artist Lisa LaRose, Kelly helped craft the story of Ona, an eight-year-old girl who moves into her Baba’s apartment building after a traumatic event and discovers a ghost living in the boiler room. The graphic novel explores themes of grief, community, and healing through a supernatural lens, perfect for fans of I Kill Giants and the works of Judy Blume.
His earlier work as illustrator on The Outside Circle by Patti LaBoucane-Benson (House of Anansi Press, 2015) established him as one of Canada’s most accomplished graphic novel illustrators. The book—about two Indigenous brothers navigating poverty, drug abuse, and gang violence in Edmonton—won the prestigious CODE’s 2016 Burt Award for First Nation, Inuit and Métis Literature. The award recognizes outstanding literature for young adults, and The Outside Circle’s recognition cemented Kelly’s reputation for bringing emotionally complex stories to life with visual depth and authenticity.
Throughout his career, Kelly has demonstrated a commitment to storytelling that bridges cultural divides and speaks to universal human experiences. His work with Pulp Studios continues to push the boundaries of illustration and design, serving clients who value creative excellence and narrative impact.
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