TJ Cantwell: “‘Call me Uncle Colin,’ he said”
Colin Cantwell met many fans during the final years of his life, as he and Sierra criss-crossed the United States attending comic cons as well as signings at many comic book shops.
Among those appearances was the Fanboy Expo, held annually in Knoxville, Tennessee, with the next one planned for July 10-12, 2026. Colin’s first trip to Fanboy Expo was a memorable one for fan TJ Cantwell, who says he was attending for his “umpteenth” time. (He’s pretty sure they met in 2017, but he admits he’s not sure.)
We’ll turn it over to him to tell the story from here:
In TJ Cantwell’s own words
I first met my “Uncle” Colin at Fanboy Expo Comicon. It was his first time attending Fanboy, but my umpteenth.
I’d been the Master of Ceremonies since the con first began, actually since BEFORE it began! Which meant I’d had the pleasure—and privilege—of meeting and interviewing an entire galaxy of legends: Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, Tim Curry, and the casts of The Dukes of Hazzard, Hellboy, Back to the Future, and even The Lord of the Rings.
I thought I’d seen it all. But meeting Uncle Colin? That became my favorite memory of them all. When I got the email announcing that year’s guest lineup, one name immediately caught my eye: Colin Cantwell. There aren’t many of us Cantwells in the world, so, naturally, I got a little giddy. Then curiosity hit—I opened a browser and Googled him. What I discovered made my heart skip: this was THE Colin Cantwell, the visionary artist who designed the X-Wing, the TIE Fighter, and the freakin Death Star?! And, pretty much, all the other icons that shaped my childhood. And he had my last name? I was done! I couldn’t wait to meet him!
When we finally met, it was like reconnecting with family I’d known my whole life. I introduced myself first as “TJ, the MC of the Con.” Then I grinned and said, “You don’t hear that last name much.” He smiled, “Cantwell?” We started talking, and before long discovered that my great-great-great (maybe great?) grandfather James Cantwell—the same man whose name I carry as Timothy James, and why my children also share the “TJ” initials—was also one of his ancestors! [Editor’s note: Colin’s father’s name was James, and it was Colin’s middle name too, so it runs in the family.]
“Call me Uncle Colin,” he said. And that’s what I did! From then until his passing, he introduced me as his nephew, and I introduced him as my uncle! He was kind, curious, creative to the core, and he treated everyone with that same spark of wonder he poured into his art.
Years later, my family and I were watching Andor when my daughter caught something I missed at first—a ship called the “Cantwell-class Arrestor Cruiser.” She looked at me, wide-eyed. “Dad! That’s our name!” I smiled and told her all about her Uncle Colin—the man who helped create galaxies far, far away, and who made the world just a little smaller by reminding me that family, imagination, and legacy are often more connected than we realize.
And in that moment, watching Andor with my kids, I realized something powerful: we’d brought yet another generation of Cantwells into the Star Wars universe. From Colin’s blueprints to our living room couch, the Force had truly come full circle.