THE WORD UNDER THE STREET Presented by Min[t] Records

all day
Comics Contest
Create your own three-panel creation here and enter it to win a fabulous library of signed books, courtesy of Drawn & Quarterly and Raincoast Books.

all day
The Ink Muffins
Keep your eyes peeled for this impromptu cheerleading squad led by WUTS regular Robin Konstabaris. “You can do it, you’ve got guts, you won’t get no paper cuts. ’Zines are clever, ’zines are fun, bet you can’t stop at just one. Go ’zines!”

12:00–4:00
Nardwuar the Human Serviette and punk rock photographer Bev Davies
If you don’t know who MuchMusic’s Nardwuar the Human Serviette is by now, his 2007 Punk Rock Calendar (featuring photography by the lengendary Bev Davies) and recent 2-DVD set, Doot Doola Doot Doo... Doot Doot!, will certainly bring you up to speed in no time. This annoying, brilliant, bizarre and astounding character has made a name for himself by interviewing everyone. From former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to Snoop Doggy Dogg, he has tackled them all. And at the Mint Records table, you’ll have the chance to meet him and get signed copies of his latest stuff.

ON STAGE

12:00
Self-Publishing Comics
Want to find out how to create and market your own comic? Kevin Leeson and Todd Ireland of Critical Hit Comics, and Owen Plummer and Jo Cook from Perro Verlag Books, discuss the joys and perils of self-publishing comics and how to get your book into the public’s hands. Moderated by Leonard Wong (Vancouver Comicon).

1:00
Art Class with Robin Thompson
Interested in comics or cartooning, but not quite sure how to put pencil to paper? Check out this introductory art class to try your hand at drawing, creating characters and coming up with stories. Materials supplied, and all students will receive a free copy of Thompson’s comic book, Captain Space Man. Class limited to a maximum of 20 participants, so sign up early to avoid disappointment. Ages 11-16.

2:00
Webcomics
Comics delivered to your house via computer! Local webcomic artists Ed Brisson, Jason Pultz and Jordan Nuefeld talk about their online efforts and give tips on what it takes to create a webcomic that people will want to keep coming back to. Moderated by Leonard Wong (Vancouver Comicon).

Host: Sean Cranbury, Sophia Books

3:00
Joe Sacco (Seattle, WA)
But I Like It
This collection of rock-and-roll and blues oriented strips includes Sacco’s graphic novelette of life on the road with punk band The Miracle Workers, newly-expanded and supplemented with sketches, notes and a CD. Add some stories done for German magazines and papers and some Sacco-designed rock show posters, and you’ve got an eye-popping compendium of life on one of the most dangerous beats of all: the world of rock’n’roll. Sacco is a widely acclaimed, award-winning comics journalist, whose publications include Palestine, The Fixer and Safe Area Gorazde: The War In Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995. He is currently working on a book about the southern Gaza Strip — both journalistic and historical — called Footnotes in Gaza. (Fantagraphics Books) Adopted by Eve Corbel and Sarah Leavitt.

4:30
Comics and the Classroom
Educators and comic creators Ken Boesem, Sarah Haxby, Julian Lawrence and Leonard Wong share ideas on how to use comics as a cross-curricular learning tool and a resource for promoting reading and literacy.