Labels: can-con, Ontario

Labels: interviews, people, webcomics

Labels: comics history, Halifax, interviews, Nova Scotia, people

Labels: comic jams, events, news, Ontario, Toronto

Spent

Labels: blogosphere, Halifax, links, misc, Nova Scotia, Ontario, reviews, Toronto

1- Paul t.5: Paul a la peche, de Michel Rabagliati, La Pasteque
2- Lou! t.1: Journal infime, de Julien Neel, Glenat
3- Magasin general t.1: Marie, de Tripp et Loisel, Casterman
4- Lou! t.2: Mortebouse, de Julien Neel, Glenat
5- Lou! t.3: Le Cimetiere des autobus, de Julien Neel, Glenat
6- Game Over t.2: No problemo, de Midam et Adam, Dupuis
7- Bi Bop t.3: Plein la bouille, de Raymond Parent, 400 coups
8- Les Nombrils t.1: Pour qui tu te prends?, de Delaf et Dubuc, Dupuis
9- Magasin general t.2: Serge, de Tripp et Loisel, Casterman
10- Lucky Luke nouvelles aventures t.2: La Corde au cou, d'Achde et Gerra, Lucky comics

Labels: comics retailers, Quebec

Labels: comic jams, events, news, Quebec

Labels: awards, news, Ontario, Toronto

Labels: Halifax, links, misc, news, Nova Scotia

Labels: graphic novels, news, people, publishing

Labels: British Columbia, comics history, events, news, undergrounds, Vancouver

Labels: comics history, links, people, zines

For the most part, Bell's text is long on information -- names, dates and titles -- and short on close analysis.

But it's much more than just a reference book or coffee-table tribute.

There are wonderful pictures, many of them of rare material and almost all reproduced in full colour. And then there are the two "Spotlight" chapters that step outside the chronological survey for an in-depth look at the development of native Canadian superheroes and the work of Chester Brown.

Labels: comics scholarship, profiles, reviews

Labels: charities, news, people, political cartooning

Labels: events, news, Ontario, Toronto

Unpopular Culture not only makes a highly significant contribution to the field of comics scholarship, but also makes a major contribution to the field of cultural studies in general. The developments which it details and theorises represent the emergence of comics in Europe as an art form with an avant-garde, experimental tendency. The scholarship is remarkable, and the book is groundbreaking.

-Ann Miller-School of Modern Languages, University of Leicester

Labels: Alberta, Calgary, comics history, comics scholarship, links, new books, news, Ontario, Toronto

Hi all, Salgood Sam here, this time with something of my own. First I've posted some more art from my current work in progress, Therefore Repent! on my flickr site. And I've gotten quite a few visits from taddlecreekmag.com ever since the book was featured in their latest winter issue.

Here's something Jim just posted obout this over on NMK, Check it out!

[these are] "Four pages of our forthcoming graphic novel Therefore Repent! were published in the winter issue of Taddle Creek magazine, which was great. Taddle Creek dusts off the concept of the literary magazine and allows one to appreciate the quality and yes, even glamour, beneath. A mainstay of Toronto's writers for the past decade, TC publishes excellent fiction, urban history, profiles where writers are given the star treatment - and they throw great launches. Click through to see the four page preview of our post-rapture comic..."

Labels: graphic novels, people, preview

The ruling all but chokes any possibility of advance funding in future cases, University of Toronto Law Professor Brenda Cossman said. "In order to get advance costs, you have to show that your case is unbelievably, totally special," she said. "If this case wasn't exceptional, I don't know what is.

This was an action involving an unrelenting censor with whom Little Sisters had been battling for 12 years -- and they were operating in defiance of a Supreme Court order," Prof. Cossman said. "If Little Sisters doesn't challenge them, no one will."

For more than a decade Little Sister's has taken on "Big Brother" - in the words of Justice Binnie, the little bookstore on Davie Street "has borne the brunt of the battle on this branch of expression and equality
rights". Today that battle has been lost by Little Sister's - not because Canada Customs has been vindicated,but rather because Little Sister's does not have the financial resources to continue the battle.

The current round of litigation arose from the banning of four books - two comic books and two books by Larry Townsend, a writer well-known in the gay community. Little Sister's appealed the prohibition of these books and in the process of the appeal found evidence of Canada Customs continuing to disproportionately detain gay and lesbian literature (70% of all items seized, as found by Justice Binnie), continuing to ban books that had been central to the Court's findings in Little Sister's #1 (e.g. Macho Sluts by Pat Califia), and that indeed Customs may not be living up to the commitment it made to the Court in Little Sister's #1 - i.e. that it had taken effective measures to remedy the systemic discrimination identified by the Courts in Little Sister's #1.

The outcome of this case means that unless there is a litigant with pockets deep enough to take on Canada Customs, the bureaucracy will continue to determine what Canadians can and cannot read, unscrutinized by public hearings.

Jim Deva, owner of Little Sister's Bookstore, says that this is a very sad day in Canada for free expression, equality rights and access to justice. As noted by Justices Binnie and Fish, after successfully establishing the existence of systemic Charter violations in Little Sister's #1, "the present issue is whether the rights established in that case in principle have (or will) become rights in reality."

"Today's decision denies Little Sister's, and indeed all Canadians, the answer to that important question. That can only be viewed as a setback to the expression rights, equality rights and access to justice for all Canadians."

Joe Arvay, counsel for the bookstore, adds that "all Canadians should be deeply concerned about this erosion of our expression and equality rights and access to justice." Mr. Arvay agrees with the observation of Justice Binnie who, with Justice Fish, dissented from the majority decision. Justice Binnie opined:

"Today four books, tomorrow another four books. Litigation follows litigation until the rational businessperson is forced to throw in the towel. This is how civil liberties can be eroded, little by little, yields in small increments that case by case are not worth the cost of the fight. It takes an unbusinesslike litigation like Little Sister's to elbow aside purely financial considerations ... and carry on what it sees as unfinished Charter business against the government."

Labels: British Columbia, censorship, links, news, Ontario, Toronto, Vancouver

Labels: news, obituaries, Ontario, people, political cartooning, Toronto

Manitoba Metis plan Riel comic

Canadian Press
Published: Tuesday, January 16, 2007

A Metis organization plans to present the controversial history of Louis Riel in a colour comic that is every bit as colourful as Riel's personality.

The 50-page, hard-cover graphic novel is to be published in both official languages. The proposal includes an interactive DVD, a teacher's guide and student workbook, and an interactive, animated Web site.

Labels: links, Manitoba, news

Appropriately, Writing for Animation, Comics, and Games is divided into three sections, one each for feature and television animation; for comic books and graphic novels; and for computer and console games. Each section is well-organized, divided into chapters and subchapters that focus on script formats, terminology, agents, breaking in, trade shows, unions, jobs, freelancing, where to live, copyrights and trademarks, getting paid, and so on. This detailed, practical book offers much information you can get only from an industry insider—information that few other insiders have publicly shared.

Labels: Quebec

Jeet Heer, a historian who edits the Herriman and King sets, said: "They make them seem fresh and alive, not just something of antiquarian interest. Those earlier reprint series-- 'Terry and the Pirates,' 'Flash Gordon,' 'Prince Valiant'-- appealed largely to men in their 50s and 60s who wanted to relive their boyhood. The new crop of books aren't being read by people who have a nostalgic memory of first reading them."

Labels: can-con, comic strips

Labels: graphic novels, news, Ontario, people, Toronto

When cartoonist Guy Delisle first published his graphic novel Shenzhen: A Travelogue From China in France six years ago, he was thrilled with initial sales. His account of life in a monotonously gritty, Chinese city sold just 2,000 copies.

At the time, he says, his work was considered relatively "under-ground" and was distributed by what was then a small French publishing house.

Last September, Delisle released an English-language version of Shenzhen. This time around, the book earned at least two nods from reviewers at The New York Times.

It's a big change for a cartoonist like Delisle who couldn't always find a market for comics that didn't include superheroes and bright splashes of colour.

"Cartoonists are now doing what they always dreamed of doing when they were young but there wasn't anyplace to publish (these books)," said the Quebec-born, France-based Delisle, about the current appetite for graphic novels.

Labels: graphic novels, news, Ottawa, Quebec

If you get past the freaky cover art, you will discover that Invaders from the North is an astounding addition to the slow-growing pile of books that focus on comic book criticism and history. An added boon is the fact that this micro-tome pins its focus on Canadian contributions to the comics world...

Labels: comics history

Labels: comic strips, Lynn Johnston, Ottawa

Found this on Torontoist:

http://www.torontoist.com/archives/2007/01/help_create_the.php

"What is the Shapetionary? Its a visual index of objects.

It started from looking at the dictionary and wondering why some words are illustrated and others aren’t, then thinking it would be interesting to illustrate the whole dictionary, or all the object nouns...then organize them by shape.

So I extracted all, or most (aprox 9500), of the object nouns, now I am setting out to get them illustrated by as many different people as possible. I am interested in our subjective/collective understandings of objects. So far over 400 people are participating, I estimate that between 1200-1500 drawers are needed. "

Click on the link to find out how to contribute!

Labels: links

Labels: British Columbia, events, Vancouver

Labels: British Columbia, people, pod casts, Vancouver

In 2006, 26 Quebecois publishers released 86 albums of BD, in French and English, representing close to double the number of albums published in 2005. Indeed, the previous year, 19 publishers released a total of 44 albums. Five years earlier, in 2000, 16 publishers (of which half are no longer active) had published 35 albums. The production of 2006 thus represents an increase of 95% compared to that of 2005 and 146% compared to that of 2000.

A new publisher specializing in BD appeared in 2006 (Fichtre! with two titles), but one notices also the arrival of general practitioner publishers (Arion, Du Quebecois) or youth publishers (Boomerang) in the landscape of the BDQ. They join Les Intouchables and FouLire which had launched editions of BD in 2005 and which repeat themselves this year with a title each.

However, the largest ammount of 2006 production can be divided between four publishers. Thus, Drawn & Quarterly, La Pasteque, mecanique generale and Presses aventures, alone, published 54 albums, that is to say nearly two thirds of the annual production (63%). Among the other active publishers in 2006, one can note Les 400 coups (5 titles) and Le vent qui vente (4 titles).

Three quarters of the albums published in Quebec in 2006 are French language (75.5%), which maintains the average of the previous year (77%), but marks a light retreat vis-a-vis the year 2000, where 83% of the albums published were in French. Two of the albums published in English are the work of French-speaking publishers and in both cases, they are promotional albums. Only one bilingual work appeared in 2006, "Touche pas a ma planche, Volume 2", published by Metropolis Bleu, collecting stories from students at French-speaking and anglophone schools....

Labels: analysis, news, Quebec

Internet chat rooms and discussion groups continue to buzz with opinions about the strip, particularly about the romantic future of Elizabeth Patterson, who has three suitors: former high school boyfriend Anthony, new love interest Paul, a policeman, and dark horse Warren, a helicopter pilot.

"I think it's great that a comic strip can have that reach and that effectiveness," said Tom Spurgeon, executive editor of The Comics Reporter.

"That really speaks to the kind of affection people have for the strip and the skill with which (Johnston) has developed her setting and characters over the years," he said.

Labels: news, Ontario, people, Toronto

Labels: news, people

In the hybrid, many previously published "FBorFW" strips and scenes will be reprinted. The jumping-off point for those comics (which could include some redrawn and recolorized content) might be Michael looking at old photos or scrapbooks.

Johnston will also offer a certain amount of new material about Michael; his sisters, Elizabeth and April; his parents, Elly and John; and various other major and supporting characters. But one of the signature elements of "FBorFW" — the gradual aging of its cast — will come to a halt. "What I'd like to do is freeze the characters at the ages they are now," said Johnston, who turns 60 this May. "No people will grow older. No dogs will grow older and pass away."

Labels: links, news, people

Labels: news, Quebec

Labels: links, Manitoba, news, Winnipeg

"In fact, he reserves his sharpest criticism for the body conformity and materialism pressures of the queer party scene.

'I think our culture has been hijacked by circuit boys,' he says. 'The ante just seems to go up and up. Now you need to be uncut, have a big dick, and have plastic surgery. But, I like an unshaved boy in a vintage tee.'

The Brotherhood, which premiered in Xtra West in October of 2005, is the story of a tight clique of five very different gay Vancouver guys as they navigate through some very bizarre adventures. As well as the mundane, these boys occasionally bump into Martians, religious zealots, Jesus Christ and even the Grim Reaper. They've toured Vancouver's West End, deepest darkest Alberta, and the 10th circle of hell--the one for damned homophobes."

Labels: Alberta, British Columbia, people, Vancouver

Labels: British Columbia, news

Labels: Edmonton, links, news, Ottawa

Labels: events, news