Still it's good that Anderson didn't make the King he was "supposed to make." He didn't make the one for which other people (like me) would have wished. In spite of what faults it may have, King is example of what a cartoonist can create within the medium of the so-called "graphic narrative" when he uses all the artistic elements available to him. Anderson took an adventurous leap forward with the comic book, a brave, personal, artistic statement and an adventurous leap forward with the comic book - warts and all. King shows that comics can deal with subject matter weightier than, say, Wolverine's origins or just how screwed up Batman/Bruce Wayne is. Maybe Ho Che Anderson is one of the few cartoonists capable of treating comics as a medium of art and communication the way the great novelists, short story writers, musicians, and filmmakers treat their respective mediums.

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Wednesday March 7, 2007
Mainline Theatre
3997 Boul. St-Laurent,
9:00 pm, FREE admission.

About the awards:

To reflect the wide diversity of printed matter that was represented last November at Expozine, Montreal's only annual small press, comic and zine fair, six prizes will be awarded: three prizes in English and three in French, for the following categories: Best book, Best comic, Best zine. Each of the more than 200 Expozine 2006 participants were asked to submit their best creation for consideration for the prizes. The shortlist was selected by an esteemed panel of judges, and are listed below.

SHORTLIST

• Best English Comic
• Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
• Ojingogo (#2) by Matthew Forsythe
• Revolver 2 by Salgood Sam with Jim Munroe
• Screwed Ball by Bill Charbonneau
• I Found It in My Urethra! by Robin Bougie

• Best English Zine:
• knoggin knowledge, a danger to themselves, and Rolling Man by Kerry Byrne.
• A Queersafe Zine by Mary Potter, Leah Newbold, Adriana. Drawings by Sarah Mangle.
• Welcome to Gayside by The Third Leg.
• Wires by Jeff Otaku.
• thanksgiving by Sarah Pinder.

• Best English Book:
• The Feast: A Collection of Art in Black and White by Permanent Marker Art Society / Shawn O'Keefe and Harley Smart
• In Search of Divine Styler by Ryan Somers, a.k.a. Fritz tha Cat (MudScout Press)
• Jugsaw Youth: Two New Stories by J.B. Staniforth
• Monsters for Real (Loveletters #1 through 11) by Jim Holyoak
• *Tattoo This Madness In by Daniel Allen Cox, Dusty Owl Press
• *The Theory of the Loser Class by Jon Paul Fiorentino, Coach House Press

• Meilleur Bande Dessinée:
• Hasermeister (spécial Halloween) par Frédéric Mahieu
• Le Bob #5 par collectif de Québec
• Mélodie burlesque par Sylvie Rancourt et Jacques Boivin
• Le commun des mortels par Louis Bouvier

• Meilleur Zine:
• FAS: Non-apprivoisable et non-domesticable, par fas.mjack.net
• Sexyfall / shute nous, par Louise-Andrée Lapierre
• Clémentine, par Vincent Couture
• Fanzine bidon #13 spécial mouvement, par Pierre Bouchard
• Take out / prêt-à-porter, par La Centrale

• Meilleur Livre
• (à venir)

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"Yen Press has acquired world rights to Nightschool in a deal negotiated by the Judith Hansen Literary Agency. Chmakova's bestselling DramaCon, an original work about a young American manga writer, is a breakout book for the original manga category. Nightschool is set in a school for demons where Chmakova's young heroine has enrolled in order find out the fate of her sister."

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Mark Prent: The most controversial canadian sculptor of his generation, known worldwide for his hyper-realist nightmarish sculptures. He portrays with body molding techniques his inner visions, without altering the dramatic or emotional charge of the subject.

Eric Braün: Multidisciplinary artist (painting, sculpture, comics, etching), publisher of the anthology 106U and founder of USINE 106U. His graphic universe explores different materials with humor rand lucidity.

La puce à l'agonie: Designer, painter and conceptor, her work in visual arts focuses on recomposing fragments linked to childhood and by mass-producing little pink cats.

Mimi Traillette : Cartoonist-photograph and designer, she creates colorful and entertaining pieces with influences coming from rock & roll , comics and aquatic depths..

Jean-Michel Cholette : His acrylic paintings are guided by an inspiration tapping intoPop Surrealism, lowbrow art and fantasy illustration. His cybernetic creatures and dislocated architectures take place in an aesthetic combining influences from science-fiction, ancient religious symbols, litterature and old family portraits.

René Donais: Well-known etching artist, member of the Atelier Circulaire, he distinguishes himself with the quality of execution of his work, in the tradition of 17 th century anatomical engravers, and by his teratological themes.

Iris: Visual artist and sculptor, her pen and ink drawings and her steel wire characters translate with a sinuous line a spirit free of taboos accompanied by a lot of humor.

Yves Milet-Desfougères: Well-known french etching artist and painter, he explores symbolical themes with his ethereal landscapes haunted by hallucinatory visions. Member of the surrealists in the 60', he built his monumental carreer and is known of a handful of European collectors.

Lilitu Travaglini : French visual artist, she creates compositions born out of pagan unconscious and expressionnism with a few influences coming from art brut.

Sam Kerson: A nomadic and visionary artist with strong social and political inclinations, his pastels, linocuts and acrylics are filled with symbolic expression and vibrant colors translate the movement, heart of his work.

Pedro Espinel-Ruiz: A colombian sculptor, he works with metal and carved stone. His totemic iconography juxtaposes perfectly with his choice of materials (discarded rairoad parts).

Claude Des Rosiers : A stone carver, virtuoso in interior, garden and monumental sculptures, his subjects are historical, romantic, ethnologic and zoological.

Hollie Dzama: She like to sew dolls & clothing, paint & draw, sing, crochet (& knit sometimes), etc. She is also interested in fiber arts.

Serene Daoud: Drawer, animator and crafter of small and incredible objects, her meticulous work expresses visions out of fairy tales and animated movies.

Sarah Albu: Her work with fiber and textiles is presented like a collage of snapshots from everyday life, translating with humor a stiched mind.

Edward Spider : Painter and drawer, his work combines medieval influences with futuristic compositions to create iconic post-cubist arcanes.

Gmackrr: French visual and sound artist, she uses collage techniques, recycling, superimposition and repetition to create a perverted language. A world that short-circuits childhood and decadence, fashion and food, nature and genetic manipulations ...

Jef: Conceptor employed by the toy company Mégabloc, this astonishing sculptor explores different materials, either complex sculptures of toy blocks or jewellery and artefacts from the future.

Sweet Grognasse: A colorful visual artist, she works in graphic design and creates paintings, silkscreen and textiles in the tradition of pop-art.

Guy Boutin: Painter and cartoonist, he masters in multicolored raw representations of his graphic imaginary between comics and graffiti art.

Labels: art show, can-con, events, Montreal, news, undergrounds

Sit down with critically-acclaimed graphic novel creator Bryan Lee O'Malley, the man behind the witty and hilarious Scott Pilgrim series. This bestselling series will soon be transformed into a big-screen movie by the team behind the fan-favourite zombie flick Shaun of the Dead. So come out and discover why Entertainment Weekly selected Scott Pilgrim as the Independent Comic of the Year (2006).

Also: Meet the comic book superstars of tomorrow as youth from Second Street Junior Middle School and the Albion Manga Club exhibit their amazing creations.

Location: North York Central Library (Concourse)
Date and TIme: Tues. Feb. 20, 6 - 7:30 p.m.
This event is presented in partnership with The Beguiling, Toronto's pre-eminent comic book store. The Beguiling's Peter Birkemoe hosts.

Also: Live chat with Bryan Lee O'Malley!

Can't wait until the 20th? Chat online with Bryan a day before the event on Book Buzz: Toronto Public Library's Online Book Club. It's the perfect appetizer to what will be a highly memorable event.

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They were born out of a silly sketch done in the lounge at the Royal York, back in 2005. Hand-making and engineering 100 little slipcases and 300 little books was the easy part -- finding the time to draw them while juggling work for the man was the challenge.

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as Blackett says, "the lava lamp has burnt out."

"The lava lamp became a symbol in m@b as a time and space for my character to say or think something poignant," writes Blackett in a letter sent to m@b's various supporters. "The fact that I haven't replaced the light bulb in my real-life lava lamp metaphorically speaks volumes about what kind of importance the comic has in my life nowadays."

Blackett, a prominent Toronto comic artist, writer and indie publisher (he's also the creative/art director at Spacing Magazine, a local public space advocacy publication, has been drawing m@b for almost nine years.

But the creative spark behind the loveable joe-schmo character has fizzled out.

"The spark of inspiration (I got) when I saw someone do something insane or say something off-kilter has dulled and rarely (happens) these days," he writes. "I'd rather play Tetris on my cellphone than try to eavesdrop on the people sitting in front of me on the streetcar."

For loyal fans, all is not lost. Blackett still plans to release that graphic novel he's been promising.

Labels: events, graphic novels, news, people, webcomics

Ah, the joys of a boy and his dog. His robotic dog...Yes, Skip Smalls' dream of a canine sidekick came true when Bleeker beeped into his life -- batteries included. For this delightful duo it's not just about tug of war and the gnawing of bones. Bleeker can fetch, but he can also fax -- and print, place calls, detect smoke, photograph, download email, take a GPS reading, and handle Skip's homework planner. He's not bug-free: if he spends too much time with Grandpa, he starts hooking rugs and wearing slippers. And if you stuff Mars bars in his battery socket -- well, there are problems. Nonetheless Bleeker (BLKR501 to IM pals) is all the dog a boy, or a comic strip, could want.

Bleeker was just picked up by Universal Press Syndicate's GoComics for online syndication.


It's exciting to take Bleeker to a bigger audience and hopefully find its way to print.

Labels: comic strips, publishing, webcomics

Doc, Drew and Zak Saturday are a family of world-saving adventure scientists called The Secret Saturdays. They live in a hidden base and are part of a network of scientists who protect against all the hidden and terrifying things in this world. To The Saturdays, ordinary folktales aren’t just legends—they are real-life mysteries and adventures. Traveling from the hot Gobi Desert to the icy Marianas Trench, they explore ancient temples and bottomless caves and tangle with twisted villains, including the masked madman V.V. Argost and his half-human/half-giant spider.

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We deserve an ass kicking for having to cancel last months Industry Night at the Vic! Apologies to the usual suspects all around. It couldn't be helped, and we promise it will be the last time.

Our next gathering will be Thursday the 22nd of February (next week). The evening starts at 7:00 pm at the Victory Cafe, 581 Markham Street (Markham and Bloor).

If you're receiving this reminder for the first time, Comics Industry Night is a monthly gathering (except December) of industry folk and comics enthusiasts where we maintain the spirit of the convention afterparty.

If you have any questions or would like to set up to promote your work, contact us at industry_night@yahoo.ca .

Hoping to see everyone there (especially students from Ty Templeton's Comic Book Boot Camp).

Cheers.

Walter & Sean

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Rand Holmes, famous Canadian counter-culture cartoonist and creator of Harold Hedd comics, was laid to rest on Lasqueti Island, B.C., five years ago. Most of his artwork remains undisturbed on the remote island where he spent his last twenty years. His family and friends in the island community now want to share his artistic legacy with the rest of the world during a two-day exhibit on March 17 & 18 at the Lasqueti Community Hall.

Holmes and his wife Martha moved to a homestead in the Inland Passage in 1982 to get away from the rat race and back to the land. Far from his former life as star cartoonist at the Georgia Straight in Vancouver, Holmes continued to produce pen and ink illustrations for comic books and magazines. During his last decade, he began making surreal oil paintings using the old fashioned methods of the great masters. They were slow laborious creations, which took months to complete. He refused to title or describe them, for fear of weakening their visual symbolism. They are now mute testaments to his inner visions.

Some of these and other paintings (still-lifes, landscapes, and scenes of island life) were sold or traded to neighbors as barter for goods or services, but very few have left the island. They will be shown all together for the first time at this Retrospective and Celebration of the Life of Rand Holmes. There will also be on display examples of his comic book pages from Slow Death Funnies, White Lunch Comix, Fog City Comics and Harold Hedd, along with his editorial and political art from the Georgia Straight and Vancouver Star, and collections and foreign editions of his work. It is a national treasure trove of art.

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"I would say that the academic study of comics right now is where the academic study of film was in the '60s," he says.

"Scholarship on film in the '60s tended to focus on certain things like genre and character, largely to the exclusion of visual elements." The arrival of acclaimed directors like Fellini, Bergman and Godard sparked more appreciation for film's more visual aspects, such as cinematography.

"With comics, a lot of the work that's going on takes place in literature departments," notes Dr. Beaty. Yet comics are usually produced by a writer and an artist working as a team. The best comics writers, creators like Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman, he notes, are respected in academic circles, "but we don't hear about the artists."

And while comics might be garnering more attention from academe, the same isn't always true for society at large. Dr. Beaty has written books on both television and comics, but at a party, "no one wants to talk to me about comic books," he says. "People are happy to get my take on Oprah or The Apprentice. That gets more respect than comics do."

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The streaming mangasodes are two-minute-long episodes building on characters in the Degrassi: Extra Credit novel series and Degrassi: The Next Generation, which returns to CTV later this year (unconfirmed date) for the second half of its sixth season. The mangasodes were produced by Yowza! Animation, the Toronto-based company with production credits on recent films such as Osmosis Jones, Titan AE, and Curious George.

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"push for independence may be due to the student union’s decision to confiscate an edition of the paper last winter that contained controversial Muhammad cartoons. The cartoons sparked outrage in the Muslim community for depicting the prophet Muhammad."

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"Si vous avez envie d'integrer une equipe dynamique, faites parvenir votre curriculum vitae a Madame Brigitte Moreau, par telecopieur au (514) 337-5982, ou par courriel a brigitte at librairiemonet.com"

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