Labels: British Columbia, events, Ontario, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver

Perro Verlag Books by Artists is pleased to announce the launch of their spring titles at Storage Gallery on Saturday March 31st, 8PM at 28th and St George in Vancouver. Please come to celebrate new books by Julia Feyrer, Doug Jarvis, Collin Johanson, Fiona Smyth, James Whitman, and an exquisite collaboration by Jo Cook, Wesley Mulvin, and Terry and Owen Plummer.

The books by Feyrer, Johanson, Smyth, and Whitman are part of the Hell Passport Project, a 20 volume edition by 20 Canadian artists published periodically as each artist completes their book for the series. Printed in a limited edition, these publications showcase the work of the individual artists as they riff on connections between passports and Hell.

As part of his solo exhibition, It's All in my Head, for Access ARC's Project Room, January 12 - 27, 2007, Doug Jarvis has designed a catalogue with additional material from his ongoing collection of perceptual tools and gestures.

Exquisite Dino World Corp reproduces the collaborative drawings that Cook, Mulvin, Plummer and Plummer exhibited in Welcome to Dino World at the lowercase gallery in November 2006.

Please join us. Refreshments will be served!

For more information contact: books_by_artists@perroverlag.com

Perro Verlag Books by Artists
PO Box 60206
Fraser RPO
Vancouver, BC V5W 4B5
www.perroverlag.com

Labels: British Columbia, events, Vancouver

Business Opportunity

Video rental, comic, gaming, collectable store, located in the heart of University population. Unique market, constant source of fresh traffic combined with a large existing client base of approximately 3000 customers. If you're looking to purchase a high traffic, evolving, friendly business, this is your chance. All store fixtures, product, till, computers, televisions and client base come with sale.

Contact 1-519-***-**** and leave message for a return call.

Labels: comics retailers, comicshoptalk, manga

I found out how graphic novels became eligible for grants, what phone calls stress their staff the most, and that technological changes may banish the ghost of vanity press and make self-publishers eligible for funding.

Labels: can-con, grants, interviews, news, pod casts, publishing

NRAMA: Jellaby started life as a webcomic and you recently signed a two-book deal with Disney's Hyperion For Kids imprint. What will the book include and when is it scheduled?

KS: The first book will include the first two chapters that were originally serialized on the web, as well as an additional 80 pages of new material that continues the story. At the moment, it's scheduled for a release in the spring of 2008.

NRAMA: The primary characters in Jellaby are the 10-year old Portia and the monster living behind her house. How did these two characters come about for
you?

KS: It was a combination of two very specific things. Back in 2004, Dean Trippe was putting together a zine of monster illustrations, and he asked me if I wanted to contribute something. Of course I said yes, and I drew up a little girl hugging this giant grub-like monster, and had a blast doing it. I don't believe the zine was ever printed up, but that one image had taken root my head, and I found myself idly drawing these two characters in my sketchbook whenever I had the chance.

Right around that same time, I was talking to Hope Larson, who was telling me about her story of a girl and her imaginary friend in the woods, and I remarked that I had a similar idea brewing in my head... it didn't take us very long after that to pool our resources and put together the Secret Friend Society.

NRAMA: Secret Friend Society was, and is, an online free comics venue initially started for both of you comics.

KS: Yes. Hope was instrumental in actually getting me off my lazy butt to actually sit down to write and draw the thing.

Labels: graphic novels, interviews, webcomics

Labels: comics writers, webcomics

Soft Instruments has been percolating in various forms for the better part of ten years. It will be my big sci-fi/steam punk project, told in an old fashioned serialized comic strip format. If my Essex County books are my love letter to my childhood home, my family and my love of hockey, than SI is my secret lust letter to Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, William Gibson, and Alan Moore.

Labels: Ontario, Toronto, webcomics

And, more seriously, a mythic approach or a different form can allow for a whole new way of understanding a subject --Chester Brown's Louis Riel graphic novel, for example, is way more accessible than dense and vaguely obscurantist Canadian histories on the same topic.

I'm not advocating elevating comics to high art. I've been around long enough to know that being canonized isn't all it's cracked up to be. But I do think that high art has a lot more in common with the gutter than with respectable, middlebrow art. Van Gogh sold one painting in his life and was considered a crappy painter, so crappy he had to take his ass to the sticks. Herman Melville's novels were such a failure that he quit writing them. Emily Dickinson? Shut-in. Nijinsky? Booed off the very stage he was humping fifteen minutes into Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring." And as with James Tiptree, jr., there's a passel of English Victorian novelists with male pseudonyms, including all three Brontes. High art is often disdained as something a child could do, as mocking the audience, as degenerate, as gutter trash. I guess that's part of why the phrase, "gutter culture" makes me a little itchy, even though I know here at the Cultural Gutter we're reclaiming it.

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Visser will miss all the friends he made. A group of them, who met at the store, still go out for dinner every Saturday after they've picked up their comics.

"Sometimes I felt like a bartender; people would spend the whole day here talking and telling me their problems," said Visser, who created his own comic, called Paladin. "I feel really bad about closing the store, like I'm stabbing them in the back. Some have been with us the whole 28 years and now I'm closing the door on them."

However, he's going to continue on in some capacity, calling it a buying club for his devoted regulars.

The lure of comics and graphic novels, said Anthony, is that they transport readers to a different world, with endless possibilities.

"To (readers), comics are a form of escapism," he said. "Personally, I like escapism because life can be just too dreary sometimes."

Over the years, Visser has owned copies of valuable titles such as The Amazing Spider-Man No. 1, X-Men No. 1 and Uncanny X-Men No. 1. Still, he doesn't regret selling them to devoted collectors.

How serious are the store's regulars? Rita remembers when a couple, married earlier that day, swung the limo by and, still dressed in formal attire, hurried in to pick up a few issues before the honeymoon.

Visser said he plans to take a vacation and wants to continue writing for Quantum Leap and Star Trek fanzines, among other publications.

Labels: comics retailers, comicshoptalk

Please be aware that, due to St. Patrick's Day, the jam is on the 4th Saturday and not the 3rd this month.

What: Vancouver Comic Jam.
When: Saturday, March 24th, 2006. 8pm until closing.
Where: The Jolly Alderman Pub (12th and Cambie).
Who: Anyone who is of legal drinking age is invited.
How Much: Free. Bring your own pencils/pens. Paper is provided.

RAV line construction is taking place in front of the Alderman on Cambie, so keep that in mind if you need to park. There should be plenty of parking available on the side streets.

Crosspost as you see fit.

Upcoming Comic Jam dates have been posted here: http://community.livejournal.com/vcj/profile

The Crown Commission Message Board can be found here: http://crowncommission.com/phpbb2/index.php

Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, events, Vancouver

Mosher began his career as a street artist in Quebec City in the early 1960s while he studied at the Ecole des beaux arts.

He later worked for the Montreal Star before joining The Gazette.

Mosher has won two National Newspaper Awards for his work. In 1985, he became the youngest person to be inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame. In 1997, he and his counterpart at La Presse, Serge Chapleau, had a joint retrospective of their work at the McCord Museum.

Mosher's work has appeared in 40 books. He was invested as an officer of the Order of Canada in 2003.

Labels: awards, political cartooning, Quebec

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"In American comics, for instance, most of the comics are superheroes or close variations of superheroes. It's not that I dislike the genre but I wish there was more room for the other genres. In Europe, you can find a broader range of genre and they all sell very well. So that's one advantage in Europe.

On the other hand, I find the actual American market being more dynamic these days. In the sense that many great books were published during the last years. Writers like Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, BKV and many others make the comic world very lively."

Labels: floppies, people, Quebec, U.S. superhero franchises

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Labels: comics history, floppies, Ontario, publishing, Toronto

Posted by Max.

Labels: awards, bd, can-con, cartoonists, events, Montreal

Labels: comics history, events, undergrounds

So when we heard that Nick Craine was illustrating a new graphic novel about William Shakespeare's life, we thought here's a way to get all age groups interested in Shakespeare, even if critics can't figure out what songs by The Clash have to do with the Bard. Craine's idea to create a book that would detail the playwright's life from his childhood home in Stratford-upon-Avon to his time working in London is an excellent way to reach out to those who may not consider themselves fans of the Bard.

"I wanted to identify William as a punk rocker and as someone on the fringes," Craine said this week. Some academics and theatre critics may cringe at such words. The entire Shakespeare festival being staged in the city until May has elements of the unusual and unconventional. But there is something for everyone and Craine's book will appeal to many.

Labels: graphic novels, people, shakespeare

Buried deep in a bunker beneath Parliament Hill, a secret government agency is quietly plotting the deployment of Canada's newest line of defence.
At least that's Marvel Comics' story.
The world-renowned comic book publisher is turning its attention to Canada with the release of a new five-part monthly series called Omega Flight. The first instalment of the comic will hit bookstores on April 4.
The Omega Flight team will feature a hand-picked roster of super-heroes who find themselves based in Ottawa, fighting evildoers in a bid to defend the borders of the Great White North.
The funny thing is, only two of the team are actually Canadian. The team also includes three expatriate Americans and one alien.
"It's an interesting element," said Andy Schmidt, editor of the new Omega Flight comic. "When we first let people in on the roster there was a lot of outcry. Canadians don't like it -- they don't want the Americans to come in."
Mr. Schmidt said mixing Americans into the newly-formed group allows the comic's creative team to explore some storylines related to Canada-U.S. relations.

Labels: can-con, cultural imperialism, floppies, Ottawa, publishing

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

Labels: awards, British Columbia, Manitoba, political cartooning, Quebec, Vancouver, Winnipeg

I remember the first time I met Muff Mills. He had an outwardly crusty disposition. I recall muttering under my breath, "What the heck is his problem?!?" But then, I didn't know the character ... or the character behind the character.

His friends would say to me, "Oh don’t worry, that's just 'Muff'! He really wouldn't hurt a fly." And they were right. He was looking through life with those little round glasses and what he saw was different than anyone else. This is why when someone like Muff moves on to greater things; the people they leave behind really, really miss them. Such was the case on Friday down at the Legion in Galt. His friends and family were missing him; stunned that Muff wasn't there to get them through yet another one of life's dramas.

Labels: cartoonists, obituaries, people, poltical cartooning

Labels: comics retailers, comicshoptalk, Halifax, interviews, Nova Scotia, Ontario, shop profiles

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VOTING RULES

FANS ARE ALLOWED TO VOTE ONLY ONCE (online or mail-in ballot) IN EACH OF THE CATEGORIES. Multiple ballots by the same individual are discounted.

Voting in all categories is not required.

Only one ballot per person per address. Address information is used for voter verification ONLY and will not be used for any other purpose. Paper ballots without a name and address are disregarded. Address fields are required for online vote.

Ballots submitted with fake names are discounted.

Voting is open to Canadian fans in all categories. Canadians residing abroad are told to e-mail their choices in writing to joeshusterawards@yahoo.ca along with some details about where they came from (in Canada, before moving) and where they reside at the time of voting.

Voting is open to International fans in two categories: Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Creator - English Language, and Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Creator - French Language.

Labels: awards

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And here are my own photos from the night, you can see them all here on flickr...

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To find singer-songwriter Corb Lund's first appearance in a comic book, you would have to go back more than 20 years.

Somewhere in the dusty back copies of DC Comics' action-packed Sgt. Rock series is a letter written by a young Corby Lund of Taber, Alta.

The then 10-year-old rancher's son thought he had spotted a typo in a drawing of a sign outside a German village in one of Sgt. Rock's Second World War adventures. The comic-book fanatic felt obliged to alert the good Sergeant's team of editors to the mistake.

"It seemed really important at the time," says Lund, who admits he had forgotten about his letter being printed until a friend showed him a copy of the issue. "But the editors answered the letter, saying that's how the word was spelled in German. I was just stoked to be in there."

More than 20 years later, Lund has been immortalized proper in his own comic book title.

Labels: floppies, music

The store's cause is starting to get support from individuals across the country.

Toronto-area resident Terry Lewis, who describes himself as "perfectly straight," says he was so outraged by Little Sister's troubles that he's trying to mount his own fundraising campaign.

"You can't call it anything less than abuse by Canada Customs," says Lewis. "Someone in Canada Customs has decided they don't like the material that Little Sister's imports. The problem with that kind of abuse of authority is there's no knowing where it's going to stop."

Labels: censorship, news, Ontario, Toronto

Labels: events, exhibits, Gatineau, Quebec

Handing over the cheque to World Vision president Dave Toycen on Monday afternoon, Adam, an Elmcrest Public School student, said he felt "great."

"I just like helping people," he said. "I just think it's a good thing to do."

Toycen was amazed by Adam's dedication to helping needy people, and said he was inspired by the boy's selflessness.

"Adam's a reminder that children can really do things to bring change and challenge all of us to help," said Toycen, who presented the youngster with a poster of a water buffalo standing beside the comic book character created by Adam, Healthy Food Man.

Adam first created the character when he was on a doctor-prescribed no-sugar diet. In the comic, Healthy Food Man fights off a candy-coated enemy to save the day. He sold the full-colour comic for $5. He's thinking about following up with a second part to Healthy Food Man and hopes to use it to raise money again for people in need.

Labels: charities, publishing

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