Labels: summer reading, summer reading 08

A Letter from Lynn about FBorFW
Posted: August 29, 2008

To all my wonderful readers,

A couple of weeks ago I drew and sent the last two weeks of dailies, bringing to a close the main storyline of FBorFW. It sure wasn't easy! I think the drawings were harder to do than the writing, because I'd been thinking about what to say and how to say it for a long time. I had that "running in a dream" feeling, as though I'd never get there, but once the deed was done, I felt strangely comforted; a feeling that I'd done the right thing at the right time.

For the past 7 years or so I was aware that the stories were becoming more complicated, the drawings more controlled and the characters more realistic. Gone was the loose, funny, free-hand line I had started with. As the adventures of the characters became more defined, so did the drawing, until I researched everything, from forklifts to faces, from aircraft to arcades. I was out for accuracy. Every house, every apartment had a floorplan. The furniture and the color schemes had to be consistent- as did the information I gave about the "players", and if I made an error, you would let me know!

I have always been impressed by the fast response that comes when an error has been made, or if the story has a twist to it that doesn't go down well!

Readers catch the minutest of details and I'm always grateful for a correction or a reminder!! One thing I was often asked was to tell more about folks such as Anthony's parents, but there were so many characters...and only one statement a day (less than 30 seconds) to try and tell a story, I just hoped you would make up your own minds as to how these distant players fit in!! With that said, I have now let all of this pass into the mist as the story ends and I return to the beginning.

For Better or For Worse begins again on September the 1st with new material, new art and new enthusiasm! Without the need to visit all of the auxiliary characters, I can concentrate once again on the insular little Patterson household. I have the children all to myself again. I can do spot gags and silly stuff. I can fix what I don't like about my early work as I add and subtract...redraw and just improve everything.

The crazy part is drawing the way I used to draw!! I practised, using the first two books, copying as if I was trying to draw someone else's work, not my own! It's taken some time to simulate the earlier work, but it's coming and because it's a simpler style with less detail in the background, I can comfortably do all the art myself without the need for another illustrator.

This makes the process faster and because I'll be including some of the classics, I'll be able to take some much needed time off!

I expected to find a return to my old style of drawing a bit stressful, but it's been easy! I also expected to find it hard to rip into the belief that I was a young mom again with two small kids...but this is really fun!!! I'm so enjoying the loose style, the freedom to play with the younger Pattersons again and the less complicated cast of characters. Mixing the classic and new strips, is both challenging and rewarding as I improve the work I started with. Who gets to do this??? I consider it a real privilege to be able to work on the beginning again and I hope you'll enjoy what I do. One way or another you'll let me know - and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Lynn Johnston

Labels: comic strips, Lynn Johnston

Labels: British Columbia, conventions, events, Vancouver

Labels: book launches, graphic novels, Montreal, Quebec

Labels: cartoonists, conventions, events, fanexpo 2008, graphic novels, hobbystar, photos, Quebec, Toronto

Labels: conventions, events, fanexpo 2008, hobbystar, Toronto

Labels: kids comics, publishing, Toronto

Labels: publishing, Toronto, webcomics

Labels: conventions, events, fanexpo 2008, hobbystar, Toronto

Hello,

The Toronto Comic Jam is this Tuesday, August 26th (TOMORROW!) from 9:00 on, in the back room of the Cameron House, 408 Queen St. W., Spadina & Queen. B.Y.Own pens. Paper provided.

Also:
Charlie's Gallery Live Art Drawing Classes September 4th and 18th (events happen
every other Thursday) and always start at 8:30 p.m.
112 Harbord Street
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=24085631452&ref=ts#/group.php?gid=18446549707

See you there!

-Dalton
www.torontocomicjam.com
It's The Toronto Comic Jam - Facebook

Labels: Toronto

• What "mainstream" U.S. superhero comics and related news there was at the show seems to have been largely reported by Comic Book Resources. They also have an interview with artist Pia Guerra, who was not at FanExpo, about a new Dr. Who comic book.

• Many photo galleries are already online, of course, including this one focusing on the horror side of the con (that is, the intentionally horrific Rue Morgue "Festival of Fear", not the everyday horrific spectacle of masses of sweaty people rubbing against each other in a confined space). As well, the ace photogs at the Anime London blog have two separate, cosplay-heavy galleries up, focusing on costumes from Saturday and the Saturday evening masquerade.

Labels: conventions, events, fanexpo 2008, hobbystar, Toronto

Labels: comic jams, events, Montreal, Quebec, social ink

Labels: conventions, events, Toronto

Labels: British Columbia, Vancouver

Labels: British Columbia, comics history, comics on film, events, undergrounds, Vancouver

"I feel like I'm just escorting this thing along, not driving it," says illustrator and comic artist Matt Forsythe of Ojingogo, his new graphic novel from Drawn & Quarterly. "It's kinda weird seeing my name on the cover-that's how dissociated I feel from it."

Labels: book launches, Montreal, new books, Quebec

Labels: summer reading, summer reading 08

Labels: summer reading, summer reading 08

Labels: art show, book launches, British Columbia, can-con, comic jams, drawings, ephemera, events, events links, illustration, mini-comics, social ink, Vancouver, zine fair, zines

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (August 17, 2008) -- Comic books and graphic novels have, over the past twenty years, become a widely embraced medium in book publishing. Initially dismissed as children's entertainment, comics have now developed a maturity and range of vision that rivals other forms of art and literature. Graphic novels are read by people from all walks of life and have reached a level of critical acceptance that was unheard of decades ago. This resurgence has been led by a number of young artists who bring unique voices to the medium. Von Allan, an Ottawa-based artist and graphic novelist, joins this group with his recently published graphic novel "Li'l Kids: road to god knows ... adventures!"

"Graphic novels offer a combination of words and images that speak to us on a very fundamental level," says Allan. "In a way I think it's storytelling at its most primal form. It allows an author to engage with a reader in a way that's similar to literature and yet very, very different. Comics, when you come right down to it, are just ink marks on a piece of paper. That a reader can interpret that into a fully formed story is really quite remarkable. On top of it, so much of what makes sequential art come alive is defined by what's not there. The gutter space between each panel of art is very important. This is where the reader's imagination and personality comes into play. It's a beautiful medium and one I love exploring. Hopefully that sense of exploration comes across in 'Li'l Kids.'"

Another unique aspect of the graphic novel is its availability in multiple channels. "Li'l Kids" is downloadable as a free PDF eBook on the artist's website. In addition, a free torrent version is available via LegalTorrents.com. The graphic novel is distributed under a Creative Commons Canada licence that grants readers the ability to distribute the online versions of the book for free. "I believe in both print publishing and bookstores and I always have," says Allan. "But I also believe that obscurity is one of the hardest things for young artists to avoid. By using a variety of online distribution tools as well as more traditional print publishing, I'm hoping more people will get to know both myself and my work. I believe that this helps build a platform for my continued development as an artist and helps grow my audience at the same time. I'm also very pleased to see that the book is already available through a number of channels, notably online at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble."

"Li'l Kids" is a collection of three interlocked short stories that focus on elements from a young girl's life. We see Marie, the main character in each story, develop and grow; from meeting a new friend to her burgeoning awareness of both her family's poverty and her mom's mental illness. This later theme is more fully explored in the graphic novel "the road to god knows...;" Marie is only eight years old at the time of these three stories. As a result, she is only just beginning to be aware of the world around her and her place in it. Each story stands on its own but, when taken together, they demonstrate that childhood, like most aspects of life, can have its ups and downs. Being a child can be fun, scary, and magical; but sometimes the things that seem very little at the time can have a profound effect on you later on in life. That's certainly true for Marie and her experiences in these stories help to bear that out. Later, in "the road to god knows...," we see just how significant some of those events can be.

In addition to the three stories, this collection includes a large amount of supporting material. Concept and thumbnail art illustrate how each story was put together. Allan also discusses where each story's inspiration came from and how each story's initial idea formed. Lastly, he shows each step from story outline to completed script.

"Li'l Kids: road to god knows... adventures!" is an 88 page graphic novel and has an ISBN of 978-0-9781237-1-0. The suggested retail price is $13.95 US.

About Von Allan: Von Allan was born red-headed and freckled in Arnprior, Ontario, just in time for "Star Wars: A New Hope." He managed Perfect Books, an independent bookstore in Ottawa, for many years while working on story ideas in his spare time; eventually, he decided to make the leap to a creative life, and "the road to god knows..." was the result. Additional information about the graphic novel can be found at www.vonallan.com.

Labels: book launches, graphic novels, Ontario, Ottawa, profiles, publishing

Labels: comics retailers, summer reading, summer reading 08, Toronto

@ SFU Harbour Center
Fletcher Challenge Theater
Wednesday, August 27, 2008, at 7 pm

"[His] paintings . . . represent a contemporary Haida inquiry into image and narrative . . . and they link Haida and non-Haida concerns through a popular culture medium."

Michael Yahgulanaas was born born in Prince Rupert in 1954 and raised in Delkatla, on Haida Gwaii. He has exhibited work around the world and currently has collections at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, as well as at the Kawasaki City Manga Museum in Japan. More....

mny.ca
rockingraven.com

Labels: British Columbia, can-con, Vancouver

Co: Facebook

Labels: art show, can-con, events, Ontario, Toronto

1. Max Douglas. Aka Salgood Sam. Artist writer, other @ www.salgoodsam.com

2. What is your latest project - I just had a story with writer Mark Sable published in Comic Book Tattoo, a monster anthology inspired by the Music of Tori Amos.

Also still pointing out Therefore Repent, and post rapture grafic novel written by Jim Munroe. Pleased to say that seems to be doing well, and the trailer i made for it has topped 1000 views on you tube, thanks in part to the wonderful song Michelle Breslin let me use for it. Check her stuff out here.

3. Please provide a list of books you have recently read or are planning to read: @#$!, you got me. I really haven't been reading the last few months at all. Last one was 'The Head Trip' by Jeff Warren. It's amazing. Really interesting book about how we experience consciousness and other states of mind. I'd like to look into SMR stuff, maybe they'll make a game for that with this.

On the meaning to list still is the other half of 'The End of Faith' by Sam Harris; 'A Fine Ending' by Louis Rastelli; and maybe the other half of the Eisner/Miller book from DH. Didn't grab me like i wanted it to the first time.

I have read some good comics. Picked up 'Mouse Guard fall 1152' by David Peterson. That's what I'm talking about. Good stuff. And interview with David can be found here.

Been looking at 'Extraction' - was talking to David and Joe on the street the other day and reminded that i'd only looked at it briefly so far. It was cool talking with him at the Man Salon.

I want to re-read Jeff Lemire stuff, been thinking about it a lot. And 'Garage Band' by Gipi. And i was given 'American Born Chinese' by Gene Luen Yang by the ISR guys in NY, i've been looking forward to checking that out..

4.What am i doing? I'm currently working on Dream Life, haven't posted in a while, want to get further ahead of myself first, enough of a teaser out there for now. I've gotten on a bit of a short-story jag, running a little late for my liking on my submission for Popgun 3, being uptight with the ink i feel. It's getting there though. And there are two other anthologies submissions in the works, both music related. I tried to stop them but they just had to be done.

I don't know if i'll be appearing somewhere, nothing seem cretin just now. Also way overdue to do some back end work on this site, i could do with some interns. Interns and a back rub.

Labels: Quebec, summer reading, summer reading 08

Labels: Quebec, summer reading, summer reading 08

Hello Max, I do not have a blog account and so I am unable to comment directly at Sequential. Please post this comment as found below:

I'm glad to see Sequential address this issue and not run away. I think you are ignoring the truth about how the DWA's advertise themselves. Place the words 'Canada's premier comic award' or 'the country's premier comic award' into google and see what comes up (don't forget to look at the cached results, also). There can be no debate that the DWA's refer to themselves this way.

So, Bryan Munn is deeply involved with the DWA's and Sequential? That might explain his Sequential post on June 27, 2008: "... the 4th Annual Doug Wright Awards, the country's premier comics awards ...", though that was lifted right off of the DWA's website. Or on The Comics Journal message board, Brad MacKay wrote, "...Canada's premier cartooning awards meets Canada's best-known cartoonist" and, "...the 4th Annual Doug Wright Awards, the country's premier comics awards...". Check The Beguiling's website, as well as the TCAF site, to see the same sentiment. Brian and Brad are both deeply involved in the DWA's and they are the ones writing these words. A lot of people don't see any difference between being 'Canada's premier awards' and 'THE Canadian awards'. In fact, the DWA wording of 'premier' is probably more pretentious and self serving than 'THE'.

Herve may have been over the top with some of comparisons, but he certainly brought a long discussed topic out into the open. I cannot speak for Herve but it would seem to me that the issue really is that the DWA's are self described as 'Canada's premier awards', while containing no French Canadian content.

Further, your suggestion of having the Wright's merge, or work alongside, the Prix Bedelys is an strange suggestion. There is another, much more obvious, pairing. But we all know that would never happen, and only because the DWA membership meeting would resemble a scene from Cronenberg's Scanners at the suggestion.

Best,
Robert Haines

Labels: awards, blogosphere, can-con, events, festivals, Letter to the Editor, publishing, tcaf

When: Saturday, August 16th, 2008. 8pm until midnight.
Where: Clubhouse Japanese Restaurant
255 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver
Who: Anyone who is of legal drinking age is invited.
How Much: Free. Bring your own pencils/pens. Paper is provided.

I've reserved the upstairs room at the Clubhouse Japanese Restaurant for the Jam. I've been told to let everyone know that there is a maximum capacity of roughly 25 people. If there is overflow, we can always take a table or so downstairs.

Also, if you're drawing with markers that bleed through paper, be sure to either bring a drawing surface or place extra sheets of paper under the paper you're drawing on.

Crosspost as you see fit.

Don't forget about the Vancouver Comic Jam site at www.vancouvercomicjam.com.

See you there!

Ed

Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, events, Vancouver

First I think that it's clear the DWA's present themselves as A Canadian award, not THE Canadian awards. A point made by Brad MacKay but also consistent with my impression of their promotion of the awards. St-Louis's argument seems to be build a lot on the idea that something other than this is true.

About The Doug Wright Awards

The Doug Wright Awards were established in 2005 to cast a spotlight on the range of cartoonists and comic artists working in Canada.

Language of work
[SeqEd:accepted for submissions]

For the first year at least, The Wrights will only consider works that are available in English or are wordless. (French-language works that are translated into English will be eligible.)

"If the Harvey Awards, were to refuse all comic books by blacks or women, until they bleached their skin white or undergo hormone therapy to change their gender, it would be clear to everybody that their policy and the support of those awards was morally wrong"

Numerous times have I inquired locally in Montreal, as to why more effort is not made by French creators and publishers to translate the huge amounts of work produced here into English for the larger North American market. Or why there are so few sites promoting the Quebec community outside of the Francophone sphere.

Labels: Alberta, analysis, awards, bd, blogosphere, can-con, cartoonists, comics history, francophone, furries, Montreal, news, people, Quebec, tcaf

• Seth writes about how comics is different from writing for the Walrus and illustrates his piece with a short strip.

• Canadian documentary "An Independent Mind" features persecuted Algerian cartoonist Ali Dilem.

• New Brunswick journalist Darcey McLaughlin wonders if monthly comic books/floppies are on their way out.

• The trailer for the new Apocalipstix graphic novel is now online.

• Francis Hervieux has photos from the recent Montreal Otakuthon.

• Blake Bell is profiled at Publisher's Weekly re: his book about U.S. cartooning legend Steve Ditko.

• An appreciation of that famous Lynn Johnston comic strip.

• Here is the other side, a non-appreciation.

• The Fathers for Justice types are at it again, dressing as superheroes.

• Happy birthday, Bookninja!

• Nicolas Robel's Crocos, a Topffer prizewinning book when published in Switzerland in 2007, is now translated into German.

Labels: links, Lynn Johnston, New Brunswick, Quebec

Labels: Ontario, summer reading, summer reading 08, Toronto

Labels: Ontario, summer reading, summer reading 08, Toronto

• Conflict of Interest Dept: As we reported in the previous post, The Wright Awards were held last Friday. I guess the big news, besides the winners of course, was a few comments by Lynn Johnston about the "absolute" end date of For Better or For Worse (August 31) and her intention to redraw the old strips for re-syndication. Nancy Beiman has a blog post with some Johnston quotes from the Q&A event, knitted together and somewhat out of context, but largely accurate. The CBC coverage has a straightforward report with more great quotes. Editor and Publisher has a short blurb/Johnston backgrounder. And see here for Best Emerging Talent-winner Jeff Lemire's earliest comics memories.
  

• Does Harper Hate Comics? Dept: The Harper government has cut funding to PromArt, the federal agency responsible for promoting Canadian art and performance abroad. The agency granted money ($4.7 million annually) to artists to pay for travel, to exhibit, perform, attend conferences, etc. As the name of the agency indicates, this was one of the major ways for creative types to promote art from this country in other countries. Conservative media like the National Post have heralded the move as a vote for free markets (and more starving artists, I guess). The government spin is the usual - "Certainly we felt some of the groups were not necessarily ones we thought Canadians would agree were the best choices to be representing them internationally,". Saner minds see a connection to political interference in arts funding, a la Bill C-10. The Canadian Press has the story.

• Censorship Dept: The Alberta Human Rights Commission has dismissed the complaint against Ezra Levant and the Western Standard for republishing the Danish Muhammad cartoons. You can read the official dismissal report here (pdf file). It is a fascinating document and I urge everyone to read it. The dismissal was based on the fact that Levant reprinted the cartoons as part of a news article discussing the issue, without obvious (or at least extreme) bias (which would be a crime in Canada). The conclusion reads, in part, ""While the cartoons do, in isolation, reinforce existing stereotypes of Muslims, the cartoons placed in the context of the accompanying article, cannot be said to express deep seated feelings of hatred and contempt against Muslims." So the report concludes, "A reasonable person would not consider that the republication of the cartoons in the context in which they were republished, would expose Muslims to the very strong feelings of hatred and contempt. Again, while the republication of the cartoons in isolation would likely promote existing stereotypes, and Muslims are a relatively vulnerable group, the effect of this communication as a whole (cartoons and accompanying article) would not make it more acceptable to others to manifest hatred or contempt against the Muslims." You can read the Western Standard's own report here, Levant's press release here.

Labels: Alberta, awards, censorship, comic strips, grants, Lynn Johnston, political cartooning

Labels: comic strips, comics history, summer reading, summer reading 08

Labels: awards, events, graphic novels, Lynn Johnston, Ontario, Toronto

Labels: awards, comic strips, comics in libraries, events, graphic novels, Lynn Johnston, Ontario, Toronto

Labels: Ontario, summer reading, summer reading 08, Toronto

Labels: book launches, events, graphic novels, Ontario, Toronto

Labels: Ontario, summer reading, summer reading 08, Toronto

Labels: floppies, graphic novels, publishing

• Wolf-in-sheep's-clothing dept: Antiques columnist misidentifies WWI Canadian cartoon book as WWII book.

• Mississippi-learning dept: Jeet Heer writes about the rise in comics scholarship and interviews the editor of the University of Mississippi Press.

• Facebook-holocaust/not-really-comics dept: Chris Butcher may not be your friend, but don't be offended.

• U.S.-comics-characters dept: The top 5 enviro characters. What, no Ms. Mystic?!?

• San-Diego dept: the big comic convention in San Diego, USA is now "comics history". I enjoyed reading and looking at the pictures of bloggers from D+Q, Chris Butcher, and Kevin Boyd. In terms of "news" from the show, the big stories from a Canadian perspective were the announcement of Darwyn Cooke's newest project and Pia Guerra's double-win at the Eisner Awards (Best Penciller/Inker Team & Best Continuing Series).

• Obama-cartoon-backlash dept: Margaret Wente and Tauseef Hassan debate the now-infamous New Yorker cover by Barry Blitt.

• Osterberg-sightings dept: Apparently, a 61-year-old man exposed himself at the Montreal Comic Jam.

Labels: comics history, links, Quebec

Labels: cartoonists, graphic novels, Ontario, summer reading, summer reading 08, Toronto

Labels: art show, drawings, events, Montreal

Labels: British Columbia, events, Vancouver