Sequential

Jay Stephens Cartooning Class

Bryan — Sat, 19 May 2012 00:14:36 +0000

Crash Course in Cartooning
Guelph School of Art
Price: $130.00

Crash Course in Cartooning
with Jay Stephens
4 WEEKS, FRIDAYS, JUNE 1-JUNE 29
7PM-10PM

Emmy-award winning cartoonist and animation producer Jay Stephens is teaching a cartooning course! Experienced in all aspects of comics (syndicated comic strips, superhero comic books, humour comics, and Saturday morning cartoons –he created Tutenstein and The Secret Saturdays!), and extremely well-versed in the history of comics, Jay has the power of serious knowledge, and he’s funny as well!

Details:

Professional cartoonist Jay Stephens presents this introductory-level class on the art of cartooning in all it’s forms, touching upon commercial illustration, comic strips, animation, comics history, and graphic novels, with a focus on basic skills and knowledge. No prior experience necessary.

MATERIALS: sketchbook (8×10″ or larger), pencil, eraser, black fine tip inking pens and/or brush pens, ruler

No related posts.

Last of the Red Hot TCAF Reports

Bryan — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:56:20 +0000

Marc Bell shows off the Cornelius edition of his Shrimpy and Paul, while the book's translator Emilie Le Hin looks on approvingly.

TCAF 2012

by BK Munn

So. Here I am. I ventured into the belly of beastly Rob Ford’s Toronto, fought valiantly, was dragged from the battlefield by Valkyries, drank mead with fellow fallen heroes in Valhalla, and have returned to Midgard clad in a new form.

I was feeling a little old and jaded after this year’s Toronto Comic Arts Festival. Don’t get me wrong, the event still overwhelmed me with its all-fronts comic book attack; a double-barrel blast of events, artists, music, and hordes of comix fans that still left room for surprises and new discoveries. It’s just that I’ve been to a few of these events now and feel a little burned out, mostly because I have a hard time balancing the time I spend at the actual festival with the social aspect of spending time with Toronto friends, shopping and dining, and often end up frantically running around on the Sunday afternoon of the show, desperately trying to make sure I’ve seen all the “buzz” books and met all the international guests. It never works and I’m inevitably left feeling equally bummed and elated, wishing I had experienced more but grateful for what I was able to see, hear, and buy.

Still, like a young Peggy Lee standing on the sidewalk in her pajamas after the whole world has gone up in flames, I often find myself back home after the inferno of TCAF’s 300-plus guests, parties, and ton after ton of beautiful comics, wondering, is that all there is?

I met fellow blogger (Comics Syrup) and comics historian Rachel Richey at the informal dinner that followed the Doug Wright Awards on Saturday night. Since Rachel is younger than me and is from Ottawa, and therefore perhaps less likely to be a cynical burnout, I was curious if her experience of TCAF was substantially different from my own spoiled, Toronto-centric view of things. I asked her for her thoughts about the show, images and highlights. Here’s what she wrote:

Rachel Richey

“Having spoken with Peter Dako and James Waley and others from Toronto who produced comics in the last few decades, my impression of TCAF is that we are very privileged to have an event where broad ranges of like minded people can gather and network to promote not only themselves but also the industry.

Having small press, avant garde and alt comics, with generally similar intentions with their work but stylistically different, allows exploration into different areas of art and comics styles. While more cynical voices might say the festival was commercialized, I would say it’s definitely the promotion of arts culture. I even saw the age old tradition of exchanging comics. So, in answer, a powerful image from TCAF, I think, was the variety, be it international guests or stylistic approaches.

More broadly, as I mentioned before, networking was key, whether it was at an after party or the awards, or whatever. Promoting this kind of community, again, will really only serve to develop the field itself. This was very apparent by the mass of tweets about TCAF and it’s success in developing friendships, etc. days after the event.

I also feel like Dustin Harbin was a pretty big presence at TCAF this year, all around. His presence at Koyama, his comic, after parties and being at the Doug Wrights as well signified an almost international value and appreciation for what we were doing.”

So, maybe the community thing, talking to people, partying, sharing ideas and art, is the best thing about TCAF? Maybe I shouldn’t feel bad about being mostly (though selectively) social? Maybe next year I should spend the whole weekend in bars and restaurants and forget about buying comics and fruitlessly trying to see “everything” on the floor of the show?

Come to think of it, my favourite and most enduring memories from TCAF are those moments when I was actually standing (or even sitting) still for more than 5 minutes, longer than it took to say “Hi, I like your art, can I buy your book?” These were the times when I actually made a (admittedly, sometimes fleeting or confusing) connection with people, enjoyed an epiphany, or bonded over mutual passions. With this in mind, a few regrets, raves, and rants about TCAF 2012:

Rave: One of the chief pleasures of TCAF every year is that moment when I return home and get to use my own toilet for the the first time in days. The comic book I chose to accompany me in this task was Agent of the Counter-Revolution by Max Mose (Secret Acres). I couldn’t have dreamed up a better choice. A beautiful comic book, sort of a psychedelic sci-fi Island of Dr. Moreau for the post-Forming set, this work of art receives my highest praise: it moved my bowels!

Regret: Chided by Jeet Heer on Saturday night for missing his new daughter at The Wright Awards, I resolved to do better the next day. Alas, while I think I saw father and daughter and mother Robin across the floor on Sunday, I became distracted by some shiny object before I could make my way over to the D&Q table.

Micol

Rave: I checked out the set-up of visiting French publisher Cornelius. They are sort of like D&Q, publishing about 20 books per year with a list made up of some arty French graphic novels mixed with translations of North American comics heavyweights (Crumb, Clowes, Chester Brown). I spent way too much money on comics I can barely read but then was lucky enough to meet TCAF Featured Guest Hugues Micol who spent about twenty minutes (!) sketching in my copy of his graphic novel “3″. Apparently French cartoonists are notorious for trying to outdo each other with elaborate free drawings during personal appearances, but I was really quite impressed with the time and effort the artist took to render such a beautiful image which has become one of my fetish treasures from TCAF.

Rant: I wish that TCAF’s venue the Toronto Reference Library was a bit less like a giant open-spaced library and more like a machine for exhibiting comics and their creators. Minor quibble maybe. I’ve marveled at how the space functions as a library all weekend, with people using the public computers and, I presume, researching stuff. I like this about the current incarnation of TCAF. But there are parts of the library space that are not super well-suited to TCAF’s set-up and the transition between the various areas isn’t always clear and clearly marked. Some of the people in the Wowee Zonk/small press area (in something called “The Browsery”?) of the show reported very light traffic through their tucked away to the side through a passageway that can look like the entrance to private offices (and I have to wonder about how publisher Secret Acres did with their table in the same passageway.) Also, the entrance to the library is not always the best covered in terms of volunteers, meaning that many people are sort of left to their own devices and just kind of wander in without being given a map or any other guidance. The show is free, so there are no official gatekeepers, but a bit more of an official presence/greeters at the gate wouldn’t hurt.

Rave: The gang from Montreal publisher Colosse, including cartoonist Jimmy Beaulieu, were all sporting the little red ribbon swatches in solidarity with the student protesters in Quebec. Doing their part to export the revolt while adding a stylish flare to their wardrobes.

Les Editions Colosse

Regret: Tons of sold-out books that unfortunately sold-out before I could get my hands on them. These include Benjamin Marra’s gorgeous tabloid size collection of drawings based on American Psycho. Sean Rogers showed this to me at The Wright Awards and now I have to order one online, I guess. Would have rather got a signed version! Other sell-outs include many of the new Conundrum releases like Nina Bunjevac’s Heartless, which she blogged about here. I also missed the Britt Wilson book and who knows what else at the Koyama Press table (again, I think I was distracted before I made it all the way down the line, and missed out on Dharbin’s Diary Comics and the latest from Tin Can Forest, Wax Cross).

Rave: Briefly met Fiona Smyth, whose graphic novel for kids, The Never Weres, was published last year by Annick Press. Smyth teaches comic art at OCAD and was actually selling her students’ comics!

Regret: Probably didn’t talk to, let alone see, at least half of the Featured Guests from the show. It really is that big and distracting. I didn’t even get Aislin to sign my copy of The Hecklers, the history of Canadian cartooning he co-wrote with Peter Desbarrats and one of my favourite books.

the Guelph gang

Rave: If you stand in one place at TCAF, you will be surprised who will walk by. Ran into some folks I know from Guelph who had an entirely different experience of the show than I did, and I was totally cool with that. People come to TCAF through different portals and viewpoints. Some through webcomics. Some through Scott Pilgrim. Some through manga. Many, judging from the continued huge line-ups for her signature, come to see Kate Beaton.

Rave: Talked to solicitous tablemates John Martz and his new wife Lindsay on Saturday night after the Wrights. The best part of that was getting Martz’s perspective on his experience as a Wrights juror and how that related to the process of selecting nominees for the Ruben Awards. You know, all that Dustin Harbin comics awards stuff. (Harbin was at the same table but he was involved in deep discussion of Jack Kirby with Seth, Chester Brown and Jeet Heer.) Interesting fact: Martz related how joining the NCS at the beginning of his illustration career made him feel like he was a professional for the first time.

Rave: Also had a beer with Sequential publisher and graphic novelist Salgood Sam after the end of the show on Sunday. Caught up on a lot of recent personal news and talked about, you know, comics and stuff. (What the fuck else would we talk about, our prostates?)

Rant: Not alot of artists sell original art at TCAF. I love original art and have a small collection because it’s fascinating to see an artist’s process and to own an intimate piece of a comic I enjoy. There were quite a few prints on offer but not much else. Once again, I bought a page from Keith Jones (from his latest self-published opus, Morons) for a criminally, dare I say, moronically, low price. And it was a giant splash page! That’s it on the table there!

Derek M Ballard, Keith Jones, and Peter Thompson

Rave: Some are born with comics. Some buy comics. Some have comics thrust upon them. Somehow I ended up with, bought, or was given over 60 comics and related ephemera. Could that be right? I did a rough count later but have forgotten exactly. I looked the proper bag lady lugging them down Yonge Street but once I got back to the place I was staying I found almost all of them fit into one of those METRO recycled plastic shopping bags! Hopefully this way I won’t misplace any like I did last year, discovering a small trove of unread TCAF comics in a paper bag in my closet 6 months later.

And that’s all I’ve got.

So, it looks like maybe the raves outnumber the rants and regrets? Good stuff! I feel better. Now, more blurry photos:

Doug Wright Awards crew: Brad Mackay, Jerry Ciccoritti, and host Geoff Pevere

Erstwhile Montreal buds Billy Mavreas and Pigskin Peters nominee Marc Bell

Doug Wright Spotlight Award nominee Betty Liang

Box Brown and Josh Bayer

Pat Aulisio (Bowman 2016) and his new publisher, Hic and Hoc's Matt Moses

Michael Comeau shows off the sequel to his Pigskin Peters Award-winning Hellberta, Hellberta II

Both were 'Losers' at the Wright Awards: Seth and Michael Deforge

I think that's Ines Estrada and Lala Albert, cartoonists and publishers of the boner-inducing Mexican porn comic Gang Bang Bong

If you squint you can make out Patrick Kyle (Wowee Zonk, Black Mass)

Sequential's Salgood Sam and cartoonist Dalton Sharp (Toronto Comic Jam, Grawlix anthology) at the end of TCAF on Sunday

There are probably 300 reports from TCAF 2012 on the internet, but here are a few I had bookmarked:

-the Closed Caption Comics gang has better pictures plus party details.

-D&Q blogs and photographs mostly D&Q stuff (but you can see the back of my head in one of the photos!!!!!).

-Evan Annett’s TCAF weekend.

-turns out Secret Acres had an ok show, despite location.

-Faith Erin Hicks sold out.

-Ines Estrada.

-Chris Butcher says there were 18000 people this year, up 20%. No date for next year’s show yet.

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Sea and be Scene at TCAF 2012

Max — Sat, 12 May 2012 03:29:05 +0000

Lot of stuff i missed at the show even having two days to wander around. This clip, just people who come from the east coast! impressive…

Salgood Sam’s TCAF 2012 report! This is a truncated version, as I had already posted...
Conundrum Press TCAF report. Conundrum seems to be maturing into a very strong independent...
TCAF 2012 KICK-OFF EVENT! Jeff Smith, Gabriel Ba, and Fabio Moon Noir and the Fantastic in Comics. TCAF 2012 KICK-OFF EVENT!...

2012 Joe Shuster Award Nominees

Bryan — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:47:45 +0000

Francis Manapul's cover for Flashpoint: Grodd of War, published by DC, one of the nominees for Best Cover Artist

by BK Munn

The nominees for the 8th Annual Shuster Awards for Canadian comic book creators have been announced. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on September 15, 2012 at the Montreal Comic Con.

The categories and nominees are:

Artist / Artist Team:

Chris Bachalo Age of X: Alpha 1, Avengers 13, 15, Wolverine and the X-Men 1-3, X-Men 7-10 (Marvel Comics)
Marc Delafontaine Les Nombrils T.5: Un Couple D’enfer (Delcourt)
Stuart Immonen Fear Itself 1-7, “Queen, King, Off-Suit”/X-Men: To Serve and Protect 4 (Marvel Comics), “Say You’re Dead”/Outlaw Territory Vol.2 (Image)
Fred Jourdain Le Dragon Bleu / The Blue Dragon (Éditions Alto/Ex Machina/House of Anansi Press)
Jeff Lemire Jonah Hex 69 (DC Comics), “A Coffin for Mrs. Bishell”/ Outlaw Territory Vol. 2 (Image)
Yanick Paquette and Nathan Fairbairn (with Michel Lacombe) Swamp Thing 1-3, Batman Incorporated 3, 5 (DC Comics)
Cameron Stewart “Chapter 1: The School of Night”/Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes! 1 (DC Comics), Suicide Girls 1-4 (IDW)

Cartoonist:

Chester Brown Paying For It: A Comic Strip Memoir About Being A John (D+Q)
Darwyn Cooke “The Seventh”/Parker: The Martini Edition, “Betty Saves the Day”/Rocketeer Adventures 2 (IDW)
Guy Delisle Chroniques de Jerusalem (Delcourt)
Ray Fawkes One Soul, Possessions Book Two (Oni Press)
Francois Lapierre Chroniques Sauvages (Glenat Quebec)
Jeff Lemire Sweet Tooth 17-25 (DC/Vertigo)
Ramon Perez Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand (Archaia Press)
Michel Rabagliati Paul au Parc (La Pasteque)

Cover Artist:

Kalman Andrasofszky X-23 5-19, X-Men: Earth’s Mutant Heroes 1 (Marvel Comics), Stan Lee’s Soldier Zero 6-10 (Boom!)
Kaare Andrews Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis 5, Ultimate Comics Hawkeye 1-4, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man 156, 1-5, Ultimate Comics X-Men 1-5, Ultimate Comics Ultimates 1-5 (Marvel Comics)
Fred Jourdain Le Dragon Bleu / The Blue Dragon (Éditions Alto/Ex Machina/House of Anansi Press)
Francois Lapierre Chroniques Sauvages (Glenat Quebec)
Jeff Lemire Jonah Hex 69 (DC Comics), Sweet Tooth 18-28 (DC/Vertigo)
Francis Manapul The Flash Vol.4 9-12, The Flash Vol. 5 1-4, Flashpoint: Grodd of War 1, Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost 1-3, Green Lantern 4, Green Lantern Corps 62, Superboy 5, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents 5 (DC Comics) 7 Warriors (Boom!)
Yanick Paquette Batman Incorporated 3-5, Knight and Squire 1-6, Swamp Thing 1-4 (DC Comics)

Webcomic Creator / Creative Team:

Jayd Ait-Kaci (artist) The Fox Sister, Sfeer Theory
Emily Carroll (cartoonist) Comics 2011 (Anu-Anulan and Yir’s Daughter, Dream Journal Mar 30th, Margot’s Room, The Prince and The Sea)
Tony Cliff (cartoonist) Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant
Kate Craig (cartoonist) Heart of Ice
Iris and Zviane (cartoonists) L’ostie d’chat – Le blog de Jasmin et Jean-Seb
Drazen Kozjan (cartoonist) The Happy Undertaker
Ty Templeton (cartoonist) Bun Toons

Writer / Writing Team:

Anthony Del Col & Connor McCreery Kill Shakespeare 9-12 (IDW)
Francis Desharnais Motel Galactic (Editions Pow Pow)
Maryse Dubuc Les Nombrils T.5: Un Couple D’enfer (Delcourt)
Kathryn Immonen Avengers: Origins – Thor 1, Captain America and the First Thirteen 1, Wolverine and Jubilee 1-4, “Queen, King, Off-Suit”/X-Men: To Serve and Protect 4 (Marvel Comics), “Say You’re Dead”/Outlaw Territory Vol.2 (Image)
Jeff Lemire Animal Man 1-4, Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown 1-3, Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. 1-4, Giant Size Atom 1, Superboy 3-11 (DC Comics), Sweet Tooth 26-28 (DC/Vertigo), “-”/Brilliant! Tragic! The Comic Book 1 (Art Brut)
Tristan Roulot Le Testament de Capitaine Crown T.1: Cinq Enfants du Putain, Goblins T.5: La Fleur au Canon, Psykoparis T.1 (Soleil)
Kurtis G. Wiebe Green Wake 1-8, The Intrepids 1-6 (Image), “Logan’s Lost Lesson”/Marvel Holiday Special 2011 (Marvel Comics)
Jim Zubkavich Skull Kickers 5, 7-11 (Image)

The Dragon Award – Comics for Kids

Ariane et Nicolas Tome 6: Les Toiles Mysterieuses Paul Roux (Les 400 Coups)
Big City Otto Vol.1 Bill Slavin (Kids Can Press)
Hyena in Petticoats: The Story of Suffragette Nellie McClung Willow Dawson (Puffin Books)
L’Agent Jean Tome 1: Le Cerveau de l’Apocalypse Alex A. (Presses Aventure)
Lone Hawk: The Story of Air Ace Billy Bishop John Lang (Puffin Books)
Luz Sees the Light Claudia Davila (Kids Can Press)
Silly Kingdom: Alengrimrickshaw’s 211th Birthday Katie and Steven Shanahan (Self-Published)
Three Thieves Book 2: The Sign of the Black Rock Scott Chantler (Kids Can Press)

Gene Day Award – Self-Publishing

Silly Kingdom: Alengrimrickshaw’s 211th Birthday by Katie and Steven Shanahan
Ghost Rabbit by Dakota McFadzean
Drupe by Jeremy Bourgeois Raymonde
21 Journeys by the Cloudscape Comics Collective,
Fifteen Months by Colleen MacIsaac

Harry Kremer Award – Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Retailer

Amazing Stories (Saskatoon, SK)
Another Dimension (Calgary, AB)
The Comic Hunter (Moncton, NB)
Comic Readers (Regina, SK)
Golden Age Collectables (Vancouver, BC)
Heroes (London, ON)
L’Imaginaire (Quebec City, QC)
Silver Snail (Toronto, ON)
Studio 9 Comic Shop (Montreal, QC)
Warp 1 Comics and Games (Edmonton, AB)

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Conundrum Press TCAF report.

Max — Wed, 09 May 2012 19:53:44 +0000

Conundrum seems to be maturing into a very strong
independent publisher, sounds like they had a great show.

I wish I had enough cash to go crazy and buy everything they put out this year.
Damn, didn’t even register Nina’s book was there, missed my chance!
Was too busy chatting with friends at their table to pay proper attention to the spread!
Rats. Andy has posted a short upbeat report and some good photos of the show, check it out…

“Well TCAF this year was the bestest ever! Everyone seemed to have $20 bills in their pockets and were willing to spend. The quality of work throughout the room was unprecedented. There was actually a line up at the Conundrum table! We sold out of all our debut titles!” – Read the full post here.

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Squidface & The Meddler interview Jesse Jacobs & present Britt Wilson’s Buttsex

Max — Wed, 09 May 2012 07:07:53 +0000

Catching up with Squidface & The Meddler.

They interviewed Jesse Jacobs & published a story by Britt Wilson leading up to TCAF,
who both presented new books at the show.

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Salgood Sam’s TCAF 2012 report!

Max — Wed, 09 May 2012 02:52:35 +0000

This is a truncated version, as I had already posted a lot of the audio stuff before so I just linked to that content here. If you want to read the full version check it out here.

Recorded some of the sights and sounds of various events on my trip to Toronto for TCAF this year.

I was a tourist this time for a change, so was able to take in a lot of stuff. Great fun and got to spend some quality time with lots of old friends. Also met and talked a few times briefly with Fabio Moon which was nice. Been an admirer of his and his brother’s work for years. Ran into him last at the wrap party but was so wasted I probably gave him a funny impression! Ah well, they seem like very laid-back guys. Hope to chat with them under more calm, less profession-defined circumstances one day. Also had a few good short chats with Tom Neely, enjoyed a nice diner with James Turner, Brian Evinou, and Noel Tuazon. Also had a nice dinner on the last night with my primary collaborator here on Sequential Bryan Munn. We only see each other in person a few times a year so that was great. Met Jason Bradshaw in person finally and got a full set of his Boredom pays minis including he said the last copy left ever of his first issue. Had a warm chat on the TCAF floor with Artist and printer Tyrone McCarthy. Oh I could go on and on probably but can’t recall all the names I should right now so lets get on with it. Here’s my Video log, links to stuff, and some of the audio I recorded over the course of the 4 days. For the full experience make sure to have annotations turned on when you play the clip.

In order of appearance and with links as follows…

Comics vs Games Creative Jam art show at the Magic pony.

New Narrative V: Bodies/Cities conference and panels. I recorded audio from some of them, look here to listen to those.

A few highlights of the first instalment of The Comic Book Lounge’s On the couch [should that not be chesterfield?] with Ty Templeton! His guests were Mark Askwith (producer, InnerSpace), Award-winning cartoonist Scott Chantler (Three Thieves, Two Generals), artist & designer Ken Lashley (Blackhawks), and Will Pascoe (director, Lost Heroes Movie).

And I got roped into this one too at the end. Sorry about my quite voice and poor rhetoric, i don’t level well in a setting like that, I have to be right on top of the mic to be audible most of the time. very low voice and I’m not in the habit of projecting it a lot.

That’s followed but a good 12 or so min of table porn, i tried to scan everything that was on display at TCAF. I missed a room in the back and a few other small spots but otherwise this is just about ever inch of exhibitors spreads, shot in the last hour of the show on Sunday.

Some shots of my Haul from the trip, 22 books I traded for, was given or bought. Look for a nice clean shot of that at the end of the post here.

Some footage of the kick off event, Jeff Smith, Gabriel Ba, and Fabio Moon in conversation moderated by Mark Askwith! Listen to it here.

And last, some snaps of the drawing jam between Becky Cloonan & Zach Worton at the Third Annual Official TCAFête.

It was all a blast! This is just a tiny bit of what I saw and did. TCAF gets bigger every year and this is my first time just going to hang out and take in the sights [I've exhibited I think every year since 2005?] It’s a hell of a lot more fun to attend than exhibit I have to say.

For more on the festival go here, for more reporting on the festival go here.

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Jimmy Beaulieu, the FBDFQ, and students striking provocative poses

Max — Wed, 09 May 2012 02:37:08 +0000

Blogger Julia Caron posted about an expo at Galerie Morgan Bridge, and Jimmy Beaulieu‘s work on the theme of the student strikes in Quebec. The exhibit was part of the FBDFQ, the Festival de la Bande Dessinée Francophone, which ran last month. It’s always interesting to get the perspective of someone not totally dedicated to comics, but most of all I wanted to mention it for this image from the show that she posted. Check out the rest of the post for more of Jimmy’s work and Julia’s notes on it all.

Jimmy Beaulieu & Pascal Girard to attend Quai des bulles festival in Brittany Got a email with “Love and kisses” from my buddy...
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C-List: a post TCAF Round Up

Max — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:22:32 +0000

Max here, just got back home to Montreal from TCAF in Toronto.

Waiting for my own half hour video journal to upload i thought i’d gather up some of the various posts and reports i’ve seen so far over the weekend about the big show. Up top is a very slick looking tour of it all put together by Ryan Couldrey.

Item[s]: The Doug Wright Awards got lots of press, the Gazette noted Aislin’s induction into Giants of the North, the Canadian Cartooning Hall of Fame. Yahoo news asked Who was Doug Wright and why is there an award named after him? The CBC noted the winners in their Arts & Entertainment section, and the National ran this report. And the QUILLBLOG posted about the awards a couple times.

Item: The QUILLBLOG also ran some other TCAF stories. A two part series called Killer comics. Part one covers Koyama Publishing and Conundrum Press, part two Editions Tchai, Top Shelf, and Jeff Lemire! And this post about Guy Delisle’s Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City.

Item: The Torontoist posted a couple of lists of Five. One near the end of the even, of Five Up-and-Coming Cartoonists they discovered at TCAF 2012. And one at the start by our own D.Hains of “Five Artists to Catch at TCAF this Weekend“. Both are still good lists to look at, you might just discover something!

Item: Eugene Zhilinsky posted his live sketches from TCAF on the Editions Tchai blog here.

Item: The comic book lounge ran some FCBD events in parallel with TCAF including a new late night panel/talk-show/bar room after-show chat thing called ON THE COUCH with Ty Templeton that will be posted online at some point [look for some highlights in my video journal including me getting called up to the couch for some questions]. And the nights talk was wrapped with the announcement of this years Joe Shuster Award nominees. The lists for the different categories are going up on their site a bit at a time right now, scroll around to find them all.

Item: BlogTO posted a photo report about Kid Koala’s Space Cadet tour, looks like it was quite the visual spectacle as well as an auditory one.

Item: The Ottawa Citizen ran a story on the 4th about “the rise of highbrow comics”. Sounds a bit to my ear almost like a “comics are not just for kids” piece really, but it’s all good. They spotlight the work of Zak Sally & Jeff Lemire.

Item: The IGN blog posted a photo report of their blogers visit to TCAF here.

Item: An to wrap it for this post, ‘cus you’r going to be a while getting through these, The National Post has run Q&As every year with new up and comers appearing at TCAF, this year there are a LOT of them.

MariNaomi, Leah V Wishnia, Benjamin Marra, Jesse Moynihan, Natalie Nourigat, Kristina Stipetic,
Beth Hetland, David Blumenstein, Simon Moreton, Jen Breach, Andrew Fulton, Leland Myrick,
Ed Choy, Matthew Holm, Maxeem Konrardy, Farley Katz, Matthew Sheret, Alison Acton,
Nina Bunjevac, Ryan Dunlavey, Larry Hancock, Michael Cherkas, Emi Lenox, Most Ancient,
Christopher Baldwin, The Devastator, Eugene Zhilinsky and Tatyana Yuditskaya, Deanna Echanique,
Maiji/Mary Huang, Paul Gilligan, Christine Redfern, Robert Ullman,
Mandy Ord, Jose-Louis Bocquet, Kris Mukai & Kris Pearn!

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Doug Wright Award winners for 2012!

salgood sam — Sun, 06 May 2012 07:00:42 +0000

Canadian Comics big night and one of the spotlight events of TCAF, the Doug Wright Awards!

Undoubtedly the awards were documented but I failed to make it to the show myself this year. Was enjoying dinner a little too far from Jackman Hall to make it in time. Sorry folks!

First chance we get we’ll post photos or other media as it becomes available. But for now, here are this years winners…

The show was hosted by writer, journalist and broadcaster Geoff Pevere.

And the ceremony featured an on-stage discussion between writer Rick Salutin and political cartoonist Terry “Aislin” Mosher who is this years inductee for the Giants of the North: The Canadian Cartoonists Hall of Fame.

Best Book went to Kate Beaton, for Hark! A Vagrant, published by Drawn and Quarterly. This is her second Doug Wright Award. Previously Beaton’s self-published Never Learn Anything About History won the 2009 Doug Wright Award for Best Emerging Talent. And And Hark! A Vagrant won the 2011 Harvey Award for Best Online Comics Work, after being nominated in the same category the year before, and was nominated for a Joe Shuster Awards in 2009 and 2010!

Formally the emerging talent award, the Doug Wright Spotlight (a.k.a. “The Nipper”) recognizing talent deserving of wider recognition went to Ethan Rilly for Pope Hats #2, published by AdHouse Books. Previously Ethan won the 2010 Gene Day Award for Self-Publishing for Pope Hats #1.

And not least, the Pigskin Peters Award recognizing the best of avant-garde or experimental comics was awarded to Hellberta by Michael Comeau, published by Koyama Press.

The 2012 winners were decided by a jury that included: visual artist Shary Boyle, cartoonist John Martz (A Doug Wright Award Best Emerging Talent nominee in 2010 and Pigskin Peters Award nominee in 2008), book artist and professor George Walker and Julie Traves, deputy arts editor for The Globe and Mail.

Speaking on behalf of the jury, Shary Boyle praised Beaton’s book. “The world of comics can be a sequestered and dusty place,” she said. “As the comic community bemoans its shrinking readership and dying forms, Beaton rises up and throws open the doors to a whole new audience – welcoming one and all with her generous vision and sense of sophisticated, inclusive playfulness.”

Jurist John Martz had this to say about Ethan Rilly (aka Hartley Linn):
“Hartley is a cartoonist who takes his time to get it right, and what we as fans might lose in quantity, we most definitely gain in quality. This scrutiny and attention to detail did not go unnoticed by the jury, who recognize and applaud Hartley’s skilled draughtsmanship and the maturity of his writing. It can be no easy task to write a story about an introspective Toronto law clerk, and have it be so compelling, so rewarding to study, and be filled with such warmth. It is most deserving of this award.”

Jeet Heer, of the Wright Awards nominating committee which chooses the annual Pigskin Peters Award, described Hellberta as “Many things — a pastiche of superhero comic, a political satire, a post-apocalyptic fable – all melded together to form a single nightmarish vision. Michael Comeau brings to this tradition an energetic line, a fertile imagination, and the courage to put his most outrageous ideas on paper.”

Brown, Seth, Beaton, Ollmann & DeForge short-listed : 2012 Doug Wright Awards Co: the Doug Wright Awards Legendary cartoonist Terry ‘Aislin’ Mosher...
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TCAF PODCASTS: NEW NARRATIVE V: Edward Hornick, “I Was a Teenage Death Ray”

salgood sam — Sat, 05 May 2012 07:01:07 +0000

“One of Daniel Clowes’ strangest creations, The Death Ray, satirizes classic superheroes, creating not only a unique deconstruction of superhero tropes, but an indictment of the fans of those escapist comics. Death Ray is the story of a teenage outcast-turned-vigilante who is almost immediately corrupted by his newfound abilities. It is notable for how thoroughly it debunks any of the presumed illusions of superhero stories. Unlike Marvel characters’ origins, which are typically tied to their selfless acts, (such as Daredevil rescuing a blind man away from a speeding truck), The Death Ray’s Andy acquires his superhuman strength when he starts smoking. Clowes’ protagonist has an immature, reductionist sense of right and wrong, and becomes increasingly detached from anybody who can help him understand the responsibilities that come with his power. While other stories provide readers with escapist fantasy in which good invariably triumphs over evil, the Death Ray is far more nihilistic, and suggests a darker side to that appeal.
With this essay, I will place The Death Ray on a continuum of superhero stories. I will also discuss prior and subsequent efforts of comics creators to deconstruct superhero narratives. While other creators, such as Alan Moore, developed their seminal critiques of superheroes after decades of writing them, Clowes identifies superheroes as a staple of “mainstream” comics and describes his work as a deliberate counter-balance to that mainstream. Superhero subversions such as Kick-Ass depict their characters with colorful, dynamic styles and invariably include moments where characters must make noble sacrifices, but Clowes’ artistic and narrative decisions deliberately downplay dramatic release, denying readers any sort of catharsis.” – Edward Hornick

Edward Hornick is a graduate of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio and the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine. A lifelong comics reader, he presented on Truth Serum, Achewood, and Evan Dorkin at past New Narrative conferences.

TCAF Podcasts: Interview with Andrew Lesk about the New Narrative conference series Sat down at the end of Bodies/City: A Symposium, to...
TCAF PODCASTS: New Narrative V: Marni Stanley – “Sex in the City: Metronormativity in Queer Comics” Marni Stanley teaches English and Women’s Studies at Vancouver Island...
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TCAF 2012 KICK-OFF EVENT! Jeff Smith, Gabriel Ba, and Fabio Moon

salgood sam — Sat, 05 May 2012 06:51:11 +0000

Noir and the Fantastic in Comics. TCAF 2012 KICK-OFF EVENT! Jeff Smith, Gabriel Ba, and Fabio Moon in conversation moderated by Mark Askwith. In The Bram and Bluma Appel Salon

Salgood Sam’s TCAF 2012 report! This is a truncated version, as I had already posted...
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TCAF Podcasts: “Graphic Bodies” panel, with Kate Beaton & Bryan Lee O’Malley Sequential’s own David Hains moderated this panle with creators Kate...

TCAF PODCASTS: New Narrative V: Marni Stanley – “Sex in the City: Metronormativity in Queer Comics”

salgood sam — Sat, 05 May 2012 05:41:42 +0000

Marni Stanley teaches English and Women’s Studies at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. Her academic research and publication areas include Nineteenth Century Women Travellers, television, cinema, and graphic narrative.

In a Queer Time & Place Judith Halberstam argues that metronormativity—the assumption that one can only be out and proud in urban spaces, and that rural and small town homosexuals should be pitied—dominates in gay and lesbian literature. The metronormative narrative sees the city as a space of liberation and formation of identity. But urban environments have their own threats, and the power of identity politics can make urban cliques exclusionary as well as welcoming. How do gay and lesbian comic artists use the urban spaces associated with the enabling of identity—bars, sex shops, the neighborhood—to explore the complexity of finding community in the complexity of urban space? Examples will be drawn from the work of some of the following: Ariel Schrag, Leanne Franson, Eric Orner, Tim Barela, Tim Fish, Alison Bechdel, and Howard Cruse.

TCAF PODCASTS: NEW NARRATIVE V: Edward Hornick, “I Was a Teenage Death Ray” “One of Daniel Clowes’ strangest creations, The Death Ray, satirizes...
TCAF Podcasts: Interview with Andrew Lesk about the New Narrative conference series Sat down at the end of Bodies/City: A Symposium, to...
TCAF Podcasts: “Graphic Bodies” panel, with Kate Beaton & Bryan Lee O’Malley Sequential’s own David Hains moderated this panle with creators Kate...

TCAF Podcasts: “Graphic Bodies” panel, with Kate Beaton & Bryan Lee O’Malley

salgood sam — Fri, 04 May 2012 06:05:24 +0000

Sequential’s own David Hains moderated this panle with creators Kate Beaton & Bryan Lee O’Malley. Part of the Bodies/City: A Symposium conference the panel tied that event with the next days New Narrative V presentations [more exclusively comics related than the first days events]. Conversation ran the gambit from what got them hooked on comics to collaborative work with others.

TCAF PODCASTS: NEW NARRATIVE V: Edward Hornick, “I Was a Teenage Death Ray” “One of Daniel Clowes’ strangest creations, The Death Ray, satirizes...
TCAF Podcasts: Interview with Andrew Lesk about the New Narrative conference series Sat down at the end of Bodies/City: A Symposium, to...
TCAF PODCASTS: New Narrative V: Marni Stanley – “Sex in the City: Metronormativity in Queer Comics” Marni Stanley teaches English and Women’s Studies at Vancouver Island...

TCAF Podcasts: Interview with Andrew Lesk about the New Narrative conference series

salgood sam — Fri, 04 May 2012 05:14:29 +0000

Sat down at the end of Bodies/City: A Symposium, to talk with Andrew about his work and comics in academics!

TCAF Podcasts: “Graphic Bodies” panel, with Kate Beaton & Bryan Lee O’Malley Sequential’s own David Hains moderated this panle with creators Kate...
TCAF PODCASTS: New Narrative V: Marni Stanley – “Sex in the City: Metronormativity in Queer Comics” Marni Stanley teaches English and Women’s Studies at Vancouver Island...
TCAF PODCASTS: NEW NARRATIVE V: Edward Hornick, “I Was a Teenage Death Ray” “One of Daniel Clowes’ strangest creations, The Death Ray, satirizes...

Tonite: Guy Delisle’s Jerusalem Chronicles Launch, Toronto

Bryan — Thu, 03 May 2012 16:32:23 +0000

An Evening with Guy Delisle

On-stage interview and Premiere Documentary Screening

@ The Carlton Cinema, 20 Carlton Street (at Yonge)
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
Doors at 7pm. Event starts at 7:30pm sharp.
Admission $5.00*

The Toronto Comic Arts Festival welcomes Featured Guest Guy Delisle to a special celebration of his body of work, and official Toronto launch of his new graphic novel The Jerusalem Chronicles. Delisle will appear in person at a special TCAF event on Thursday May 3rd, 7PM, at The Carlton Cinema, in an event which will include a rare live interview, short documentary screening, Q&A and autograph sessions.

No related posts.

Calgary Expo to Issue Refunds

Bryan — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:21:29 +0000

Comic Convention Was Temporarily Shut Down on Saturday Due to Overcrowding

by BK Munn

In another sign of the growth in popularity of the pop culture events known as comic cons, the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo was temporarily shut down by fire marshalls this past weekend when the occupancy of the BMO Centre exceeded recommended limits. Crowds were larger than expected and more tickets were sold than space permitted at any one time. The result was that many ticket holders were not able to enter or re-enter, and many who had pre-paid for specific time events (ie, photo-ops or panels with guest celebrities) missed their events entirely. The show was closed to new arrivals for two hours Saturday and the Expo actually stopped selling tickets at the door on Sunday morning. Now the organizers of the con have announced a variety of refunds for ticketholders who missed out or were denied entry (see below for full details).

photo via Ryan North

It sounds like the Expo was, for a short time at least, a victim of its own success. By all accounts the show was otherwise a massive success, with an estimated 50,000 attendance and with big name comics guests like Kate Beaton and Stan Lee, as well as a much-publicized Star Trek: The Next Generation cast reunion electrifying fans. The organizers have apologized while referring to the shut down and other gaffes as “hiccups” that will be corrected in future.

Here is the statement from the Expo website:

The Calgary Expo will be working with the Calgary Stampede and the Fire Department to create strategies to better manage crowds and line controls for our 2013 event. We are all committed to building an event that supports local businesses, pop culture enthusiasts, and Calgary as a community.

For those of you seeking refunds, please direct your emails to the appropriate email below:

For Admissions
If you purchased your ticket online (at calgaryexpo.com or Event Brite), please include your name, email address, and order number or ticket barcode and email us at:
onlineticketrefund@calgaryexpo.com.

For those who purchased their pass from a store, we are scheduling dates in Calgary, Red Deer,and Edmonton where we will set up stations where you will be able to receive a refund.

For those who purchased their passes from a store in Calgary: Please come to the Eau Claire Market Community Room (where the old cinema used to be) on May 15, 20, or 27 between the hours of 4 PM and 11 PM to receive your refund. The address is 200 Barlcay Parade Southwest, Calgary, AB, T2P 4R5.

We will post the dates/locations for the Edmonton and Red Deer stations as soon as the information becomes available.

For Photo Ops
If you purchased a photo op ticket online, please include your confirmation number, and email us at: support@conaddict.com

If you purchased a photo op ticket at the Expo, but weren’t able to redeem it, please email us your name and the six digit barcode to photoops@calgaryexpo.com

All refund requests must be submitted by May 31, 2012 to be honored.

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The C-List: Free Comic Book Day, Jerusalem, TCAF, and more

Bryan — Wed, 02 May 2012 10:25:24 +0000

An orgy of major comic book goodness
is happening across Canada over the next few days,
so let’ get to it!

Item! Dustin Harbin announced he will be one of the presenters at The Wright Awards on Saturday.

Item! An angry review of Guy Delisle’s Jerusalem. Brad Mackay also reviews it for the Globe, the AV Club profiles Delisle here, and Macleans profiles it here. The book has its Canadian debut at TCAF and apparently 100,000 copies have been printed.

Item! The Ottawa Comiccon is next weekend, May 12-13.

Item! What John Martz is bringing to TCAF.

Item! A progress update from the Shuster Awards. The awards are scheduled to announce their nominees Saturday night, after the Wright Awards conclude.

Item! The aforementioned announcement being the capper to the Free Comic Book Day activities at The Comic Book Lounge in Toronto. Across town, Little Island Comics has an event scheduled as well with Andy Runton. Others? Well, there is Strange Adventures, with events at all 3 of their stores. Jay Stephens will be at my local store, The Dragon in Guelph. Kurtis Wiebe (Peter Panzerfaust) will be at Regina’s ComicReaders, Tom Grummett will be at 8th Street Books & Comics in Saskatoon, and a giant cohort of comics artists including Marcus To will be at Brampton’s Stadium Comics. All the stores in London, ON have a cool crossover for FCBD. I’m sure there are tons more, but I haven’t stumbled across them.

Item! Robert Iveniuk previews TCAF for BlogTO.

Item! I highly recommend checking out this article about a collection of mass-produced figurines based on designs by Vancouver cartoonist Len Norris. Norris was one of the great Canadian political cartoonists of the 20th Century and I had no idea these artifacts existed. There are really very few “collectibles” of this sort based on Canadian comics. A handful of paper ephemera items and toys from World War II, souvenirs featuring Jasper the Bear, a stuffed Cerebus, various mugs and t-shirts, and that’s about it.

Item! The Toronto Star interviews Kid Koala about his Space Cadet graphic novel and his musical performance of same scheduled as part of TCAF.

Item! I’m one day late on this, but rabble.ca previews a graphic history of May Day, a comic produced by a collective of Canadian artists.

Item! Not exactly comics, but the second annual Star Wars Day TO will take place at the Toronto Underground Cinema on Friday, May 4th, 2012 and all proceeds from the 2012 event will go to the SickKids Foundation. The goal is to bring together Star Wars fans of all ages and levels of interest. This family-friendly event celebrates the series through fan-created materials and activities including costume contests, trivia, special guests, prizes and more.

Item! Alice Quinn from TdotComics provides a Fan Expo Vancouver travelogue.

Item! Evan Annett picks five books to look forward to at TCAF.

Item! Fiona Staples is interviewed in this podcast from Comics Should be Good’s 3 Chicks.

Item! I gotta say, the last half-dozen or so posts on the They Stand on Guard blog describing very obscure Canadian superhero comic books like this one have been hilarious. Check it out!

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May Day! Happy May Day from Sequential!

Bryan — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:16:06 +0000

Happy May Day!
by BK Munn

I’m having a bit of a worker’s holiday today. I was working on a double review, comparing the politics of Otto Soglow and The Little King to Ernie Bushmiller and Nancy and Sluggo, but as deadline loomed and my eyelids started to droop, I said fuck it, I’m taking the day off instead. A sort of Sequential strike in solidarity with all the folks working in comics under the work-for-hire system, I guess, not to mention the various Occupy actions going on today. (Check out Occupy Indie Comics here, Susie Cagle here and here, and Occuprint posters here.)

Herewith, a few quotes and notes from Fredric Wertham’s Seduction of the Innocent, tangentially related to my theme.

Wertham on Bushmiller on comic books:

E. Bushmiller (“Nancy”) told the San Diego County Women’s Clubs, “I wish you would differentiate between the newspaper comics and the comic books. Most newspaper comics are wholesome, but a large percentage of the comic books are cheap junk and just turned out for a quick sale.”

Wertham on child labour: how Sluggo survives

The history of medicine records a controversy about whether young children who have to do industrial work at night need sunlight for their health. It is not yet a hundred years since a physician had to defend in detail that sunlight is good for the immature organism, and that at least part of the day children should have sunlight in order to remain healthy. He was in just such direct contradiction to the employers who made these children work long hours at night as I am to the comic-book publishers. Similar arguments took place on the question of whether children need regular meals, sleep, how old they should be for heavy work and how many hours they should work. Nowadays the intellectuals are just as anxious to guard the freedom of children to read crime comics. In those days, as Lord Elton writes, they were eager to preserve the liberty of children of six to work eleven hours in the mines.” Then they used to quote Bentham; now they quote Freud.

Wertham on stunted growth and delinquency: reading Seduction, it becomes fairly obvious Sluggo must read tons of crime comics.

One is apt to forget that besides delinquent and emotionally disturbed children there are many children who are just plain unhappy. That is particularly true of adolescents. If you gain their confidence and give them a chance to talk to you under suitable circumstances you will find that one of their most frequent and serious worries has to do with the growth of their bodies [...] No better method could be evolved to cause such worries or to aggravate them than the advertising in childrens’ comic books. I understand that there are advertising associations or advertising councils interested in keeping products advertised, as well as the manner of their advertising, on an ethical level. If that is true,they must have looked the other way with regard to the stupendous amount of advertising in comic books. Inany case, they “raised no cry.” Advertising is, or could be – quite apart from its selling aspect – a wholesome educational influence. That in comic books is not only anti-educational, but has done untold harm to children from the point of view of public health and mental hygiene, not to speak of common human decency.

Wertham on child homosexual prostitution: I’m sure this doesn’t apply to Sluggo since Sluggo rarely goes to school.

Homosexual childhood prostitution, especially in boys, is often associated with stealing and with violence.For all these activities children are softened up by comic books. Their super-ego formation with regard to sex is interfered with in a subtle way: everything is permitted to men in comic books and there is constant sex stimulation. Charles was studied at the Quaker Emergency Service Readjustment Center. At the age of twelve he engaged in regular prostitution. He did not play hookey, but followed this occupation after school hours. He said, “I meet the men in office places or places of business. They give me a dollar or fifty cents. I wondered how they’d be so generous. Some men are about thirty-five.” The outstanding feature in this boy’s examination was his moral confusion. Comic books contributed to this. “I usually read comic books, Gangbusters or True Comics, about ten or fifteen a week, about two a day. I trade them.”

Wertham on comics criticism: I want to say that the situation has remained unchanged, but really,comics (and my life!) has been enriched by some great criticism over the past two decades, including Bart Beaty’s critical biography of Wertham.

Every medium of artistic and literary expression has developed professional critics: painting, sculpture,drama, the novel, the detective story, the seven lively arts, musical recordings, television, children’s books.The fact that comic books have grown to some ninety millions a month without developing such critics is one more indication that this industry functions in a cultural vacuum. Literary critics evidently thought that these accumulations of bad pictures and bad drawing were beneath critical notice. I have convinced myself often that they were ignorant of the material itself unless it was brought home to them in their own families.One literary critic had been very permissive about comic books and had not included them in his other excellent critiques of life and literature. He changed his mind one evening when after reprimanding hischildren, aged seven and five, he overheard the older saying to the younger: “Don’t worry. In the morning Ikill both of them!”There have been other excellent critics, but they came later. Marya Mannes has expressed her opiniontersely: “Comic books kill dreams.” She discerned the monopoly position comic books had obtained amongthe educationally less privileged: “In one out of three American homes, comic books are virtually the onlyreading matter.” John Mason Brown had this to say: “The comic books as they are now perpetually on tapseem to me to be not only trash but the lowest, most despicable and most harmful and unethical form of trash.” When heckled by a comic-book publisher about what his own children think of his opinion, he made the classical reply: “They have been so corrupted by you that they love them.”The closest critics of the poison tree should be the parents. Gilbert Seldes has correctly seen as a key problem of comic books “the paralysis of the parents.” In his recent book The Great Audience he says: “. . unlike the other mass media, comics have almost no esthetic interest.” (I would question his “almost.”) After quoting testimony that connects comic books with delinquency and evidence of their brutality and unwholesomeness he goes on: “Most of these outcries represent the attitudes of parents searching for a way to cope with a powerful business enterprise which they consider positively evil. . . . The liberal-minded citizen dislikes coercive action, tries to escape from corruption privately, and discovers that his neighbor, his community, are affected. . . . Year after year Dr. Fredric Wertham brings forth panels showing new ugliness and sadistic atrocities; year after year his testimony is brushed aside as extravagant and out-of-date. The paralysis of the parent is almost complete.”What causes this paralysis of parents? I do not think it is a real paralysis; it is helplessness. The vast majority of mothers have been outraged when they read the crime comic books their children read.

Previous: May Day, The Progressive Cartoon Culture in Canada

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Print on Demand: Revolver by Salgood Sam

Bryan — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 05:54:46 +0000

by BK Munn

My good pal, cartoonist and Sequential publisher Salgood Sam, has a couple good deals on offer with his solo anthology comic, Revolver. Both Revolver 1 and the recent Revolver 2 are available as print-on-demand comics through Magcloud at a special Spring Sale price of $4.88, or 25% off the regular price (purchase includes free digital issue/digital edition alone=$0.99).

Revolver 2 features two short stories & assorted bits! ‘Widows’, ‘Honolulu Lorie’s Lava Love Lounge and Poodle Emporium’, and more. Also some more old Monthly Montreal Comix Jam pages. Colaberations with Jai Granofsky, Billy Mavreas, Jesse Bochner, Marr, Peter Ferguson, and Sherwin Sullivan Tjia.

read about all the offers here.

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That Was The Week That Was (Comics) 17

Bryan — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 03:20:35 +0000

Wondering what the heck happened this week at Sequential? No problem. This is the website update feature for you.

The Calgary Expo was shut down by Fire Marshalls on Saturday due to large crowds and oversold tickets, turning many fans away.

-I reviewed Peter Bagge’s Reset #1.
-Sequential rounded up all the links to the Vancouver Fan Expo.
-Rupert Bottenberg has a new book coming out.
-Max collected all the cool webcomics.
-Michael Deforge drew a poster
-and much more

No related posts.

2012 Wright Awards Poster by Michael DeForge

Bryan — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:23:08 +0000

The awards are Saturday May 5 in Toronto

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This Weekend: 2012 Calgary Expo

Bryan — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:44:36 +0000

As I mentioned at the bottom of yesterday’s C-List, The Calgary Comics and Entertainment Expo takes place this weekend, April 27, 28 and 29. Events start with an opening party tonight and other features include a Stan Lee cocktail party and all sorts of programming. The Calgary Expo is one of the bigger shows in the country and boasts an impressive list of pop culture guests as well as comics people. Besides the aforementioned Stan the Man, the comics guests include actual U.S. and Canadian superstars like Kate Beaton, Arthur Suydam, Adrian Alphona, George Perez, Ryan North, Fiona Staples, Steve Rude, and Bernie Wrightson, among many others. See the full list here.

BMO Centre
20 Roundup Way, Calgary

Show Hours
Friday 3pm to 8pm
Saturday 10am to 7pm
Sunday 10am to 5pm

Admission Prices
Up to 4 kids 12 & under with each paid adult ticket.
At The Door
3-Day Pass $50.00
Friday Only $25.00
Saturday Only $25.00
Sunday Only $25.00

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The C-List: L’Asso, Cho, DeForge, Dr. Seuss, Bellybuttons, and Stan the Man

Bryan — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:45:21 +0000

all the latest links from across Canada:

Item! D+Q staffer Jessica Campbell gives us an intriguing and wide-ranging reading list. Now we know why the publisher puts out such classy books: their designer actually reads novels. (The list also includes a description of the contents of a new comic book history of the crisis at French avant garde publisher l’Association, illustrated by the people who were there.

Item! Speaking of French publishers, I was totally unaware that the popular comics series Les Nombrils, by Quebec creators Delaf and Dubuc, has been available in English translation from UK publisher Cinebooks for several years now. The series, about a clique of young highschool brats, is a bestseller in France and Quebec for Dupuis. (Cinebooks has a huge range of classic and contemporary Franco-Belgian comics series in translation as well, from Lucky Luke and Spirou to XIII.)

Item! Toronto cartoonist Michael Cho has made a name for himself over the last decade as an illustrator and cartoonist plying his trade in the Canadian magazine world. Many of us are fans of his gorgeous pin-ups of classic superhero characters and may even have seen some of his comics work for Marvel’s Age of the Sentry miniseries a few years back. Now he has a collection of his Toronto city drawings coming out from D+Q, Back Alleys and Urban Landscapes. Tom Spurgeon interviewed Cho about the book last Sunday and it’s an excellent overview of where the artist is coming from and where he’s going. Sample quote: “I like drawing superheroes… two days out of the week. When I draw superheroes, I draw them without irony. I’m not trying to draw fey, little, indie superheroes, poking fun of things.”

Item! A BC schoolboard has banned a quote from Dr. Seuss’s Yertle the Turtle for objectionable political content. After appearing on a classroom wall, the quote, about turtles on the bottom having the same rights as turtles on the top, sparked this: “After receiving a complaint from the school district, the teacher met with acting director of instruction for the district, Dave Stigant. [...] And while he conceded Tuesday that it might seem absurd to spend time reviewing quotes from, among others, Dr. Seuss and former Canadian prime minister John Diefenbaker, Mr. Stigant said the review is necessary to protect students from an often-bitter dispute.”

Item! Kevin Boyd catches the news of a new Niagara Falls comic shop being opened by Hamilton, ON’s Big B Comics.

Item! In TCAF news, U.S. cartoonists Dave Roman and John Green have produced a comic strip featuring their Teen Boat characters for the festival.

Item! Michael DeForge has an online offer for his Kid Mafia comic in advance of the release of his second issue. Also, a sneak peak at the cover of the upcoming horror anthology featuring DeForge. Zach Worton, Patrick Kyle, and Chris Kuzma.

Item! Lastly, iconic Marvel comics spokesperson Stan Lee has been doing the rounds lately in advance of the release of a new documentary about him and the upcoming Avengers movie. He will be appearing at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo this weekend and a reporter from The Calgary Herald squeezed a few questions out of him about his relationship with Jack Kirby:

How crucial were the artists in the creation of iconic properties like Spider-Man and X-Men?

“Incredibly important,” says Lee, without hesitation. “I don’t think the characters would have been as effective without them. . . . I worked with the best in the business. . . . They contributed a lot to the stories.”

Will Hess, who co-directed With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story (which screened Sunday at the Globe Cinema as part of the Calgary Underground Film Festival) says Lee gets a bad rap in this regard.

“This goes hand in hand, to a certain extent, with anybody who steps into the limelight,” Hess says. “Stan is very sensitive to the issues that artists have brought up and he’ll be the first to thank them, credit them and bring them up at comic conventions.”

Perhaps time has mended some fences. Lee says he last met with the notoriously reclusive Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man, “some years ago” in the Marvel offices.

“It was very friendly. . . . We even discussed maybe doing something together, but we never got around to it.”

As for Jack (King) Kirby (a title Lee gave Marvel’s chief artist during the 1960s), Lee saw him at a comic convention a few months before his death in February 1994. He says they, too, parted on good terms.

“Jack always felt like he hadn’t been treated well by the comic industry,” says Lee. “Maybe by Marvel, maybe by me, I don’t know. But he last time I saw Jack, he was very friendly.”

Lee remembers one part of that conversation most vividly. Its importance to him couldn’t be more evident in the suddenly vulnerable tone of his voice.

“He said a strange thing,” Lee recalls. “It was the last thing I remember him saying to me. ‘You know, Stan, you have no reason to have any regrets.’”

No related posts.

Review: Reset by Peter Bagge

Bryan — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:05:49 +0000

“What Kind of Porn App Punches You In The Face?”

Reset #1
by Peter Bagge
Dark Horse Originals
$3.50

review by BK Munn

This new series from Peter Bagge finds the creator in fine low-key satire mode, letting his timeless rubbery drawing style carry much of the weight in terms of character and humour. Black and white with grey-tones is the medium Bagge first made his name in with Neat Stuff and the early Hate, and the variety of pattern and line he brings to his schlubby figures here is testament to this. Of course, Bagge’s expressive cartooning always goes hand-in-hand with great dialogue, and luckily most of his protagonists have been great talkers, their unique obnoxious voices providing clues to deep-seated neuroses and weird personal hobbyshorses.

The plot of Reset follows washed up Hollywood B-List comedian Guy Krause, who after a series of minor scandals finds himself unemployable and in court-mandated rehab when he is approached by a team of scientists with a crazy job offer: test out a virtual reality product that lets the user relive his life from a set point in the past as a form of therapy. Backed into a corner, the cantankerous Krause hits the reset button and tries to see where his life took a wrong turn, starting with his highschool graduation. Of course, there’s lots more going on, like the nebulous conspiracy-style corporate origins of the project, and Krause’s own inability to examine his own life or personality objectively, but the basic science-fiction layout of the story follows in concept from Bagge’s previous outing with Dark Horse, 2008′s Apocalypse Nerd, which grafted a humourous character study onto a sci-fi plot. Where that book swapped out a tech geek for the usual survivalist superhero of sf cliche, Reset subs a resentful middle-aged asshole for the usual plucky butt-kicking time-traveler. The point of the exercise being not genre originality (the plot trappings are sort of a Total Recall-Back to the Future combo that also remind me of the recent Canadian tv drama Being Erica), but a parody of same, complete with clunky VR gear and a Bagge-ian approximation of 8-bit graphics, that is set up to examine themes of technology, celebrity culture, and memory in a familiar, genre-fan-friendly way. This is the first of a 4-issue series that will probably end up as a book, but fans of Bagge and funny genre mash-ups who are looking for a monthly fix in floppy format might want to check it out.

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The C-List: Fan Expo Vancouver 2012

Bryan — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:39:58 +0000

Rounding up all the links from Fan Expo Vancouver, which took place this past weekend at the Vancouver Convention Centre. It seems to have been the first time for a con of this size in the city and fans and pros seem to have embraced it with open arms.

Item! Great photo parade and report from Will Harris of comicsblend.com.

Item! A nice blog report from a con-virgin at Geek-badge.com is the first to mention the unconfirmed 80,000 attendance number which surprised organizers who had expected 20,000. That can’t be right. Sounds more like the Toronto numbers.

Item! The show was sold-out?

Item! Cute photo of Kathryn and Stuart Immonen.

Item! Representing The Burrard Inlet Fan Fellowship.

Item! Sketch duels from the con, featuring Stephen Sadowski, Georges Jeanty, Mike Choi, Tony Daniel, Whilce Portacio, and Yanick Paquette.

Item! The Comixverse website had some good coverage, including photos of a ton of comics guests, a Day 2 report (7000 attendance?) with photos, and a Day 1 report with photos (12,000 attendees?)

Item! One fan’s underwhelmed report from the con. Worth reading but quick summary: too small, not enough bathrooms.

Item! “tearing up about Mike Weiringo…”

Item! Short report.

Item! The UBC cosplay club has some great Day 2 unoffical costume contest parade photos. Scott Pilgrim cosplay sightings:1, Alpha Flight cosplay sightings:0.

Item! Report from Artist Alley by Albert Art.

Item! The Canadian Video Game Awards took place at the con as well.

Item! A webcomics fan gets to meet Emily Carroll.

Item! Another kind of comics-centric report from the con.

Item! Tons of cosplay photos. What do you call a group of Robins? A murder? A sidekick? A Grayson?

Item! And some more photos.

this post will be updated as more links come in….

UPDATE: MORE LINKS!

Item! Straight.com has a photo parade.

Item! CTV news blog report from a hungover reporter.

Item! Metronews photo parade.

Item! Photos and video from The Vancouver Sun.

Item! Clothing designer Punch Brand has a short show report talking about the unexpected halt in ticket sales on Saturday.

Item! Blog post from science fiction writer Alyx Dellamonica.

Item! Photos from VanCityBuzz.

Item! 5-minute podcast from Geekin-out.

Item! Rocketeer cosplayer report.

Item! Buying tickets on Saturday and the male/female ratio at the con.

Item! Bat-villain cosplayer con guide.

Item! This fan makes two really good points: A) a multimedia event like Fan Expo makes perfect sense in a town where so many sci-fi/fantasy tv series and films are shot; and B) Vancouver is a beautiful city and the sharp-looking Vancouver Convention Centre is set among some of the most awesome scenery on the continent.

Item! Blogger and cosplayer Frederick Linsmeyer has some criticisms of the ticket process, lack of programming.

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Traumstadtdenken – Comix + Images by Rupert Bottenberg

Max — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:03:36 +0000

Co: Marc Tessier & editionstrip.com

Éditions TRIP is proud to publish Rupert Bottenberg’s first solo book, Traumstadtdenken, a work of soaring beauty and ingenious narrative storytelling.

Traumstadtdenken (“Dream-City-Thinking”) is a collection of various comix, drawings and other odds ’n’ ends from the last 10 years, supplemented by a sizeable chunk of recent work that serves as a “connective tissue” — the book follows a coherent flow, every page connecting to the next in obvious and not-so-obvious ways. In stark black and white, the art is sharp, cool precise and mind-expanding leading the reader through a strange but clearly intentioned journey from the first page to the last. A new way to explore and playfully run circles around the term graphic novel.

Rupert Bottenberg came out as an artist in the 90s Montreal Comix scene. He was an early organizer of the Comix Jams, multidisciplinary events which bridged the gap and united French and English comic artists. He served as a comics correspondent on CBC’s now defunct Brave New Waves, and has overseen comics-related events for several Montreal festivals. And as former music editor at the Montreal Mirror, a free local weekly, he produced two special issues of all comix Mirror issues.

Bottenberg is currently the co-director of the En Masse collaborative art initiative (whose most recent piece was part of the Big Bang exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts), and the co-creator, with writer Claude Lalumière, of the cryptomythological graphic-lit project Lost Myths.

Traumstadtdenken is a 80 page, 6”x9”, black and white book with a colour cover. Texts in French and English, with an introduction by Mitch Davis, Festival and programming co-director of the Fantasia International Film Festival.

“Wonderfully psychedelic, high-contrast worlds within worlds. Three-eyed letter Es and giggle-inducing comics. What more could you ask for?!” – Kid Koala

“Let yourself be spellbound by the world created by Rupert Bottenberg where the blacks and whites face-off in a powerful struggle!” – Michel Rabagliati

“Amazing… feels so complete, so cohesive… a perfect representation of the Montreal vibe.” – Dave Cooper

Vernissage of exhibit and Traumstadtdenken book launch
Saturday May 12th at le Cheval Blanc
15 h à 20 h
809 Ontario Rue E Montréal, QC H2L 1P1

The exhibit of silkscreen prints by Bottenberg will run at Le Cheval
from the 7th to the 27th of May.

No related posts.

Hey Comics Creators, a good idea? Also really good looking new web comic…

Max — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 06:54:39 +0000

Saw this in Toronto two weeks ago, was struck by what a good idea it was, old school.
And that i don’t know of a lot of web comics that have done it!

For sure the Rock and Roll camp sexy pin up photo is always genius for grabbing attention.
Comic fans will notice she’s reading a comic,
everyone will notice that she’s doing it dressed in a bath.
All kinds of good WTF guerilla advertising tactics going on here.
And having a hansom and intriguing web comic be
on the other end of it when you look it up online? …love.

Fooshwa is a web comic antholagy project by John Little, or ”jOHn”.
It also appears to have full film like credits, production and special thanks…

Going to be back there for TCAF, think i’ll take my stapler.
Tip of the hat to jOHn, sir, for the inspiration.
Was going to post this with the last Hey Kids, but forgot so it gets it’s own feature!

The first story up looks really good, i’ve read parts of it in fractions leanding to
a surreal post apocalypse like impression, set in the united provinces? Are those zombies…?

so i’m going to refrain from saying what I think of story till i’ve read it properly!

But I’ll say this, I think I like it already. No presure jOHn.

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That Was The Week That Was (Comics) 16

Bryan — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:43:45 +0000

looking back at the stories from the week in national comics news here at Sequential:

The lineup to get into the Vancouver Fan Expo, courtesy of event organizer reponsible for comics guests, Kevin Boyd. The event concluded earlier today.

It was kind of a comics event-y week, with the festival in Quebec City wrapping up and the announcement of the winners of the Prix Bédéis Causa on Saturday. I reported on the Kazoo! Zine and Comics Expo and their awards and we also rounded up all the links from the Wizard World event in Toronto.

Then the news broke that Wizard World was being sued by Hobby Star, the owner of the Toronto Fan Expo. And then Hobby Star’s Vancouver Fan Expo happened! Whew.

Lots of other stuff too. Matt Forsythe won an award. We linked to some comics and podcasts. We had some website issues. Lots of stuff. Check it out.

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Hey Kids! comics!

Max — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 23:57:03 +0000

Oh my, it’s been a busy spring. Sanity is almost in sight, but I’m currently planing to probably undue that and go to Toronto in a couple of weeks for TCAF. Hey did you know Megabuss is having a seat sale now? Good cheep way to get there. Not going to be tabling I think, no new books – check out the RAID studio gang in the same spot as Transmission X has been in past years – I could sell prints but you know I just want to go see the show for myself this year. Taking in the sights and recording some of it for the site here.

Oh and yes, I think i’ve mentioned it already but also there is not going to be a pulp edition this year, just don’t have enough human resources on hand to make it this time. Think you will see something in print again but only when we can do it right.

So all to say, don’t be surprised if my comics posts like this continue to be erratic in the near future.

Lots of talk about boycotts and ethics, and being a moderate I often find myself in the hairs between absolutes.
I just found this, going to go read it next – a set of scanns of a a keynote speech by Frank Miller to Diamond Comic distributors retailers seminar,
June 12th, 1994. That should be interesting.

Any who, this is about comics, not blogs about comics!

Ty posted this pointed strip for BunToons today
about the whole creators rights and dastardly publishers
and court cases and IPs, with the qualifier of
“CAUTION: Satire and irony ahead”.

…I thought it made a good additional note
to this series of Burning Itch cartoons
from Richard Pace. In order of appearance,

Also political, but less bellybutton comics related, Colin Upton posted a few old cartoons on G+ including this one. He wrote “These are cartoons I did for Degrowth Vancouver, a local free paper devoted to slowing down rampant developement. Political caricature is not something I do often (indeed I was asked to “tone down” the orginial drawing I did of mayor Robertson) but I gave it a shot. The paper also includes cartoons by rabble rousers Ted Dave, Andy Singer & Julian Lawrence! And it’s free”

And now for something more casual,
also the west coast.
Jason Turner posted
a new bit of True Loves 3…
…oh, well. Hmmm. Ok how about this,
something from that other J.Turner, James Turner? The one in Toronto?
He recently started a new Max Zing strip at Drunk Duck. This is the 5th…

“Fun to attempt the strip format.
One, two, three, zing(er).”

New Digital Book!

Marrowbones, by Eric Orchard. Just released digitally, issue #1 clocks in at 47 pages for a scant 2$.
The tale is a horror book aimed at kids that has been an idea for some time in the head the author!
Here is an interviews, a review, something short from Eric they call an essay…?
and some peeks at the art pulled from all over.

Looks pretty good! Hope it sells well for him,
this is a special close to the hart kind of project!
Also have high hopes for the whole digital sales factor myself…
…so go, support Eric and read your kids a scary bed time story!

Also big day a couple of days ago for Jonathon Dalton,
posted the 200th page of his comic A Mad Tea-Party!

Benchmarks are good.
Last bit i’ll add is one for me too,
Dream Life has reached 100 pages! yay!

ok, that’s it for now!
cheers!

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Scott Chantler on Fredcast!

Max — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 04:00:29 +0000

Shuster Award-winning cartoonist of the graphic novels Two Generals, Northwest Passage, and the Three Thieves series Scott Chantler, talked about his work with Teletoon at Night’s Fred on the FREDCAST!.

Just listening to it myself, nice little talk about process and his working strategies and experience. Think he dropped the hint a film of some kind made from his work might be in the works! Good Luck Scott!

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This Weekend: Fan Expo Vancouver

Bryan — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:52:25 +0000

by BK Munn

This weekend is the premier Fan Expo Vancouver, the expansion of the successful Toronto franchise into the BC marketplace. (And yes, you just read the words franchise and marketplace in a Sequential blog post about the Canadian comics scene.) Engineered by owner Hobby Star Marketing, the con will take place April 21 and 22 at the Vancouver Convention Centre and feature a plethora of exhibitors from the world of comics, television, videogames and film in a miniaturized version of the Fan Expo event that takes place every August in Ontario.

So much for the who, what, where, and when. As for the why? Why, to spread the joy of comics and pop culture, of course! Fan Expo, like the San Diego Comic-Con and similar conventions across North America, is an excuse for hard-core fans and average family-types alike to let their inner nerd out and revel in a spectacle of celebrities, cartoonists and cosplayers, all parading around a giant shopping mall that resembles nothing less than the biggest comic shop imaginable. Of course, the thing is generally designed to make money for everyone involved, from the promoter selling tickets at the gate to the lowliest amateur fan in artists’ alley, but more specifically, we can see the arrival of Fan Expo Vancouver as an extension of the so-called Toronto Con Wars, an opportunity for Aman Gupta’s Hobby Star to extend its brand into almost virgin territory (get it? it’s a classic nerd reference!), and get a jump on both the upcoming VancCAF (Vancouver Comic Arts Festival) and the constantly expanding-and-contracting U.S.-based Wizard World franchise. Hobby Star has been butting heads with Wizard World in Toronto, recently launching a $500,000 lawsuit against the company in advance of the Wizard World Toronto Comicon which took place last weekend. Given the emphasis on sci-fi fandom and Star Wars cosplay at these events, I think it’s not too much of a metaphoric stretch to say both entities seem to be jockeying to see who will become the Death Star of the Canadian comic convention scene, with the established Hobby Star seemingly having the upper hand for now.

—–
Besides the Canadian videogame awards and something about Lou Ferrigno, there are a number of local and international comics guests scheduled to appear this weekend, including: STUART IMMONEN – KATHRYN IMMONEN - TONY DANIEL - LEN WEIN - ESAD RIBIC - WHILCE PORTACIO - YANICK PAQUETTE - KAARE ANDREWS - MIKE CHOI - TIM BRADSTREET - GEORGES JEANTY - PIA GUERRA - STEPHEN SADOWSKI - GREG RUCKA - MATT WAGNER - LEONARD KIRK - and many more!

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The smiting of the internet devils

Max — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:22:55 +0000

Thanks to Mark Laliberte for letting me know he was getting some static off our site on his end, confirming the server had been compromised.

I had started to wonder when i was in Toronto recently, but could not find out what the deal was when i got back home. Turns out that’s a signature trick of this problem, hides itself from the users IP, but other’s get pharma spam or some shit. Seems we had an exploit problem from Timthumb.

Our hosts at DreamHost had a look in the back end and cleared out a bunch of it, I think I cut out it’s hart a few hours ago. We’ll be watching files for a few days and picking through looking for leftovers. Have just been hardening all my sites now, hopefully that was it.

If you see anything funny, get a virus allert on our page or anything, let me know ok? And don’t worry, if you did see anything already, from what i read this one was fairly tame.

PS: if you were signed up as a subscriber you will no longer get updates, i’ve shut down that function due to being overwhelmingly made up of stuffed shirts trying to get into the site to post spam. Let me know if you really want alerts/updates pushed to you and i’ll see what i can do. Best bet though, is to just follow us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook!

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Matthew Forsythe Wins Canadian Library Association Illustration Award

Bryan — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 08:56:28 +0000

by BK Munn

Cartoonist and illustrator Matthew Forsythe (Ojingogo) has been awarded this year’s Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award for his contribution to the children’s book My Name Is Elizabeth!, written by Annika Dunklee (Kids Can Press). The award is part of a slate of kids’ book awards announced on April 16 and is awarded to an “outstanding illustrator of a children’s book published in Canada during 2011.” The awards will be presented in person in May. The book was selected by a 5-person jury made up librarians from London ON, Victoria BC, the Marigold Library System in Alberta, and Ottawa ON. About the artist’s work, the jury had this to say:

“Forsythe’s two-tone illustrations engage the reader from the first page, keeping the focus on the determined heroine and adding expressive detail to this appealing story. Simply perfect.”

No related posts.

TCAF Events listings

Max — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 06:02:12 +0000

Keep up with everything going down at, or around the Toronto Comics Arts Festival

A handy listing of all the comics stuff going down the first weekend of may in Toronto.

We will be updating this post as TCAF events and offsite activities are announced!

Day 1 of Bodies/Cities: A symposium @ University of Toronto
Thursday 3 May 2012 @Jackman Humanities Institute 170 St George St

NW corner Bloor & St George, across from St George subway exit. Main floor, just off the main floor lobby

“Literary Bodies” 10 am – 11 am | Emily Gilbert (moderator) with Amy Harris, Maggie Helwig.

“Queer Bodies” 11:30 am – 12:30 pm | Rebecka Sheffield (moderator) with Richard Fung & Donna-Michelle St Bernard

“Visual Bodies” 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm | William (Bill) Huffman (moderator) with Dyan Marie & Devon Ostrom

“Graphic Bodies” [the comics panel!] 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm | David Hains (moderator) with Kate Beaton & Bryan Lee O’Malley

An Evening with Guy Delisle
Thursday, May 3, 2012
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Carlton Cinema
Film Screenings
Please join The Toronto Comic Arts Festival in welcoming Featured Guest Guy Delisle to a special celebration of his body of work, and official launch of his new graphic novel The Jerusalem Chronicles. Delisle will appear in person at a special TCAF event on Thursday May 3rd, 7PM, at The Carlton Cinema, in an event which will include a rare live interview, short documentary screening, Q&A and autograph sessions.

Kid Koala Space Cadet Headphone Concert @ 918 Bathurst
Thursday, May 3, 2012
9:00 pm – 10:00 pm
918 Bathurst
Concerts
Check the link for how to Purchase Tickets

Day 2 of New Narrative V: Bodies/Cities @ University of Toronto
running all Fri 4 May 2012 @ 15 King’s College Circle, UC 140

A list of presenters and abstracts, & a poster for call for papers here.

Panel 1: Film / Fantasy 8:45 – 10:00
Moderator: Andrew Lesk (Toronto) with Zachary Abraham (Ottawa), “It All Flows Back: The Limits of Urban Community in Treed Murray”. Aaron Tucker (Ryerson), “TRON Legacy and Web Construction: The City as God”. & Glenn Willmott (Queen’s), “The City as Abyss: Winsor McCay’s Dystopia”

Panel 2: Archives / Memory 10:10 – 11:30
Moderator: Glenn Willmott (Queen’s) with Emma Vossen (Waterloo), “Imagined Towns, Fictional Cities and the Desire for Acceptance and Appreciation in Seth’s G.N.B.C.C. and Dylan Horrocks’ Hicksville”. Rachel Richey (Carleton), “On the comic collections at Library and Archives Canada”. & Mullins, Katie (Toronto), “Memory, Place, and Identity in Jeff Lemire’s Ghost Stories”.

Panel 3: “Other” Communities 11:30 – 12: 50
Moderator: Katie Mullins (Toronto) with J Andrew Deman (Waterloo / Wilfrid Laurier), “Fantastic Four on Safari: The Discourse of Techno-Cannibalism in Black Panther’s Origins”. Candida Rifkind (Winnipeg), “Spectacular Convergence: Ho Che Anderson, Martin Luther King, and the March on Washington”. & Keith Friedlander (Ottawa), “Chagall, Comics, & Jewish Representations of Bodies and Spaces”.

e Lunch 12:50 – 1:40 f

Panel 4: Non/Normative 1:40 – 3:00
Moderator: Barbara Postema (Ryerson) with Marni Stanley (Vancouver Island), “Sex in the City: Metronormativity in Queer Comics”. Heather Mitchell (Simon Fraser), “Any Given City: Contesting (Sub)Urban Homonormativity in Dykes to Watch Out For”. & Ted Hornick (Kenyon), “I Was a Teenage Death Ray”

Panel 5 Cities 3:10 – 4:30:
Moderator: Marni Stanley (Vancouver Island) with Barbara Postema (Ryerson), “Background Reading: The City as Setting in Comics”. Claudine Gélinas-Faucher (McGill), “Two Solitudes, One City”. & Atsuko Sakaki (Toronto), “Horie Toshiyuki’s Contested Paris”

Star Wars Day Toronto 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012
7:00pm until 10:00pm
In 2011, Two Star Wars fans were inspired to turn an internet catch phrase into something real. Star Wars Day Toronto was the first organized Star Wars Day celebration in the world.
In 2012, it will be a world-class fan destination, showcasing the creativity and passion of the Star Wars fan community in a positive, family-friendly atmosphere.
Star Wars Day Toronto 2012 attractions:
- CHAD VADER creators Blame Society Films in-person – screening, Q & A, and autograph session
- Original Trilogy Trivia Game Show
- Costume Contest with celebrity guest judges. New for 2012: Jedi League for adults and Padawan League for ages 12 and under
- The comedy stylings of Gavin Stephens
All this and much more is taking place Friday May 4, 2012 at Toronto Underground Cinema (186 Spadina Avenue).
Watch this site, follow us on Twitter, and Like us on Facebook for updates and announcements:
- celebrity guests
- advance ticket sales
- sponsors and attractions
- more!
Tickets

TCAF Librarian and Educator Day
Friday, May 4, 2012
8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Toronto Reference Library
Talks
The Toronto Comic Arts Festival has long attracted a wide array of librarians and teachers, either looking to create great comics and graphic novel programming for their institutions, and sometimes they’re even just comics and graphic novel fans themselves!

Jeff Smith, Gabriel Ba, and Fabio Moon in conversation!
Friday, May 4, 2012
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Toronto Reference Library
Main Event
TCAF 2012 KICK-OFF EVENT! Jeff Smith, Gabriel Ba, and Fabio Moon in conversation! Noir and the Fantastic in Comics and Graphic Novels Friday, May 4th, @ 7:00pm @ Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St. in The Bram and Bluma Appel Salon Free to attend, registration required.

Topatoco’s Welcome to TCAF Party
Friday, May 4, 2012
7:00 pm – 2:00 am
The Pilot
Topatoco: Welcome to TCAF Party! Saturday May 5th, 7pm-10pm @ The Pilot Tavern, 2nd & 3rd floors, 22 Cumberland Street. Free to attend Publishing some of the very best books and merchandise from your favourite webcomics, Topatoco returns to TCAF once more–and they’re throwing a party!

THE COMIC BOOK LOUNGE’s 1st annual FREE COMIC BOOK DAY Celebration!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
12:00pm until 7:00pm
Free Comic Book Day is a single day – the 1st Saturday in May each year – when participating comic book shops across North America & around the world give away a selection of comic books absolutely FREE to anyone who comes into their stores. In honour of this august occasion the crew at the brand new The Comic Book Lounge & Gallery have lined up appearances with many of Toronto’s finest comic book creators who will be signing and chatting (and some sketching!) throughout the day! It’s like a small second convention happening in tandom with TCAF.

CONFIRMED Guests include: Ty Templeton (Avenging Spider-Man) Stuart Immonen (Fear Itself) Kathryn Immonen (Avengers Origins: Thor) Mike Del Mundo (Marvel Comics cover artist) Marco Rudy (Swamp Thing) David Cutler (Heroes of the North) Gibson Quarter (Undertow) Richard Evans (The Canadian Legion) Raffaelle Ienco (Epic Kill) and more to be announced!

PLUS: FREE COMICS (It isn’t called FREE COMIC BOOK DAY for nothing) MINI-CON ARTIST ALLEY. FACE PAINTING FOR KIDS. SPECIAL APPEARANCE BY SOME OF EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES. TORONTO’S VERY OWN DARK KNIGHT.

TCAF Day 1
Saturday, May 5, 2012
9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Toronto Reference Library
Main Event
TCAF Day 1 will feature over 300 comics creators from around the world, exhibiting and selling their work. TCAF’s main exhibition space is Toronto Reference Library. Toronto Reference Library (TRL) 789 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Comics vs Games Creative Jam @ TCAF
Saturday, May 5, 2012
9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Toronto Reference Library
Art Installations
In partnership with TIFF Nexus, Toronto Public Library, and Magic Pony, TCAF is excited to host TIFF Nexus’ Comics vs Games. The Beaton Auditorium will be taken over by a dazzling audio/visual display, where 10 indie comic artists and videogame developers will be showing off their exciting collaborations which demonstrate the exciting creative potential of independent storytelling in Ontario. There will be demo station for festival attendees to try out the games alongside the creators, as well as sales of original arts & prints related to each team and their projects. …read more

Owlkids Day
Saturday, May 5, 2012
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
St. Paul
Main Event
Owlkids Day is a special one-day event that offers a non-stop selection of presentations by TCAF’s biggest kids guests, and creates a special location for families just 5 minutes walk from main TCAF site Toronto Reference Library. Presenters include cartoonists from Owlkids, Andy Runton (Owly), Jennifer Holm & Matt Holm (Babymouse, SQUISH), Jeff Smith (Bone), Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet), and Dave Roman & John Green(Teen Boat, Avatar: The Last Airbender).
Owlkids Day Schedule of Events:
9:30am: Doors open at venue St. Paul’s, 227 Bloor Street East
10am: Meet Owly creator Andy Runton!
11am: Meet Jennifer Holm & Matt Holm, creators of Babymouse & Squish!
12pm: Owlkids Presents: How to Write and Draw Max Finder with Craig Battle and Ramon Perez!
1pm: Meet Jeff Smith, the author of Bone!
2:30pm: The world of Amulet, with creator Kazu Kibuishi!
3:45pm: It’s the “launch” of Teen Boat! With creators Dave Roman & John Green!
All creators will be signing and sketching for fans after their presentations!

Dr Sketchy’s Toronto: Draw Kiki!

Saturday, May 5, 2012
5:30 pm – 8:00 pm
The Pilot 2nd Floo

Dr. Sketchy’s Toronto: Draw Kiki! @ The Pilot, Materials Provided. No experience required!
$5 at the door. 6-7:30pm (doors 5:30pm).

Dr. Sketchy’s Toronto presents a very special Anti-Art class as part of Toronto Comic Arts Festival. We’ve teamed up with graphic novel publisher SelfMadeHero and we’re stepping back in time to 1920s Paris for a special Sketchy’s with themed poses, performances and prizes to celebrate the new graphic novel biography of Kiki’s life by TCAF featured guests Catel & Bocquet. [more]

Konami Kanata – In Conversation @ The Japan Foundation
Saturday, May 5, 2012
6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
The Japan Foundation, Gallery Space
Please join us in welcoming manga author Konami Kanata, creator of The New York Times Bestselling manga Chi’s Sweet Home, to her first-ever North American appearance.
Free but RSVP Required!

TCAF 2012 Queer Mixer: Featuring Alison Bechdel
Saturday, May 5, 2012
6:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Buddies in Bad Times
Parties
The centrepiece for our queer programming at TCAF is a highly anticipated talk by Alison Bechdel, who will be presenting from her new book Are You My Mother?! The eagerly-awaited follow-up to her bestselling and critically acclaimed Fun Home, Are You My Mother will debut at The Toronto Comic Arts Festival! Bechdel’s presentation will be followed by an on-stage interview and our queer mixer for comics creators and fans! This is a free event taking place at Buddies in Bad Times (12 Alexander Street), doors at 6:30pm, starting at 7:00pm. Show up early to guarantee a seat! And the party doesn’t have to stop at 10:00pm! All attendees are invited to stay for Buddies in Bad Times’ regular Saturday night dance party, free of charge!

2012 Doug Wright Awards
Saturday, May 5, 2012
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Jackman Hall
Awards Shows
Doug Wright Awards, Canada’s premier comics awards, are proud to announce their finalists for 2012. The 15 nominees include established heavy-weights and past winners (Chester Brown, Seth, Marc Bell, Joe Ollmann, Kate Beaton) and a slate of extraordinary younger talent that together represent the finest in Canadian comics. The nominees

The Comic Book Lounge presents… ON THE COUCH WITH TY TEMPLETON!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
8:00pm – 11:00pm
The Comic Book Lounge
It’s the launch of ON THE COUCH with Ty Templeton, a live and interactive event to be held at Toronto’s Comic Book Lounge + Gallery on May 5th! Since it is Free Comic Book Day and a day to celebrate comics and Canada the topic of discussion will be…”As Canadian as possible, under the circumstances.”
Ty will be joined by a panel of industry folk and these hosers will discuss things Canadian, eh? over a Labatt’s or three.
Ty’s guests will be announced early next week (April 23-24).
The show will be followed by a brief announcement of the 2012 Joe Shuster Award nominees, and then we’ll be holding an Industry Night after party!
Schedule: 7:30-8 seating, 8 pm until some time after 9 it’s On the Couch!
Immediately following On the Couch will be the 2012 JSA nomination announcements (estimated announcement time 9:30)
After that it’s another Industry Night event in conjunction with our neighbours the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop and Guerilla Printing.
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase at the event. ID will be required for alcohol purchases.

Third Annual Official TCAFête
Saturday, May 5, 2012
9:00 pm – 2:00 am
Paupers Pub

It’s that time again! The Toronto Comic Arts Festival is proud to present to you 2012′s official TCAFête!!! I KNOW RIGHT??? You can close your mouth now because there’s more jaw dropping news! This years TCAFête boasts Becky Cloonan (Wolves), Ray Fawkes (One Soul), Geneve Firanski (Doodler Extraordinaire) and Zach Worton (The Klondike) doing some mind blowing live drawing! That’s not all. Avant Chord (Toronto Dj Heavyweight) is going to be massaging your ear holes with some delicious tunes on the 1s & 2s aaaaalll night. If you are a Guest, Vendor, Volunteer or Staff at TCAF, there’s no cover and your name is already on the list. For everyone else, cover is $5. A mere $5 for one of the awesomest events of the season? What a steal! So come to see and be seen amongst your fave comics peeps, your friends from previous TCAFs, new friends, and maybe even some Toronto b-list celebrities! Sorry young’uns it’s 19+. RSVP on Facebook!

TCAF Day 2
Sunday, May 6, 2012
11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Toronto Reference Library
Main Event
TCAF Day 2 will feature over 300 comics creators from around the world, exhibiting and selling their work.

Toronto Jewish Film Festival | The Spiegelman double bill:
In The Shadow of No Towers & The Art of Spiegelman
Sunday, May 6, 2012
1:00PM @ INNIS COLLEGE

A powerful and experimental adaptation of Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel recounting his first-hand experience at ground zero on 9/11, as well as his grief and disillusionment that followed. Director Marco Cappelli makes creative use of Spiegelman’s images, while actor John Turturro narrates, and the band Syntax Error offers an experimental fusion of modern classical, rock, jazz, country, and cartoon music. 53 MIN

& Spend some time with comic book artist, Art Spiegelman, his wife, New Yorker art director Françoise Mouly, and their children. In this intimate portrait, Spiegelman tells his story, as he evokes rich childhood memories. He reflects on his development into a key figure in the underground comics movement, the evolution of his seminal work, Maus—the Pulitzer Prize-winning Holocaust- themed graphic novel—and more. A rewarding experience for both Spiegelman fans and newcomers to his work. 44 MIN

Buy tickets here.

Gabriella Giandelli and Marco Cappelli in Conversation at IIC
Monday, May 7, 2012
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Italian Cultural Institute
Free to attend

Italian comic author, and TCAF featured guest, Gabriella Giandelli and music composer Marco Cappelli will engage in a conversation on their artist careers and the influence that music has on comics. Marco Cappelli has composed the music for the motion comic In the Shadow of No Towers, based on the graphic novel written by Pulizer prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman about his experience of the 9/11 attacks on New York’s World Trade Centre. Narrated by John Turturro, In the Shadow of No Towers will be screened at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival on Sunday, May 6 at 1pm at Innis College.

For more info, please visit the Istituto Italiano di Cultura’s website.

Please note that a retrospective exhibition of Gabriella Giandelli’s work will be on display at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura from May 4th until September 14, 2012. Italian Cultural Institute, 496 Huron Street.

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art-making for Kids! Monastiraki boutique

Max — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:56:34 +0000

More art-making for Kids!

Monastiraki boutique’s next round of classes are coming up.

I think we make more canadain comic books by making more canadain comic book artists, so art classes early, get them hooked young eh?

This is getting to be a regular thing at the boutique, they report having had a lot of fun and is looking forward to more! Here’s the details.
Classes run from May 12th – June 3rd.

Saturday mornings 10:30 – 11:30
is for 2 – 4 yr olds with a parent

Sunday mornings 10:30 – 11:30
is for 5 – 8 yr olds (on their own)

$60 all materials included. Pre-registration is preferred to secure a spot.

Billy has told me in the past it’s a popular thing with the local moms so if you want in probably you should not dally.

Happen to be in the area? Drops-ins are $18 per class, if space is available!

Contact Emilie or Billy
514-278-4879

They have plans to hold classes for older kids too so we’ll keep you posted.

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Video montage of Wizard World 2012

Max — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:36:31 +0000

This weekend (April 14-15) Toronto hosted Wizard World. This is a short video of some of the memorable moments that happened this year. From a wild Predator roaming the convention floors to the Ghostbusters invading a cabin in the woods!

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Hobbystar Sues Wizard World Over Use of “Toronto Comicon” Name

Bryan — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:51:09 +0000

Fan Expo Owner Claims Brand Confusion, Defamation

by BK Munn

It looks like Comic Book Resources is the first site to dig up the hard evidence of a new lawsuit launched by Toronto’s Hobbystar Marketing, owners of the Fan Expo conventions, against the U.S.-based Wizard World chain of conventions over the recently-completed Wizard World Toronto Comic Con. Hobbystar is claiming that the name of the Wizard World event infringes on its own Toronto ComicCon, held this past March, and that Wizard World is willfully confusing consumers as well as actively working to dissuade exhibitors from attending Hobbystar shows.

Hobbystar has a history of conflict with its competitors dating back to the period in which the Wizard World show was known as the Paradise Comicon and run by Toronto’s Paradise Comics (the show changed hands in 2009) and this latest move can be seen as a fairly agressive salvo aimed at a competitor with potentially deeper pockets. Hobby Star is asking for $500,00 in damages. Hobbystar sued UFC and Reed Exhibitors in 2011 of the use of the phrase “Fan Expo” to promote a Toronto martial arts event.

According to CBR,

“Hobby Star’s claim centers around its own show, “Toronto Comicon,” which has in the recent past run both in April and at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, with the latest running at the location March 10-11 of this year. Interestingly, Hobby Star hasn’t registered “Toronto Comicon” with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, so it’s relying on common law to defend the mark. Its defense within the suit hinges on Wizard “Passing Off” their show through deceptive marketing practices outlined in Canadian intellectual property law. Within the suit, Hobby Star refers to their ownership of the name by “using the trade-mark and trade name” on Toronto Comicon. To win the suit, the company will have to demonstrate there’s a goodwill and prestige associated with “Toronto Comicon,” not simply that they were first to use the name.”

More as this develops.

Wizard World Toronto Announces Comics Guests by BK Munn Wizard World has announced its comics-themed guests...
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Link Round-Up: Wizard World Toronto 2012

Bryan — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:29:13 +0000

I kind of love this photo of a miniature Mario Bros receiving training in the ways of The Force. (courtesy of the bakadays.com blog)

by BK Munn
I didn’t go, and didn’t hear much about the show, and even know a couple retailers who attended the comics retailer summit in Chicago instead, but here are a few links about the recent Wizard World pop culture fair event Wizard World Toronto Comic Con) from this past weekend in Toronto.

Item! Writing for the A.V. Club Toronto, John Semley wonders if there are too many large pop culture and comics events in the city, leading to an overload. Pretty funny.

Item! Pretty gross, if there’s no “guys of Wizard World”.

Item! Pics by photog James Hamilton.

Item! Just in case you were wondering, this pop culture blogger wants you to know that yes, Wizard World Toronto is a place where you can have your picture taken with tv stars. Not sure how this provides what she calls something “a little new and different” to the Toronto con scene?

Item! A fan/crafter who specializes in the manufacture of unlicensed sci-fi/superhero merchandise who sold at the show reports “mild-steady” sales and a “super low key, laid back and very chill” atmosphere with no line-ups for celebs.

Item! Reporting for Bleeding Cool, Toronto’s Alexander Hoffman breaks it down: a small, quiet show that faces stiff competition from the two Fan Expo shows and TCAF.

Item! For BlogTO, Danielle D’Ornellas writes about a truncated Sunday show and empty spaces, with photos by Scott Snider.

Item! Video reports from the Geek Hard boys.

Item! vids and photos from Geek Portal. They have a full report here which mentions, as do several other reports, how kid-friendly alot of the programming was, especially on Sunday. Also, vendors packed up early.

Item! Short report from newcomer Crystal Fractal Comics. CF editor Andrew Ardizzi blogs about the same experience in his journalist role at Comic Book Daily.

Item! The An Elegant Weapon (I figured out its a Staw Wars reference) podcast covers the con.

Item! Coverage from Pop Culture Hype (lives up to its name).

Item! Dave Denis from This Week In Geek has a short report. I’m glad he fulfilled his stated goal of “talking to a hot girl” (and his anecdote about that is sort of funny) but was more intrigued to learn that there was a booth devoted to Frank’s Red Hot Sauce at the con.

Item! One person who I link to consistently in these roundups is Jason Truong, who reports in about his sketch collecting activities, this time with some nice examples from local and visiting comics artists.

Item! Photo set and short report from crafter Sparklegirl.

Item! That Joker Guy is an artist? who cosplays as The Joker? I think?

Item! Second-time con attendee Melissa has some advice on how to enjoy a convention.

Item! Photoset.

Item! Webcomics cartoonist Boum had a quiet show.

Item! I like the idea that you can enjoy a con simply from one point of view, like, say, 1980s Marvel.

Item! Checking in with the Hook.

Item! Geez, the TDot Comics crew look pretty sharp in those matching tshirts!

UPDATE: MORE!

Item! CTV news video includes clip of new Wizard CEO John Macaluso at the con.

Item! 680 News write-up.

Item! Lots of photos of retailers/booths, among other things (like the Jedi photo up top).

Item! Con-virgin tries to track down “Ben Grimm is Jewish” issue of Fantastic Four.

Item! Thank the great god Hodiak that Comic Book Daily managed to find some Alpha Flight cosplay in this Day 1 photo set. They also have a Day 2 photo set and Anthony Falcone has a show recap with some thoughts on the need for more dealers. He also talks about moderating a panel with comic book artists Marcus To, Ken Lashley, Francis Manapul, and Marco Rudy.

Item! Journalism student Dylan C. Robertson has a short podcast.

Item! Video of Infinite Kung Fu‘s Kagan McLeod sketching.

Item! If you have 40 minutes, you can watch this youtube video of a fellow named Questlyfe wandering the convention. (After five minutes I feel I’ve done my journalistic duty.)

And I think I will leave off with this awesome piece of video:

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Video montage of Wizard World 2012 This weekend (April 14-15) Toronto hosted Wizard World. This is...
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Comic Jams!

Max — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 02:03:21 +0000

The alternate Montreal jam, the ATOMIC COMIC JAM had it’s last jam Friday, April 6! Missed it! They tend to hold them early in the month.

Saturday April 21st is reputedly the date of the Vancouver Comic Jam!

Tuesday, April 24th is the ol’ Montreal Comic Jam

Venez gribouiller, discuter, lever le coude et libérer vos énergies créatrices en notre compagnie. Aiguisez-bien vos crayons et vos esprits, on compte sur vous!

An evening of good-humoured drawing, conversation and, incidentally, a wee bit of drinking.

Bring your artistic weapons of choice, be it wits or brushes. Both, preferably, at least early on…

Yo! Toronto Comic Jam, what’s the date?! Still every last Tuesday of the month at the Cameron House on Queen St? Good That’s Tuesday the 24th then this month then too.

Wednesday, April 25th is the Ottawa Comic Jam

Come to the April Comic Jam for an Open Theme evening. Work on your own stuff or jam traditionally with other artists! Bring projects you’re working on to share. Bring some of your zines, comics, books, buttons, t-shirts, etc. This is an evg where you can feel free to promote and let others see your work!l

April Comic Jam
Wednesday April 25th, 2012
7pm – 10pm
Shanghai Restaurant
651 Somerset St. W.
Ottawa ON

Event repeats the last Wednesday of the month (except December)
Event cost: free, paper provided
Artwork is collected at the end of the evening and posted on a semi-regular basis to the official site.
Sponsor:
DragonHead Studio
Contact: Suzanne
suebrainpower(at)gmail(dot)com
613.836.7821

And what is THIS!? A new comix jam? The Comic Hunter’s Comix Jam! In Moncton on Sunday, April 29, 2012. Looks like a gaming room of some kind, hope they let people put on good music and bring refreshments.

What is a Comix Jam? A collaborative gathering of cartoonists, doodlers and writers passing around comix pages. Everyone contributes a panel of words, drawings or both until the page is full! All skill levels are welcome. Jams are kid-friendly (12 or under accompanied by parents or legal guardians).

C’est quoi un “Comix Jam”? C’est une rencontre collaborative d’artistes et d’écrivains qui contribuent des mots, des dessins ou les deux jusqu’à ce qu’une page soit complète! Talents de tout niveau sont invités. Les jeunes sont les bienvenus (12 ans ou moins accompagnés d’un parent ou tuteur légal).

Quand: 12h30-16h30, Dimanche le 29 Avril.
Ou: 465 Rue Main, Moncton, NB

When: 12:30pm-4:30pm, Sunday April 29th.
Where: 465 Main street, Moncton, NB

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Tonite: Graphically Speaking: Comics vs Video Games, Toronto

Bryan — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:48:06 +0000

Graphically Speaking: Comics vs. Video Games

Tue Apr 17, 2012

7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

90 mins

Toronto Reference Library Atrium

Discover why author Benjamin Rivers set his work “Snow”, which is both a graphic novel and video game, in Toronto. Moderated by Jamie Woo from Gamercamp. Presented with the Toronto Comic Arts Festival.

Series:
Keep Toronto Reading

Facebook event page

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Hey Kids, Comix! (Podcasts)

Bryan — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:25:35 +0000

What the heck is going on here? The other day Max posted a C-List and now here I am doing the Hey, Kids! thing. The world is turned upside down!

This feature is usually devoted to webcomics but instead I thought I’d use it to highlight a trio of podcasts from the past week and around the web.

First up, Alice Quinn interviews the kindly and sharing Chester Brown on the penultimate episode of her Quinntessential Comics video series. Go to her site to check out the youtube thing. The show has wrapped up its first season (you can go watch the finale party here) and really should be commended for earnestly and breezily doing a series of comics-related interviews and reviews that actually involved real live comics creators from Toronto: the season ran the gamut from guys who draw superhero comics for DC to Maurice Vellekoop. Most video stuff I see online is either focused around celebrity appearances at conventions or takes the form of a couple guys in an apartment reviewing the latest Marvel and DC offerings. So bravo to Quinn and co. for trying something a little bit different, and doing it on a regular basis.

Next is the regular podcast from the Mindless Ones blog, Silence! hosted by Gary Lactus and The Beast Must Die (the Beast is cartoonist Dan White, not sure about Gary’s secret identity). This is a weekly thing that is basically two polite English blokes who make fun of the latest comics (which they take pains to point out are available from Dave’s Comics of Brighton) and talk about old comics they find in boot sales, etc. They also do a funny little song each week. You can listen to the whole podcast of course, but the reason I’m linking to this recent episode is the song “Not For Kids” which starts around the 2 minute mark and contains the rap lyric “Comics! Not just for kids/they’re about how Canadians don’t have relationships.” Genius.

Lastly, it’s the latest Inkstuds podcast. I link to Robin’s show alot in the C-List and he’s been very busy lately with interviews from the Emerald City convention and his regular gig, but I thought I’d highlight this interview with U.S. cartoonist Evan Dorkin because I actually listened to the whole thing the other night and I’m kind of proud of myself (I had to do my taxes anyway). More of a monologue than an interview, the thing is basically over two hours of the Milk and Cheese and Dork! creator rambling on about his love of comics and how out of touch with popular culture he feels. Dorkin is fun to listen to and even schools Robin a bit on crappy comic strips and manga.

Until next time!

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My 2012 Kazoo! Zine and Comic Expo Adventure Report

Bryan — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:10:23 +0000

by BK Munn

Like Brigadoon the memory of the weekend is fading so I will attempt to record my impressions before they are lost to eternity.

This year’s incarnation of this small-town, small-press, alternative media event, one of the highlights of the annual Kazoo! music festival that takes place in my home town of Guelph, came to be this past Saturday in the basement of a downtown church. This is the second year for the church location, the one before being held under tents on the central downtown square in a more festive, interact-with-the-general-walking-around-downtown-family-crowd sense. Last year the show was upstairs in the church and was quite cramped and hot, but the air-y retro basement gymnasium this year was an improvement, according to several of the guests I talked to. The exhibitors I talked to were divided on the success of the show in terms of attendance and sales, with some describing a slow day and others quite happy with the amount of books sold and the number of people interacted with.

Peter Thompson and Sarah Scope

There were around 40 tables, with several exhibitors sharing tables together (so maybe 50 exhibitors?) and there were almost that many members of “the public” wandering around when I arrived around 2pm, 3 hours into the show, although it was hard to tell exactly who was an exhibitor and who wasn’t since it was a pretty social event, and I imagine many of the folks present, including an anarchist contingent from Montreal, are regulars to the Ontario zine fest scene. Add to this table-jumping the presence of an open kitchen for the exhibitors with free food, bottled water and hot caffeinated beverages prepared by the staff of event sponsor The Dragon (including a veggie wrap I heard raves about), and you had something more closely resembling a coffee klatch than a book fair.

The show was about evenly split between text-based/traditional zinesters and comics/visual art types, but it seemed like other aspects of contemporary zine culture, notably the craft/maker-style contingent, was largely absent. So, not a lot of knitting, jewelry or similar types of diy product on sale. Definitely a print vibe.

This was also the first zine show I’ve been to since I became aware of the recent Broken Pencil cover-feature on the invasion of the art zines, which I wrote about last week here on Sequential. Not surprisingly, most of the principals in that near-feud were present at the Kazoo! fest, including instigator Broken Pencil, article targets Marc Bell and Peter Thompson, and people like Dave Cave and Guelph’s own Maranda Elizabeth who were quoted in the article. To my knowledge, no fisticuffs were engaged in and everything was the same sort of placid punk rock perfection as similar affairs have had from time immemorial. I note only that Elizabeth has announced her own plans for a Guelph Radical Zine Fest, the manifesto of which calls for “more ZINES, more GOOD VIBES, more WORDS on PAPER.” So, at least good vibes are on the table.

Nick Mandaag and Jason Keiffer

From a comics point-of-view, the Kazoo! expo offered some mighty fine examples of sequential art, ranging from the aforementioned established talents Bell and Thompson to new (to me) artists like Adam Aylard and Thompson co-conspirator Sarah Scope. Aylard in particular made some sharp looking artifacts, and has a goofy cartooning style with a gag-based approach. I bought one of his striking-looking Super Baby Jesus minis (#5) but not his equally appealing new stand-alone book for some reason, perhaps a momentary lapse or maybe I intended to circle around. Marc Bell had a slew of new solo art zines and collabs including the collage-y Swed, the Marc Connery/Amy Lockhart team-up Protozoic Mother Fucker #4, and the Jason McLean jam Musicians Cornfest starring Nog-A-Dod, among many other wonderful artifacts. The subject of the Broken Pencil article, the Thompson/McLean/Billy Burt Young jam zine Uncle Pork Chop was also on offer at Thompson’s table and I bought some original art from the artist for a hell of alot less than $300 (another Broken Pencil article sore point).

I was surprised to see Jason Keiffer and Nick Maandag sans their usual table-mate Ethan Rilly (I thought those guys had lost some kind of deal with the devil that forced them to constantly attend comics events together), but the lack of the Pope Hats maestro was more than made up for by the presence of Maandag’s new book, The Libertarian, a comedic opus obviously based in part on, dare-I-say-it, the political philosophy of Chester Brown. I also picked up the latest issue of Carousel magazine which has a ton of comics content, including Robert Dayton’s fun interview with David Boswell, and art and comics by Chris Hutsul, Michael DeForge, Ethan Rilly and much more. What else did I see. More comics. I bought the new Ian Daffern-written horror collection, A Nail in the Heart, on the strength of Ayalah Hutchins’ very dramatic cover, although the trio of artists Daffern recruited to illustrate his stories inside didn’t excite me as much.

I even bought a couple personal zines by non-comics people as well as a couple of anarchist vegetarian cookbook/recipe zines as gifts from the twelveohtwo zine distro table. And of course, I spent a two dollar coin on a surprise-in-a-ball from local publisher Gumball Press who sell zines, comics, and art objects using vintage gumball machines.

The show was organized and sponsored by the folks from The Dragon comic shop who also sponsored an afterparty at the nearby e-bar. Probably unique to any zine fest, especially since they supplied free alcoholic beverages and food to the exhibitors. The beer on offer was made by local Wellington breweries who were a Kazoo! sponsor but I’m not sure if they also supported the zine fair in some way? The party featured a pseudo debate between Maranda Elizabeth and Ian Daffern on the issue of “zines for zines sake vs zines for profit” and a trio of awards for the attendees were given out. I’m not sure who was responsible for choosing them but this year the winners were Nick Maandag for Best Comic, Julian Evans for Best Zine, and Adam Aylard for Best Debut. It was a nice little coda to the day. I talked to cartoonist and Sequential contributor Dalton Sharp for a bit at the party before he had to hit the road with his group (he had his Grawlix anthology and super-old issues of the Don’t Touch Me zine from the 90s (!!) at the show) and to Daffern about comics awards, Kagan McLeod’s Infinite Kung Fu, and the two radically different cartoonists named Van Sciver. Good times.

I think the show has a lot of room to grow and maybe has some visibility issues, even within the larger Kazoo! festival, but as it stands what it lacks in terms of attendance and renumeration is more than made up for in charming intimacy and other creature comforts.

Dragon owners and Kazoo! Zine and Comic Expo organizers Jenn and Robert Haines (with little Junia) --comics nicest couple!

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C-list – a sunday in comics

Max — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 02:57:42 +0000

Item: - Dustin Harbin this week reposted his journal comics this past week documenting his two trips to attend the Doug Wright Awards all in one place along with an essay about what he thinks would make for the kind of awards program comics in general, from a US perspective, needs.

Item: - Tom Spurgeon’s CR sunday interview is with Brandon Graham!

Item: - The Vancouver Fan Expo is coming up, April 21-22. [facebook page]

Item: - 20 days left till TCAF.

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That Was The Week That Was (Comics) 15

Bryan — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 18:56:04 +0000

a quick look back over the past week in Canadian comics news:

The U.S. convention franchise Wizard World invaded Toronto this weekend, as we can see by this fan dressed as Jack Kirby and Joe Simon's Captain America character.

Comic events this week included Wizard World Toronto, FBDFQ in Quebec City, and the Kazoo! Zine Expo in Guelph.

Heritage Toronto retailer Silver Snail got a new home and Montreal comedian and Croc magazine contributor Serge Grenier passed away.

See you next week!

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Winners of the 2012 Bédéis Causa Awards

Bryan — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 18:34:16 +0000

by BK Munn

The annual Quebec French-language comics awards, the Prix Bédéis Causa, were handed out in Quebec City Friday night as part of the 25th Festival de la bande dessinée francophone de Québec (FBDFQ). Here are the winners:

Le prix Réal-Fillion (best first book by a Quebec creator)

Fred Jourdain, Le dragon bleu (Alto)

Le prix Albéric-Bourgeois (best book by a Quebec creator published abroad)

Guy Delisle, Les Chroniques de Jérusalem (Delcourt)

Le prix Maurice-Petitdidier (best foreign French-language book)

Craig Thompson, Habibi (Casterman)

Grand prix de la Ville de Québec (Best French-language book published in Quebec)

Jean-Paul Eid, Le fond du trou (La Pastèque)

Le prix Albert-Chartier (contribution to Quebec comics culture)

Safarir magazine, on the occasion if its 25th anniversary.

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Friday Flashback: 1970s German Cosplay

Bryan — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 22:42:12 +0000

Freundin is a German magazine, sort of maybe like Teen Vogue? Not sure. Anyway, I found this old 1970s edition of the mag recently and bought it just for the freaky cover. Little did I know what would be revealed inside: an entire photo shoot of models wearing bizarre flower-power psychedelic versions of costumes based on comic book characters like Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Asterix, Superboy, Dick Tracy, and more!

Alice in Wonderland

Is it Jack Kirby's The Avengers or Jack Kirby's Forever People?

Asterix, Obelix, Cleopatra, Getafix

by Goscinny and Uderzo

Disney Ducks, including a few Carl Barks creations.

Uncle Scrooge and "Granny"

For Jeet Heer, it's Dick Tracy and co.

Goofy et al

Meet the Flintstones

"Vilma!"

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This Weekend: 2012 Wizard World Toronto Comic Con

Bryan — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:35:40 +0000

by BK Munn

The Wizard World Comic Con tour rolls into Toronto this weekend. Besides Q&As with a number of tv and film personalities, events include a DC Comics panel and a Michael Golden tuturial. There are a number of featured guests as well as local Toronto comics talent on the schedule.

Saturday and Sunday
April 14-15
Metro Toronto Convention Centre

Mike Deodato Jr.
GUEST OF HONOR
(Artist – Amazing Spider-Man; Wonder Woman; Batman; Incredible Hulk; Wolverine: Origins; X-Men) “Jock”
EISNER AWARD NOMINEE
(Artist – Detective Comics; Batman; Hulk; Daredevil; Judge Dredd; Wonder Woman)
John McCrea
SPECIAL GUEST
(Artist – Hitman; Transmetropolitan; Captain America; Batman; Punisher; Hulk; Star Wars; Wolverine; Spider-Man; Wonder Woman; Preacher; Superman)
Javi Fernandez
SPECIAL GUEST
(Artist – Flashpoint: The Outsider; Captain America: First Vengeance; Hero Complex)
Dale Keown
SPECIAL GUEST
(Artist – Hulk; The Pitt; X-Men; Spider-Man; Superman)
Tyler Kirkham
SPECIAL GUEST
(Artist – Green Lantern Corps; Amazing Spider-Man; Blackest Night; Ultimate Fantastic Four; X-Men)
Phil Ortiz
EMMY AWARD WINNER
(Animator – The Simpsons; He-Man and the Masters of the Universe; Muppet Babies; The Chipmunks; Smurfs)
Marcus To
SPECIAL GUEST
(Artist – Batwing; The Huntress; The Authority; Heroes; Red Robin; WildCATs)

Ken Lashley
SPECIAL GUEST
(Artist – Batwing; LucasFilm; Blackhawks; Black Panther; The Flash; LoSH; JLA; Avengers; X-Men; Supergirl)
David Mack
EISNER AWARD NOMINEE
(Writer/Artist – Kabuki; Daredevil; Dexter Webisodes; The Shy Creatures; Dream Logic, Writer – Electric Ant)
Michael Golden
SPECIAL GUEST
(Batman; Spider-Man; Hulk; X-Men; Daredevil; Star Wars; BSG; The Punisher)

Greg Horn
SPECIAL GUEST
(Artist – Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark; X-Force; Blackest Night; Wonder Woman; The Flash)

Francis Manapul
SPECIAL GUEST
(Artist – The Flash; Adventure Comics; Superman/Batman; Blackest Night; Brightest Day; LoSH G.I. Joe)

Arthur Suydam
SPIKE TV, SCREAM AWARD WINNER
(Cover Artist – Marvel Zombies; Army of Darkness; Batman)

Mike del Mundo
SPECIAL GUEST
(Artist – Venom; The Amazing Spider-Man; Klaws of the Panther; Spider-Girl; Iron Man; Hulk; Marvel Zombies)

Leonard Kirk
SPECIAL GUEST
(Artist – X-Factor; JSA; Supergirl; Marvel Zombies 5; Hulk; Star Trek: DS9; Wonder Woman)

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This Weekend: Kazoo! Zine and Comic Expo

Bryan — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:34:54 +0000

by BK Munn

Part of the week-long Kazoo! music festival in Guelph, Ontario, the Kazoo! Zine & Comic Expo is a cozy alternative publishing event taking place Saturday, April 14. This year’s event features the launch of a new comics-related publisher, Gumball Press, which has a unique vintage vending-machine distribution system, and the pre-launch of Carousel #29, the latest issue of the long-running arts magazine with a substantial comics section, as well as appearances from some familiar comics names, including international art superstar Marc Bell, London’s Peter Thompson, woodcut artist Marta Chudolinska, and Sequential contributor Dalton Sharp, representing the Toronto Comics Jam. (See the bottom of this post for a full list of attendees.) Should be some interesting work for sale at the show (see for yourself if art zines are ruining the zine world), as well as an opportunity to check out some cutting edge musical acts.

Kazoo! Zine & Comic Expo
Saturday, April 14
11am-4pm
Norfolk Street United Church
75 Norfolk St
downtown Guelph!

afterparty
eBar
41 Quebec St
4pm-6pm

list of people tabling at the event:

Alfonso Espinos
Clara Bee
Erin S. (Scissorkix)
Everybody Moon Jump – Dave
ganglion
Ian Daffern
Kenzie Reid
Keren Harvey
Litda S. Tuy
Maranda Elizabeth
neutral comix
Peter Bradley
Toony Quarterly – James Spencer
Adam Aylard
Adriana Blake
Bian Evinou
Broken Pencil
CAROUSEL
children’s art factory
Courtney Clinton
Fight Boredom Distro
Jason Bradshaw
Jason Kieffer
Julian Evans
Keenan
Look mum! (e)
Malcolm Derikx
Marta Chudolinska and Chris Green
Mike Bauman
Tim Lai
Toronto Comic Jam (Dalton Sharp)
twelveohtwo zine distro
Aaron Mancyzk
shabina
Marc Bell
Peter Thomson
Perry Piroutz

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New Silver Snail Location: Yonge and Dundas

Dalton — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 04:18:45 +0000

George Zotti amongst the Silver Snail's famous wooden comic shelves (they'll be making the move)

by Dalton Sharp

The new location of the Silver Snail will be at Yonge and Dundas according to a Torontoist report, ending months of speculation that started last spring when original owner Ron Van Leeuwen announced he was retiring and selling the business.

New co-owner George Zotti expressed mixed feelings.

“I hate leaving Queen Street…we’ve been here for 36 years always on this block, but circumstance dictates that we have to go so…a new store a new feel, a new look…a newer building… People don’t realize this, but all the rest of the building is falling down around our ears, so yeah we’re really excited about it. Terrified at the same time but really excited.”

Zotti’s history dates back to the early days of the Snail. Remarkably, he’s been working there since he was fourteen, excepting a six-year hiatus he joked as having a ‘real job’.

“I’ve been shopping here since I was eight with a really good friend of mine, and one day we came in and the owner’s wife said, “hey, do you guys want a job?” We went, “do we want to work at a comic book store?! Yes we want to work at a comic book store!” And so we just started working in the warehouse lifting boxes and sorting things in alphabetical order. Now…twenty some odd years later, I’m one of the co-owners of the store so it’s pretty cool.”

According to the Torontoist the 3,300 sq. ft. store will open by July first. It takes over a vacated wing of a building housing a diminished HMV store. Zotti said he was open to the possibility of an in-store cafe, gallery and gaming spaces. Store staff surmised about Captain Americanos and Flash-pressos. Their bookseller neighbours are the Hairy Tarantula comic shop, BMV, and the World’s Biggest Bookstore.

Deep thanks to Alice Quinn of Tdotcomics.com for a “joint interview” which was 99% her great work.

http://www.toronto.com/article/680328–the-silver-snail-comics-icon-sold-to-move

http://news.nationalpost.com/tag/george-zotti/

http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/04/historic_silver_snail_building_up_for_development/

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This Week: 25th Festival de la Bande Dessinee Francophone de Quebec

Bryan — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:15:05 +0000

Starts Today

by BK Munn

The 25th annual version of this comic festival, FBDFQ for short, starts today in Quebec City. Guests include Michel Rabagliati, Delaf & Dubuc, Jacques Lamontagne, Réal Godbout, Pierre Fournier, Patrick Sobral, Yoann and Juanjo Guarnido, and Charlie Adlar, among many others. The festival also hosts the Bedeis Causa Awards on Friday night. The event runs April 11 to 15. Check out the great poster by Pascal Girard:

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Foreword’s Book of the Year Graphic Novel Nominees

Bryan — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 04:05:25 +0000

Three Canadian Books Nominated for Award Spotlighting Independent Publishers

by BK Munn

The nominees for this year’s Book of the Year prizes, sponsored by U.S.-based ForeWord magazine, have been announced. This year’s five nominees in the Graphic Novel category include 3 books from Canadian artists (David Lester, Ramon Perez, and George Walker), two of which are published in Canada. According to the awards organizers, “ForeWord Reviews’ Book of the Year Awards were established to bring increased attention to librarians and booksellers of the literary and graphic achievements of independent publishers and their authors. ForeWord is the only review trade journal devoted exclusively to books from independent houses.”

-Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by George Walker (The Porcupine’s Quill)
-Anne Steelyard, The Garden of Emptiness by Barbara Hambly (Penny-Farthing Press)
-Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand by Jim Henson, Jerry Juhl, illustrated by Ramon Perez (Archaia Entertainment)
-Lost Trail by Donn Fendler, with Lynn Plourde (Down East Books)
-Rust by Royden Lepp (Archaia Entertainment)
-The Listener by David Lester (Arbeiter Ring Publishing)

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Mortimer the Slug

Kyp Harness — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 03:17:55 +0000

In the first of the weekly Mortimer the Slug colour comics, Dave the Dust Particle’s passion for bubble gum has unintended consequences.

www.mortimertheslug.com

www.kypharness.net

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Serge Grenier, 1939-2012

Bryan — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 19:41:45 +0000

profile from Croc magazine

Comedian & Contributor to Croc Magazine

by BK Munn

Comedian and writer Serge Grenier died April 6. He was 73.

Grenier formed the comedy quartet Les Cyniques while attending the University of Montreal in 1961. The group became a mainstay of the Quebec comedy scene, with myriad appearances on television and radio, as well as the cult film IXE-13, becoming something like the satiric face of the province’s Quiet Revolution.

When the group broke up in 1972, Grenier continued as a solo act, working in tv, records, and print.

For a time, he contributed as a writer and editor to the humour magazine Croc, Quebec’s answer to Mad, a fixture on the magazine racks between 1979 and 1994 and remembered for launching the careers of many cartoonists.

In later years, Grenier was known as a television producer and host, as well as one of the earliest headliners at the Just For Laughs festival.

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Tonite: Cormarama, Toronto

Bryan — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:47:50 +0000

Tonight is the fundraiser for writer Derek McCormack. The frequent Seth collaborator is undergoing treatment for cancer and his friends are organizing a benefit and art auction for him. Check out the donated art here.

The performance-based benefit:

The Garrison,
Tuesday, April 10,
from 7:30 pm to midnight

No related posts.

In Search of Dan Cooper

Bryan — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:20:51 +0000

New Documentary Probes the Canadian Connection Behind French Comics Series

by BK Munn

À la recherche de Dan Cooper

I actually saw this during its only tv broadcast while channel surfing a few weeks back, a new doc about the long-running French comics series Dan Cooper, created by cartoonist Albert Weinberg in 1954 for Le Journal de Tintin. I couldn’t find anything online about the documentary until this press release, issued two days later. The film has extensive interview footage with Weinberg, who was reportedly inspired by Canadian pilots stationed in Europe. In a nice twist, the film also interviews modern Canadian pilots and cartoonists who were inspired by the 22 comic albums featuring the character.

Directed by Guilhem Rondot (The Second Sex), the film has been a special project of writer Roch Brunette since he met Weinberg in 1994. It was produced by CBC/Radio-Canada.

(Read Sequential’s Robert Pincombe on the history of the character here.)

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The C-List: Easter Monday, Funday?

Bryan — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:13:36 +0000

some late-afternoon linkblogging for a quiet Monday.

Item! I went to my local comic book shop this weekend, but the only comic I bought was 1999 by U.S. cartoonist Noah Van Sciver. I liked it. Compelling slice of life/coming of age plot in a scrabbly post-Ed Brubaker/Chester Brown mode with lots of inky black.

Item! From March 30, a collection of Canadian comics retailers weigh in on the new DC 52 and periodical comics sales in general as part of a regular feature for Toronto-based Comic Book Daily. I found these reports fascinating, with store owners honestly reporting on what has worked for them and the actual response of customers to new floppies. Several retailers mentioned an Image comic I have never heard of, The Strange Talent of Luther Strode by Justin Jordan and Tradd Moore, as something of a breakout hit that new comic shop visitors are discovering.

Item! The latest Quinntessential Comics episode at TDot Comics featured the Autobiography Book Club, a discussion of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis and Chester Brown’s Paying For It.

Item! Jamie Coville has some great recordings of the Toronto Comicon from last month, including Jeff Lemire, George Perez, and Mark Bagley. Coville is the go-to guy for Toronto-area “converage” and always has tons of great audio-visual.

Item! Joe Ollman shows us what his original art looks like on the d+Q blog.

Item! Those Inkstuds podcasts are coming fast and furious. I can barely keep up! The three most recent Robin McConnell interviews are with three critically-acclaimed cartoonists who are sure to be worth listening to: Matt Forsythe, Bill Griffith, and Bill Sienkiewicz.

Item! 30-odd years after Marvel comics brought the Electric Company to comics with Spidey Superstories, Sesame Street gets the same treatment with a new series from something called Ape Entertainment.

Item! The Shuster Awards is walking readers through its nominating process, with the latest post about the second round of nominations for the English language artist categories.

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That Was The Week That Was (Comics) 14

Bryan — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 19:30:57 +0000

Thursday: I posted a response to that weird article in Broken Pencil about how art zine makers like Marc Bell are sell-outs. Also, the Expozine Awards were announced. Also, the Bedelys Prizes were announced. Both award galas were in Montreal.

Wednesday: The C-List caught up with comics news around the country but we also had posts about upcoming comics from D+Q, and the Horrible anthology.

Tuesday: News about upcoming books from Pow Pow/Zviane and D+Q/Genevieve Castree. Also, Toronto Cartoonist Workshop Spring classes schedule.

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Tunisian Facebook Users Jailed For Posting Muhammed Pics

Bryan — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:11:14 +0000

A few months after the head of state television in Tunisia was arrested for broadcasting Marjane Satrapi’s animated Persepolis, Reuters is reporting that a pair of Tunisian youths (or at least the one they could catch) is being sent to jail over Facebook-related Muhammed cartoons.

The pair have been sentenced to seven years in prison for posting cartoons of the prophet Mohammad on Facebook, in a case that has fueled allegations the country’s new Islamist leaders are gagging free speech.

The two men had posted depictions of the prophet naked on the social networking site, the justice ministry said, inflaming sensitivities in a country where Muslim values have taken on a bigger role since a revolution last year.

“They were sentenced … to seven years in prison for violation of morality, and disturbing public order,”

said Chokri Nefti, a justice ministry spokesman.

One of the two, Jabeur Mejri is in jail while the second, Ghazi Beji, is still being sought by police and was sentenced in absentia.

The sentence was handed down on March 28 but was not reported until Thursday, when bloggers started posting information about the case on the Internet. One Tunisian blogger, Nebil Zagdoud, told Reuters…

“The sentences are very heavy and severe, even if these young people were at fault,”

“This decision is aimed at silencing freedom of expression even on the Internet. Prosecutions for offending morals are a proxy for this government to gag everyone.”

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The 10th Prix Expozine

Max — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 22:09:37 +0000

Co: Expozine

The Expozine 10th Awards Gala was held April 4, 2012, 8 p.m., @Le Divan Orange, 4234 Saint-Laurent.

Featuring Simon Paquet as MC, readings by Jean-Pierre Tremblay and Jese Gordon and ended with a great dance party performance by Montreal’s premier synth showman, Super Fossil Power!

The Expozine Alternative Press Awards recognize the best publications that were on display at the Expozine small press fair in the fall of 2011.

THE WINNERS:

ENGLISH ZINE

Prologue, Jonathan Reid Sévigny

An exquisitely printed zine of large-format colour drawings, huge tableaus of characters and scenes that are simultaneously cute and violent, surreal and storybook plain. You could look at each one for hours wondering what the heck they’re supposed to mean – the unicorns, the gallows, the mermaids, the guillotines, the corner dépanneur as some sort of fairy oasis. Stunning.

HONOURABLE MENTION (TIE):
Jese Gordon’s Korea deserves an honourable mention as a superbly presented literary zine. The semi-transparent mylar pages complement the almost voyeuristic feel of the texts.

The zine Drop Target from Vermont gets its honourable mention for excellence as a real “old school” type zine: by and for fans of pinball, yet with a good enough presentation and variety of content (essays, reviews, comics etc.) that non-fans would enjoy it as well.

ENGLISH BOOK

You Are A Cat! by Sherwin Tjia

This book takes a premise that possibly shouldn’t work and works it beautifully in every direction. From teenage lesbian suicides to psychopathic killers- with fresh cream, naps and feline sex in between – as you ‘pick your own plot’ this book provides genuine insight into what it actually might feel like to be a cat.

ENGLISH COMIC

Pope Hats No. 2, Ethan Rilly, Adhouse Books

Rilly has a fully developed graphic and storytelling style of his own in this highly existential series.

~~~

FANZINE FRANCOPHONE

Impossible voyage, Celine Huyghebaert

Petite collection de pensées à la fois nostalgiques et autoréflexives entourant un voyage d’une certaine Louisa-Nar sur des cartes d’identification de bagages. Chaque petite carte d’embarcation est sérigraphiée en noir et blanc. Objet d’art finement assemblé et numéroté. À méditer!

MENTION SPECIAL
FANZINE FRANCOPHONE:
Salade de crudités” de Boris Paillard, ouvrage de collaboration entre la poésie de Paillard et différents illustrateurs tous plus incroyables les uns que les autres. Tout le livre est sérigraphié d’où son incroyable authenticité tant au niveau de la texture que de la couleur. Flamboyant, pertinent. Bravo!

LIVRE FRANCOPHONE

Typographie inusuelle, Marc Pantanella, Éditions L’Oie de Cravan et Finitude

D’abord pour la beauté de l’ouvrage, la maquette de couverture, le papier, la qualité d’impression puis ensuite pour l’humour surprenant, bon enfant et réjouissant qui nous pousse de page en page.

BANDE DESSINÉE FRANCOPHONE

Boumeries, volume 1, par Boum (Samantha Leriche-Gionet), auto-publication

Des petits moments du quotidien empreints d’humour, racontés avec candeur et spontanéité. Le dessin, expressif à souhait, illustre le tout de façon très efficace sous forme de strips qui font plaisir à lire.

expozine.ca

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Now Hiring: Assistant Editor Needed at Broken Pencil

Bryan — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:28:10 +0000

Employment opportunity in the Toronto area:

Assistant Editor – Broken Pencil: the Magazine of Zine Culture and the Independent Arts
Broken Pencil, an independently published magazine about zine culture and the independent arts, is currently hiring an Assistant Editor. This is an ongoing, part-time position based out of our downtown Toronto office.

Broken Pencil covers independent art and media such as zines, comics, books, video, music and web projects.

Ideal candidate will have:
- proven skills as a writer

- knowledge of and passion for independent/alternative culture.

- knowledge of and passion for North American small press publishing.
- a background in journalism/skills in journalistic writing, editing and copy editing.

In addition to your resume and cover letter, interested candidates should send 2 relevant story ideas, and 2 writing samples to Lindsay Gibb at editor@brokenpencil.com using the subject line “Assistant Editor job application.”

Full details

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Are Cartoonists Contanimating the Purity of the Zine World With Fine Art?

Bryan — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:07:45 +0000

Broken Pencil Wonders If the “Fine Ahtwerks” of Marc Bell and His Contemporaries Have a Place at Zine Fairs

by BK Munn

The current issue of Canadian indie culture bible Broken Pencil sports a cover feature titled “Zines vs High Art” and the article, written by BP assistant editor Laura Trethewey, ponders a “growing divide in the zine world” between old-fashioned cheap photocopied zines and a new generation of more expensive artist-produced zines. Trethewey sets up several easy and not always accurate binaries, including rich/poor, professional/amateur, graphics/text, style/content, and abstract/personal, to make her case that the presence of gallery shows, academics, art books and art prints represent a sea change in the anarchic diy subculture that gave birth to the zines and zine fairs and that these trends are essentially sucking the heart and soul out of what’s left of non-corporate culture.

Using the example of the recent “Not Bad For London” show and sale at the Michael Gibson Gallery in London, Ontario (featuring art by Marc Bell, James Kirkpatrick, Amy Lockhart, Jason McLean, Peter Thompson, Jamie Q., and Billy Bert Young), Trethewey argues that zines featuring the work of these artists are essentially “low level artifacts produced for the perusal of those who couldn’t afford to take home the real thing,” meaning the zines that the art was originally presented to the public in are not really zines at all but now function as exhibit catalogs for pricey original art. As evidence of this growth in the divide between classic zine aesthetics and the values of the gallery world, Trethewey describes the spectacle of pages from the Young/McLean/Thompson jam Uncle Pork Chop Scrapes Away the Summer selling for $1500 and mentions other works priced at $350 and $400 easily selling out at the show. This in comparison to lowly punk-style zinesters like Dave Cave, also mentioned in the article, whose self-promotion at zine fairs consists of a flyer reading “fuck you it’s a dollar.” The article goes on to quote comics/zines veterans Fiona Smyth and Billy Mavreas, and refers to several recent coffee table books on the zine aesthetic in its overview of the perceived clash between traditional and what one commentator calls “second wave” zines.

Of course Trethewey’s piece, like a good Broken Pencil cover story should, cops a certain funky-punky approach and reads as if meant to be controversial, with a little bit of a rebellious edge. Her tone and language are provocative, firmly anti-intellectual and anti-corporate (she tosses around terms like “highfalutin” to describe the content of some modern zines), but the whole thing is based on such a laughable premise (the zine world is becoming more expensive, slick, trendy, and –ugh– arty) that it almost reads like some kind of postmodern joke or Situationist prank. “Artists sell art for money?! Modern zines aren’t solely the work of underemployed luddite crybabies specializing in highschool poetry, the vagaries of the mental health system, poor penmanship, anticapitalist rants, and hard-core punk rock? Quel horreur! Épater la bourgeoisie!”

Seriously? Trethewey’s earnest-seeming attempt to explore the divide between the authentic zinesters and the slumming posers reminds me of what Jello Biafra had to say about the “Fonzie punks” of the music scene, with their very firm ideas about what constituted punk music and style back in the 90s (hint: they targeted Biafra as a “sellout”). Sad to see the zine world fall victim to the sort of clubby exclusivity the article lambasts as the exclusive preserve of “the art world”. That is, it would be sad to see if I didn’t think the whole article was a put-on, finding controversy where there isn’t any, and treading in some seriously hypocritical horseshit along the way.

First off, using the London crew of doodlers as an example of the big dollar fine art world intruding into the precious alternative zine culture is the funniest part of the article. The show that Trethewey attended was a small-town celebration of a group of artists who came out of and are still part of a vital local scene of artists and zinesters dating back to the 80s. Trying to make a point about the trendy uniformity of modern high art zine production using this crowd as your example is a serious mistake. These folks, some of whom have achieved a modicum of international recognition within various tiny art ghettos, have long-ago paid their dues and have “zine cred” to burn. They are all tireless promoters of other artists, zinesters, and obscure cultural producers from their own scene and around the world, and no one of them (unfortunately, sadly, true) is getting rich for their efforts. Trethewey notes that it was “often hard to tell the artists’ work apart” at the London show. Rather than evidence of a trendy sameness germane to contemporary zine art production, couldn’t it have been her general unfamiliarity with the artists? Hell, I write a daily blog about obscure Canadian comic artists and I sometimes have trouble telling who did what in one of these zines myself (unless there’s a Lord of the Rings reference, then I know it’s Peter Thompson). Or maybe it’s the fact that the artists have all developed together and often work in a collaborative fashion characteristic of the London doodle and mail art scene, a tiny yet vital underground art movement documented in part in the Bell-edited Nog a Dod anthology, and reviewed favourably in BP I might add. The fifteen pages of the Uncle Pork Chop zine were the joint effort of three individual artists who, after a gallery commission of 50% and a 3-way split, probably ended up pocketing less than seventeen bucks a page. And I’m pretty sure they don’t have a sold-out art show every week, so that’s a hell of lot less than minimum wage, let alone the price of a limo to drive around to zine fairs in. Hardly evidence of the intrusion of the caviar-and-champagne high art world into crusty punk zineland. (Really, the prices these folks are charging are a criminal joke compared to what the guy who’s drawing Spider-Man this week gets for his original art, not to mention the elites of the New York gallery world or even weekend hobby painters who routinely sell their amateurish still-life watercolours at shopping mall co-ops for multiples of what the London crowd is getting. Art lovers of Canada! Buy more art from the Not Bad For London artists!!)

Just reading a typical issue of Broken Pencil anytime over the last decade should disabuse anyone of the notion that zines are stuck in some sort of low-tech, monochromatic time-warp. And as for punkish resentment of johnny-come-lately preppy art school grads from the ‘burbs? Forget it. The typical BP issue is chock full of reviews and interviews with zinesters representing a huge cross-section of society, from pop-culture fans to artists to cartoonists to diarists to crafters, and just as mind-bogglingly a choice of production values and formats, not to mention tons of professionally-produced books of non-fiction, poetry, and novels from small presses across the land. And the BP-sponsored Canzine festival, which Mavreas describes in the article as a utopian, non-judgemental space that keeps “everyone involved and together,” doesn’t exactly seem to be a class war battleground, littered with the corpses of silk-screen devotees who dared to charge more than a few dollars for their zine, to say the least.

And, really, glass houses, anyone? Delving even a few inches into the shadowy grey area where “independant” and “lamestream” media meet can be enlightening. Broken Pencil, like many magazines, galleries, artists, writers, and publishers in Canada, benefits from government grants (as well as corporate advertising –an ad for Steamwhistle Beer greeted me when I clicked on the BP website) and has been a stepping stone to “mainstream” publication for many contributors. The perzine patron saint Dishwasher Pete, mentioned in the article as an example of independent working class purity, is now an e-book from multinational Harper Collins and writer “Diswasher” Pete Jordan has been on Letterman and contributed to NPR’s This American Life. Trethewey herself writes articles about gourmet cheese for yuppie consumer guide Toronto Life. All a far cry from the world of photo-copied, pay-what-you-can zinester culture.

Are artists like the London gang of seven contaminating the zine world? I fucking hope so!

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2012 Bédélys Prize Winners

Bryan — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 07:19:12 +0000

Quebec French-language comics prize

by BK Munn

The winners of this year’s Prix Bédélys for Quebec comics were announced last night during a ceremony at the Grande Bibliothèque in Montreal. The awards are presented by the non-profit comics agency Promo 9e art. This is the 13th year the awards have been presented.

The winners are:

Prix Bédélys Monde (best French-language comic in the world!)

Portugal by Cyril Pedrosa (Editions Dupuis)

Prix Bédélys Québec $1000 (best comic published in Quebec)

Chroniques sauvages, volume 1 – Teshkan by François Lapierre (Glénat Québec)

Prix Bédélys Indépendant $500 (best indy comic)

Le bestiaire des fruits by Zviane (self-published)

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2012 Expozine Prize Nominees

Bryan — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:40:59 +0000

Gala Awards Event Takes Place April 4

by BK Munn

The finalists for the Prix Expozine have been announced on Montreal. The prizes are given out to participants in the Expozine festival, which took place last Fall. The prizes are in two separate categories, French and English. The prizes will be handed out in a gala event Wednesday, April 4, 8pm, Le Divan Orange, 4234, boul. Saint-Laurent (métro Mont-Royal). Attendance is free and includes a performance by Super Fossil Power. (Facebook event page)

The nominees are:

Fanzine Francophone

A64N, Autobus64Nord
Tout va bien, No. 8
Fanzoune – Bestiaire des mots en « oune », Joseph Baril
Impossible voyage, Celine Huyghebaert
L’École de Quimper Des petites choses dans quelque chose, Romain Bobichon et Julie Bonnaud
La Conspiration dépressioniste, numéro 8, Jasmin Miville-Allard / Mathieu Gauthier / Yannick Lacroix

Livre Francophone

Carnavals divers, Jean-Philippe Tremblay (Éditions de L’écrou)
M.I.C.H.E.L. T.R.E.M.B.L.A.Y., Orson Spencer (Les Éditions de Ta mère)
Mile End, Michel Hellman (Éditions Pow Pow)
Petit lexique pornographique à l’usage des vieux cochons et des jeunes truies, Adeline Rognon (Éditions La Musardine)
Repères Notes décryptées volume 1, Lou Sabourin (Les créations Lou Sabourin)
Typographie inusuelle, Marc Pantanella (Éditions L’Oie de Cravan et Finitude)

Bande Dessinée Francophone

Le bestiaire des fruits, par Zviane (Sylvie-Anne Ménard)
The Best of Iris Vol. 2, par Iris (Iris Boudreau)
Boni, tome 1: Le bout de la carotte, par Ian Fortin (Premières Lignes)
Boumeries, volume 1, par Boum (Samantha Leriche-Gionet/auto-publication)
Les cornichons étrangers, par Dimo Garcia (auto-publication)
Pinkerton, par François Samson-Dunlop et Alexandre Fontaine-Rousseau (Colosse)

English Book

Food & Trembling, Jonah Campbell (Invisible Publishing)
You Are A Cat!, Sherwin Tjia (conundrum press)
echoic mimic, Lesley Trites (snare books)
Fear Itself, Matthew Brown (Éditions Trip)
The North Yorker, Alain Mercieca
Unspent Love, Shannon Gerard (conundrum press)

English Zine

The Wrecked Woman, Kara Sievewright
Korea, Jese Gordon
twilight in a room, dreams, and abyss, Yen-Chao Lin
Toughie, Coming of Age Stories, Kerri Flannigan
Pervy Calendar Zine, various contributors (including : Jessica Charest, Francois Pednault, Chloe Surprenant, Rochelle Ross and 50+ others!)
Prologue, Jonathan Reid Sévigny

English Comic

Maidenheadlock, Rebecca Rosen (Le Dernier Cri)
Pope Hats No. 2, Ethan Rilly (Adhouse)
“Untitled” by Mum Pittsburg, Connor Willumsen
The Man Who Built Beirut, Andy Warner
Melody On Stage, Sylvie Rancourt and Jacques Boivin (Éditions Melody)
Collier’s Popular Press, David Collier (conundrum press)

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Deforge, Kuzma, Kyle, and Worton Conspire on Horrible Anthology

Bryan — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:58:24 +0000

Word has slowly been leaking out through various blog posts, tumblr accounts, and tweets that a quartet of Toronto cartoonists will be publishing a new horror comics anthology for TCAF. The parties involved are Michael Deforge, Chris Kuzma, Patrick Kyle, and Zach Worton, and the split comic is called Horrible.

Patrick Kyle

Zach Worton

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The C-List: He Got Gronch-zilla

Bryan — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:31:59 +0000

Comics news and links from across Canada and beyond:

Item! The Edmonton Collectible Toy and Comic Show happened this past weekend. Totally didn’t get the memo on that, sorry. Matt Dysktra from the Edmonton Sun covered the con, which claimed attendance of 3000.

Item! The Globe and Mail profiles B.C. artist Glen Mullaly.

Item! Fun covers: Chester Brown and Seth fan art by Greg Elmensdorp and Anthony Vukojevich.

Item! And speaking of Seth and covers, an unobstructed view of Seth’s cover for the new Lemony Snicket book, and ancillary press.

Item! Strange Adventures in Halifax seems to be doing well with their Ladies Nights.

Item! Chris Butcher comments on the recent C.B Cebulski/Toronto Star/Marvel Comics page rates news/mini-tempest.

Item! TCAF’s full-page ad in the latest NOW.

Item! Are Viewmaster reels comics? My answer: some are, some aren’t.

Item! UDON Press is announcing a couple of new books: a collection of pin-up art by Mississauga’s Omar Dogan called Girl Seven and a book collecting work from a new generation of illustrators from the website PIXIV, sort of a Japanese version of DeviantArt, called PIXIV ALAMANAC.

Item! Forget about Sequential, the best comics journalism in Canada these days comes from the tireless Robin McConnell and his interviews on Inkstuds. The latest interviews include Kagan Macleod, who had an overlooked book last year with Infinite Kung Fu, and Gary Taxali, who has a new kids book line out.

Item! Robin was also at the Emerald City Comicon in Seattle this past weekend. He posted a long photo-heavy report, with tons of U.S. and Canadian cartoonists, journalists, fans and great comic book finds. Go there to see a photo of a very slender and healthy-looking Tom Spurgeon. (Spurgeon has a report from the con, too.) Robin also has audio of the panel he hosted with Adam Warren, Brandon Graham, and Bryan Lee O’Malley.

Item! I guess the big publishing news from a Canadian creator at that convention, besides the colour Scott Pilgrim I mentioned on Saturday, is that Orc Stain’s James Stokoe will be doing a Godzilla comic for IDW.

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Pow Pow Announces Apnée 2 by Zviane and Francis Desharnis

Bryan — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 14:12:56 +0000

by BK Munn

Montreal publisher Les éditions Pow Pow has announced its latest graphic novel offering. Apnée 2, la revanche de l’amour by Zviane and Francis Desharnais, will be available later in 2012. The book is a follow-up to Zviane’s award-winning 2010 graphic novel Apnée.

Apnée 2, tells the story of a whirlwind romance that takes place in Montreal’s famous underground shopping malls between a depressed girl (Sophie, the protagonist of Apnée 1) and a young Hungarian medical student. The publisher bills the comic as a tale of romance, passion and shopping.

Zviane, the pen-name of Sylvie-Anne Ménard, already has a large body of work to her name, including a handful of graphic novels (La plus jolie fin du monde, L’ostie d’chat) from a number of different publishers in Quebec and France, and a residency at Angouleme in 2009. Francis Desharnis is the cartoonist behind the Burquette series of strips and albums, for which she won a Bedeis Causa award in 2009. She is currently working on an animated film version of her comic.

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Sneak Peak at Geneviève Castrée’s Susceptible Cover

Bryan — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:05:39 +0000

by BK Munn

I’ve been a big fan of Geneviève Castrée’s comics for years now, since 2004′s Pamplemoussi (L’Oie de Cravan) was nominated for the first Doug Wright Award for Best Book. She’s put out a ton of work since then, but most of it has been fairly obscure, either published by small houses in Quebec or Europe or in various artcomix anthologies like Kramers Ergot. I reviewed her 2005 short story “We’re Wolf” (published in Drawn and Quarterly Showcase 3) here, but her North American comics production has sort of taken a backseat to such musical projects as Ô PAON and Woelv (although many of her records include comics/illustrations). That’s why I was super excited earlier this year when D+Q announced they would be publishing a new autobio-style memoir by Castrée called Susceptible, scheduled for Fall 2012. The book is now available for pre-order on Amazon with a promised October 30 release date and rough cover image.

The publisher’s blurb reads:

A TRANS-CANADIAN EXPLORATION OF IDENTITY FROM A MULTITALENTED ARTIST AND MUSICIAN

Geneviève Castrée has long been beloved for her mini-comics, comics, visual art, and music. There is a unique quality to all of her artistic endeavors—quiet, serene, depressing. Castrée’s keen eye for detail and her fearless ability to probe the depths of her troubled past make Susceptible a stirring portrait of an artist coming into her own.

Susceptible is the story of Goglu (Geneviève), a daydreamer growing up in Quebec in the ’80s and ’90s with a single mother. From a skillful artist comes a moving, beautiful story about families, loss, and growing up. Whether she’s discussing nature versus nurture or the story of her birth, Castrée imbues her storytelling with a quiet power and a confidence in the strength of imagery.

I can hardly wait!

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Toronto Cartoonist Workshop Spring 2012

Bryan — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 10:17:31 +0000

Spring 2012 Workshops

The Toronto Cartoonist Workshop has announced its next round of classes/courses:

•Layout and Storytelling – Here’s one that we’ve been waiting to bring back. Last offered in 2010, Ty Templeton’s Layout and Storytelling will teach you how to assemble the building blocks found in the essential language of storytelling:

Layout & Storytelling
INSTRUCTOR: TY TEMPLETON

From thumbnail layouts to finished pencils, this art focused course teaches you everything you need to know about the unique process of telling stories with pictures. Learn to THINK like a comic artist as well as how to CREATE like one. Essential learning for future Marvel zombies, Indy artists or Web comic creators. While basic drawing skills are helpful, they are not necessary.

Duration: May 7 – June 25 (no class May 21)

Time: Monday evenings 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Credit: ½ course, 7 weeks

************************************

•Expressive Anatomy – Leonard Kirk returns with his popular workshop whose process will arm you with the confidence and ability to construct the complex – and often daunting – human head and hands.

Expressive Anatomy
INSTRUCTOR: LEONARD KIRK

A comic book artist, like a film director needs actors to tell his story. Cartoonists have to breathe life into their characters and the best way to do that is through their facial and manual expressions. From Will Eisner to Alex Ross, artists working in the medium of comics have had to be expert in this regard.

In this course, you will begin by learning simplified methods of drawing the complex shapes of the heads and hands – basic anatomy will be covered. Students will use their own faces as reference and learn to utilize photo reference effectively. Exercises will involve the student producing short narrative pieces that involve characters showcasing the potential of human expression. If you want to learn to draw everything from grimaces involving bone crunching fisticuffs to the nuanced glances and feather touch of a romantic love scene, Expressive Anatomy is for you!

Duration: May 10 – June 21

Time: Thursday evenings 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Cost: $395 + HST

Credit: ½ course, 7 weeks

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Disney Settles With Family of Avengers Creator

Bryan — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:17:14 +0000

Missed this yesterday on the blog but it looks like big news in the Jack Kirby copyright case has been announced in Los Angeles, according to various sources, including Hollywood Reporter, Variety, and the LA Times.

Kirby, Marvel suit ends
At stake are licensing rights and royalties
By Josh Gillespie

(Hollywood) The legal battle between comics giant Marvel and the estate of famed illustrator and longtime Stan Lee collaborator Jack Kirby has come to an end.

Kirby’s family claimed that Marvel should no longer retain the copyright for the work Kirby, who died in 1994, did on such iconic superheroes as Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, Nick Fury, Iron Man, X-Men, the Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man.

Marvel sued, seeking a court to declare that Kirby’s art had been “work for hire” and, as a result, the comic book maker retained control. At stake are licensing rights and lucrative royalties.

Then, last June, a federal judge handed a key victory to Marvel Entertainment, ruling that Kirby’s works were made “for hire,” meaning that they are exempt from a provision of copyright law that allows authors and artists to obtain rights to their original creations after a certain passage of time.

Judge McMahon’s granting of summary judgment to Marvel is not just a victory for the company but for parent Walt Disney Co., which had staked its acquisition of the comic book giant on its ability to exploit its library of characters, as well as for other studios engaged in projects featuring the popular superheroes.

However, the judge’s decision led to an online boycott of Marvel’s upcoming Avengers movie, threatening one of Disney’s tentpole franchise entries into the summer blockbuster season. As well, the Kirby family and lawyer Marc Toblerone launched a full-fledged legal appeal, threatening to drag the case on for several more years.

Today’s joint announcement by Marvel and owner Disney has brought an end to the uncertainty and, for a relatively tiny outlay, has restored the moral gleam to the corporate home of Mickey Mouse and Captain America. Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter and joint CCO Joe Quesada announced that the Kirby Family would receive a 1% royalty on any merchandise featuring any character Kirby had a hand in creating and that Kirby’s name would be featured prominently in any print, film, or video game product featuring the same characters. In addition, Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Bob Iger made the following statement to the press:

“I make a $31 million salary for overseeing an empire of characters and stories created by anonymous artists like Jack Kirby. The Disney company, which I did not create and which I only joined when Disney bought ABC in 1996, has acted shittily towards these men and women for decades and decades. Marvel’s, and now Disney’s treatment of Jack Kirby, his family and legacy, has been a revoltin’ development from the get go. It’s the least we can do to make things right now, before the Avengers movie comes out and the New York Times runs a big story about this stinky state of affairs and everybody, including our pesky shareholders, realizes that Marvel/Disney is just a heartless machine that doesn’t care about right and wrong.”

Iger added that he had “found an extra 1 million dollars behind the couch cushion on my yacht” that he would be giving to that “Ghost Rider geezer” –a reference to the ailing and unemployed Ghost Rider co-creator Gary Friedrich who is being sued by Marvel for $17,000 after unsuccessfully attempting to regain copyright over his character.

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Sacha Baron Cohen Cast as Marvel’s Dr. Strange

Bryan — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 09:53:03 +0000

David Cronenberg to Direct

by David Kulpepper
(Los Angeles)

Sacha Baron Cohen has been signed by Marvel Studios to star as the ‘Master of the Mystic Arts’, the studio announced Saturday.

The Disney-owned studio is releasing the provocateur’s forthcoming picture in May, 2014. Cohen will also have a cameo in this year’s Avengers.

Screenwriting duo Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer, of Sahara and the recent Conan, were hired to write a treatment about the mysterious magician for Marvel and Disney in 2010.

The Marvel series, originally written by comics God Stan Lee, tells the story of Dr. Stephen Strange, a neurosurgeon who has his hands irreparably injured in a car crash. He travels the world searching for a cure, and in the process learns sorcery from a hermit in the Himalayas, which he uses to combat the forces of evil and do the usual superhero type things.

Cohen, who first caught the attention of stateside audiences with Da Ali G Show, which aired in the U.S. on HBO, has released a handful of successful comedies. Bruno grossed $139 million worldwide and Borat took in $262 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

“Sacha is a comic genius. A wildly talented writer, actor and filmmaker. Beyond that, he is the rare global comedy star,” said Avi Arad, in a statement.

The actor is known for provactive marketing campaigns for his films that see him tape talk show appearances and attend premieres and other events in character. And those characters often cross traditional boundaries of taste and political correctness. At this year’s Academy Awards show, Cohen — dressed as the dictator from his forthcoming film — dumped what he said were the ashes of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on TV host Ryan Seacrest.

The Dictator, directed by Larry Charles, is the story of a ruthless ruler who risks his life to ensure that democracy never comes to the country he oppresses.

Columbia, Dimension and Paramount have each planned unsuccessful adaptations of Dr. Strange in the past, with writers and directors from Wes Craven to Guillermo Del Toro attached.

The $99.5 million Strange film is penned by Cronenberg and newcomer Steven Ditko, and co-produced by Portuguese producer Paulo Branco’s Alfama Films and Cronenberg’s Toronto-based Antenna, in association with Kinology.

full story

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Sunday: Caitlin Black Exhibit, Toronto Public Library

Bryan — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 18:16:14 +0000

UPDATE: OPENING EVENT MOVED TO THURSDAY, APRIL 5. 7PM

“Mary of Mud Creek”
An exhibit of art by Caitlin Black,
including puppets, paintings, and origianl art from the graphic novel Mary of Mud Creek .
Toronto Public Library
Richview Branch
1806 Islington Ave (at Eglington)
April 1 – 30, 2012

Opening Reception
April 1
2-4 pm

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That Was The Week That Was (Comics) 13

Bryan — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 15:38:00 +0000

Looking back over the past semaine here at Sequential.

Oni announced it would be reissuing a larger, colorized version of Scott Pilgrim, with tints by DC colourist Nathan Fairbairn.

Monday: D+Q announced a Spring book tour for Guy Delisle and his new memoir/travelogue Jerusalem.

Tuesday: The nominees for this year’s Doug Wright Awards were announced and the weekly C-List of news and links revealed some interesting news about Marvel Comics page rates, among other things.

Wednesday: News about a new Canadian graphic novel publisher, La Mauvaise Tête, and its initial line-up of very sharp-looking comics by the young generation of Montreal arts comix creaators.

Thursday: Sequential reviewed Tom Gauld’s Goliath graphic novel and the Toronto library strike ended.

Friday: Our Friday Flashback included some Golden Age goodies and TCAF announced a mini convention for librarians.

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TCAF to Host Librarian Symposium

Bryan — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 22:07:03 +0000

May 4th TCAF Librarian and Educator Day Scheduled for Just Before Festival; Cartoonist Presenters to Include Amulet’s Kazu Kibuishi

by BK Munn

The Toronto Comics Arts Festival announced yesterday a new event oriented towards educators seeking to incorporate more comics into curricula and libraries. The TCAF Librarian and Educator Day is scheduled to take place May 4, the day before the official start of the Festival, at the Toronto Reference Library. The event is an outgrowth of The Beguiling’s healthy sideline of supplying schools with graphic novels. The event has a focus on Young Adult graphic novel and features presentations from TCAF guests Jennifer Holm & Matt Holm (BABYMOUSE, SQUISH), Vera Brosgol (ANYA’S GHOST), Frank Cammuso, (KNIGHTS OF THE LUNCH TABLE), Cecil Castellucci (THE PLAIN JANES), Claudia Davila (LUZ SEES THE LIGHT), Anthony Del Col and Connor McCreery (KILL SHAKESPEARE), John Green (TEEN BOAT!), Kazu Kibuishi (AMULET), Eric Wight (FRANKIE PICKLE), and Andy Runton (OWLY), among others.

details:

TCAF Librarian/Educator Day! Comics, Manga, and More!
Presented by The Beguiling Library Services

Friday May 4th, 9am-3pm
@ Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St.,
In The Bram & Bluma Appel Salon, second floor
Registration Required
Cost: $100.00 for Patron Pass, Free for Standard Admission

Tickets available at: http://beguilinglibrary.eventbrite.com/

Attendance to this event will be limited to librarians, educators, and students of those disciplines.

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Friday Flashback: House Ads From the Canadian Whites

Bryan — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:35:24 +0000

by BK Munn

Growing up, I pored over the ads in old comic books, looking for clues to other stories of my favourite characters. I loved to read things like Stan Lee’s Bullpen Bulletins which hyped coming attractions in Marvel Comics. Before the direct market of comic shops evolved, I couldn’t be sure my local variety store or drugstore spinner rack would even stock the next issue of the titles I collected and sometimes these old advertisements were my only link to the wider world of the various comics universes.

The same goes for even older comic books, like the ones published in Canada in the 1940s and 50s. These comics are so rare, and sometimes so poorly documented, that just figuring out things like how many issues were published and what the cover price was often involves a ton of detective work. The three ads below are a case in point, directing us to some scarce gems from the land of the “Canadian Whites” (so-called because they were mostly published in black and white).

Johnny Canuck by Leo Bachle (final page of Johnny Canuck story from Dime Comics #1, February 1942)

This is the page that ends the shirtless tyro Johnny Canuck’s first appearance, and features cameos by Winston Churchill and Hitler. The next issue features the famous “punching Hitler” story hinted at here, in this handsome pin-up by teenage creator Leo Bachle aka Les Barker (1926-2003).

house ad for Rex Baxter by Edmond Good, Joke Comics #1, 1942

Rex Baxter debuted in the same issue of Dime Comics #1 as Johnny Canuck. This ad from companion title Joke Comics hardsells the artistic virtues of creator Edmond Good. Good (1910-1991) left Canada in 1944 for work in the American comics industry. He worked on the Scorchy Smith newspaper strip, following in the footsteps of illustrious predecessors, creator John Terry, Noel Sickles, and Frank Robbins. Good moved on to a series of western-themed newspaper strips, including Red Ryder, before settling back into comic book work, including a long tenure on the Monte Hall comic for Fawcett Comics. Good co-created the long-running Tomahawk character for DC in 1947. Additionally, he started his own publishing company (“Good Comics”, natch!) and created several titles, including Johnny Law, Sky Ranger and Rusty the Boy Detective before the comics business collapsed in the mid-50s. He later reportedly moved into writing for radio, tv and film before becoming an art director for Tupperware advertising in the 60s and 70s.

ad for Treasure Chest of World's Best Comics, from back cover of Canadian edition of Timely's Battle #1, published by Herald Publishing, Toronto

Besides those who published original material, there were a number of Canadian publishers who essentially reprinted U.S. comics, either by redrawing original scripts by American writers or repackaging/printing U.S. comics in their entirety. The practice became more common into the late 1940s and 50s until the repeal of the War Exchange Conservation Act and the flood of actual U.S. comics and magazine imports resumed. This ad is from the back cover of such a publication, which essentially reprints the Timely Comics title with Canadian ads. This ad is our first peak at one of the most valuable Canadian comic books, a hardcover collection of U.S. reprints. Canadian publishers often bound together massive collections of unsold comics as a sort of annual (I have one called Vacation Comics that the first two ads above appeared in). The gigantic 500 page Treasure Chest of the World’s Best Comics reportedly was made up of whatever comics the packager (in this case Herald Publishing aka Superior) had lying around and could include random 1940 and 50s issues of Captain America, Millie the Model, and other Stan Lee-edited titles (how did we end up with Stan Lee again?).

No related posts.

Graphic Novel Review: Goliath by Tom Gauld

Bryan — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 21:13:42 +0000

“I am Goliath of Gath, Champion of the Philistines.”

Goliath
by Tom Gauld
Drawn and Quarterly
96 pages
ISBN: 9781770460652
$19.95

review by BK Munn

Scottish cartoonist Tom Gauld has made a career in comics by playing with our ideas of class, scale, and history. His usually tiny, deadpan figures of cavemen, medieval knights, and robots spout terse, mundane observations using anachronistic language while muddling through some epic crisis made human by Gauld’s deft sense of humour and deceptively simple rendering. Gauld usually works in a very minimal style, with spare backgrounds and characters composed of basic geometric shapes that appear little more than stick figures, especially when reproduced in the tiny minicomics that he is known for (think Edward Gorey meets Johnny Hart’s B.C.).

Gauld’s most recent forays into North American comics publishing, 2009′s The Gigantic Robot and his contribution to 2008′s Kramers Ergot 7 (both from Buenaventura Press), are perfect examples of his method, an amalgamation of huge and tiny panels contrasting the construction of a massive object (giant robot, Noah’s Ark) with the ant-like, working-class humans who labour in the shadows. The sublime effect of both these works relied in part on the size of the books they appeared in, especially the table-sized Kramers, commenting as they do on the folly of most human endeavour and the randomness of life as perceived by the bit-players of history –suitable subject matter for someone labouring in the trade of cartooning, making tiny picture stories in the vanishing medium of print for an ever-shrinking audience.

Sad-Sack or Superman?

Goliath, Gauld’s latest, is his longest and most ambitious comic to date, and is something of a formal departure from his previous work in that it is comprised of a greater variety of panel sizes and features a more traditional presentation in terms of book size (6.5 x 9.75 inches). The book retells the Biblical story of David and Goliath from the giant Goliath’s point of view, with heart-wrenching and hilarious results. Goliath, an introverted, introspective infantryman in the Philistine army who prefers paperwork to patrol duty (“I’m not a champion. I’m the fifth-worst swordsman in my platoon.”), is recruited into a cheap propaganda effort by an ambitious officer, and ends up alone out in the desert, issuing a daily challenge to the Israelites, with the intention of vanquishing the army through fear and intimidation. Of course, we know how the story turns out, but the joy is in Gauld’s execution, and all the charming little details he puts into the telling, like Goliath’s relationship with his tiny shield-bearer and the minutiae of life in the Philistine camp. The whole thing is a wonder of pacing, with great beats and an exquisite deployment of cartooning tropes in the service of seriocomic tragedy.

As in his previous work, Gauld gets quite a bit of mileage out of contrast here, not just in terms of scale but also in terms of language and perception (comics vaunted melding of words and pictures). On the one hand, we have the insertion of actual Biblical language in the description of Goliath and the actual dialogue spoken in the giant’s challenge and, late in the book, David’s Old Testament speechifying when accepting the challenge, On the other hand, we have the bored, bewildered conversations between Goliath and his shield-bearer. Goliath comes to love the quiet and isolation of the desert, and his viewpoint becomes a sort of vocal manifestation for Gauld’s theme of perception, saying to his assistant, “It’s sort of beautiful, don’t you think?” To which the shield-bearer replies, “No. It’s not beautiful. It’s boring.” This Beckett-like exchange is played out over one of Gauld’s typical minimalist backgrounds, a flat brown horizon with three artfully arranged boulders. The shield-bearer, a typical Philistine, would rather be back at camp, with it’s bear-fights and gambling, instead of chucking pebbles down in the valley, while Goliath is enamored of his zen surroundings, slowly coming to terms with his own place in the universe. A fitting metaphor for our own individual struggles with art and daily life. Sort of beautiful, don’t you think?

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Striking library workers in Toronto vote on tentative deal

Bryan — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 05:23:50 +0000

CUPE Members to Vote Today

by BK Munn

Good news for library patrons and the upcoming Toronto Comic Arts Festival. Negotiators for striking Toronto Public Library workers have reached a tentative agreement with the Library Board that could end their ten-day walkout.

The agreement, if ratified, will bring an end to the strike that started March 19.

Details of the new agreement will not be released until Local 4948 members ratify it at a meeting later todaay, scheduled for 1 p.m.

The Toronto Public Library Workers’ Union, Local 4948 of the Canadian Public Employees Union, represents about 2,300 library staff, over half of whom work part-time.

[midnight UPDATE: The union has accepted the deal and the libraries are back open. BKM]

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La Mauvaise Tête: New Quebec Graphic Novel Publisher

Bryan — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:37:10 +0000

by BK Munn

Comics creators Vincent Giard and Sébastien Trahan have started a new Montreal comics publishing house, La Mauvaise Tête.

Both principles have had experience with other boutique bande dessinee publishers in the province, with Trahan co-founding Mécanique Générale with Jimmy Beaulieu and both publishing with Colosse. Trahan (Cinéma, Colosse 2010) and Giard (Laisse Tomber les Filles, Colosse 2010) were part of a loose collective also called La Mauvaise Tête, responsible for an anthology of literary fiction adaptations of books from the Alto catalog, Lecture à Vue: La Mauvaise Tête Dessine Alto (Colosse, 2010), as well as participating with the same group in several 24 hour comics projects. The new publisher’s name is also a sly nod to a Spirou album by French grand master Franquin.

The company’s intitial offerings have just been released and include du chez-soi by Ariane Dénommé and la muse récursive by David Turgeon. Both books were launched at Le Porte de Tete bookshop on March 20th.

As well, the publisher will be exhibiting at the Quebec City comics festival beginning on April 13.

Du Chez-Soi by Ariane Dénommé

La Muse Recursive by David Turgeon

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Brown, Seth, Beaton, Ollmann & DeForge short-listed : 2012 Doug Wright Awards

Max — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:23:46 +0000

Co: the Doug Wright Awards

Legendary cartoonist Terry ‘Aislin’ Mosher
to be inducted into Hall of Fame
during annual ceremony

The Doug Wright Awards, Canada’s premier comics awards, are proud to announce their finalists for 2012.

The 15 nominees include established heavy-weights and past winners (Chester Brown, Seth, Marc Bell, Joe Ollmann, Kate Beaton) and a slate of extraordinary younger talent that together represent the finest in Canadian comics.

The nominees
for the 2012
Doug Wright Award
for Best Book are…

Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton (Drawn and Quarterly)

Lose #3 by Michael Deforge (Koyama Press)

Mid-Life by Joe Ollmann (Drawn and Quarterly)

Paying for It by Chester Brown (Drawn and Quarterly)

Reunion by Pascal Girard (Drawn and Quarterly)

The Great Northern Brotherhood of Canadian Cartoonists by Seth (Drawn and Quarterly)

The nominees for
the 2012 Doug Wright Spotlight Award
(a.k.a. “The Nipper”)
which recognizes talent
deserving of wider
recognition, are…

Emily Carroll for “The Seven Windows” (from The Anthology Project vol. 2), “Margot’s Room” and “The Prince & the Sea” (and other comics at emcarroll.com/comic).

Patrick Kyle for Black Mass # 5 – 6

Betty Liang for Wet T-Shirt #1, “It’s Only a Secret if You Don’t Tell Anyone” (in š! #9), “Anna Freud’s Recurring Dream” (and other comics at bettyliang.tumblr.com)

Ethan Rilly for Pope Hats #2 (AdHouse Books)

Zach Worton for The Klondike (Drawn and Quarterly)

And the nominees for
the 2012 Pigskin Peters Award,
which recognizes the best
in avant-garde or
experimental comics, are:

Hermoddities by Temple Bates (Conundrum Press)

Pure Pajamas Marc Bell (Drawn and Quarterly)

Hellberta by Michael Comeau (Koyama Press)

‘Untitled’ by Mum Pittsburg, Jupiter Leucetius! Send Us a King. We Are So Bored (and other comics at connorwillumsen.com) by Connor Willumsen

Founded in 2004, The Doug Wright Awards recognize the best in English-language comics (or translations of French) by Canadians living in the country and abroad. Now in their eighth year, the awards will take place on May 5, 2012 in Toronto at the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Jackman Hall as a feature event of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF.)

The Doug Wright Awards and TCAF are also pleased to announce that legendary political cartoonist Terry Mosher (who works under the pen name “Aislin”) will be on hand at this year’s ceremony to be inducted into The Giants of the North: The Canadian Cartoonists Hall of Fame.

This year marks Mosher’s 40^th anniversary of publishing his acerbic and often hilarious cartoons in The Montreal Gazette. The Doug Wright Awards, along with its partner TCAF, are proud to have him in-the-flesh for an on-stage discussion about his colourful career and life with writer and Toronto Star columnist Rick Salutin.

Spirited, smart, and always controversial, Mosher will also be a Featured Guest at TCAF which will be held May 5-6.

The nominees for the 2012 Doug Wright Awards were chosen by a committee from a long list of nearly 100 works and submissions published during the 2011 calendar year. This year’s nominating committee included Jerry Ciccoritti, Jeet Heer, Bryan Munn, Chris Randle and Sean Rogers.

The 2012 winners will be decided by a jury that will include: visual artist Shary Boyle, cartoonist John Martz (A Doug Wright Award Best Emerging Talent nominee in 2010 and Pigskin Peters Award nominee in 2008), book artist and professor George Walker and Julie Traves, deputy arts editor for The Globe and Mail.

For more information
www.wrightawards.ca

Media contact:
Shireen Cuthbert
sfcuthbert@gmail.com

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The C-List: Kaare Andrews, Marvel Page Rates, and other news

Bryan — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:57:57 +0000

some new links and quotes from the world of Canadian comics:

Kaare Andrews cover for Ultimates #1

Item The lead news over this past weekend was the Toronto Star interview with Marvel editor and talent scout C.B. Cebulski, I think in town way back last August for Fan Expo (the expanded interview transcription was later posted online on journalist Corey Mintz’s personal blog. Among the topics touched on were Marvel artist page rates (averaging $300 per page, according to Cebulski) and Cebulski’s claim that artists are frequently late because they spend more time per page these days because of the original art market, which he claims pays some creators over $1000 for those same pages. Marvel artist Kaare Andrews, after the seemingly requisite knock against Jack Kirby that is trendy among Marvel artists and fans these days, has disputed those assertions at Bleeding Cool, arguing “I have never, NEVER, spent a minute more on a page because I thought I could resell it for more money. The idea is just ridiculous to me. Many times I don’t even have original art to sell because I’ve chosen to paint completely digitally.”

(I’m also intrigued by Andrews’ view of the line between comics as “10 cent disposable newsprints” and comics as “a legitimate art form”. But he makes a good point about animation workers having a better standard of living. Say, do comics artists need a union or what?)

Item! TCAF has some new additions to announce. The big news is Konami Kanata, the bestselling manga creator of Chi’s Sweet Home. A huge name in Japanese comics and a major “get” for the festival. Elsewhere, dj and graphic novel creator Kid Koala will be returning to the festival and will be putting on a couple of live shows based around his comics, including the recently released Space Cadet.

Item! The National Cartoonist Society Divisional Awards have been announced. These are the awards sometimes referred to as “The Reubens” but only one of the awards is actually called that (the award for cartoonist of the year) and the rest are just called the NCS Awards. Anyway, Canadians Bruce McCall (magazine illustration), Darwyn Cooke (comic books), and Chester Brown (graphic novels) received nominations. The actual nominees for the coveted Reuben Award are U.S. cartoonists Brian Crane, Stephan Pastis, and Tom Richmond.

Item! A new French-language edition of Louis Riel comes out this week from Quebec’s La Pasteque.

Item! Every week or so some work of art or promotional product comes along that tempts me to drop my own personal Marvel Boycott. Usually it’s something that appeals to my sweater-wearing, senior citizen oldschool comics fan side. Ladies and gentlemen, isn’t this an interesting-looking, Steve Ditko style Dr. Strange syrocco figurine? Legitimate art, or what? (And it’s being offered by Dark Horse, not Marvel, for what it’s worth. I wonder if Steve Ditko gets royalties?)

Item! I don’t usually link to new webcomics on the C-List, partly because Max covers alot of that in his Hey Kids, Comix posts, and partly because I’m a senior citizen who can barely use the internet. However, I received an actual email alerting me to a new comic that combines several of my favourite things, including Golden Age comics, Marshal McLuhan, and detournement. The strip is Legacy System by Steve Wilcox, a Phd student in Waterloo, ON. It’s pretty smart stuff, sort of an academic take on internet censorship, video games, and the place where politics and new technology meet. Some times it makes me realize how many brain cells I’ve lost since university but mostly it’s just funny.

Item! At the Globe and Mail, cartoonist Lynn Johnston weighs in on the controversy that is shaking the nation. No, not robocalls, poutine, the NDP leadership campaign, Alberta oilsands, or Afganistan. Not even, “What makes Kaare Andrews such an expert on hacks?” No, the big issue of our day is the increase in size of the Tim Hortons coffee cups!

Item! Finally, Chris Dart and Dean Bradley report on last week’s grand opening of the Comic Book Lounge and Gallery for Torontoist. Great photos. (There is also a Facebook photoset from Guerilla Printing who share the same space and also had their grand opening as well.)

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Guy Delisle to Tour in Support of Jerusalem Graphic Memoir

Bryan — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:38:57 +0000

by BK Munn

Drawn and Quarterly announced today that cartoonist Guy Delisle would be embarking on a North American promotional tour for his newest book (due April 24th) this Spring. At each stop, Delisle will be presenting a slide show, conversing and signing. JERUSALEM: Chronicles From The Holy City will be in stores on Tuesday April 24th. Tour stops include New York, LA, and Toronto.

About the book, the publisher says:

Guy Delisle expertly lays the groundwork for a cultural road map of contemporary Jerusalem, utilizing the classic stranger in a strange land point of view that made his other books, Pyongyang, Shenzhen, and Burma Chronicles required reading for understanding what daily life is like in cities few are able to travel to. In Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City, Delisle explores the complexities of a city that represents so much to so many. He eloquently examines the impact of the conflict on the lives of people on both sides of the wall while drolly recounting the quotidian: checkpoints, traffic jams, and holidays.

When observing the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim populations that call Jerusalem home, Delisle’s drawn line is both sensitive and fair, assuming nothing and drawing everything. Jerusalem showcases once more Delisle’s mastery of the travelogue.

The tour venues and dates are as follows:

NYC Tuesday, April 24th 7PM Housing Works with Desert Island
BOSTON Wednesday, April 25th 7PM Harvard Bookstore (Cambridge)
WASHINGTON DC Thursday, April 26th DC 7:30PM Politics & Prose
LOS ANGELES Saturday, April 28th LA 5:30PM Skylight Books
IOWA CITY Monday, April 30th 7PM Prairie Lights
MINNEAPOLIS Tuesday, May 1st 7:30PM Magers & Quinn
CHICAGO Wednesday, May 2nd 7PM At the Oak Park Library with Book Table
TORONTO Thursday, May 3rd 7PM Carlton Cinema with the Beguiling
TORONTO Saturday, May 5th & Sunday May 6th Toronto Comics Art Festival

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That Was The Week That Was (Comics) 12

Bryan — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:45:20 +0000

This week, Jillian Tamaki created, and then immediately sold out of, a SuperMutant Magic Academy minicomic with new strips and full colour drawings.

Comics stories from last week at Sequential:

Monday: The Toronto Library Workers went on strike and the nominees for the Prix Bedeis Causa for Quebec comics were announced.

Tuesday: The C-List has news about a new Michael DeForge comic and more.

Wednesday: Wizard World Toronto guest list and the Canadian Comics Bestseller List.

Thursday: Fan Expo Vancouver guest list, Toronto Comic Book Lounge and Gallery grand opening, and Murder Book launch.

Friday: Sequential reviews Black Mass #6 by Patrick Kyle.

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Review: Black Mass #6 by Patrick Kyle

Bryan — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:29:40 +0000

Black Mass #6
by Patrick Kyle
Mother Books
$6.00

“All Right, You Scummy Gutter Bums, This Is It! The Punk Off Is About to Get Started!”

review by BK Munn

My favourite moment in this final episode of Patrick Kyle’s hilarious punk epic is the intermission, wherein the author himself, tired of drawing the previous five issues of mayhem and magic, tries to get in on the action he himself has created and win the big Punk Off down at Punk House. Full of punk bluster, Kyle hops on his bike and heads out, spewing rants about how he used to drink in high school and vowing to teach these young punks a thing or two about what it means to be punk. Finally, he arrives at Punk House and kicks in the door, only to be told that he’s a poseur and that the Punk Off has already started (“Hey idiot! Beat it!”). Powerless against this effortless display of punk power, and tearfully apologetic, he slinks off, leaving the stage to the “real” punks and the climax of his narrative.

This great little episode is emblematic of Kyle’s approach to the whole series of this self-published comic book. Just like the anarchic punk world its characters inhabit, Black Mass takes a “no rules” approach to comics storytelling. No panel borders, character designs radically fall off and on model, perspective is just fucked up, and the story is goofily dumb, applying a video game logic to the tale of a group of cartoon heroes who get caught up in the attempt by an extra-dimensional demon to invade our universe and suck up all its subcultural karma. The plot? I’m afraid I will lose punk points for trying to summarize it (or do I gain dork points?), but here goes: Dingball, the king of punks, must help young TB Jr find his father Turdswallo Blackteeft who has been possessed by some magical types who are attempting to bring about the apocalypse. Or something.

It’s all just an excuse for Kyle, one of the editors of the Wowee Zonk comics anthology, to showcase his gorgeous busily-simple comic book page design and punk-puckish sense of humour. I love how he takes subcultural social anxiety to its extreme with the idea of punk points, the zongo jedi logic of which are described by Nature Punk (“an olds punk with high morals” –sort of the Obi Wan Kenobi of the punk world, with Swamp Thing-like powers) at the big Punk Off: “As punks, we all have punk points surging through our bodies! These points compel us to party and chug 40s. But if we control our points we can do so much more!” How much more is revealed in the comic’s final psychedelic pages, but I won’t share too much except to say the scenes of Kyle’s cyclopean, Philip Guston-style punks cavorting at the Punk House like some rubber-limbed, mohawked rejects from Hieronymus Bosch are sheer delight.

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Fan Expo Vancouver Announces Comics Guests

Bryan — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:28:37 +0000

by BK Munn

The new Fan Expo Vancouver has announced its first slate of comics guests for its April 21-22 event, including many writers and artists from the world of U.S. superhero comic books, including what is billed as a rare appearance by artist Tony Daniel.

The event also features the actors who played Batman and Robin on the 1960s tv show, the actor who played The Incredible Hulk on the 1970s tv show, and many other actors from science fiction and fantasy-themed tv shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica.

As well, several special guests from the Canadian comics scene will also be in attendance, including Ed Brisson (Prophet), Ian Boothby (Simpsons Comics), Robin Bougie (Cinema Sewer), Emily Carroll (His Face All Red), Jason Copland Kill All Monsters), Rebecca Dart (Rabbit Head), Camilla D’Ericco (Sky Pirates of Neo-Terra), John Delaney (Futurama Comics), Natghan Fairbairn (Swamp Thing), Ryan Ferrier (Terminals), Brandon Graham (King City, Prophet), Diana Greenhaugh (Herc, X-Men Legacy), James Loyd (Futurama Comics), Nina Matsumoto (Simpsons Comics), Steve Rolston (House of Mystery), Shane Rooks (Warlord of Mars), Dan Schoening (Ghostbusters Comics), James Stokoe (Orc Stain), Alex Steacy (Shards), and Marley Zarcone (House of Mystery).

An extension of the Toronto-based Fan Expo franchise owned by Hobbystar Marketing, the event will take place at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Featured guests include:

ESAD RIBIC (THE ULTIMATES, THOR)
WHILCE PORTACIO (HULK)
MIKE CHOI (DC/MARVEL ARTIST)
GEORGES JEANTY (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER)
PIA GUERRA (Y THE LAST MAN)
STEPHEN SADOWSKI (WARLORD OF MARS)
TONY DANIEL (DETECTIVE COMICS, THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN)
LEN WEIN (CREATOR OF WOLVERINE, BEFORE WATCHMEN: OZYMANDIAS)
MATT WAGNER (GRENDEL)
YANICK PAQUETTE (SWAMP THING)
KAARE ANDREWS (ULTIMATE COMICS COVER ARTIST)
TIM BRADSTREET (ACCLAIMED ILLUSTRATOR)
LEONARD KIRK (AVENGERS, X FACTOR)

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Grand Opening: The Comic Book Lounge + Gallery, Toronto

Bryan — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:57:54 +0000

Comic Book Shop Emerges Out of Dragon Lady Closing

by BK Munn

The Comic Book Lounge + Gallery, Guerilla Printing, and The Toronto Cartoonists Workshop, have created a space they bill as “an integrated comic consumption and comic creation hub” in downtown Toronto and are having an official launch party and gallery show to christen the new space on Friday, March 23.

A live DJ and the sale of beverages are scheduled to herald the opening of the exhibit of art by featured gallery artist for April, Marvel cover artist Mike Del Mundo (the show continues until mid-April).

GRAND OPENING PARTY : FRIDAY, MARCH 23rd, 2012
PARTY HOURS: 7PM – 11PM
587A COLLEGE STREET (2nd Floor) – TORONTO, ON

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The Comic Book Lounge and Gallery

Max — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:50:15 +0000

A few blocks from it’s shuttered doors, the stock of the old Dragon lady
has joined up with The Toronto Cartoonists Workshop and Guerilla Printing
to share a space and become a new comics place!

The Comic Book Lounge & Gallery.

BlogTO did a nice little feature on the new outfit. And they have had at least their first signing event. Here’s some shots from both.

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The launch of Murder Book Vol. 3

Max — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:21:45 +0000

Join writer Ed Brisson and artists Jason Copland & Johnnie Christmas at Pulp Fiction Books for the launch of Murder Book Vol. 3!

Incidentally another crowd funding success story. Indiegogo is a pretty interesting alternative to Kickstarter – a big distinguishing difference is you can keep what you do raise even if you don’t blow your goal out of the water like Ed did.

Ed and co will be signing copies of Murder Book Vol. 3, rubbing shoulders and drinking beers! Go get the books and buy the boys a drink!

Me I look forward to getting my copies of the book in the mail along with the other two, perk of pitching in to get this puppy printed.

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Wizard World Toronto Announces Comics Guests

Bryan — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:53:01 +0000

by BK Munn

Wizard World has announced its comics-themed guests for the upcoming 2012 Toronto Comic Con, scheduled for April 14 and 15.

The more than 100 creators include Mike Deodato Jr. (“Amazing Spider-Man,” “Wonder Woman”), “Jock” (“Detective Comics,” “Batman”), John McCrea (“Hitman,” “Transmetropolitan”), Javi Fernandez (“Flashpoint: The Outsider,” “Captain America: First Vengeance”), Dale Keown (“Hulk,” “The Pitt”), Tyler Kirkham (“Green Lantern Corps,” “Blackest Night”), Francis Manapul (“The Flash,” “Adventure Comics”) and Arthur Suydam (“Marvel Zombies,” “Army of Darkness”).

The third annual Toronto Comic Con, formerly known as the Paradise Con until bought by Wizard World, will also include Marcus To (“The Huntress,” “The Authority”), Ken Lashley (“Batwing,” “Avengers”), David Mack (“Kabuki,” “Daredevil”), Greg Tocchini (“Batman and Robin,” “Hulk”), Michael Golden (“Batman,” “Spider-Man”), Mike del Mundo (“Venom,” “The Amazing Spider-Man”) and Leonard Kirk (“X-Factor,” “Wonder Woman”).

Genre film and television celebrities such as Scott Bakula (“Star Trek: Enterprise,” “Quantum Leap”), Amy Acker (“Angel,” THE CABIN IN THE WOODS), Paul Wesley (“The Vampire Diaries,” “24”), Jeri Ryan (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Boston Public”), WWE® Hall of Famer Edge® and Dean Stockwell (MARRIED TO THE MOB, “Battlestar Galactica”) are also scheduled to appear at the con, which has moved to the more prominent downtown venue of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre for 2012 (the same venue that Hobbystar’s Toronto Comicon occupied a month earlier).

The con has also announced a list of fan groups who will be appearing at the con, including Alice Quinn’s T-Dot Comics: 501st Vader’s Fist, ActionFigureNews.ca, Anime North, Canadian Joe Con, Can’t Stop the Serenity, Cross the Streams Radio,Doctor Who Society of Canada, Down the Road Show, e-Sports Championship (ESC), Epoch Toronto, a demonstrative, high fantasy LARP, Klingon Assault Group/Crimson Knight Fleet, The Mind Reels blog, N.Y. Jedi, Ontario Ghostbusters, Pretty in Geek, Rebel Legion Canadian Base, Sexy Nerd Girl web series, Tfcon, Tights and Fights, Toronto Roller Derby League, and Toronto Steampunk Society.

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Canadian Comics Bestseller List: Post-March Break

Bryan — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:07:09 +0000

compiled/edited by BK Munn

This semi-regular feature of Sequential presents a snapshot of comics sales in Canada.

We’re back from a few weeks away from the bestseller list. Let’s see what’s new!
[Note: previous week's rank indicated in (parentheses). N=new and R=returning after an absence from the top 30.]

Part 1 .
Intro: The bestselling graphic novels and comics collections in Canada, courtesy of BookManager. The full list by BookManager is available, with some work, here. The list is compiled by BookManager based on sales through over 400 independent bookstores, including several comic book stores and the D+Q store. Sales through most comic shops and larger retailers like Chapters-Indigo are not reflected in this list. BookManager national sales Rankings are updated weekly. For balance, you might want to try the Amazon.ca and Chapters-Indigo lists. See here for our previous Sequential list.

Sequential’s Over-All Top 30
from BookManager

1. (1) Amulet 4, Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic)
2. (4) Amulet 1, Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic)
3. (5) Tintin Red Rackham’s Treasure, Herge (Egmont)
4. (2) Hark a Vagrant, Kate Beaton (D+Q)
5. (N) Sailor Moon 4, Naoko Takeuchi (Kodansha)
6. (9) Amulet 2, Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic)
7. (16) Amulet 3, Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic)
8. (3) Tintin Secret of the Unicorn, Herge (Egmont)
9. (12) Walking Dead Vol. 1, Kirkman, et al (Image)
10. (R) Bone 5, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
—–
11. (7) Bone 1, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
12. (R) Bone 4, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
13. (13) Bone 8, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
14. (30) Tintin Flight 714, Herge (Egmont)
15. (25) Tintin in Tibet (Egmont)
16. (28) Bone 11, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
17. (11) Bone 3, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
18. (26) Bone 7, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
19. (24) Tintin Calculus Affair, Herge (Egmont)
20. (29) Bone 9, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
—–
21. (8) Bone 2, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
22. (N) Garfield 53, Jim Davis et al (Random House)
23. (N) Explorer: Mystery Boxes, Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic)
24. (10) Tintin Crab w Golden Claws, Herge (Egmont)
25. (18) Best of Archie, Various (Archie)
26. (R) Tintin Picarros, Herge (Egmont)
27. (21) Tintin Black Island, Herge (Egmont)
28. (R) Maximum Ride: The Manga, Vol. 5,
James Patterson/NaRae Lee (Yen/Orbit)
29. (N) Black Bird 13, Kanoko Sakurakoji (VIZ)
30. (N) Uglies: Shay’s Story, Devin Grayson/Steven Cummings/Scott Westerfeld (Random House)

Part 2. Canadian Content:
You have to wade through an awful lot of translated Japanese manga, U.S. superhero fantasies, and collected editions of Sherman’s Lagoon to come up with a list of 30 bestselling books created by Canadians. In total, BookManager lists over 4000 graphic novels, trades, and strip collections, the vast majority of which are not by Canadians. On this list, a single sale in a single tiny bookstore can make all the difference. This list does not include books that are only illustrated but not written/created-by Canadians.

Sequential’s All-Canadian Top 30
from BookManager

1. (1) Hark a Vagrant, Kate Beaton (D+Q)
2. (2) Inappropriate Tales for Young People, Graham Roumieu (Random House)
3. (3) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
4. (13) Scott Pilgrim 6, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
5. (14) Jinchalo, Matthew Forsythe (D+Q)
6. (16) 500 Years of Resistance, Gord Hill/Ward Churchill (Arsenal Pulp)
7. (26) The Klondike, Zach Worton (D+Q)
8. (5) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
9. (10) Two Generals, Scott Chantler (McClelland & Stewart)
10. (6) Paying For It, Chester Brown (D+Q)
—–
11. (23) Red Power, Brian Wright-McLeod (Fitzhenry and Whiteside)
12. (25) Essex County, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
13. (R) Great Northern Brotherhood of Canadian Cartoonists, Seth (D+Q)
14. (R) Scott Pilgrim Box Set, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
15. (28) Sweet Tooth 4, Jeff Lemire (DC)
16. (29) Skim (pb) Mariko and Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
17. (R) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
18. (R) Sweet Tooth 1, Jeff Lemire (DC)
19. (16) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
20. (R) The Next Day, Jason Gilmore/Paul Peterson/John Porcellino (Pop Sandbox)
—–
21. (R) Pure Pajamas, Marc Bell (D+Q)
22. (8) Pyongyang, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
23. (27) The Blue Dragon, Robert LePage et al (House of Anansi)
24. (15) Ojingogo , Matthew Forsythe (D+Q)
25. (17) Big Foot, Graham Roumieu (Plume)
26. (20) Kill Shakespeare 1, Connor McCreery et al (IDW)
27. (7) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
28. (9) Nightschool, Vol. 4, Svetlana Chmakova (Yen)
29. (R) Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
30. (R) The Never Weres, Fiona Smyth (Annick)

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The C-List: New Michael DeForge and more

Bryan — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:52:39 +0000

Comix links and quotes from across Canada:

Item! Cartoonist-critic Matt Seneca interviews Michael DeForge about the latter’s latest comic book, Incinerator: “In general, the horror elements in my work come from things I personally find unsettling or upsetting. I don’t know if I have any specific strategies. Incinerator was mostly improvised, though. Everything just sort of worked out. I started the comic thinking it would mostly be gag-driven, but the tone would change as I drew it.
I actually thought it was one of my more lighthearted comics while I was drawing it – like, this fun, goofy thing. But then the finished product reads a bit differently, maybe? That happens, though.”

(the book is published by Los Angeles comics retailer Secret Headquarters)

Item! For Xtra, David Hains profiles the Little Heart anthology, inspired by the fight for same-sex marriage issues in the U.S.: “But the debate in Minnesota resonates beyond its borders, and among the 30 contributions are comics by Canadians Emily Carroll and Kate Craig, Michael DeForge and Maurice Vellekoop and a foreword written by Chris Butcher, manager of The Beguiling comic store on Markham St in Toronto.”

Item! David Collier’s collection of newspaper work, Collier’s Popular Press, is reviewed in one of the papers the work was originally published in, The Saskatoon Star Phioenix: “people in Ontario used to ask him how he’d got so good as a cartoonist so quickly. It was moving to Saskatchewan in 1990 that did it, he said. He joked that it was the uranium deposits in the province giving him superhuman powers, but then got serious and talked of such cartoonists as Denny Pritchard, Ed Sebestyen, Dave Geary, Brian Gable, and Cam Cardow – men either from here or who came here to work – and how Collier believes they were transformed by the people ‘in this community-minded province.’”

Item! Ottawa-area webcomic creator gets “10 to 100 visitors a day” to his website, according to community newspaper. Kind of like Sequential! Welcome to the big time!

Item! The Calgary Herald talks to Riley Rossmo, the creator behind a new Image Comics miniseries called Rebel Blood, about a park ranger who has to deal zombiefied animals who see human brains as ‘pic-a-nic’ baskets. Rossmo has what I think is an unusual creative process, hiring a writer to help flesh out story and dialogue issues; the reverse of the usual writer/artist collaboration: “Riley admits that he finds writing a struggle.
‘It’s hard,’ he says. ‘I can set up ideas but it’s difficult for me to build up narratives. It took me eight months to get an outline done. . . . Alex really contributed in rounding out the protagonists and their motivations.’ Even so, Rossmo plans to continue writing for future projects. ‘I like being the boss,’ he says. ‘I like being the director and having more control.’”

Item! Image is becoming something of a home to high-profile creator-owned Canadian titles, with the Calgary-based Peter Panzerfaust by Kurtis J Wiebe and Tyler Jenkins and Orc Stain by James Stokoe recently getting attention. No quotes here, just thought I’d point out that the books have been well-reviewed, and have benefited from some publisher hype.

Item! The Inkstuds team goes on a roadtrip to Portland for the launch of Brandon Graham’s King City. Lots of Pacific Northwest cartoonist cameos, amazing comics buys, and photos. Sample photo caption: “I had somehow talked Craig Thompson into traveling down to Eugene, Oregon with us to visit Michael Allred and film them talking comics with Brandon.”

Item! When I first saw the press release issued by this Brampton, Ontario business, I thought the comic shop in question was joining the Marvel Boycott, but it turns out they’re just taking sides in a promotion for an upcoming superhero miniseries event.

Item! I think I’ve missed linking to the last few episodes of Alice Quinn’s Quinntessential Comics video interviews. Episode #17 is C.B. Cebulski & Skottie Young, Episode #16 is Jason Loo, and Episode #15 is a book club edition.

And that’s that. Maybe I’ll “C” you next time on the C-List. Please let me know if you have a comic or comics-related event to hype or if you have recently covered same for your blog or other media.

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Prix Bedeis Causa 2012 Nominees Announced

Bryan — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:18:46 +0000

Awards Part of 25th Festival de la Bande Dessinée Francophone de Québec

by BK Munn

The Festival de la Bande Dessinée Francophone de Québec (FBDFQ), which runs from April 11 to 15, revealed earlier today the finalists for its 2012 Bédéis Causa awards. Awarding the best in Quebec French-language comics, the prizes have been handed out since 1988.

The awards ceremony will be held this year at the Palais Montcalm, Quebec City, Friday, April 13. This year’s event will focus on contributors to the development of Quebec comics over the past 25 years. At the ceremony, the FBDFQ will also present the Prix Albert-Chartier, awarded in honor of an individual or organization that has made its marked the world of comics in French-language Quebec bandes-dessinees.

FINALISTS

Prix Réal-Fillion
Quebec cartoonist, writer or artist, first professional book

• MICHEL HELLMAN, Mile End (Pow Pow)
• FRED JORDAN [artist], Le dragon bleu (Alto) [writers: Robert Lepage, Marie Michaud]
• AUCHU CLAUDE, Une année en quarantaine (Les Intouchables)

Grand prix de la ville de Québec
Best album released in French in Quebec

• RADISSON Volume 3: COUREURS DES BOIS (Glénat Québec), by Jean-Sébastien Bérubé
• LE FOND DU TROU (La Pastèque), by Jean-Paul Eid
• UNE ANNÉE EN QUARANTAINE (Les Intouchables), by Claude Auchu
• MOTEL GALACTIC (Pow Pow), by Francis Desharnais et Pierre Bouchard
• PAUL AU PARC (La Pastèque), by Michel Rabagliati

Prix Albéric-Bourgeois
Best foreign French-language book by a Quebec creator

• L’OSTIE DE CHAT Volume 1 (Delcourt), by Iris and Zviane
• CHRONIQUES DE JÉRUSALEM(Delcourt), by Guy Delisle
• LES NOMBRILS 5: UN COUPLE D’ENFER (Dupuis), by Delaf & Dubuc

Prix Maurice-Petitdidier
Best French-language Foreign Book

• LES IGNORANTS (FUTUROPOLIS), by Étienne Davodeau
• BLAST T. 2 (DARGAUD), by Manu Larcenet
• POLINA (CASTERMAN), by Bastien Vivès
• HABIBI (CASTERMAN), by Craig Thompson
• QUAI D’ORSAY T. 2 (DARGAUD), by Abel Lanzac et Christophe Blain

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Toronto Library Workers on Strike

Bryan — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:59:18 +0000

by BK Munn

Over 2,300 employees of the Toronto Public Library are on strike today over issues of job security.

The negotiations had continued past a midnight strike deadline last night, but in the end the Library Board failed to relent on its demands for concessions, and the union bargaining committee called a strike.

Maureen O’Reilly, president of the Toronto Public Library Workers Union, Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4948, said the union had bargained hard to seek assurances that conditions would not get worse for library workers and lead to a further decrease in the quality of service. The Board’s position on job security would set the stage for further cuts to staff, on top of the 107 positions lost in the 2012 budget. According to O’Reilly, further cuts to staff would lead to possible branch closures.

“We are very disappointed that the Board is attempting to continue the attacks launched by the Ford Administration on the rights of our members, more than half of whom are permanently stuck in part-time jobs,” O’Reilly said. “It’s astounding the Board would rather see neighbourhood services disrupted than back off from cuts to already overworked staff.“

With Local 4948 members pushed out on strike, 98 neighbourhood branches across the city will not likely be able to operate. As of today, the Toronto Reference Library, cite of the upcoming 2012 Toronto Comic Arts Festival, is closed due to the strike.

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MON QUI TOWNE: DREGS OF MARCH

Eric Dyck — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 01:54:57 +0000

ericdyck.com

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That Was The Week That Was (Comics) 11

Bryan — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 15:20:33 +0000

A quick look back at the comics news stories from Sequential this week:

Friday: Colin Upton won the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo prize for his graphic memoir, Diabetes Funnies.

Thursday: Thanks to the fundraising efforts of anti-censorship organizations on both sides of the border, Canada Customs dropped its totally unfounded charges against a manga fan from the U.S. This is the big story of the week. Not that the charges were dropped, but that they even exist in the first place, and that the Canadian government randomly searches the computers of visitors and arrests them based on humourous drawings they have stored. They ruined this guy’s life, violated his rights, and the legal bill put him in debt $45,000.

Also on Thursday, news about Canada’s largest printer (of comic books among other things), and the National Newspaper Awards nominations for editorial cartooning were announced.

Tuesday: Sequential rounded up all the news, links and photos from last weekend’s Toronto Comicon. Did we miss your report?

Sunday: The death of French cartoonist Jean Girard, aka Moebius. Exploring the tenuous connection between Moebius and his Canadian fans.

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Colin Upton Wins SPACE Prize

Bryan — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:42:24 +0000

Vancouver Minicomics King Scores Big With Autobio Collection

by BK Munn

The 2012 SPACE Prize winners have been announced and Canadian Colin Upton’s graphic novel Diabetes Funnies has won in the general category. The book is a funny, harrowing first-person account of Upton’s diagnosis with diabetes and his subsequent journey through the medical system, radical weight loss, and all that follows.

The awards are handed out to participants at SPACE, the Small Press & Alternative Comics Expo, in Columbus, OH. Judges were John Porcellino, Rafer Roberts, Matt Feazell and Michael Carroll along with the popular vote by the 2011 SPACE Exhibitors.

The 1st place winner of the General SPACE prize will receive a cash prize of $300.00 and a plaque. The plaque presentation will be held during SPACE 2012 on April 21, 2012 at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Columbus.

General

1st Place: Diabetes Funnies by Colin Upton

2nd Place: Blink:So Far by Max ink

3rd Place: Shadow Play by Chad Sell

Minicomics / Short Story Category

1st Place: Sing, Sing by Paul Zdepski
2nd Place: And Then One Day #8 by Ryan Claytor
3rd Place: Grixly #18 by Nate McDonough

Webcomics Category

1st Place: Spoilers by Kevin Czapiewski
2nd Place Tie: Double Clicked Comics by Justin Heins and Ryan Tackett
2nd Place Tie: Tales of a Checkered man by Denver Brubaker

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Mortimer the Slug

Kyp Harness — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 03:05:53 +0000

Mortimer the Slug is an updated-every-weekday webcomic which now has an archive of nearly 550 individual strips containing many continuing storylines

www.mortimertheslug.com

www.kypharness.net

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2011 National Newspaper Awards Nominations

Bryan — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 22:42:13 +0000

by BK Munn

The nominees for the 2011 National Newspaper Awards were announced earlier today. In all, 71 finalists for awards were announced in 22 categories. More than 1,300 entries were received for the awards, founded by the Toronto Press Club in 1949.

The National Newspaper Award in the Editorial Cartooning category is considered the most prestigious award for that job in this country.

The finalists in each category will be presented and honoured and the winner announced at the 62nd gala awards presentation on Friday, April 27, 2012, in Toronto.

The nominees are:

Marc Beaudet, Le Journal de Montréal

Brian Gable,The Globe and Mail

Bruce MacKinnon, Halifax Chronicle Herald

Gable has been nominated for a 12th time. He has won cartooning six times. A gallery of the nominated cartoons can be viewed here.

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Canada Customs Drops Charges Against U.S. Manga Fan

Bryan — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:11:03 +0000

by BK Munn
Another comics-related nightmare induced by the Canadian Border Services has ended, this time with more or less positive results.

The U.S.-based Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and their Canadian counterpart, the Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund, announced today that the Crown has dropped all criminal charges in R. v. Matheson (the “Brandon X case”) involving a comics fan charged because of the comics on his computer. Defendant Ryan Matheson, 27, is now cleared of all wrongdoing in the matter.

According to the two organizations, “the total legal costs of this case exceeded $75,000. After taking the case last summer, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund contributed $20,000 to the defense, and the Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund contributed $11,000. The CBLDF also participated in shaping the defense, including recruiting expert testimony for the trial. The organization is currently seeking funds to help pay off the $45,000 debt Matheson incurred as a result of his case, and to create new tools to prevent future cases.”

Border guards searched Matheson’s laptop in 2010 and accused him of possessing and importing child pornography because of images on his machine’s hard drive. Matheson had been charged with both possessing and importing child pornography. Canadian law dictates a minimum prison sentence of one year/maximum of 10 years for an indictment and conviction on a child pornography importing charge (summary conviction without indictment or trial would carry a sentence of 90 days to 18 months).

According to the defense, he “was subjected to abusive treatment by police and a disruption in his life that included a two-year period during which he was unable to use computers or the internet outside of his job, severely limiting opportunities to advance his employment and education. Mr. Matheson has agreed to plead to a non-criminal code regulatory offense under the Customs Act of Canada.”

As a result of this agreement, Matheson will not be required to stand for a trial. Matheson’s lawyers, Michael Edelson and Solomon Friedman (Edelson Clifford D’Angelo LLP), have made available several documents regarding the case: a Charter Notice; Jan 15 12 – Matheson Charter Notice. The notices detail Matheson’s treatment at the hands of Canadian authorities:

“He had his right to counsel and Vienna Convention consular rights violated when he was detained without being properly informed of the reason for detention. He was not granted access to counsel, or to the American Embassy. The Application asserts that Customs officers acted as agents for police and conducted an illegal search of his property. Matheson was also the subject of cruel and unusual punishment, including being denied food and blankets. Matheson was even told by police transporting him to prison that “if you get raped in here, it doesn’t count!” The defense detailed these and other abuses and outlined that the comics at issue are constitutionally protected in the United States, the client’s home country. The comics possess artistic merit and are widely available in Canada, Japan and the United States.”

The Victor Speaks

Speaking out for the first time, Matheson says, “I’m glad to finally put this awful ordeal behind me. Ever since the beginning I knew I had committed no crime, so I was never willing to accept a plea to any criminal charge. The entire legal process is very traumatizing, and the overzealous bail conditions imposed on me were very difficult to endure. Although my defense was extremely strong, all trials are inherently risky and I value my life too much to risk a potential minimum mandatory sentence. I am very grateful for the spectacular work Michael Edelson and his team put into my case, and to all the generous people who supported me and contributed to my defense. I was able to stand up to the very last day and fight for something I believe in.” You can also read Matheson’s personal statement here.

Edelson, who managed the defense says, “The client, and my firm, are grateful to the members of CBLDF and CLLDF for their invaluable financial and moral support with respect to this case, which was of such critical importance to the client, given the very positive outcome we were able to achieve in an area of the law where, here in Canada, the Crown very rarely exercises its discretion to withdraw charges of this nature. The client will have no criminal record, his name will not appear on the Sex Offender Registry in Canada, or elsewhere.”

The CBLDF still warns against travelling with comics into Canada. Edelson says that travellers crossing the border “should be cautioned concerning the search and seizure regime here in Canada exercised by the Canadian Border Services Agency. Moreover, they should also be aware that although anime and manga is legal in many areas of the United States and Japan, etc., to possess and utilize, the Canadian authorities may take a different view if this material is found on any laptops or mobile devices when you enter the country. Many of the issues that arise in similar circumstances are thoroughly addressed in our comprehensive Notice of Application.”

The legal firm has also created a new advisory on traveling with comics and manga in Canada.

“This is a good outcome, and we’re glad we were able to contribute to it,” CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein said. “While one always wants to be able to change the rules in court, those opportunities are rare, and in this case, the defense’s extraordinary effort in persuading the Crown to drop criminal charges is a very positive conclusion. We are now focusing our efforts on raising money to pay off Ryan’s legal debt. We are also working with Ryan and experts in the manga community to create educational tools to help prevent others from needing to go through anything like this themselves. We hope that people will donate to the CBLDF to help us achieve these goals quickly.”

Source material for one of the disputed images, from a Japanese tv show and manga.

Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund board member Leonard Wong said, “We’re glad this is over for Ryan and want to thank him and his attorneys for their willingness to stand up to our government in this matter. We’re also pleased that the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund were able to assist the defense financially and substantively, and are creating new tools to help prevent these kinds of cases in the future. Unfortunately, this could easily happen again, so we continue our stride to establish the CLLDF as a more active ongoing concern. Our immediate focus will now shift towards raising funds and preparing for any future attacks on comics in Canada.”

Donate to CBDLF

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Transcontinental Acquires Quad/Graphics Canada

Bryan — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 04:06:05 +0000

Largest Canadian Printer Is Also Responsible for Many North American Comic Books

by BK Munn

Stale news in the business world can be be freshened up by adding the phrase “comic books.”

Montreal-based Transcontinental Inc. announced on March 1 that it had acquired the shares of Quad/Graphics Canada, Inc. The Quad/Graphics’ Canadian plants, once the property of rival Quebecor World (now Lebonfon), include seven printing plants in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and Nova Scotia. Part of the deal includes Transcontinental selling its Mexican operations and transfer its Canadian black and white U.S. book printing business to Quad/Graphics, an American company.

“The important acquisition of the Canadian assets of Quad/Graphics is a milestone in our development as it strengthens our position as the leading printer in the country and allows us to leverage the major investments we have made to our printing platform over the last several years. It will add about $230 million to our revenues and should generate at least $40 million in net incremental EBITDA over the coming 12 to 24 months. It is also good news for the health of the print industry in Canada and confirms the important role of Canadian companies, such as Transcontinental Inc., in the North American printing industry,” said François Olivier, President and Chief Executive Officer.

“This important acquisition will allow us to maintain a solid print business going forward, given the competitive and industry dynamics, as it will allow us to continue to improve our manufacturing efficiency and capacity utilization rate by using our most productive assets,” said Brian Reid, President of TC Transcontinental Printing.

TC Transcontinental (which trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange as TCL.A, TCL.B, and TCL.PR.D) is the largest printer in Canada and the fourth-largest in North America. As the leading publisher of consumer magazines and French-language educational resources, and of community newspapers in Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, it is also one of Canada’s top media groups. It also happens to be a major printer of comic books and graphic novels (Image Comics, et al). TC Transcontinental is also the leading door-to-door distributor of advertising material in Canada through its Publisac network in Quebec and Targeo in the rest of Canada. Thanks to a wide digital network of more than 1,000 websites, the Corporation reaches over 13.7 million unique visitors per month in Canada.

Transcontinental Inc. has approximately 11,000 employees in Canada and the United States, and reported revenues of C$2.0 billion in 2011. On March 13, the company reported a first quarter net loss of 4%, amounting to $33 million, which it attributes to a decline in the magazine business and a disputed tax bill.

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The C-List: 2012 Toronto Comicon Roundup

Bryan — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:30:08 +0000

Hobbystar’s Toronto Comicon took place this past weekend. This year’s event takes the place of the Fan Expo Fan Appreciation Day of years past, merging it with the Spring anime event for something more reminiscent of the larger FanExpo which takes place in August.

I couldn’t make it to the show, but thanks to the internet, I feel like I did. Now you can too:

(Not sure of the exact origin of the photo above but it is of fan Jason Shayer and artist George Perez, with a picture of the Jack Kirby/Stan Lee co-creation Thor, drawn by Perez on commish)

Item! The show kicked off Friday night with a party hosted as part of a promotion, I think, by the website g33kpron, who have posted a photoset. The

Item! G33kpron has a more general photoset of the show here.

Item! Kevin Boyd has a succinct appraisal at The Joe Shuster Awards blog, with a note bout the new format for the show: “Chances are pretty good that the formula will be repeated again in 2013.”

Item! J.M Clark has a short report with a podcast attached: “There was an obvious lack of cos-play at the event. Costume of the day had to go to Bane. Very nicely done. Most who did bother to suit up were, of course, the Manga kids. The Manga kids, dressing up in their completely awkward, over sized, obscure, foam laden costumes with fifteen foot accessories clogging up the aisles for us respectable comic hunters. Fuck Manga.”

Item! BlogTO did a street style feature at the show.

Item! Adam Gorham has a report from the point of view of a vendor at the Big Sexy Comics table.

Item! Of course, Toronto Batman made an appearance.

Item! As did Toronto Tank Girl.

Item! Andrew Young of the Geek Hard podcast has a recap of the people he talked to for his show.

Item! Evan Annett covered the show on Day One and Day Two, and even did a couple of those Storify posts where you can link up people’s tweets and instagram photos into a semi-coherent narrative.

Item! Cosplay group and Korean bbq.

Item! Wired magazine’s Geek Dad, Roy Wood, took some snaps at the show.

Item! The nominees for the Constellation Awards, the Canadian sci-fi film awards, were announced at the con.

Item! The Toronto-based website Comic Book Daily usually has some good coverage. So far you can see Day 1 photos, and photos of Day 2.

Item! The triumphant return of Jason Truong and a Saturday con report, of sorts.

Item! The view from the crafters’ end of Artist Alley.

Item! A nice photo-set from a con virgin.

Item! A nice long-ish artist-centric con report from colourist Keiren Smith.

Item! Shopping for comics at the con.

Item! Frank Cho’s blog has some photos of the artist at the con.

Item! Some video I did not watch.

Item! Willow Dawson at the con.

Item! Ranting vlog guy.

Item! Alex Hoffman writes up the con for Bleeding Cool and mentions that the name change/amalgamation may be a clever marketing move to head off Wizard World Toronto, which is coming up in April.

Item! Toronto Comicon page on Facebook.

Item! The flickr results for Toronto Comicon 2012

Item! The Youtube video results from Toronto Comicon 2012.

still updating — more to come!

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Sequential

Jay Stephens Cartooning Class

Last of the Red Hot TCAF Reports

TCAF 2012

Sea and be Scene at TCAF 2012

2012 Joe Shuster Award Nominees

Conundrum Press TCAF report.

Conundrum seems to be maturing into a very strong independent publisher, sounds like they had a great show.

Squidface & The Meddler interview Jesse Jacobs & present Britt Wilson’s Buttsex

Catching up with Squidface & The Meddler.

They interviewed Jesse Jacobs & published a story by Britt Wilson leading up to TCAF, who both presented new books at the show.

Salgood Sam’s TCAF 2012 report!

Recorded some of the sights and sounds of various events on my trip to Toronto for TCAF this year.

Jimmy Beaulieu, the FBDFQ, and students striking provocative poses

C-List: a post TCAF Round Up

Doug Wright Award winners for 2012!

Canadian Comics big night and one of the spotlight events of TCAF, the Doug Wright Awards!

TCAF PODCASTS: NEW NARRATIVE V: Edward Hornick, “I Was a Teenage Death Ray”

TCAF 2012 KICK-OFF EVENT! Jeff Smith, Gabriel Ba, and Fabio Moon

TCAF PODCASTS: New Narrative V: Marni Stanley – “Sex in the City: Metronormativity in Queer Comics”

TCAF Podcasts: “Graphic Bodies” panel, with Kate Beaton & Bryan Lee O’Malley

TCAF Podcasts: Interview with Andrew Lesk about the New Narrative conference series

Tonite: Guy Delisle’s Jerusalem Chronicles Launch, Toronto

Calgary Expo to Issue Refunds

Comic Convention Was Temporarily Shut Down on Saturday Due to Overcrowding

The C-List: Free Comic Book Day, Jerusalem, TCAF, and more

May Day! Happy May Day from Sequential!

Print on Demand: Revolver by Salgood Sam

That Was The Week That Was (Comics) 17

2012 Wright Awards Poster by Michael DeForge

The awards are Saturday May 5 in Toronto

This Weekend: 2012 Calgary Expo

The C-List: L’Asso, Cho, DeForge, Dr. Seuss, Bellybuttons, and Stan the Man

Review: Reset by Peter Bagge

“What Kind of Porn App Punches You In The Face?”

The C-List: Fan Expo Vancouver 2012

Traumstadtdenken – Comix + Images by Rupert Bottenberg

Hey Comics Creators, a good idea? Also really good looking new web comic…

Saw this in Toronto two weeks ago, was struck by what a good idea it was, old school. And that i don’t know of a lot of web comics that have done it!

Fooshwa is a web comic antholagy project by John Little, or ”jOHn”. It also appears to have full film like credits, production and special thanks…

That Was The Week That Was (Comics) 16

Hey Kids! comics!

Scott Chantler on Fredcast!

This Weekend: Fan Expo Vancouver

The smiting of the internet devils

Matthew Forsythe Wins Canadian Library Association Illustration Award

TCAF Events listings

Keep up with everything going down at, or around the Toronto Comics Arts Festival

We will be updating this post as TCAF events and offsite activities are announced!

Day 1 of Bodies/Cities: A symposium @ University of Toronto Thursday 3 May 2012 @Jackman Humanities Institute 170 St George St

Day 2 of New Narrative V: Bodies/Cities @ University of Toronto running all Fri 4 May 2012 @ 15 King’s College Circle, UC 140

art-making for Kids! Monastiraki boutique

More art-making for Kids!

Monastiraki boutique’s next round of classes are coming up.

Video montage of Wizard World 2012

Hobbystar Sues Wizard World Over Use of “Toronto Comicon” Name

Fan Expo Owner Claims Brand Confusion, Defamation

Link Round-Up: Wizard World Toronto 2012

UPDATE: MORE!

Comic Jams!

Tonite: Graphically Speaking: Comics vs Video Games, Toronto

Hey Kids, Comix! (Podcasts)

My 2012 Kazoo! Zine and Comic Expo Adventure Report

C-list – a sunday in comics

That Was The Week That Was (Comics) 15

Winners of the 2012 Bédéis Causa Awards

Friday Flashback: 1970s German Cosplay

This Weekend: 2012 Wizard World Toronto Comic Con

This Weekend: Kazoo! Zine and Comic Expo

New Silver Snail Location: Yonge and Dundas

This Week: 25th Festival de la Bande Dessinee Francophone de Quebec

Starts Today

Foreword’s Book of the Year Graphic Novel Nominees

Three Canadian Books Nominated for Award Spotlighting Independent Publishers

Mortimer the Slug

Serge Grenier, 1939-2012

Comedian & Contributor to Croc Magazine

Tonite: Cormarama, Toronto

In Search of Dan Cooper

New Documentary Probes the Canadian Connection Behind French Comics Series

Conundrum seems to be maturing into a very strong
independent publisher, sounds like they had a great show.

They interviewed Jesse Jacobs & published a story by Britt Wilson leading up to TCAF,
who both presented new books at the show.

Saw this in Toronto two weeks ago, was struck by what a good idea it was, old school.
And that i don’t know of a lot of web comics that have done it!

Fooshwa is a web comic antholagy project by John Little, or ”jOHn”.
It also appears to have full film like credits, production and special thanks…

Day 1 of Bodies/Cities: A symposium @ University of Toronto
Thursday 3 May 2012 @Jackman Humanities Institute 170 St George St

Day 2 of New Narrative V: Bodies/Cities @ University of Toronto
running all Fri 4 May 2012 @ 15 King’s College Circle, UC 140

Kirby, Marvel suit ends
At stake are licensing rights and royalties
By Josh Gillespie

A few blocks from it’s shuttered doors, the stock of the old Dragon lady
has joined up with The Toronto Cartoonists Workshop and Guerilla Printing
to share a space and become a new comics place!