Tuesday, October 28, 2008  
Gatineau Photos

:: Posted by Bryan @ 10/28/2008 01:38:00 AM

Our own Salgood Sam was a guest at this past weekend's 9th annual Rendezvous de la Bande dessinee in Gatineau, Quebec. He managed to collect some photos which you can see in slideshow or standard flickr set formats.

Labels: , , , ,

   
         - Stumble It!  - Leave a comment!| 0comments  -  - we honor OpenID - 



   Monday, October 27, 2008  
Weekend Roundup

:: Posted by Bryan @ 10/27/2008 01:33:00 AM
Your traditional Monday morning round-up of recent comics news and opinion from across this great land:


  • A short slide show of scenes from this past weekend's 9th Rendez-vous International de la BD in Gatineau, Quebec.
  • Related: French-language profile of Thierry Coppee, creator of Toto; Swiss wordless graphic novel creator Daniel Bosshart.
  • Walrus Mag comics blogger Sean Rogers walks us through his various Mystery Hoards (tm) from recent Toronto book sales. I recently found Steig's The Lonely Ones at a thrift store in Brantford, Ont.
  • Alain M. Bergeron's Capt. Static kids book/comic reviewed in the Gazette.
  • The charity-centric efforts of the cartoonists involved with 24-Hour Comic Day at Happy Harbor comic book shop are the focus of this profile in Metro-Edmonton.

Labels: , ,

   
         - Stumble It!  - Leave a comment!| 0comments  -  - we honor OpenID - 



   Tuesday, October 14, 2008  
Guests and Events for the 9th Rendez-vous international de la BD de Gatineau

:: Posted by max @ 10/14/2008 09:54:00 PM
Ok, got the press kit, so here's what's going down and who will be there for the 9th Rendez-vous international de la BD de Gatineau!

SPECIAL EVENTS

Opening ceremonies at the Canadian Museum of Civilization
Thursday, October 23rd at 6:30 pm

This year, the opening ceremony will be held at the same venue as the Rendez-vous itself, at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. This will be a unique occasion for visitors to celebrate in the company of guest authors, exhibitors and the organizers of the 9th Rendez-vous.

Meet and Greet at the EMI (UQO)
Thrusday, October 23rd

Again this year, the Ecole multidisciplinaire de l'image (EMI) is proud to welcome some of the guest artists of the RVIBDG for stimulating discussions about the 9th art. An exceptional event that is open to all!


VENUES

1. Canadian Museum of Civilization
Level 2 / Foyer of the Museaum's Theatre
100 Laurier Street in Gatineau

2. Art Gallery of the Alliance francaise
352 MacLaren Street in Ottawa

3. Universite du Quebec en Outaouais
ecole multidisciplinaire de l'image (eMI)
Lucien-Brault Pavilion
101 St-Jean-Bosco Street in Gatineau


Program:

1:30 p.m.: Meet and Greet with Taillefer (Ontario) and the duo Delaf and Dubuc (Quebec)
2:45 p.m.: Meet and Greet with Aymond and Johanna (France)

This activity is open to the public. For more information, please visit http://www.uqo.ca/emi.

Unveiling at the Alliance francaise

Friday, October 24th, at 6:00 pm

L'Alliance francaise d'Ottawa is pleased to host the exhibit Philippe Aymond, du reel a la BD, which includes approximately 30 of the thousands of comic strips produced by the illustrator since 1989.

LAUNCH : TOUT SPIROUZ
Saturday, October 25th from 5:00 to 7:00 pm

Spirou and his gang find a permanent home at the UQO library!

The UQO library and the Ecole multidisciplinaire de l'image (EMI) invite you to a special celebration in honour of the famous Belgian bellhop who, to mark his 70th birthday, will be setting up residence in the UQO library, thanks to the generosity of the Journal de Spirou. An evening not to be missed!

A reception will be held.

Information: (819) 595-3900, ext. 1628

Animations - ON THE STAGE

Action... Reaction !
For every action there is a reaction; that's how the ideas that take shape in an illustrator's head become a comic strip. The audience is invited to react to the zany ideas of the activity leader and provide inspiration.

Comics Action
Whether as an observer or a participant, don't miss this activity, which involves the impromptu creation of a storyboard in the form of comic strip sketches.

Comics to the Highest Bidder
An extraordinary auction! For sale: speech bubbles! The currency: words! May the best phrase win!

Live Illustration
During the festival, the guest artists will improvise a drawing before the eyes of the audience. Accompanied by an interview that will shed light on the author and his or her work, the activity will end with a draw for the signed illustration. Be there!

Express Yourself
Comic art professionals reveal the importance of expression in creating comic art characters and stories.

Discussion: Serie BD, la clef du succes?
Is the publication of a comic series a determining factor in a comic artist's success? Along with the guest artists of the 9th RVIBDG, discover what motivates artists to choose this route, and the hopes and disappointment that come along the way.

New Releases
Each year, the Rendez-vous de la BD offers comic fans the chance to discover recent newcomers to the comic art world. For the 9th edition of the RVIBDG, Kan-J and Paul Roux present their most recent publications to comic fans from the Outaouais.

Strip... teaser
Armed with sheets of paper, pencils and markers, spectators become illustrators during this activity. A super-effective method for discovering the various aspects of comic art, from scripting to creating a frame, and the search for expressions and angles.

Round table : La vie apres le bac BD
Several graduates of the comic art program at UQO will discuss the various professional avenues that have opened up to them since they finished their studies, and talk about their plans.

Animations
IN THE FOYER OF THE MUSEUM'S THEATRE
(Salon Marius-Barbeau)

Masters at Work - Presented by Desjardins
As visitors look on, the guest authors will take turns creating a giant comic strip based on a particular theme. Comic fans can watch the images take shape, plucked from the imagination of these comic art wizards!

Tele-Quebec's Little Library
In partnership with publishers of books for young people, Tele-Quebec is offering the youngest visitors of the Rendez-vous de la BD a selection of illustrated books and albums to read on site in a playful atmosphere and safe environment. An excellent occasion for young readers to lose themselves in the passionate adventures of the characters from the series for children aired on Tele-Quebec, such as Kaboum, Toupie et Binou, Toc Toc Toc and more!

BDmix Reading Room
Intended mainly for teenagers and adults, the BDmix reading room feeds into the BDmix activity by offering visitors a selection of approximately 50 albums to read on site.

EXHIBITIONS

BDmix - Presented by the French Embassy
Visit the BDmix exhibit and retrace the steps that have marked a century of French-language comics. Through the magic of the screen, BDmix will present 35 comic strips from original collections. Then, settle in and immerse yourself in the world of French-language comics by flipping through a collection of some 50 albums at your disposal.

Gilles Villeneuve... Le champion du peuple! - Presented by Desjardins
Formula 1 superstar Gilles Villeneuve not only left his mark on his era and on an entire generation of adrenaline junkies, but he was also immortalized in a comic strip! To tie this publication in with the 30th anniversary of his first win, the Musee Gilles Villeneuve will be presenting a collection of objects and images that will revive memories of this "people's champion".

Reality and the Fantastic: The Magic of the mundane
Craig A. Taillefer's "savoir-faire" is best revealed through his illustrations, which focus on ordinary people in extraordinary situations, slices of life taken from fiction or reality. This exhibit will provide you with the opportunity to get to know the illustrator, for whom the magic of fantasy goes hand-in-hand with the equally fascinating magic of the mundane.

Philippe Aymond, du reel a la BD
At the Alliance francaise d'Ottawa
From October 24 to 31, the walls of the Alliance francaise d'Ottawa will be adorned with an exhibit of approximately 30 original comic strips by Philippe Aymond. This selection, which represents only a fraction of the French illustrator's work, is taken from two decisive periods in his career. The first, from 1989 to 1999, looks at his collaboration with scriptwriter Pierre Christin, and the second, from 1999 to the present, looks at the creation of the series ApocalypseMania and Lady S.

Contest | Invente-moi un Schtroumpf!

To mark the 50th anniversary of the world-famous Smurfs, the Rendez-vous de la BD is teaming up with Radio-Canada's Premiere Chaine (90.7 FM) and LeDroit to present the contest Invente-moi un Schtroumpf! From October 14 to 17, between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., listen to Le monde selon Mathieu on 90.7 FM and discover the invented Smurf of the day. Write the Smurf's name on the entry ballot published daily in LeDroit for your chance to win one of five prizes, including the complete collection of albums featuring those odd little blue men created half a century ago by the illustrator Peyo.


GUESTS
shown in order in the pictures >>

Barely two years after Philippe Aymond finished his studies in the plastic arts, Les Humanoides Associes charged him with the task of creating illustrations for the Canal Choc series, based on scripts by Pierre Christin. This collaboration continued with the album L'Homme qui fait le tour du monde (1994) and the adventure series Les 4 x 4 (1997 a 2000). A second series, ApocalypseMania, written by Bollee, followed in 2000. In 2003, Jean Van Hamme, who was drawn in by the elegance and simplicity of Aymond's work, asked him to illustrate Lady S, a series in which action, suspense and modern adventures come together in a perfectly controlled geopolitical environment.

An architect by trade, Daniel Bosshart always had a strong penchant for comics. After publishing several illustrations, he produced his first solo work, Geteilter Traum (Shared Dream), in the late 90s. This album, which relies completely on the strength of the illustrations and contains no text, was awared the prize for Best Germanic Publication at the Erlangen Salon in 2000. Because he communicates through images, Daniel Bosshard has presented his readers with a new challenge in the form of Alberto, a work without text whose grandiose and detailed vignettes are open to endless interpretation.

Sandra Breault spent most of her childhood and adolescence poring over comic books. She began with French and Belgian comics, with a brief stop at alternative comic art, before moving over to manga. After studying plastic arts at college in her home region, Lanaudiere, she began her BA in comic art at the University of Quebec at Ouaouais (UQO). She graduated in the spring of 2008 with high honours; this achievement highlights the esthetics and lyricism of her final project. In her comic art, our talented next-generation ambassador draws inspiration from fairy tales and legends to show her readers the poetry that resides in the human spirit.

Thierry Coppee, a teacher originally from Brussels who studied illustration at the Ecole de Recherches Graphiques, spent four years teaching elementary school before dedicating himself to his art. Following a brief collaboration with Spirou magazine, he began working on Les Blagues de Toto for Editions Delcourt. In 2004, he created a humourous world full of teasing tenderness in which the situations and characters are centered around Toto, an impish little boy who possesses an extraordinary gift for witty retorts. With nearly 200 jokes under his belt, Thierry Coppee is currently putting the finishing touches on the 7th Blagues de Toto album while keeping a close eye on the production of the first Toto cartoons.

Johanna (Schipper) was born in Taiwan in 1967 and now lives in Bordeaux, France. After Chinese and Dutch, she learned French by reading Tintin! After finishing high school, she moved to Angoulême to study comic art at the Ecole Superieure de l'Image. She has worked as a colorist and as an organizer of exhibitions on French-language comics, and has also taught master classes to young authors in Vietnam. After publishing several short stories and illustrations, she again began working on the stories of Nana, the young heroine of Les Phosfees, and presented the series in colour to Editions Delcourt in 1999. Her most recent publication, a comic for adults entitled Nos âmes sauvages and published by Futuropolis, earned her the Artemisia award in January 2008.

Based in Montreal, Maxim Douglas - a.k.a. Salgood Sam - has always drawn, just like his parents. Even before leaving school, this self-taught artist began creating his own comics and selling them through specialty shops. At the age of 18, he left home and began his career as a professional illustrator. For almost 20 years, he has worked as a freelancer, producing a multitude of drawings for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Kitchen Sink and the Montreal Mirror. While putting the finishing touches on his album entitled Therefore Repent, he received a bursary from the Canada Council of the Arts in 2007 that allowed him to begin work on his next publication, Dream Life.

When he was young, Marc Delafontaine dreamed of becoming a police officer. However, deciding that he was no good at swinging a baton, he instead opted for his first passion: illustrating. He began by illustrating educational brochures, then worked as an animator, and finally moved on to illustrating children's books and comics. In 2004, he and partner/scripwriter Maryse Dubuc gave birth to three hip and ruthless adolesencents who came screaming into the comic world with the series Les Nombrils, which has garnered acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic.

Maryse Dubuc developed a marked interest in school - and more particularly in writing - at a very young age. Her love of words soon developed into a true passion that lead her to study French literature at university. A colorist, author of books for young people and partner of illustrator Marc Delafontaine, she writes the adventures of Jenny, Vicky and Karine, the three young stars growing up in the sexy and cruelly hilarious world of the scathing series Les Nombrils.

Born into a family of artists from the Bas St-Laurent region, Michel Falardeau completed his studies in the late 90s, first studying plastic arts in Sainte-Foy, then animation at Riviere-du-Loup. After spending a number of years creating video games, he turned to comic books. In 2005, Les Editions Paquet (Switzerland) discovered his talent as a comic artist and published Mertownville. In the form of an intimate narrative, this three-volume series focuses on Lydia, a heroine unlike any other, who invites the reader to discover the secret lives of superheroes. While Michel Falardeau may claim that his own life is boring, he certainly cannot say the same for his characters!

As Craig A. Taillefer explains it, his diet as a young boy consisted of crayons, modeling clay and comic books. It is clear that his exposure at a very young age to the worlds of Asterix, Uncle Scrooge, Turok Son of Stone and others shaped his mind. Which is why, against the advice of those around him, he chose to pursue a career in the arts. For over two decades, Craig has earned a living as an illustrator. Whether in television animation, illustration or the creation of his comic series, Wahoo Morris, the artist divides his time between his obsession for illustration and his passion for old albums ...and hammocks!

SURPRISE GUESTS!

Each year, the Rendez-vous international de la bande dessinee de Gatineau has the pleasure of welcoming several comic artists who, in a few strokes of a pencil, add their talent to that of the guest artists. This years suprise guests are Tom Fowler and Kan-J. These two surprise guests will be joined by Paul Roux and the comic artist-hosts from Surpriz Comix.

Timetable of Events

Thursday, October 23rd
1:30 pm to 2:30 pm - Meet and Greet at the EMI with Taillefer and Delaf et Dubuc (venue 3.)
2:45 pm to 3:45 pm - Meet and Greet at the EMI with Aymond and Johanna (venue 3.)
3:00 pm to 4:00 pm - Masters at Work with Salgood Sam (venue 1.)
4:30 pm to 5:30 pm - Masters at Work with Delaf et Dubuc (venue 1.)
6:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Opening ceremonies (venue 1.)

Friday, October 24th
1:30 pm to 2:30 pm - Masters at Work with Falardeau (venue 1.)
2:00 pm to 2:45 pm - Action... Reaction! (venue 1.)
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm - Masters at Work with Coppee (venue 1.)
4:00 pm to 4:45 pm - Express Yourself (venue 1.)
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm - Unveiling of the exhibit Philippe Aymond, du reel a la BD

Saturday, October 25th
10:30 am to 11:30 am - Masters at Work with Bosshart (venue 1.)
11:00 am to 11:30 am - Live illustration with Salgood Sam (venue 1.)
11:30 am to 12:30 pm - Masters at Work with Aymond (venue 1.)
11:45 am to 12:30 pm - Comics Action (venue 1.)
1:00 pm to 1:30 pm - Live illustration with Taillefer (venue 1.)
2:00 pm to 2:45 pm - Round table: la vie apres le baccalaureat BD
3:30 pm to 4:00 pm - Paul Roux and Kan-J's new releases (venue 1.)
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm - Masters at Work with Johanna (venue 1.)
4:15 pm to 5:00 pm - Strip... teaser (venue 1.)
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm - Launch :Tout Spirou (venue 3.)

Sunday, October 26th
10:30 am to 11:00 am - Live Illustration with Bosshart (venue 1.)
11:00 am to 12:00 pm - Masters at Work with Breault (venue 1.)
11:30 am to 12:15 pm - Action... Reaction! (venue 1.)
1:00 pm to 1:30 pm - Live Illustration with Coppee (venue 1.)
1:45 pm to 2:30 pm - Strip... teaser (venue 1.)
2:00 pm to 3:00 pm - Masters at Work with Taillefer (venue 1.)
2:45 pm to 3:30 pm - Discussion: Serie BD, la cle du succes? (venue 1.)
4:00 pm to 4:45 pm - Comics to the Highest Bidder (venue 1.)

AUTOGRAPH SESSIONS

AYMOND: Thu 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm Fri 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm Sat 10 :00 am to 11 :30 am and 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm Sun 10:00 am to 12:00 pm and 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

BOSSHART: Thu 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm Fri 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm Sat 11:30 am to 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm Sun 11: 00 am to 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm

BREAULT: Thu 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm Fri 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm Sat 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm Sun 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm and 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm

COPPEE: Fri 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm Sat 10:00 am to 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm Sun 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

DELAF ET DUBUC: Fri 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm Sat 10:30 am to 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm Sun 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm and 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

FALARDEAU: Thu 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm Fri 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm Sat 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm and 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm Sun 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

FOWLER: Sat 10:00 am to 11:00 pm and 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm Sun 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm

JOHANNA: Thu 11:00 am to 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm Fri 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm Sat 11 h 30 am to 1:30 pm Sun 10:00 am to 12:00 pm and 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

KAN-J: Sat 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm

ROUX: Thu 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm Fri 11:00 am to 1:00 pm Sat 11:00 am to 12:00 pm and 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm Sun 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

SALGOOD: Thu 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Fri 11:00 am to 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm Sat 10:00 am to 11:00 am and 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm Sun 11:30 am to 1:30 pm and 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm

TAILLEFER: Thu 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm Fri 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm Sat 11:30 am to 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm Sun 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

   
         - Stumble It!  - Leave a comment!| 0comments  -  - we honor OpenID - 



   Sunday, October 12, 2008  
9th Rendez-vous international de la BD de Gatineau

:: Posted by max @ 10/12/2008 10:02:00 PM
From the 23rd to the 26th of October, the 9th Rendez-vous international de la BD de Gatineau will be held at the Canadian Museum of Civilization!

Featuring three days of events and panels with 10 creators, Philippe Aymond, Johanna, Daniel Bosshart, Thierry Coppee, Delaf & Dubuc, Michel Falardeau, Sandra Breault, Salgood Sam and Craig A. Taillefer.

 The Program and other details are here.



Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

   
         - Stumble It!  - Leave a comment!| 0comments  -  - we honor OpenID - 



   Thursday, October 09, 2008  
Supposedly The State of the Canadian Comic Book Industry

:: Posted by max @ 10/09/2008 10:49:00 AM
Herve at the Bin is at it again. He's posted an OP ED style piece on 'The State of the Canadian Comic Book Industry' which merits linking to, but I feel I should post a buyer beware notice.

"I've been covering the comic book industry for years and have always found the level of professionalism and maturity of players involved lacking. Many times, I have written and said that what passes for public discourse in this industry would get all participants fired from their respective jobs, were they in any other mature industry." - Herve St-Louis
This to me this is ironic as it's not how i've found MOST of the people in the business in my 18 or so years in it, just an annoying minority.

The piece seems to be a little light on facts for the strong opinions it presents, and is rather dubious as a National Overview given it spends 939 of the 2727 word article raging on one small part of the huge loose collection of comics communities based in Toronto and attacks the city in a very predictable conservative mid west way for essentially being big and both commercially and culturally vibrant. Meanwhile he talks about not even half the other cities in the country.

Why is it that people spend so much time bitching about Toronto, while in the same stroke so often talking about no one else very much anyway? Thus themselves only talking about Toronto for so much of their time. Herve does not even tell us anything about what is happening in his own City of Calgary other than to say "...the majority of comic book readers supported American products rather than Canadian ones".

Me thinks he has something a little narrower to grind than the National state of anything, but I'm not going to waist my time speculating. I will however add a few facts and my own opinions to you perspective

One small definite mistake I'm sure of is that Montreal does not actually have a regular 'Anglo' comic jam. Rupert still hosts events from time to time, but he's bilingual, if not trilingual. I'm not sure which was his first tongue, but today he's more Alophone than Anglo if you want to get all uptight about it and put everyone in boxes or schools. Bottenberg is the son of a nice pair of German/American immigrants from out east. And while i'm sure he speaks with an accent to my near uni lingual clod hopper ears he's pretty damn comfortable chatting fast and furious in French and is thoroughly integrated into his corrner of Montreals' bilingual culture.

But then this also gets to why i find that aspect of the conversation annoying - the constant need to categorize and separate people by language - and specifically which one they spoke first, not what they speak now - seems even more subjective and discriminatory than to do so by race! [to be clear i'm not advocating for the latter but stating something about the former] And yet it's done often by politicized francophonie wanting to claim oppression or discrimination in this country - again pretty ironic if you think about it.

Some years ago when I hosted the Monthly Montreal Comix Jams what Herve wrote would have been partly true, about it being organized by an Anglo, though the events themselves were very bilingual in attendance.

But after I stopped hosting, over time the Monthly Jams shrank and are now run and attended largely by a small group of mostly francophone cartoonists who used to always sit at a table together in my day and call themselves 'the French Table'. They run the only regular comic jam in town today that I'm aware of. They seem to have fun still and the shrinking mostly has to do with the current core groups lack of interest in promoting the event beyond sending out usually a very short reminder of the event. Posting no posters or fliers that I'm aware of around any of the campuses or other locations in town that would bring in the new blood. Seems like since they stated a facebook group that's been changing a little maybe but this is very recent and remains to be seen what will come of it.

The Anglo community, along with the rest of the folks in town these days do however have many 'Drink n' Draw' get togethers, vernissages and signings. They seldom reflect linguistic community boundaries so much as genre and style, and are plentiful! I frankly cant keep up with it all.

There is the grand canard that the Doug Wrights Awards are discriminatory against Francophones. Not to mention he's writing about them and in the same breath saying the site does not recognize them, quite a trick. You have to ignore them if your going to do that i think but who am i to say. I've said all i care to about all that here already.

Another point I'd challenge him on is the degree to which comics are supported by grants in this country, which I suspect is pretty minimal. Much of it is funding for smaller publishers that are NOT economically viable without support which includes most of the French indy press here in Montreal last time I heard.

Sidebar: In the 2006 Statscan numbers, nation wide there are 109,415 who define themselves as bilingual. After that there are 6,860,990 French speakers and 18,122,780 English speakers. That's the entire national potential market in a nutshell. Anyone who knows much about marketing, publishing and the percentages involved, and how much more US and International product floods the small Canadian market, can see why so many of our cultural institutions need to be subsidized.
The Canadian publishing industry as a whole gets help from grants in this country out of market driven necessity! Without it we'd not have a Canadian publishing industry in the shadow of the US and would only be able to put out the most commercial and mainstream content exclusively.

For a few years now the council has funded graphic novels under the writing program but were talking about 4 or 5 grants at the most a year and it's reasonable to assume not all are totally successful projects in the end. Many of those works would not have been possible without the support either. As a former recipient and later juror, i think i can vouch for the fact that most of what gets funded is work generally felt to need it - in other words to merits creators who want to do something they can't just get a publisher to fund with advances or find an easy market for.

That being said it would be totally misleading to suggest our comics publishing industry is substantially supported by such funding - most of it makes it or breaks it based on the efforts and sacrifices of a few small publishing outfits and the proximity of the huge US market, for whatever that's worth these days.

On the other hand, not sure he meant to sound reductionist or just lacks the info readily found here on this site, but local Montreal Comic community - which is huge and decentralized - gets support and acknowledgment from many of the summer festivals and book fairs, not just Just for Laughs.

Pop Montreal, Fantasia, the Fringe Festival, the Jazz fest, the Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival and Montreal's Salon du Livre all have hosted Comics and BD related events and activities.

I'd love to see better, more imaginative stuff going on, but that's more pie in the sky than dire need. Personally i've always thought we are perfectly located to set up an international event here, our own Angouleme one day maybe.

We are also quite aware of the Gatineau scene here, with a lot of new kids coming out of UQO each graduating year. Not the day to day blow by blow but there was quite a bit of excitement in Montreal when the programs at the university there started up. And the Rendez-vous international de la BD de Gatineau, which I'm attending this year as a guest, has been doing nicely as well.

I'm sure there's some friction between Quebec city and Montreal, but i've not heard much about it in some time - mostly that's between individuals, not the communities. And i kind of doubt it has much to do with any lack of involvement here in the Gatineau scene.

And the Toronto community - which is also huge, very diverse and decentralized - seems to me to be, from the conversation i have there, very aware of what goes on in the country that's good and worth paying attention to as well. Just as in other large cities with thriving scenes, not so many feel the need to track mediocre work when there is so much great stuff going in your own neck of the woods. But on the whole they get as excited as anyone over the things people else where are up to and have long standing romantic fascination with the Montreal scene.

Not to mention how very much movement there is here in Montreal between Halifax, Quebec City, Gatineau, Toronto and Vancouver and other points. Each city has at least some comic's community bleed over with the others. Which reminds me I owe Marc Bell a visit; he's living in Montreal again now, after spending a long stint in BC. He also used to reside in Toronto, and hails from London Ontario originally. The man is an archetypical indy Canadian cartoonist! :)

Also found it kind of funny Herve would choose of all people to present Canadian advertising guru, Terry O'Reilly as likely to argue "awards are nothing but attempts to make the public care about a product instead of using traditional advertising means" - take the nothing out and you'd be right, but O'Reilly would himself I bet point out it's a bit more multi faceted than that. They do that job, but they also help support the creators, raise the prestige of a community and the medium they celebrate, and raise awareness of specific books that the public may not even know about, let alone care about. The more elite and prestigious the Judges and selection process for the books, the more effective they are at that job. {see: I believe he implied something like this argument in it's broadest terms in Season 3, episode 16 of 'O'Reilly and the Age of Persuasion: In Defence of Advertising' 2008-04-26 }

And since when was any of that bad for the state of the comics industry?

Once more Harvey is casting things in a much more exclusively balkanized light than they really are. I feel in truth it's a much more fluid and vibrant national collection of communities and scenes, that has it's spats and chatty cathys, but on the whole tends to mind it's own business most of the time really.

That given, here's the link again, feel free to continue the conversation in the comments.

I will say the closing sentiment is positive, in a way at least. I certainly hope he finds more time to cover local stuff, though i hope he'll learn to differentiate his own balkanized opinions from those of the community at large.

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

   
         - Stumble It!  - Leave a comment!| 0comments  -  - we honor OpenID - 



   Friday, February 29, 2008  
This Weekend: Salon du livre de l'Outaouais

:: Posted by Bryan @ 2/29/2008 06:01:00 AM

The 29th Salon du livre de l'Outaouais aura lieu 28 Feb-2 March 2008,
Palais des congres de Gatineau
200, promenade du Portage,
Gatineau, Quebec

Comics guests include Djief, Eva Rollin & mangaka Jessica Samson-Tshimbalanga

details here

Labels: , , ,

   
         - Stumble It!  - Leave a comment!| 0comments  -  - we honor OpenID - 



   Monday, October 22, 2007  
RVIBDG

:: Posted by Bryan @ 10/22/2007 12:02:00 AM


All of the news and reports from the Rendez-vous International de la Bande Dessinee de Gatineau are at the BDQ Forums, including your guide to yesterday's panel discussion: "Are you a Franquin or an Herge?" This is one of the bigger comics events in Canada, with a very unique personality and international (albeit largely unilingual) focus.

1. Sunday schedule.
2. Photo
3. Saturday

plus:

Voir.ca
Kids reading comics

Labels: , , ,

   
         - Stumble It!  - Leave a comment!| 0comments  -  - we honor OpenID - 



   Friday, October 19, 2007  
Rendez-Vous!

:: Posted by Bryan @ 10/19/2007 01:52:00 AM
via Michel Viau:

it's the Rendez-vous International de la
Bande Dessinee de Gatineau this week-end. Among the authors present,
you'll find: Christian Darasse, Bosse, Boulet and Emmanuel Lepage (fron
Europe), Francois Miville-Deschenes, Philippe Giriard (phlppgrrd) from
Quebec. And this year, there will be some english-speaking cartoonists
too: Tom Fowler and Bill Slavin.


link

Labels: , , ,

   
         - Stumble It!  - Leave a comment!| 0comments  -  - we honor OpenID - 



   Friday, April 06, 2007  
French Publisher Glenat Sets Up Shop in Quebec

:: Posted by Bryan @ 4/06/2007 12:05:00 AM

After working on the project for over a year, it looks like Glenat, a giant of comics publishing in France, has established an office in Quebec for the purposes of publishing and recruiting new talent.

Publisher Jacques Glenat visited Quebec last May and mused publicly about the possibility of opening an office. According to this story at actuaBD, Christian Chevrier, who is currently the director general of Glenat's Canadian distributor Hachette Canada, is the president of the new venture. Annie Ouellet has been hired as editor of the imprint and the plan is to publish books by local cartoonists by the end of the year. Glenat will be recruiting new writers and artists at the Festival de la BD francophone de Quebec in Quebec City, beginning April 11.

Glenat is known for its genre adventure and humour comics, mostly intended for younger audiences. Its most famous property is probably the popular Titeuf series by Zep but it is also a major player in manga publishing in France. Glenat has also had success importing franchises (like Argentina's Mafalda and Italy's Corto Maltese) from other countries. Glenat has subsidiary offices in Belgium (Benelux), Spain, and Switzerland.



In an article in La Presse, Glenat is painted as a man with a messianic mission: to export French-language comics to the world in the same way U.S. superheroes and Japanese manga have been exported. He notes that manga has 40% of the book market in Japan, while in France the number is 5% and in Quebec BD has only 2% of the market. He also notes the ability of the Japanese industry to create titles with very specific demographics in mind.

Yves Rodier is perhaps the best-known artist from Quebec currently published by Glenat. His Herge-inspired Simon Nian has become a big hit. Voro and Delaf have also been published by Glenat imprints.

Most recently, two of Glenat's children's series by cartoonists from France, Le Cimetiere des Autobus (A Lou collection by Julien Neel) and Mes meilleurs copains (a Titeuf collection by Zep) were nominated for Quebec's prestigious Bedelys awards.

It's hard to say what kind of impact this new Glenat venture will have on the Quebec comics scene. It is certainly a major event. (By way of analogy, what would happen if DC Comics set up a branch office in Toronto to develop books for anglo-Canadians?) There is already an indigenous industry of children's BD publishing in the province, but it is quite tiny. Most successful humour franchises by francophone Quebec cartoonists (with the exception of rare home-grown successes like Safarir) find their way to French publishers without those publishers having to establish offices in Montreal. The last one to do so, Dargaud in the early 80s, certainly established a wider market for its own Franco-Belgian properties but did little in the way of developing local talent.

Another interesting aspect of the Glenat news is the announced intention of getting into the comics festival business, perhaps by underwriting a festival in Montreal. There are already festivals in Quebec City and Gatineau but nothing in the province's largest, most media-saturated city (outside of the BD Montreal event, part of comedy festival Just for Laughs). With a major player like Glenat to back it, a comics festival in Montreal would have more chances at success. In addition, Glenat's desire to develop the anemic Quebec children's market may result in a better standard of living for artists in the business, with the potential for more lucrative publishing deals and an increased audience, both here and abroad (assuming that the page rates and royalties are the same in France and in Canada). Who can say at this point? There certainly seems to be potential.

------

further reading

discussion at BDQ forums

cbc

Labels: , , , , ,

   
         - Stumble It!  - Leave a comment!| 0comments  -  - we honor OpenID - 



   Friday, March 02, 2007  
Salon du livre de l'Outaouais

:: Posted by Bryan @ 3/02/2007 12:05:00 AM
This weekend (March 1-4), as part of the Salon du livre de l'Outaouais, a number of comics-related events are happening under the banner of Rendez-vous BD. Guest cartoonists include Yvon Brochu, Line Gamache, Christ Oliver, Paul Roux, Bado, & Zviane.

Palais des congres
200 promenade du Portage
Gatineau, Quebec

(full details & schedule at the BD Quebec forums

Labels: , , ,

   
         - Stumble It!  - Leave a comment!| 0comments  -  - we honor OpenID - 



   Thursday, October 26, 2006  
RVIBDG 2006 Photos

:: Posted by Bryan @ 10/26/2006 01:38:00 AM



Francis Hervieux has posted a huge ammount of photos from the Rendez-Vous BD event this past weekend in Gatineau at BD Quebec. It looks like it was a huge event with a bevy of local and international cartoonists. (Above, Finnish cartoonist Terhi Ekebom)

Labels: ,

   
         - Stumble It!  - Leave a comment!| 0comments  -  - we honor OpenID - 



   Friday, October 20, 2006  
This Weekend

:: Posted by Bryan @ 10/20/2006 05:19:00 AM
Comics-related events this weekend:

-Chester Brown wraps up his western tour over the next few days with appearances on the inkstuds radio show 2pm Oct 20; he is also at The Vancouver International Writers Festival the same day and in Victoria BC for a signing at Bolen Books on at 7pm October 22 (phone 250-595-4232).

-The Harbourfront International Festival of Authors features lots of comics-related stuff including: Oct 21 Seth interviewing French cartoonists Dupuy & Berberian; director and Wright Awards stalwart Jerry Ciccoritti interviewing U.S. cartoonist Jaime Hernandez; Oct 22 features 2 events with graphic memoirist Bernice Eisenstein.

-The 7th annual Rendez-vous BD in Gatineau Quebec continues with a massive array of signings, exhibits, round-tables, and interactive events.

Labels: , , ,

   
         - Stumble It!  - Leave a comment!| 0comments  -  - we honor OpenID - 



   Wednesday, October 18, 2006  
Rendez-vous BD

:: Posted by Bryan @ 10/18/2006 07:32:00 AM
Oct 18-22, 2006

The Salon du livre de l'Outaouais presents le Rendez-vous international de la bande dessinee de Gatineau featuring Jimmy Beaulieu, Derib, Gisele Lagace, Real Godbout, Jean-Claude Fournier, Yves Rodier, Jean-Louis Tripp, Andre Saint-Georges, Stefano Ricci, Iris & Terhi Ekebom and more.

The full program of the 7th annual version of this huge comics event just across the river from Ottawa is available at the BDQuebec forums (Google trans).

Labels: , ,

   
         - Stumble It!  - Leave a comment!| 0comments  -  - we honor OpenID - 



   Sunday, January 01, 2006  
Canadian Comics Links

:: Posted by max @ 1/01/2006 02:54:00 PM
CanCon Comic NEWS & OP-ED Links
CCArF
BEDE-KA!
Comics212
Maple Ink Comics Blog
BD quebec
Comic Book Bin
Jeet Heer
Brad Mackay

Publishers
Mecanique Generale
Drawn&Quarterly
La Pasteque
Candy Coated Press
Skunkworks Studios
L'Oie de Cravan
Conudrum/Crunchy
Scribe
Mr Comics
Mensuhell
Wag Press
Nom d'un Chien
Arcana Studio
Premieres Lignes
Don't Touch Me
Safarir
Spilt Ink
No Media Kings
Deep-Sea Comics
Full Bleed Studios
I Box Publishing
Black Eye
Comely Comics
UDON Comics
Speakeasy Comics

More Publishers
Anvil Press
Arsenal Pulp Press
Beach Holme Publishing
House of Anansi Press
Harper Canada
Harbour Publishing
Thomas Allen
Kim McCarthy Fine Arts
Whitecap Books Ltd.
Raincoast Books
Random House Canada
McClelland & Stewart Ltd.
Penguin Canada
H.B. Fenn and Company Ltd.
Kids Can Press
Douglas & McIntyre Publishing Group
Talon Books
New Star Books

Events
Book Expo Canada
Expozine
Festival de la BD francophone de Quebec
TCAF: The Toronto Comics Arts Festival
Toronto Comics Jam
Montreal Comics Jam & Comics Collective - old site
Rendez-vous international de la bande dessinee de Gatineau
Vancouver Comics Jam
Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon
Hobby Star toronto ComiCON & animeCON
Ad Astra
the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo
Calgary Comic and Toy Expo
the Vancouver Comicon
Vancouver International Writers Festival
International Readings at Harbourfront Centre Toronto
Canzine
Cut n' Paste Zine Fest
The Word on the Street
Toronto Small Press Fair
Salon du Livre
Speakeasy
Banff Comic Craze Symposium

Comics Awards
Prix Bedelys
BD Quebec Awards
Canadian News Hall of Fame
National Newspaper Awards
The Shusters
Doug Wright Awards

Stores
Fichtre
The Beguiling

Comics History
Canadian Encyclopedia
Québec BD Comics History (National Library)
English Canadian Comics Essay (National Library of Canada)
Victorian Political Cartoons (web version here)
List of Canadian Comics
Cartoonist Bios
Quebec Comics Characters (BDQuebec)
Excerpt from Michel Viau's BDQ
Canadian Superheroes

Schools [Includes academic classes as well as applied lessons]
Universite du Quebec en Outaouais
Mohawk College
the University of Waterloo
Malaspina University//College
University of Toronto
The Ottawa School of Art
Vancouver Institute of Media Arts
Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design

Orgs
Canadian Association of Editorial Cartoonists
Canadian Cartoonists Club
The Canadian Comic Art Centre

Canadiana
Canadian Roadside Attractions
Royal Art Lodge
Monsters of Winnipeg
Ghostmilk
Giants of the North
Jasper

Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

   
         - Stumble It!  - Leave a comment!|   -  - we honor OpenID - 





Archive by Region
Alberta - British Columbia - Calgary - Gatineau - Halifax - Moncton - Montreal - New Brunswick - Newfoundland - Nova Scotia - Ontario - PEI - Quebec - Saskatchewan - Saskatoon - Toronto - Vancouver - Victoria - Winnipeg -

Archive by Month
August 2002 - September 2002 - October 2002 - November 2002 - December 2002 - January 2003 - February 2003 - March 2003 - April 2003 - May 2003 - June 2003 - July 2003 - August 2003 - September 2003 - October 2003 - November 2003 - December 2003 - January 2004 - February 2004 - March 2004 - April 2004 - May 2004 - June 2004 - July 2004 - August 2004 - September 2004 - October 2004 - November 2004 - December 2004 - January 2005 - February 2005 - March 2005 - April 2005 - May 2005 - June 2005 - July 2005 - August 2005 - September 2005 - October 2005 - November 2005 - December 2005 - January 2006 - February 2006 - March 2006 - April 2006 - May 2006 - June 2006 - July 2006 - August 2006 - September 2006 - October 2006 - November 2006 - December 2006 - January 2007 - February 2007 - March 2007 - April 2007 - May 2007 - June 2007 - July 2007 - August 2007 - September 2007 - October 2007 - November 2007 - December 2007 - January 2008 - February 2008 - March 2008 - April 2008 - May 2008 - June 2008 - July 2008 - August 2008 - September 2008 - October 2008 - November 2008 - December 2008 - January 2009 - February 2009 - March 2009 - April 2009 - May 2009 - June 2009 - July 2009 - August 2009 - September 2009 - October 2009 - November 2009 - December 2009 - January 2010 - February 2010 - March 2010 -