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Upton uploadingAnother artist we don't talk about so often, at the other end of the spectrum, is obscure Punk zinester Colin Upton. So here's the latest - sort of - from him, this is the link to the comics he's promoting here, he's posting a page a day of his previously published zines online, so for those of you have not had the pleasure you can check it out now. Ok, on to the press release...January 31st, 2010 [arrived in my inbox Feb 4, 2010]  After years of floundering in the shadows in a desperate move to reach some sort of audience Colin Upton Comics is going online. In what Colin is calling his "page a day" project he is posting a page from his extensive backlog of mini-comic art every day until he runs out... considering Colin has produced over a thousand pages of mini-comic art alone and is still putting out new mini-comics this will keep him going for awhile yet. Most of the comics are 8-16 pages. So far Colin has put up the "F-word" trilogy, next will be the series "Diabetes Funnies" and later "Self-Indulgent Comics" which starts way back in 1985. So far Colin is posting on his Live Journal & Facebook and the Colin Upton Comics Facebook Fan page created, he plans to put the comics as they come out on his web site… which will happen as soon as a "technically challenged" Colin figures out how... the web site need a major overhaul.Print versions of Colin Upton Comics may still be purchased from Colin, including several collections that are a real deal! Vancouverite Colin Upton ha been doing comics for 25 years, starting with Newave mini-comics in the 1980's, Indie comics in the 1990's and back to mini-comics in the new century. A lack of interest on the part of publishers, readers and editors has not extinguished his passion for the comics art form or the need to express himself long after sensible people would have walked away. He now enjoys a dubious distinction of being a senior statesman of the Vancouver comics scene. On the way he has drawn comic books, comic strips, editorial and advertising cartoons, web comics, cartoons for a play, a series of films and for art gallery walls. Colin has been a performance artist, Lowbrow artist, drummer, radio broadcaster, lecturer, interviewer, reviewer, wargamer, miniaturist, flanuer, animist/iconoclast, illustrator and in one occasion a historical expert. Send inquiries to: 604-327-1544 Labels: British Columbia, can-con, Vancouver, webcomics - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, January 14, 2010 This Weekend: Vancouver Comix JamEd Brisson writes: When: Saturday, January 16th, 2010. 8pm until midnight(ish). Where: The Wallflower - 2420 Main St, Vancouver (Right next door to Rx Comics - map ) Who: Anyone who is of legal drinking age is invited. How Much: No admission fee. Bring your own pencils/pens. Paper is provided. The restaurant provides their regular menu to order from and alcohol galore: beer, wine, highballs and shots. Don't forget to tip your waiter or waitress well! If you’re drawing with markers that bleed through paper, be sure to either bring a drawing surface or place extra sheets of paper under the paper you’re drawing on. Crosspost as you see fit. See you there! Ed Labels: comic jams, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, December 10, 2009 Happy 5th Anniversay Vancouver Comix Jam!New Reliable Press publisher and cartoonist Ed Brisson writes: This December, the Vancouver Comic Jam turns 5 years old! When: Saturday, December 12th, 2009. 8pm until midnight(ish). Where: The Wallflower – 2420 Main St, Vancouver (Right next door to Rx Comics – map ) Who: Anyone who is of legal drinking age is invited. How Much: No admission fee. Bring your own pencils/pens. Paper is provided. The restaurant provides their regular menu to order from and alcohol galore: beer, wine, highballs and shots. Don’t forget to tip your waiter or waitress well! If you’re drawing with markers that bleed through paper, be sure to either bring a drawing surface or place extra sheets of paper under the paper you’re drawing on. Crosspost as you see fit. See you there! Ed Labels: comic jams, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, November 20, 2009 Saturday: Vancouver Comix JamOrganizer Ed Brisson writes about the Van-Jam: It's time for the next Vancouver Comic Jam! We're heading back to the Wallflower! When: Saturday, November 21st, 2009. 8pm until midnight(ish). Where: The Wallflower - 2420 Main St, Vancouver (Right next door to Rx Comics – map ) Who: Anyone who is of legal drinking age is invited. How Much: No admission fee. Bring your own pencils/pens. Paper is provided. The restaurant provides their regular menu to order from and alcohol galore: beer, wine, highballs and shots. Don't forget to tip your waiter or waitress well! If you're drawing with markers that bleed through paper, be sure to either bring a drawing surface or place extra sheets of paper under the paper you’re drawing on. Crosspost as you see fit. To be added to the VCJ mailing list, email me at edbrisson[at]gmail[dot]com See you there! Ed -- -- http://www.newreliable.com New Reliable Press Labels: comic jams, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Wednesday, November 18, 2009 The C-List: Happy Birthday Inkstuds!  Gotta bust out a C-List! "Inkstuds, Expozine, Jesse Jacobs, ohmy!" Item: The Inkstuds podcast celebrates 4 years (!) with a Seth interview. Congratulations to Robin McConnell and friends, and here's to 4 more years, and many more! Item: Blogger and cartoonist Jack Ruttan recorded interviews at Expozine with some of the bright lights of Canadian comics. He's posted them with notes on his blog here and here, and we've created a playlist/player of them in sequence here. Item: Sequential's own Salgood Sam was briefly at Expozine as well. He shot and edited a short doc of the event around 4pm to 5pm of the last day.  Item: A good large flickr photo set cataloging zine prints buttons and art books predominantly in a minimalist & cute style. The rare blue Mermacorn is the invention of probably this years youngest exhibitor, Jasper! Posted by Montreal designer Janice Wong.Item: And rounding out the visual record of Expozine 2009 so far is an excellent set of 111 photos by Montreal Photographer Camille McOuat. The last one of Billy is perfect. Item: Vancouver cartoonist Doug Fraser has designed an Absolut Vodka bottle just in time for the Olympics. Item: Webcomics writer Ryan Sohmer in Montreal. As well, Sohmer and his "Least I Can Do" collaborator Lar DeSouza have announced a webcomics scholarship at the Vermont Center for Cartoon Studies. Item: Another profile of Jesse Jacobs! He's on a run! Item: Stuart Immonen has announced that the free webcomics serialization of his collaborations with his wife Kathryn have been pirated and that future online comics by the couple are in doubt. There is further comment here and many comments by others elsewhere. The latest collab, Moving Pictures, is due out in Mat 2010 from Top Shelf. Item: Canadian comics historian, blogger, humourist, erstwhile Sequential contributor, and scriptwriter on the perils of maintaining 4 blogs while writing animation scripts for a living. Item: The DC/Warner vs Disney/Marvel war is really heating up. Alarmed at the massive build-up of Canadian superheroes by Marvel, and with only one of their own DC plans to fire back by adding a Canadian to the Outsiders, previously a 1980s superhero team based in Batman's Gotham City. (Thanks to reader Maddy B for the tip!) Item: Jeet Heer on Marx/Barks and Tomine/Oliveros. Labels: blogosphere, British Columbia, C-List, capes, comics history, Expozine, Montreal, new books, pod casts, U.S. superhero franchises, Vancouver, video, webcomics - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, November 13, 2009 This Sunday: Vancouver Comicon  Sunday, November 15th, 2009 11amt o 5pm Admission: $4.00 Kids under 14: Free • James Stokoe (Wonton Soup, Comic Book Tattoo) • Kelly Everaert (Jungle Tales, Trilogy of Terror) • James Lloyd (Other Stuff) • Matthew Ocasio (The Matter) • Andrew Salmon (Sherlock Holmes, Secret Agent X) • Robin Thompson (Champions of Hell, Hemp Island) • Marley Zarcone (Popgun) • Mary Karaplis • Carrie McKay • Beth Wagner • Critical Hit Comics Dealer Tables: $40/centre; $50/wall For more information, please call 604-322-6412 Labels: British Columbia, conventions, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, November 05, 2009 Sully on Inkstuds   Sherwin Tjia aka Sully, one of my favorite people, is the latest interview subject of Robin McConnell on Vancouver's Inkstuds. Great interview, just finished listening myself.The guys talk about his latest book Hipless boy with conundrum press, the slow dance nights and strip spelling b's, some good writing and proses talk, monastiraki, and language dynamics in love. Also, really nice selection of music played throughout selected by Sully I think. Good one. Also the inkstuds mix tapes continue to rock. Labels: interviews, interweb, Montreal, pod casts, Quebec, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Tuesday, October 27, 2009 The C-List: NLWCC, or Leah McLaren Loves Stig's Inferno?  Canadian comics culture is exploding all over the place!Item: The NLWCC, or "Newfoundland's West Coast Con" wrapped up Sunday in Corner Brook, NFLD. Nothing on youtube from it yet but the organizer and Founder Carson Smith was interviewed on Corner Brook Cafe' October 15th. Item: Leah McLaren suggests you read one of those obscure graphic novels, instead of a book nominated for a literary prize, perhaps unaware that there are now prizes for obscure graphic novels, even in Canada? She's still awesome, regardless. I wonder what her choice would be? Ty Templeton's "Stig's Inferno"? Julie Doucet's "The Madame Paul Affair"? Or maybe something by Carel Moiseiwitsch? [like-link] Maybe Colin Upton's "Big Black Thing"? Or Ho Che Anderson's "Scream Queen"? Item: Dan Clowes' new D&Q book has some success at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Item: The Winnipeg Comic Con is this coming weekend! Item: Mariko Tamaki has a few words about freaks and geeks in Ottawa. Item: Seth in Vancouver. Item: Ramon Perez is touring Europe with some of the Transmission X gang. Item: The relative gayness of Superman. Item: The Speakeasy Comic Book art show, Toronto. Item: New honcho at Penguin Canada. Item: Manga porn arrests in Nova Scotia. Item: Guy Delisle gives more interview. Item: Sean T. Collins profiles Jay Stephens on Morbius the Living Vampire and other Awesome stuff. Labels: C-List, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg - Stumble It! - 1 comments Saturday, October 17, 2009 Tonight: the Vancouver Comics Jam is a WallflowerEd Brisson writes: We're trying out a new location! The Wallflower is more central and much easier to get to. I've eaten there several times before and can attest to the goodness of the food. When: Saturday, October 17th, 2009. 8pm until midnight(ish). Where: The Wallflower - 2420 Main St, Vancouver (Basically, Main & Broadway. Right next door to Rx Comics) Who: Anyone who is of legal drinking age is invited. How Much: No admission fee. Bring your own pencils/pens. Paper is provided. The restaurant provides their regular menu to order from. No pitchers of beer, but plenty on tap and in bottles. Don't forget to tip your waiter or waitress! If you're drawing with markers that bleed through paper, be sure to either bring a drawing surface or place extra sheets of paper under the paper you're drawing on. Crosspost as you see fit. See you there! Ed Labels: comic jams, events, social ink, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, September 25, 2009 Sunday: Word Under the Street,VancouverLots of comics stuff at the Word On/Under the Street in Vancouver. Most of the comics events are inside the library. 11:15 :: Nardwuar – Nardwuar’s Video Vault Join punk rock journalist Nardwuar the Human Serviette as he screens video interviews he has done over the years with Pierre Berton, Gene Simmons, Jean Chretien, Pamela Des Barres, Anthony Robbins, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Michael Moore, followed by a give-away of books and magazines to trivia winners! Nardwuar is the lead singer and keyboardist for The Evaporators and loves cheese! 12:00 :: Cartooning Art Class with Robin Thompson Stop getting in trouble from doodling in school and check out this introductory art class. Improve your hand at drawing, create awesome characters and learn how to design your own comic strip! Class limited to a maximum of 20 participants so sign up early. Ages 11 to 16. Materials supplied. Robin Thompson is an instructor, comic book artist, self-publisher and freelancing artist who has worked on indy titles such as Knuckles Malone, Lil’Natas, Outnumbered and Captain Space Man. Pre-registration recommended. 1:00 :: Mandy Moore & Leanne Prain – Join the Yarn Bombing Revolution! Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti is the definitive guidebook to covert textile street art. This full-colour DIY book features 20 kick-ass patterns that range from hanging shoes and knitted picture frames to balaclavas and gauntlets, teaching readers how to create fuzzy adornments for lonely street furniture. Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain will provide tips from the international knit graffiti community, demonstrate how to put up a tag and offer revealing information on how to create your own yarn graffiti crew. Moore is the technical editrix of popular online knitting magazine Knitty.com, and of various other knitting and crochet books and publications. Prain is a professional graphic designer and co-founded a stitch and bitch called Knitting and Beer in order to expand her skills while knitting at the pub. 2:00 :: Comics and the Classroom Educators Leonard Wong (Templeton Secondary School), Guy Demers (Tupper Secondary School) and Alejandra Lopez (Illustrated Journey Youth Project) share ideas on how to use comics as a cross- curricular learning tool and a resource for promoting reading and literacy. 3:15 :: Nardwuar – Nardwuar’s Video Vault See description from 11:15 screening Comics Related Exhibitors Cloudscape Comics Collective Colin Upton Comix & Stories Fresh Brewed Illustration Jonathan Dalton Later Comics New Reliable Press real gone girl studios Robin Thompson Sarah Leavitt Comics Scholastic Book Fair Steve Rolston Vancouver Comicon (Leonard Wong) Labels: events, Vancouver, wordonthestreet - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, September 18, 2009 This Saturday: Vancouver Comics JamEd Brisson writes: ***PLEASE NOTE: Due to a previous reservation, the jam does not start until 9pm!*** When: Saturday, September 19th, 2009. 9pm until midnight. Where: Clubhouse Japanese Restaurant - 255 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver ( map ) Who: Anyone who is of legal drinking age is invited. How Much: No admission fee. Bring your own pencils/pens. Paper is provided. The restaurant provides their regular menu to order from. Don't forget to tip your waitress! As usual, I’ve reserved the upstairs room at the Clubhouse Japanese Restaurant for the Jam. If you’re drawing with markers that bleed through paper, be sure to either bring a drawing surface or place extra sheets of paper under the paper you’re drawing on. Crosspost as you see fit. See you there! Labels: comic jams, social ink, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, August 20, 2009 "Comix and Stories" at Hertigae Hall Aug 23Co: geist.com & robotblood  Vancouver Comicon presents a celebration of alternative and small press comics, zines, artwork and culture with special guest Kate Beaton.Beaton draws comics that illustrate the often hilarious stories of famous historical figures. She is also a contributor to Geist. Sunday, August 23, 2009 Heritage Hall 3102 Main Street, Vancouver, B.C. 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Admission $4 Other creators and publishers who will be in attendance include Lars Brown (North World) David Boswell (Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman) Brandon Graham (King City; Multiple Warheads) James Stokoe (Wonton Soup) Marian Churchland (Elephantmen) Steve Rolston (Emiko Superstar) Verne Andru (420) Stephanie Blakey Ken Boesem (The Village) Robin Bougie (Cinema Sewer) Jesse Davidge (Mathemagick and Mystiphysics) Kelly Everaert (Trilogy of Terror) Susan Ferguson (Antic Comics) Trevor Frick (Centuri, Way of the Ninja) Gabriel Frizzera Sarah Haxby (Peargirl) Ira Hunter (Champions of Hell) Mary Karaplis James Lloyd (Other Stuff) Carrie McKay Josue Menjivar (Everyday Things) Mike Myhre (Space Jet) Simon Roy (Jan's Atomic Heart) Steven Snyder Robin Thompson (Champions of Hell, Zombie Jesus) Jason Turner (True Loves) Critical Hit Comics New Reliable Press Visit the Vancouver Comicon website for more information. Labels: aperances, British Columbia, conventions, events, events links, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Wednesday, July 15, 2009 The C-List: Canadian Comics in the SummertimeSome quick links. Item: Dinosaur Comics' Ryan North talks internet woes with the Globe and Mail. Item: Ed Brisson notes that there will be no Vancouver Comics Jam in July. Item: Walrus comics blogger Sean Rogers talks about David Mazzucchelli. Item: Robert Fulford writes about Harvey Kurtzman and Mad for the Post. Item: Seth tells us why George Sprott will be one of Amazon's best books of 2009. Item: The Wizard Toronto comic convention has a new logo. Item: Iranian-Canadian policart Nik Kowsar talks to the Washington Post about his experiences on the wrong side of the law in Iran. Item: In case you missed yesterday's Summer Reading entry, the big (old) news is that Les 400 Coups has started a new imprint for genre comics/bd, entitled Rotor. Item: Montreal weekly The Hour reviewed Adrian Tomine's 32 Stories and Shortcomings published by D&Q Labels: British Columbia, C-List, comic jams, conventions, international, interviews, links, new books, Ontario, publishing, Quebec, social ink, Toronto, Vancouver, webcomics - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, June 19, 2009 This Weekend: Vancouver Comics JamEd Brisson writes: When: Saturday, June 20, 2009 at 8pm-1am Labels: comic jams, social ink, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, May 22, 2009 This Weekend: 3 x Booklaunch and Art Show, Vancouver  The fine folks at Lucky's Comics are hosting a comic launch extravaganza! Three books will be making their Vancouver debut: Jan's Atomic Heart and True Loves 2 from New Reliable Press and Funday Sunnies from Cloudscape Comics. Creators will be on hand to sign books! Original artwork from all three books will be on display! Lucky's Comics 3972 Main Street Vancouver, BC Saturday, May 23rd 8pm-11pm Labels: art show, book launches, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, May 08, 2009 Sequential Pulp in the pixels
Labels: comic strips, comics criticism, comics history, comics in libraries, interviews, Montreal, new books, Ontario, profiles, Quebec, Sequential Pulp, tcaf, TCAF09, Toronto, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, April 10, 2009 Publishing: Jobnik 7  jobnik! issue 7 by Miriam Libicki 24 pages $3.50 Continuing the adventures of an American-Canadian girl in the Israeli army --the new issue picks up where the graphic novel left off (maybe we'll see another Gian Ghomeshi cameo?). Labels: floppies, graphic novels, publishing, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, March 20, 2009 Saturday: Vancouver Comics JamFrom Ed Brisson: When: Saturday, March 21st, 2009. 8pm until midnight. Labels: comic jams, events, social ink, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Tonite: Pohadky Launch, Vancouver  Marek Colek and Pat Shewchuk's Pohadky will get a West Coast booklaunch at Lucky's Comics in Vancouver. Lucky's Friday, March 20th, 5 pm - 8 pm, 3972 Main street, Vancouver Labels: book launches, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Sunday, March 15, 2009 Today: Vancouver Comicon  Vancouver Comicon Sunday, March 15th, 2009 11am to 5pm Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street, Vancouver, BC Howard Chaykin, David Boswell, Miriam Libicki, and more! Admission: $4.00 Kids under 14: Free Labels: conventions, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, February 20, 2009 A peek at MNY's Red A studio visit. Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas sent this to me earlier today, thought we'de share it here with you all. The book is slated for sept 09.  Michael: "I have 2 exhibits almost lined up- one in Vancouver and one in Calgary. i'm aiming institution/museum scale and during my April trip to Ottawa (Pedal to the Meddle will be installed at the National Art Center), i'm gong to see what i might find for a exhibit space as well." Labels: art show, British Columbia, Calgary, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 1 comments This Weekend: Vancouver Comics JamFrom organizer Ed Brisson: What: Comic Jam! Where: Japanese Clubhouse Restaurant @ 255 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver. When: February, 21st @ 8pm. Ends at about midnight or so. As usual, I've reserved the upstairs room at the Clubhouse Japanese Restaurant for the Jam. Everyone (over 19) is invited. It's free to attend. All you need to bring are your drawing tools. Paper is provided. If you're drawing with markers that bleed through paper, be sure to either bring a drawing surface or place extra sheets of paper under the paper you're drawing on. Crosspost as you see fit. Visit the Vancouver Comic Jam website at www.vancouvercomicjam.com See you there, Ed Labels: comic jams, social ink, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Saturday, January 17, 2009 Sunday: Vancouver Comicon  The monthly Vancouver con takes place Sunday, Jan. 18 at its regular Heritage Hall location. Vancouver Comicon 11am to 5pm Heritage Hall, 3102 Main St, Vancouver featuring the World's Toughest Cartoonist, David Boswell, and a host of others. Dealer Tables: $45/centre; $55/wall Admission: $4.00 Kids under 14: Free Labels: conventions, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, January 16, 2009 Saturday: Vancouver Comix JamFrom organizer Ed Brisson: Just a reminder that the next Vancouver Comic Jam is on Saturday, January 17th from 8pm until sometime between midnight-1am. Labels: comic jams, events, social ink, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Tuesday, December 09, 2008 The C-List: Comics Links-The Vancouver Province Province reveals the results of its reader poll for new strips. -The Collected Doug Wright now available for pre-order: Sure to be the publishing event of 2009! -New book of strips: Nature Calls by Berry Wijdeven (Epic Press, ISBN 978-1-55452-332-0 : $16.95). -The Comic Book Bin has the press release for Canadian manga publisher Udon signing with online webcomics folks Crunchyroll. -Missed it: Eric Braun launched a new b.d., Mondo Loco, along with a collective exhibit at USINE 106U : 160 Roy Est, Montreal last week. -The man who took Ezra Leveant to the Alberta Human Rights Commission over the publication of the Danish Mohammed cartoons has ironically started a free speech organization. Labels: Alberta, British Columbia, C-List, comic strips, graphic novels, links, publishing, Quebec, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, December 04, 2008 Weekly Bestsellers: December 4  The Top 30 Graphic Novels in Canada, courtesy of BookManager. The full list is available here. The list is compiled by BookManager based on sales through over 400 independent bookstores. Sales through comic shops and larger retailers like Chapters-Indigo are not reflected in this list. For balance, you might want to try the Amazon.ca and Chapters-Indigo lists. This list has two parts, the top 30 overall and (at the bottom) the top 30 by Canadian creators. See here for last week's list. Top 30 Comics and Graphic Novels in Canada 1. (1) Watchmen, Moore/Gibbons (DC) 2. (2) Fruits Basket 21, Takaya Natsuki (Tokyopop) 3. (3) Naruto 32, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ) 4. (6) Garfield Spills the Beans, Jim Davis (Random House) 5. (-) Bleach 24, Tite Kubo (VIZ) 6. (5) Naruto 31, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ) 7. (6) Home Sweat Home, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel) 8. (24) Simpsons Comics Dollars To Donuts, Groening et al (Harpercollins) 9. (12) Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 19, Clamp (Random House) 10. (7) Marvel Chronicle, Tom DeFalco (DK) ----- 11. (11) Che, Rodriguez/Buhle (Verso) 12. (19) V for Vendetta, Moore/Lloyd (DC) 13. (13) Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl Adventure 2, Shigekatsu Ihara (VIZ) 14. (9) Simpsons Treehouse Horror, Groening et al (HarperCollins) 15. (8) Skim, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood) 16. (-) Naruto 1, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ) 17. (-) Asterix/Falling Sky, Uderzo (Orion) 18. (10) Chibi Vampire 11, Yuna Kagesaki (Tokyopop) 19. (27) 30 Years of Laughs & Lasagna, Jim Davis (Random House) 20. (23) The Joker (Hardcover), Azzarello/Bermejo (DC) ----- 21. (17) Vampire Knight 5, Matsuri Hino (VIZ) 22. (14) Fullmetal Alchemist 17, Hiromu Arakawa (VIZ) 23. (-) Louis Riel, Brown (D+Q) 24. (-) The Potpourrific Great Big Grab Bag of Get Fuzzy, Darby Conley (Andrews McMeel) 25. (-) Bionicle 2: Challenge of the Rahkshi! Elliott/Farshtey (St. Martin's) 26. (-) Death Note 4, Ohba/Obata (VIZ) 27. (15) Death Note 1, Ohba/Obata (VIZ) 28. (-) Asterix in Britain, Goscinny/Uderzo (Orion) 29. (-) Naruto 2, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ) 30. (18) Complete Persepolis, Satrapi (Knopf) The pattern that emerges from looking at these lists over a period of weeks is that certain books, especially manga series, continuously jostle with each other, sliding up and down the longer list on the strength of a new volume or a spate of purchases for the kiddies. This week, the latest Bleach installment debuts at #5, perennial faves like Asterix start taking up more space, and new annual collections of popular strip and cartoon show comics (The Simpsons) start showing up on more people's radar. In total, BookManager lists over 4000 graphic novels, trades, and strip collections. It is a wondrous, scary place, where everyone from Maus (#46) to Lynda Barry (#50) to Moomin (#150) duke it out, and where one sale in one tiny bookstore can move a book from #999 to #200. This is also the place where you find books by Canadian creators and where our Canadian Top 30 comes from: Sequential's All-Canadian Top 30 from BookManager 1. (1) Home Sweat Home, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel) 2. (2) Skim, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood) 3. (3) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q) 4. (6) Big Foot, Graham Roumieu (Plume) 5. (5) Senior's Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel) 6. (4) The Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle (D+Q) 7. (9) Just One More Hug, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel) 8. (7) It's a Good Life, If You Don't Weaken, Seth (D+Q) 9. (8) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni) 10. (10) Dramacon Ultimate Edition, Svetlana Chmakova (Tokyopop) ----- 11. (11) Milk Teeth, Julie Morstad (D+Q) 12. (-) Last Straw, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel) 13. (-) The Big 5-0, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel) 14. (-) Hall of Best Knowledge, Ray Fenwick (Fantagraphics) 15. (26) The New Frontier 1, Darwyn Cooke (DC) 16. (27) Paul Goes Fishing, Michel Rabagliati (D+Q) 17. (12) Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea, Guy Delisle (D+Q) 18. (13) Essex County 1: Tales from the Farm, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf) 19. (14) The Plain Janes, Cecil Castellucci et al, (DC/Minx) 20. (16) Emiko Superstar, Mariko Tamaki/Steve Rolston (DC/Minx) ----- 21. (15) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni) 22. (-) Strange and Stranger, Blake Bell (Fanta) 24. (17) Dramacon 3, Svetlana Chmakova (Tokyopop) 25. (18) Rex Libris: I, Librarian, James Turner (Slave Labor Graphics) 26. (19) Middle Age Spread, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel) 27. (20) Dramacon 1, Svetlana Chmakova (Tokyopop) 28. (21) Essex County 2: Ghost Stories, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf) 29. (22) Graphic Witness: Four Wordless Graphic Novels, George A Walker ed (Firefly) 30. (23) Never Wink at a Worried Woman, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel) Not seen: Drop-In by Dave Lapp (Conundrum) debuts at #33 on the Canadian list. As well, I haven't been including KRAZY! on this list. It's the book of the exhibit from the Vancouver Art Gallery (edited by Bruce Grenville, published by Douglas & McIntyre) and would rank somewhere around #7 on the all-Canadian list (#205 overall) if it wasn't essentially an art book (or, at best, an international anthology with some essays). The book's overall sales rank puts it just above How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. Labels: bestsellers, British Columbia, comic strips, comics retailers, graphic novels, international, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, November 21, 2008 Saturday: Matt Forsythe in Vancouver  OJINGOGO'S MATTHEW FORSYTHE IN VANCOUVER Join D+Q and Lucky's Comics in launching Matt Forsythe's Ojingogo this Saturday! 5 pm, Saturday, November 22nd 2008 Lucky's Comics 3972 Main St, Vancouver (604) 875-9858 www.luckys.ca Labels: book launches, British Columbia, events, graphic novels, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Wednesday, November 19, 2008 For the RecordMissed It By This Much  Skim did not win the Governor-General's Literary Award for Children's Literature yesterday. The book, a graphic novel by cousins Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki, was beat out by John Ibbitson's The Landing, a prose novel about life in 1930s Muskoka. In related categories, Sylvie Desrosiers' Les trois lieues won in the French-language category. The winning illustrators were Stephane Jorisch (an adaptation of Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat) and Janice Nadeau (Ma meilleure amie, text by Gilles Tibo). See the full list of winners here. See Neil Gaiman (bottom item), The Vancouver Sun and Heidi MacDonald for more reactions to the controversy surrounding Skim's nomination. (above Jillian Tamaki illo: a James Bond article on cbc arts) Labels: awards, British Columbia, graphic novels, skim, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, November 13, 2008 News-y LinksQuick comics-y links from the mainstream press: Miriam Libicki's "jobnik!" in the Jerusalem Post New Brunswick cartoonist exhibits plaster faces Canadian copyright law The Vancouver Province tries to replace Berke Breathed A great report from the Marc Bell opening the other night in T.O. Jeet Heer on Barack Obama, comic book nerd Jay Stephens profile in Guelph Mercury Joe Sacco on Guy Delisle's Burma Chronicle Labels: British Columbia, links, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, October 17, 2008 Saturday: 24 Hour Comics Day  This Saturday is 24 Hour Comics Day, the annual international comics creation marathon. Several sites across Canada are hosting groups of amateur and professional artists who will be attempting to create a complete comic in just one day. Feel free to drop by any of the locations listed below and don't forget to contact Sequential with any additional locations, reports or photos. 4-Colour, 8-Bit Comics & Games Kingston, Ontario Alberta College of Art and Design Calgary, AB The Comic Book Shoppe Ottawa, Ontario Commotion in the Ocean 207 Erb Street West Waterloo, Ontario DragonHead Studio Kanata, ON ELFSAR Comics & Toys Vancouver, BC V6B 5T4 Happy Harbor Comics Edmonton AB Image Collections Mississauga, ON Loose Canon Gallery Hamilton, ON Strange Adventures, via the Delta Hotel Fredericton Fredericton, NB Labels: Alberta, British Columbia, Calgary, events, international, Ottawa, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Saturday: Vancouver Comics JamEd Brisson writes: When: Saturday, October 18th, 2008. 8pm until midnight. Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, social ink, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments This Weekend: Jobnik Book Launch, Vancouver  The launch for Miriam Libicki's graphic novel about time spent as an Israeli soldier takes place this Sunday, October 19, at RX Comics, 2418 main street, (off Broadway) in Vancouver --6 PM.Labels: book launches, British Columbia, events, graphic novels, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, October 09, 2008 Supposedly The State of the Canadian Comic Book IndustryHerve 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-LouisThis 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.
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: Alberta, analysis, awards, blogosphere, British Columbia, Calgary, can-con, cartoonists, Gatineau, grants, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Tuesday, October 07, 2008 Least I Could Do is Link  Some comics links for Tuesday:
Labels: Alberta, British Columbia, Calgary, links, Toronto, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, September 26, 2008 Friday: You Ain't No Dancer Launch, Vancouver  Featuring the best use of a Beatles lyric in a comix or graphic novel title, the latest issue of this annual comics anthology features a high quality roster of Canadian and international cartooning. Date: Friday, September 26, 2008 Time: 8:00pm - 11:00pm Location: Lucky's Comics, 3972 Main St, Vancouver, BC Come celebrate the release of New Reliable Press's latest anthology, You Ain't No Dancer Vol. 3! We're launching the book in style, with and art show of original artwork by several of YAND3's contributors that will be on display in Lucky's gallery. Artists on display: •Catia Chien •Colleen MacIsaac •Dalton Webb •Dorothy Gambrell •Graham Kahler •Grant Reynolds •Jason Turner •Jordyn Bochon •KC Green •Kim Hoang •Lars Brown •Phil McAndrew •Steve Rolston About The Book: Featuring a wrap-around cover by Kazimir Strzepek, You Ain't No Dancer Vol. 3 clocks in at 176 pages and contains 30 new stories from indy-comic favourites and up-and-comers. Vol. 3 Contributors: Kazimir Strzepek, Becky Dreistadt & Frank Gibson, Blaise Larmee, Catia Chien, Coleman Engle, Colleen MacIsaac, Dalton Sharp, Dalton Webb, Dorothy Gambrell, Graham Kahler, Grant Reynolds, Ira Marcks, Jason Turner, Jeff Bent, Jeremy Sorese, Jon Sukarangsan, Jordyn Bochon, KC Green, Kate Beaton, Ken Dahl, Kim Hoang, Lars Brown, Lucy Knisley, Mike Laughead, Mitch Clem & Jason Oberbichler, Patrick Murphy, Phil Barrett, Phil McAndrew and Steve Rolston & Sabina. More information on the book and New Reliable Press can be found at: www.newreliable.com Labels: anthologies, book launches, British Columbia, graphic novels, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Saturday, September 20, 2008 Saturday: Vancouver Comics Jamfrom Ed Brisson: When: Saturday, September 20th, 2008. 8pm until midnight. Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, events, social ink, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Tuesday, September 16, 2008 Quickly HittingA few links about comics in Canada: Procastination Comics: cartoonist Paul Mason helps a Carleton University professor illustrate the psychology of putting things off. Procastination Comics II: Jovan Zimzovski's 4th (!) installment of the Ryan North profile. Abusive Comics: Sandra Bell-Lundy examines spousal abuse in her Between Friends comic strip. Krazy Comics: the Vancouver Krazy art show is extensively reviewed. The verdict? Not funny. Japanese Comics: Chris Butcher is back from vacation and has a review of a translated Japanese comic at his blog. Floppy Comics: Kevin Boyd says Summer 2008 was when the monthly superhero floppie finally died. Watching Watchmen Comics: The Sequential bestseller list is on extended hiatus, but I'm sure industry watchers will be fascinated to learn that Watchmen tops the charts this week in bookstores. Bestselling BD: The top 15 comics of the month at Fichtre in Montreal. Labels: British Columbia, links, Quebec, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, September 05, 2008 This Weekend: Vancouver Comicon  Vancouver Comicon Sunday, September 7th, 2008 11am to 5pm Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street, Vancouver, BC Special Guests: * Steve Leialoha (Fables, Howard the Duck, Star Wars) * Diana Schutz (Darh Horse Comics editor) * Steve Rolston (The Escapists, One Bad Day, Queen and Country) * Ken Steacy (Tempus Fugitive, Marvel Fanfare, Night and the Enemy) * Ken Boesem (The Village) * Kelly Everaert (Jungle Tales, Trilogy of Terror) * Robin Thompson (Champions of Hell, Hemp Island) * Verne Andru (420) * Heather Frayne * Donald King * Carrie McKay * Mike Myhre (Space Jet) * Owen Plummer (Flip Flop Prophets, Kittenclops) * Beth Wagner * Critty Riphick * Cale Toth * Critical Hit Comics Admission: $3.00 Kids under 14: Free Dealer Tables: $50/centre; $60/wall Labels: British Columbia, conventions, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, August 28, 2008 Vancouver Comix & Stories ReportsA few reports from this past weekend's Comix and Stories event at the Vancouver Art Gallery/KRAZY! show: Derek Kirk Kim's is the funniest Buying minis report Artist turfed Kim Dietch was there Here, too Labels: British Columbia, conventions, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, August 22, 2008 Sunday: Comics and Stories, Vancouver  The second of two big events featuring U.S. Underground and graphic novel master Kim Deitch in Vancouver. This iteration of the regular Vancouver Comicon features a "who's who" of contemporary Canadian and international graphic novelists. See here for full guest list. Sunday, August 24th, 2008 11am to 5pm Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC Free admission (if you want to go view the KRAZY! exhibit, inside the Gallery, regular admission prices apply ($19.50/adult, $14/student with ID, $6.50/children 5-12)) Labels: British Columbia, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Saturday: Kim Deitch Film Fest, VancouverOne of the top five surviving members of the U.S. Underground comics movement of the 1960s, and one of the greatest living producers of graphic novels, period, Kim Deitch will be appearing this weekend in Vancouver at several events. First up: a showing of animated cartoons from Deitch's vast collection:  See the inkstuds write-up here for more info. Vancouver Art Gallery Hornby St. entrance 7 pm $8 --limited seating Labels: British Columbia, comics history, comics on film, events, undergrounds, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Tuesday, August 19, 2008 Hell Passport Box Set, part of Comix and Stories at the Vancouver Art Gallery  Was sent this by Jo Cook:Perro Verlag has just put together a box set of 24 visual art chapbooks by 24 different Canadian artists. They we will be part of Comix and Stories at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday August 24th. "A day of alternative & small press comics, zines, artwork & culture" Sunday, August 24th, 11am to 5pm Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC Guest list is on the site here, Top Star Guest is Kim Deitch and there's some other pretty cool people on the list with him. The Hell Passport Project is a 24-volume series of visual art chapbooks by 24 artists riffing on hell, holes, holiday suicides, sewers, zombies, ghost tracks, acephalic vulva, evil eye families, premonition rip-offs, bone hounds, contamination, papists' passports, larva womb rat, scum, entrail readings & scabnose demons. The artists in this project come from across Canada and take a variety of approaches and styles, making this series a comprehensive survey of current contemporary drawing. Artists in the series: derek beaulieu, Lisa Cinar, Mark Connery, Rebecca Dolen, Brandy Fedoruk, Julie Feyrer, Emily Goodden, Roy Green, Sally Ireland, Ben L. Jacques, Collin Johanson, Donato Mancini, Billy Mavreas, Wesley Mulvin, Robert Pedersen, Guinevere Pencarrick, Owen Plummer, Terry Plummer, Fiona Smyth, Scheisse Wives, Colin Upton, Ed Varney, Julie Voyce and James Whitman. The sets were printed in a limited edition of 20 boxes: 10 in blue and 10 in red. The complete set sells for $150. Some individual books are also available, at $7 each. Inquiries: Jo Cook www.perroverlag.com Labels: art show, book launches, British Columbia, can-con, comic jams, drawings, ephemera, events, events links, illustration, mini-comics, social ink, Vancouver, zine fair, zines - Stumble It! - 0 comments Sunday, August 17, 2008 A Talk with Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas on art, memory, and the power of small Admission is free; Reservations are required. Please e-mail cstudies@sfu.ca or call 778.782.5100. Find out more at:.geist.com/yahgulanaas-michael-nicoll "[His] paintings . . . represent a contemporary Haida inquiry into image and narrative . . . and they link Haida and non-Haida concerns through a popular culture medium." - Karen Duffek (UBC Museum of Anthropology, Curator of Contemporary Visual Art) Michael Yahgulanaas was born born in Prince Rupert in 1954 and raised in Delkatla, on Haida Gwaii. He has exhibited work around the world and currently has collections at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, as well as at the Kawasaki City Manga Museum in Japan. More.... Labels: British Columbia, can-con, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, August 15, 2008 This Weekend: Vancouver Comic JamFrom Ed Brisson: When: Saturday, August 16th, 2008. 8pm until midnight. Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, August 01, 2008 Upcoming: Comix and Stories, VancouverA big event featuring Kim Deitch. Full details here. a day of alternative & small press comics, zines, artwork & culture Sunday, August 24th, 2008 11am to 5pm Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby Street, Vancouver, BC Special Guests: * Kim Deitch (The Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Shadowland, All Waldo Comics) * Derek Kirk Kim (Good as Lily, Same Difference and Other Stories, Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall) * Jesse Hamm (Good as Lily) * Julie Morstad (Milk Teeth, Where You Came From, When You Were Small) * Chris Von Szombathy (Fire Away) * James Stokoe (Wonton Soup, Popgun) * Brandon Graham (King City, Multiple Warheads, Escalator) * Moritat (Elephantmen) * Steve Rolston (The Escapists, One Bad Day) * James Lloyd (Other Stuff) * Damian Wilcox (Dorkboy) * Miriam Libicki (Jobnik) * Josue Menjivar (Everyday Things, Way Off Main) * Ken Boesem (The Village) * Robin Bougie (Cinema Sewer) * Owen Plummer (Flip Flop Prophets, Kittenclops) * Gabriel Frizzera (Codex) * Mike Myhre (Space Jet) * Robin Thompson (Champions of Hell, Hemp Island) * Kelly Everaert (Jungle Tales, Trilogy of Terror) * Steve LeCouilliard (Much the Miller's Son) * Verne Andru (420) * Toren Atkinson * Stephanie Blakey * Nick Chretien * Jesse Davidge * Laura Eveleigh * Susan Ferguson * Trevor Frick * Sarah Haxby * Mary Kim * Donald King * Carrie McKay * Justin Pasieka * Critty Riphick * Dex Thompson * Beth Wagner * Ted Wilson * Critical Hit Comics * New Reliable Press * Perro Verlag Books by Artists * The Radar Friends * and many more! Free Admission! It's true: admission to Comix & Stories is free, as the show is taking place in meeting rooms on the main and third floors of the building, but if you want to go view the exhibits, such as KRAZY!, inside the Gallery, regular admission prices apply ($19.50/adult, $14/student with ID, $6.50/children 5-12). Please note that some of the materials on display and for sale at this show may not be suitable for all ages. Creator/Publisher Tables: $35/$65 Vendor Tables: $65 Labels: British Columbia, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, July 18, 2008 This Weekend: Vancouver Comix JamFrom Ed Brisson: When: Saturday, July 19th, 2008. 8pm until midnight. Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Monday, June 23, 2008 Monday Gazette  A miscellany of comics-related links. 1. After-the-Rapture-all-graphic-novels-will-have-trailers Dept.: Sequential's own Salgood Sam has put together a trailer for Therefore Repent, the graphic novel he created with Jim Munroe. 2. Listen-Closely Dept: Jamie Coville has audio recordings of several panels from last week's Sequential Art Symposium/Joe Shuster Awards. 3. Comics-are-Art Dept: The KRAZY! exhibit in Vancouver slights video games in favour of comics, etc, according to this Globe review. 4. Real-World Dept: More on one of the saddest stories of the year has got to be this tale of the 9-year-old autistic comic book collector from Montreal, smothered-to-death by his teachers. 5. Publishing Dept: IDW has just released the first volume of the complete Orphan Annie strip, one of the high points of 20th-Century cartooning, with contributions from Mr. Comics History, Jeet Heer. 6. D+Q Dept: We missed Chris Oliveros in Toronto (but they often show those ideacity things on tv) but Marc Bell's blog is ongoing. 7. Finland Dept: A new collaborative anthology from Finnish and Quebecoise cartoonist, 10x makes its debut. (see top) Labels: British Columbia, links, Ontario, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Wednesday, June 18, 2008 Midweek Roundup
Labels: British Columbia, links, Ontario, Toronto, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 1 comments Tuesday, June 03, 2008 Vancouver Comix Jam ChangesThis month's jam is being incorporated into the KRAZY! gallery show at the Vancouver Art Gallery: From Leonard Wong (via Ed Brisson): The artists' jam at FUSE takes place on Friday, June 27, from 6PM to 6AM. If you're wanting to take part in this event, I need to know by this Friday (June 6). The VAG is asking for a minimum four hour commitment during the evening, so if all participants can indicate to me (again, by Friday) when you'll be available/willing to draw, I can make sure there are people in the room all night, which keeps the VAG happy. Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, May 29, 2008 More News-y LinksTonite: Montreal Comix Jam. Details here. Political cartooning: Owen Sound Sun Times cartoonist Patrick Callaghan has Events: Superhero artist Kaare Andrews is one of the people complaining that the new KRAZY! exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery excludes local artists, local historians and superhero comics in general, according to this Georgia Straight article. Publishing: Penguin/Penguin Canada is the publisher behind a new series of books by DJ Steinberg. Illustrated by Brian Smith, The Adventures of Daniel Boom aka Loud Boy is up to two volumes. Labels: British Columbia, events, exhibits, graphic novels, political cartooning, Quebec, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 1 comments Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Midweek News and Reviews 
Labels: awards, British Columbia, copyright, events, exhibits, graphic novels, Halifax, legal news, manga, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Toronto, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Wednesday, May 21, 2008 Krazy! Comic Art Show Opens in Vancouver  Vancouver, and specifically the Vancouver Art Gallery, is the place to be this summer for comics fans, as Art Spiegelman and Seth co-curate the comics and graphic novels section of the multi-curator, multi-medium art show, KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Comics + Video Games + Art. Dumb but accurate title aside, the comics section of this exhibit looks interesting, with work from Chester Brown, Lynda Barry, and Harvey Kurtzman on display, with the added bonus of some Japanese cartoonists and related work in the field of animation (early Winsor McKay, etc). There has been a flurry of coverage of this event in the mainstream press recently. Globe and Mail: Seth and Spiegelman interview Global TV: Spiegelman profile In addition to the exhibit, there will be a series of related events, beginning with "Comic Demonstrations" running on Sundays (July 6, July 13, August 3, August 10), from 2pm-5pm in the Gallery rotunda. Local comic artists will be appearing for workshops and discussions. As well, on Thursday, August 7, at 7pm, Alywn Spies, assistant professor of Creative and Critical Studies at UBC, gives a special tour of KRAZY!'s manga artworks for an event called "Teaching Manga." From the press release: For the first time, the Vancouver Art Gallery will bring the worlds of anime, comics, cartoons, video games, manga, graphic novels and contemporary art together in one exhibition. Offering an innovative and dynamic survey, KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Comics + Video Games + Art reveals the uniqueness of each medium, while uncovering their histories, interrelations and future trajectories. On view from May 17 to September 7, 2009, the exhibition is cocurated by some of the art forms’ most influential artists and cultural producers, including Maus author Art Spiegelman, The Sims creator Will Wright, comic artist Seth and animated feature film director Tim Johnson. Conceived and developed by Vancouver Art Gallery senior curator Bruce Grenville, the exhibition will travel to a New York City arts institution in March 2009. "The Vancouver Art Gallery is committed to fostering new and dynamic understandings of visual culture. With the exhibition KRAZY!, we seized a tremendous opportunity to forward the study of some of the world's fastest growing art forms," said Kathleen Bartels, director of the Vancouver Art Gallery. "Despite the pervasive presence of these media, little has been done to assess the ties that bind them. By offering an interdisciplinary account in a major survey exhibition for the first time, we will illuminate their importance as a sustained cultural force." One of the largest exhibitions ever organized by the Gallery, KRAZY! will occupy two entire floors of gallery space and is designed in collaboration with Tokyo-based architectural firm Atelier Bow-Wow --a design team renowned for their understanding of informal culture and ability to enhance communal visual experiences. Divided into seven sections defined by medium, the exhibition takes viewers through everchanging gallery environments, which include a mini-theatre for viewing animated cartoons and anime, immersive video spaces and innovative reading environments for visitors to experience a deluge of manga, graphic novels and comics. Built to ensure visitors are exposed to the full breath of the media, the exhibition comprises more than 600 artworks, including original sketches, concept drawings, sketchbooks, storyboards, production drawings, films, video games, animation cels, three dimensional models, sculptures, books, manga and much more. The artists and works in the exhibition were selected by a group of co-curators, including Bruce Grenville, the exhibition's coordinating curator and curator of the visual arts section; Tim Johnson, curator of animated cartoons; Kiyoshi Kusumi, curator of manga and anime; Seth, curator of comics and graphic novels; Art Spiegelman, curator of comics and graphic novels; Toshiya Ueno, curator of manga and anime; and Will Wright, curator of video games. Each curator was invited on the strength of their unique knowledge of their particular field, favouring practitioners, artists and cultural producers who are highly regarded for their work. Using their strong historical knowledge, each curator was asked to select a small group of artists who had made a significant contribution through a particular work or body of work. To give the overall selection historical context, curators selected precursors in their respective fields, artists who had established their given genres and artists who are leading the way to the future. "The co-curators, who are also co-authors in the publication that accompanies the exhibition, are among the most active and sought-after practitioners in their respective fields. Despite their own vigorous workloads they shared their extraordinary insight and experience of this art," said curator Bruce Grenville. "No one person could have selected the work in this show, but collectively we have drawn a new map of the world of visual culture." KRAZY! is a rare opportunity to see artworks that have shaped the history of contemporary visual culture, including Art Spiegelman's drawings for the first three-page version of his Pulitzer prizewinning Maus; George Herriman's last three drawings for Krazy Kat; Lotte Reiniger's 1927 The Adventures of Prince Achmed, the first feature-length animated cartoon; a sneak preview of Will Wright's groundbreaking video game Spore; and an extraordinary selection of drawings from Yuichi Yokoyama's latest manga, New Engineering. The exhibition also includes works by Moyoco Anno, Lynda Barry, Marcel Broodthaers, Chester Brown, Cao Fei, Milt Gross, Pierre Huyghe, Ichiro Itano, Tim Johnson, Yoko Kanno, Satoshi Kon, Harvey Kurtzman, John Lasseter, Roy Lichtenstein, Christian Marclay, Winsor McCay, Sid Meier, Shigeru Miyamoto, Junko Mizuno, Mamoru Nagano, Claes Oldenburg, Mamoru Oshii, Katsuhiro Otomo, Nick Park, Raymond Pettibon, Seth, Iwatani Toru, Chris Ware, Masaaki Yuasa and many more. The PR lists the manga co-curators as: Kiyoshi Kusumi (Curator -- Manga and Anime) Kiyoshi Kusumi is a freelance writer and cultural critic. He was formerly the editor-in-chief of the Japanese art journal, BT Magazine. Kusumi is currently the editor of the Japanese manga magazine Comickers and is credited with identifying and naming the Nouvelle Manga movement. He is an established art critic and cultural theorist and is considered a global authority on manga. Toshiya Ueno (Curator -- Manga and Anime) Toshiya Ueno is a sociologist, media theorist and critic who lives and works in Japan and Amsterdam. He is currently an associate professor in the Expressive Cultures Department at Wako University, Tokyo. He has written numerous articles, essays and reviews on media, rock/pop music, film, contemporary art, architecture and urban design. Labels: British Columbia, events, exhibits, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Saturday, May 10, 2008 Billy Mavreas is Launching his Graphic Novel INSIDE OUTSIDE OVERLAP  Found on Facebook I'll be signing copies of my new comic book, INSIDE OUTSIDE OVERLAP published by Timeless Books, Toronto. Come by, say hi, have a drink, buy a book, stay and drink even more.
---- Vancouver Launch - June 7, 7:00 pm Lucky's 3972 Main Street. ph: 604-875-9858. Toronto Launch - June 25th, 7:30 pm Part of the The Beguiling monthly series http://drawrings.blogspot.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mavreas Labels: book launches, British Columbia, can-con, events, events links, Montreal, Ontario, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Tuesday, May 06, 2008 Free Comic Book Day ReportsThis past Saturday, May 3, was Free Comic Book Day across the U.S. and Canada, an event intended to promote comics through local comic book shops. I largely agree with Kevin Boyd that the event should be an opportunity to reach out to the larger community of people who might not venture into comic shops normally or even read comics. This is a great time for local shops to get some free press coverage and lots of potential new customers. With few exceptions, I don't really see this happening. For the most part, the people who show up for this event usually have found out about it in one of their weekly visits to the shop. No press releases are sent out and no outreach or cross-promotion with other organizations is ventured. When I wandered into my own local comic shop around 5 pm to ask how things went, the teenage clerk painting a role-playing model at the large table that takes up the front window of the empty store informed me that most of the free comics vanished in the first hour of the promotion, around 9am, gesturing to a pile of brochures and 3 copies of the VIZ/Shonen Jump giveaway to indicate all that remained. As far as I could tell, the sole message to the outside world that something unique was happening today was a lone poster in the window, competing with the other posters. The events that I heard of before hand include the signings at the Silver Snail and the Beguiling event at the Toronto Public Library (which began at noon). Here are some reports and pictures: Stuart Immonen Jason Truong reports Chris Butcher reports on the Beguiling event Strange Adventures in Halifax got some press A picture of Elfsar in Vancouver Labels: British Columbia, events, free, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Toronto, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, May 01, 2008 Thursday Links
Labels: British Columbia, graphic novels, links, Quebec, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Monday, April 28, 2008 Weekend News and Comment Catch-Up
Labels: Alberta, British Columbia, Calgary, censorship, comics history, copyright, events links, interviews, Ontario, pod casts, Toronto, U.S. superhero franchises, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, April 18, 2008 This Weekend: Vancouver Comics Jamfrom organizer Ed Brisson: When: Saturday, April 19th, 2008. 8pm until midnight. Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, March 27, 2008 In Other Links:  Six links about comics in Canada, sort of: 1. Vancouver cartoonist Steve Rolston profiled. 2. does Booklamp scan comics? 3. Skim creators profiled in the National Post 4. art exhibit makes reference to event that started Canadian comic book scare of the 1950s 5. Scott Tingley's Comics in the Classroom has expanded to a website devoted to comics created by New Brunswick kids: Riverside Reads 6. (top image) Chris Butcher previews the Negative Burn complilation, Growing Up with Comics. The book launched last night. You can see a preview, including images of Waterloo's Carry-On Comics, here. Labels: British Columbia, links, New Brunswick, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Monday, March 24, 2008 Toronto Comic Jam this Tuesday, March 25thFrom coordinator Dalton Sharp:
Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, Ontario, Toronto, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Wednesday, March 19, 2008 Comic Shoppe Talk: Lucky's, Vancouver  This week's interview subject is Gabe Wilder, owner of Lucky's Comics in Vancouver. The store is celebrating its lucky 13th year in 2008! Lucky's is a stalwart of the arts comix scene on the West Coast, with regular gallery shows and special events featuring Canadian cartoonists. Wilder describes his store as "cozy, under 1000 sq. ft. We have a front room gallery behind the front door, a main area with books and comics on shelves and racks, and Lucky's Gallery in the back room (about 200 sq. ft). Opened in 1995, just turned 13 last month. We're located on Main Street in the Mount Pleasant area of Vancouver - it's truly one of the best areas of Vancouver, replete with coffee shops, local designer boutiques, antique shops, and restaurants." My thanks to Gabe for supplying the following thoughtful replies to my standard, boring questions. What is the general age/gender breakdown of your customers? What is the culture of your store? Hard to break precisely, but here goes: probably about 20% boys ages 7 - 13, 10% girls ages 7 - 13, 25% males 18 - 35, 25% females 18 - 35, 20% parents of the boys and girls, usually 35 and older. What do you sell more of by volume, graphic novels (including trades and manga) or monthly comic books (floppies)? We sell vastly more graphic novels than floppies. Do you have a store specialty or area of expertise? What makes your store unique? We focus on work by self-publishers and independent publishers, and within those categories have a good selection of local art books and zines. We are probably somewhat unique for focusing on the aforementioned material, while also selling mainstream graphic novels (Marvel, D.C., Dark Horse), and even some fiction and non-fiction books, and children's books. Our two galleries and the amazing talent displayed in them make us unique, and make us an interesting destination by themselves. For example, right now we have original painted shoe forms from Chris Von Szombathy's FIRE AWAY, and six silkscreens from Owen Plummer's Flip Flop Prophets book (Le Dernier Cri), both in the front gallery (both here in conjunction with book launches); and in the back gallery an installation called The Game of Life, by Ryan McCormick. What do do you sell more of by dollar value? What percentage of your business is comics? What is the state of the back-issue market? Comics and books account for 2/3 or 3/4 of our sales. The state of the back issue market is - nil. I don't sell them in the store currently, mostly because of space considerations. It would make more sense to move that portion of the business online if I had the time and wherewithal to do so. What are your bestselling books? How accurate is the bestseller list on your website? Our bestselling books over the past year (I may be forgetting some here) are: all the Bone books Moomin vol. 1 and 2 Tintin books I Shall Destroy All Civilized Planets by Fletcher Hanks Acme Novelty Library 18 Milk Teeth by Julie Morstad Fire Away by Chris Von Sombathy Nog a Dod, edited by Marc Bell Watchmen by Alan Moore Complete Persepolis In Me Own Words, and Me Write Book, by Graham Roumieu We sell a lot Drawn and Quarterly books, probably more than any other publisher - closely followed by Fantagraphics. The bestseller list on the site is fairly accurate, but usually reflects sales of the last couple of months, not some up to the minute stock ticker. The manga question. We have a small manga section - maybe this will sound strange but I have never had a huge demand for it. We try to carry some classics - Tezuka books, Lone Wolf, newer pop titles like Naruto and Shonen Jump magazine, but that's about it. I admit that I get intimidated to the point of paralysis by the sheer volume of titles available. What do you see as the major trends in graphic novels and comics retailing over the next year? The next 5 years? I don't know about major trends in graphic novels...I don't think it's that easy to pin down. I think the success of Bone has publishers realizing that the age 7 - 13 demographic may not be entirely lost to them, and hopefully there will be some kind of renewed focus on books for young readers. Over the next 5 years I think companies like Picturebox, Fantagraphics, and Drawn and Quarterly, who put great emphasis on high quality production and design, and consistently release creative and interesting works, will thrive and see increased demand for their products in the mass market. And not just these three companies - I think any quality work published by smaller publishers will be increasingly found and embraced by a wider audience. As far as retailing goes, it's a tough gambit, but I think stores can really help themselves by hosting events, building community, welcoming local artists and creators who want to consign books, making sure to stock kid's comics so that under 13 year olds have a reason to visit...I guess those aren't really trends...whatever. Trends - hopefully the trend in retailing is toward welcoming, cleaner and more aromatic shops...and humor, more funnybooks. What comics do you find yourself recommending the most? Different for different people, but...see best seller list above to start. As far as off-beat stuff with wide appeal, I like to recommend Tiempos Finales by Sam Hiti, Fuzz and Pluck by Ted Stearn, Sock Monkey comics by Tony Millionaire, Dogs and Water by Anders Nilsen, Lynda Barry, Chris Ware, most of the First Second line is pretty broadly appealing to comic neophytes...Owly, Korgi, Moomin, Bone, Gon, and Usagi Yojimbo are often recommended for the younger crowd...Red Son, Kingdom Come, Therefore Repent and 1602 seem to sell well to non/new comic readers looking for a fun read. What are your favourite comics? Fuzz and Pluck, Tiempos Finales ... any thing by Gary Panter, Marc Bell, Big Questions, Madman, several of Fantagraphics Ignatz books, like Gipi's Wish You Were Here, Grotesque, and Ganges, Gabrielle Bell's Lucky, all Joe Sacco, David Collier, I'm probably forgetting tons of stuff ... almost forgot Zippy the Pinhead, one of my all-time faves. What comic would you recommend for an 8-year-old girl? Drawing Comics is Easy by Alexa Kitchen, Amelia Rules, Owly, Korgi, Archie comics (gasp!), Little Lulu. I wish there were more.... What comic would you recommend for a 40-year-old urban professional? Most of our graphic novels from D&Q, Fantagraphics, First Second, etc...again depends on the person and what kind of genres they're into. Why are you a comics retailer? It's fun. How important is the web to your business? We use the interwebs to publicize store events through Facebook and Myspace. We've recently redesigned our website, and plan to perform more regular updates on it. Planning to expand this portion of the business ... online commerce and all that. The dollar question. I'm in the "it's about time" camp. We've been charging U.S. price in Canadian for at least a year, so it doesn't really affect us. I personally prefer to just see one U.S. price on the book, and let the Canadian stores work out what they want with the exchange. I'd be surprised if a store wasn't charging at par at this point on all their books...even if you're taking a bit of a loss on older books purchased before the current state of near dollar parity, they're older books, you might as well price them lower to move them. The question for stores is, at what point do you abandon the "at par" policy? What would the repercussions be if $1.00 Cdn bought $1.50 or $2.00 U.S.? Or if it went back down to the old days of $1.00 Cdn buying only 70 cents or less? Seems that if publishers want to play it safe, they should just be putting one (U.S.) price on the book. In these uncertain economic times, who can say where the U.S. dollar will be in 6 months or a year? So to answer your question, the change in the DC pricing policy reflects what Canadian consumers expect anyway, so, it's a good but obvious and necessary move. Vancouver has a thriving comics scene and Lucky's seems to be a big part of that, with gallery shows and signings featuring local artists. How would yu characterize the scene there? Are there any local creators/zines/minicomics that you promote in store? Any upcoming events? The "scene" here is pretty disparate in style, but incredibly friendly, welcoming, and supportive. We promote a lot of local creators/zine/minicomics/artbooks in the store...some favorites are Owen Plummer, Ben Jacques, Jo Cook's Hell Passport series, Jason McLean, Radar Friends, Laura Eveleigh, Niles Armstrong's Heavy Humans out of Portland, Cometbus, check out islandsfold.com for great books from Luke Ramsey...lots more. Upcoming launch for a book by Billy Mavreas called inside outside overlap: a boy priest and lifeform the "cat" adventure. New gallery shows in the back room every month - openings usually on the first Friday. Lucky's Comics 3972 Main St. Vancouver, BC, Canada V5V 3P2 www.luckys.ca gabe@luckys.ca Labels: British Columbia, comics retailers, comicshoptalk, graphic novels, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Monday, March 17, 2008 Colin Upton Needs Cheering Up  A bad week for Mr. Big Thing, aka Vancouver cartoonist Colin Upton. He got turned down for a Canada Council grant and then he got some crappy medical news. In Other News:
Labels: blogosphere, British Columbia, comics on film, comics on tv, Edmonton, graphic novels, publishing, reviews, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Saturday, March 15, 2008 Sunday: Vancouver ComiconVancouver Comicon Sunday, March 16th, 2008 11am to 5pm Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street (corner of Main and 15th Ave) Guests include Kaare Andrews, Steve Rolston. Admission: $3.00 Kids under 14: Free! Labels: British Columbia, conventions, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Tonite: Vancouver Comix JamWhen: Saturday, March 15th, 2008. 8pm until midnight. Where: Clubhouse Japanese Restaurant Upstairs in the back 255 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver Who: Anyone who is of legal drinking age is invited. How Much: Free. Bring your own pencils/pens. Paper is provided. To be added to the VCJ mailing list, email edbrisson[at]gmail[dot]com Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, March 13, 2008 In Other NewsXtra profiles Zdenky Burkhardt and Jody Jollimore, the creators of Vick Vancouver, an interactive youtube video series inspired by graphic novels like Maus. Xtra also interviews Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, creators of the Skim graphic novel. Publishers Weekly interviews Jeff Lemire about his Essex County trilogy of graphic novels and the importance of hockey to a cartoonist growing up near Detroit. Johanna Draper Carlson reports on DC matching their Canadian cover price to the U.S. price. As one of her comments notes (and as Sequential noted awhile ago), this is mostly an anticlimactic move, as most Canadian retailers have been selling U.S. comic books at par since late last year. Labels: British Columbia, comics retailers, dollar, graphic novels, Vancouver, video - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, February 29, 2008 In Production: Gustav Hayes by Morgan JeskeVancouver web start-up Zeros 2 Heroes asserts that it is publishing its first comic book, a post-apocalyptic adventure called Gustav Hayes written by first-timer Morgan Jeske. From the press release: Zeros 2 Heroes Media is currently producing Gustav Hayes from Winnipeg creator Morgan Jeske. Jeske is working with editors and artists provided by Zeros 2 Heroes Media to bring his comic to life on the page. Labels: British Columbia, Manitoba, pr, publishing, Vancouver, webcomics, Winnipeg - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, February 22, 2008 Tonite: Fire Away, VancouverFriday, February 22 Lucky’s Comics Main Street, Vancouver 7PM Chris von Szombathy launches his new Drawn & Quarterly book, Fire Away. Labels: book launches, British Columbia, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, February 21, 2008 Tonite: Sleazy Slice Launch, Vancouver  Feb 21 Fox Porn Theatre, Vancouver Robin Bougie is launching a trio of projects tonight, including the second issue of the adults only Sleazy Slice comics anthology, featuring work by Bougie, S.H.K, David Paleo, S.C.A.R, Putrid, and more. Also on offer is the latest issue of Cinema Sewer, the Bougie-edited zine devoted to adult film. Labels: anthologies, book launches, British Columbia, events, Vancouver, zines - Stumble It! - 0 comments Zeros 2 Heroes UpdateThe Vancouver-based social networking site and webcomics idea factory Zeros 2 Heroes recently picked their fourth weekly winner in its ongoing webcomic pitch popularity contest, "Canada: Comic Creation Nation". In related news, the first such pitch to be chosen for actual production is described in the following Press Release: Vancouver, British Columbia (February 11, 2008) – After a month of (see previous stories about this company) Labels: British Columbia, pr, Vancouver, webcomics - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, February 15, 2008 This Weekend: Vancouver Comix JamFrom Ed Brisson:
Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Monday, February 11, 2008 Things to See and Read: Monday
Labels: British Columbia, cartoonists, graphic novels, interviews, Ontario, Quebec, reviews, Toronto, Vancouver, webcomics - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, January 25, 2008 This Weekend: Small Press Expo VancouverSat Jan 26 1-5 pm Small Press Comic Expo Jem Gallery, 225 East Broadway Vancouver http://www.inkstuds.com/?p=250 Labels: British Columbia, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Tuesday, January 22, 2008 Vancouver Roundup: Inkstuds, et alLots of Inkstuds-related posts around these days: First, go listen to the latest Inkstuds podcast, featuring Jeet Heer, Dan Nadel, and Tom Spurgeon. The subject is "Comics as Art" (as opposed to what? "Comics as Dirt?" "Comics as Nature?") and aside from late appearances by two of the 3 guests and some laissez faire moderating, it is an fun hour of listening pleasure. Jeet has the summary. Second, the Inkstuds gallery show opened last Friday. Reports are here, here, here, here, and here Labels: British Columbia, events, exhibits, pod casts, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, January 18, 2008 This Weekend: Vancouver Comic JamThe January Vancouver Comic Jam will be taking place at the JEM Gallery (255 East Broadway) as part of the Ink Studs art show on Saturday, January 19th. The Jam will return to the Clubhouse Restaurant from February onward. When: Saturday, January 19th, 2007. 7pm until late. Where: Jem Gallery, 255 East Broadway, Vancouver (Broadway, between Main and Kingsway) Who: Anyone who is of legal drinking age is invited. How Much: Free. Bring your own pencils/pens. Paper is provided. Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments This Weekend: Vancouver ComiconVancouver Comicon Sunday, January 20th, 2008 11am to 5pm Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street (corner of Main and 15th Ave) Admission: $3.00 Kids under 14: Free! * Camilla d'Errico (Nightmares and Fairytales, Avril Lavigne's Make 5 Wishes) * Philip Barrett (Matter) * Stephanie Blakey (Comics by Steph) * Ken Boesem (The Village) * Robin Bougie (Cinema Sewer) * Jonathan Dalton (Lords of Death and Life, Fablewood) * Laura Eveleigh (Little Illustrated Books) * Kelly Everaert (Trilogy of Terror) * Maxine Frank (Maximum Superexcitement) * Donald King * Carrie McKay * Mike Myhre (Space Jet Comics) * Robin Thompson (Champions of Hell, Hemp Island) * Beth Wagner (Isaac and Lee, Forest Through the Trees) * Critical Hit Comics Labels: British Columbia, conventions, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Tonite: Insktuds Opening  Celebrating 2 years of the Inkstuds podcast, an exhibit of comic art at the Jem gallery in Vancouver. It starts tonight with an opening party. Be sure to swing by for the art show opening on Friday, January 18th. The show features artwork from the following local comic folks: Phil Barrett, Marc Bell, Joseph Bergin III, Jordyn Bochon, David Boswell, Robin Bougie, Ed Brisson, Rebecca Dart, Ted Dave, Sean Esty, Gareth Gaudin, Pia Guerra, Don King, Robin Konstabaris, George Metzger, Mike Myhre , Julian Lawrence, Miriam Libicki, James Lloyd, Steve Rolston, Ron Turner, Jason Turner and Colin Upton. Labels: art show, British Columbia, events, exhibits, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, January 17, 2008 2008 Convention ScheduleBelow is a rough draft of the 2008 Convention Schedule for all comics and comics-related conventions in Canada. Sequential will hopefully be issuing several of these updated schedules throughout the year, as well as promoting the individual events as they occur. If you have any additions or corrections, please email us. Sequential is interested in all comics-related events that take place across the country and we will do our best to link to your event, even if it is only a relatively tiny, single-day collectibles show in a small town. Please let us know. 2008 Conventions Wintercon (anime event) Jan 19-20, 2008 University Education building, University of Alberta, Edmonton http://www.bakaclub.com/news.php http://www.bakaclub.com/con1.php more Vancouver Comicon Sunday, January 20th, 2008 11am to 5pm Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street (corner of Main and 15th Ave) http://mypage.uniserve.ca/~lswong/Comicon.html Toronto Comicon Feb 3, 2008 Metro Toronto Convention Centre http://www.hobbystar.com/hobbystar/ConventionsPoster_20080203.html Animaritime March 7-8, 2008 Delta Beausejour hotel, Moncton, New Brunswick http://www.animaritime.org/index.html Toronto Anime Con March 15-16, 2008 Metro Toronto Convention Centre http://www.hobbystar.com/hobbystar/Conventions.html March 16 -- Vancouver Comicon Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street (corner of Main and 15th Ave) http://mypage.uniserve.ca/~lswong/Comicon.html Winnipeg Comic and Toy Expo March 30th, 2008 Canad Inns Fort Garry 10am - 5pm Admission $2.00 http://manitobacomiccon.com/index.php Edmonton Pop Culture Fair Sunday, March 30, 2008 10 am to 4:30 pm Edmonton Aviation Heritage Centre 11410 Kingsway Avenue http://www.popculturefair.com/ Toronto ComiCON Annual Fan Appreciation Event Metro Toronto Convention Centre http://www.hobbystar.com/hobbystar/Conventions.html April 12-13, 2008 Montreal Toy Con Sunday, May 4th, 2008 10am to 5pm COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT MONTREAL AIRPORT 7000 Place Robert-Joncas St-Laurent, QC http://site.toysonfire.com/montreal_toy_con/montrealtoycon.html Anime North May 23-25, 2008 Doubletree International Plaza Hotel Toronto Congress Center Renaissance Toronto Airport Hotel http://www.animenorth.com/index.php May 25 -- Vancouver Comicon Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street (corner of Main and 15th Ave) http://mypage.uniserve.ca/~lswong/Comicon.html July 6 -- Vancouver Comicon Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street (corner of Main and 15th Ave) http://mypage.uniserve.ca/~lswong/Comicon.html Paradise Toronto Comicon July 12-13, 2008 Holiday Inn on King Street http://torontocomicon.com/ Montreal Comicon June 15, 2008 http://www.majorcomics.safeshopper.com/ - site may be down? [google cash and myspace] mtlcomiconATyahoo.ca Fan Expo Canada August 22-24, 2008 Metro Toronto Convention Centre http://www.hobbystar.com/hobbystar/Conventions.html August 24 -- Comix & Stories, Vancouver Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street (corner of Main and 15th Ave) http://mypage.uniserve.ca/~lswong/Comicon.html September 7 -- Vancouver Comicon Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street (corner of Main and 15th Ave) http://mypage.uniserve.ca/~lswong/Comicon.html Montreal Comicon Sept 13-14, 2008 http://www.majorcomics.safeshopper.com/ VCON Vancouver’s Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Gaming Convention October 19-21 Radison President Hotel, 8181 Cambie Road, Richmond, BC http://www.vcon.ca/ November 16 -- Vancouver Comicon Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street (corner of Main and 15th Ave) http://mypage.uniserve.ca/~lswong/Comicon.html Labels: Alberta, British Columbia, conventions, Edmonton, events, manga, Manitoba, Moncton, New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg - Stumble It! - 0 comments Wednesday, January 09, 2008 2007 in Review2007 in Review by Bryan Munn 2007 was a great year to be following the world of comics and comic art. It was also frustrating. Great because there was so much going on: edition after edition of beautiful comics from young cartoonists and re-issues of classic material from the best cartoonists of days gone by. Frustrating for almost exactly the same reason: it is very hard to keep up with all that is going on in the world that can be classified as "comics" --be it comic strips, magazine and editorial cartooning, European comics, manga, graphic novels, memoirs and reportage, and everything else. I find the entire world of cartooning and the culture of comics readers and fans fascinating and some days it is all I can do to absorb a few panels and snippets of news, let alone keep up with all the comics reading I want to do. At Sequential, we try to stay on top of the Canadian dimension of comics by monitoring how comics stories are reported in the mainstream Canadian media (newspapers, tv and magazines), as well as how comics are covered in the specialized niche world of fan media, including zines, podcasts, comics news sites and blogs. By linking to these stories, and by passing along news and announcements about upcoming projects and events from individual cartoonists and publishers, we hope to help create an overall picture of the vibrant culture of comics in this country. The picture that emerged this past year is a large and sprawling composite panorama, with very few details accurately sketched-in. Many of the 2007 entries at Sequential resemble long checklists or snapshots rather than full reports --an indication of the great variety and number of comics news stories that find their way to the net in some form or another these days. So, to help get a handle on some of the major threads, Sequential presents "The Year in Review." Top Trends and Newsmakers There were several major stories that were tracked at Sequential in 2007. What follows is a list if the people and trends that had the greatest impact on comics culture in Canada. Stories not included in this list, but nevertheless worth revisiting, include the trial to decide ownership of a collection of original art created by the late Ben Wicks; the evolution of fan culture in Canada, from the growth in cosplay to the big changes in the Toronto convention scene; the continued growth of the graphic novel market to the point where it seems impossible to keep up with the new GNs being published (or even to read all the reviews in the newspapers! --there were hundreds of blog posts at Sequential tagged with the graphic novel label). One story that affected me personally was the closing of Now and Then Books, the long-running comic book shop that was an early champion of comic art and the source of a large number of my own favourite comics experiences. An important story, but not the most important. Here are the top 6 trends and newsmakers:  1. Lynn Johnston Lynn Johnston was the biggest cartoonist newsmaker of 2007. Other cartoonists cut big deals, published books, and had great reviews, but Johnston remained the most financially successful and popular comics artist in the country. Besides riding the top of the bestseller lists with her book collections and being among the most widely syndicated comic strip cartoonists in the WORLD, the news of the radical changes Johnston planned to implement in her strip For Better or For Worse had a thunderous impact on the world of comics. When after 26 years of producing one of the most popular international comics strips, Johnston announced her semi-retirement and the re-formatting of the strip into a "greatest hits" with new framing devices, the her fans and even general readers were alternately baffled, amazed, and saddened. In addition, her decision to wrap-up the various story threads of the strip, freezing the characters in time, had the same effect. Most notoriously, Johnston wound up the long courtship of Elizabeth and Anthony, provoking much internet discussion and criticism. Everyone had something to say about Johnston in 2007, and her professional decisions and personal life gave us much to talk about (Johnston and her husband Rod Johnston announced their separation in September). Even Dave Sim couldn't hold back the love, blessing us with a blog post on the similarities between For Better or for Worse and Cerebus.  2. Manga, or Japanese Cultural Imperialism in Canada 2007 was the year translated Japanese comics continued to rule the graphic novel bestseller charts in Canada. Spearheaded by VIZ's Naruto campaign and aided by the broadcast of several key anime series by kid-centric channels like YTV and Teletoon, manga had a huge presence in chain bookstores and comic shops. According to some sources, manga accounts for roughly two-thirds of graphic novel sales in the U.S. and Canada. The industry seems to be dominated by VIZ (distributed in Canada by Simon & Schuster), but several other publishers, most notably Tokyopop, own large chunks of the manga sales pie. Canadian publishers also joined the fray in 2007. Drawn and Quarterly had continued success with the work of Yoshihiro Tatsumi: Abandon the Old in Tokyo won a Harvey Award and more volumes are planned (D+Q also plans to publish the work of Seiichi Hayashi in 2008). As well, UDON continued to publish successful versions of several anime and video game properties in addition to launching a new line of Manwha/translated Korean comics. Demented Dragon, a relatively young start-up, has also entered the manga publishing waters. The trend of publishing Japanese-style comics by Western cartoonists, known as "Original English Language" manga (OEL) continued to grow. Besides the manga-influenced stylings of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series, Kitchener, Ontario's Svetlana Chmakova lead the pack with several new publishing deals and the continued success of her Dramacon series of graphic novels. Dramacon chronicles the romantic experiences of a group of con-goers and it is perhaps at the convention level where manga's influence in Canada is most felt: the popularity of the aforementioned cosplay, wherein young fans dress as their favourite anime and manga characters, has all but eclipsed the traditional superhero or Star Trek costume as the clothing of choice at comic book conventions across the country. The social aspect of cosplay, not to mention the huge amount of material targeted at a female audience (shoujo/yaoi), has also increased the number of young women and girls who read comics --something traditional Western comics and graphic novels have not really been able to do for years. (see all entries with manga tag)  3. Quebec BD and translations It seems like there were more original Canadian graphic novels published in French than ever before in 2007. According to Michel Viau, there were 86 albums published in Quebec in 2006 and I expect that number to be much larger when the results come in for 2007. At the very least, the record 10 albums published by Mecanique Generale and 6 albums published by La Pasteque represent something of a high-water mark in terms of volume, presentation, artistry, and love of comics. In addition to the large number of wonderful-looking French-language comics published in Quebec in 2007, the year saw several prominent cartoonists receive top-notch translation treatment. Following the successful translations of Michel Rabagliati aand Guy Delisle, D+Q published Pascal Blanchet's award-winning White Rapids and the book has enjoyed brisk sales and rapturous reviews in the English press. Condundrum Press broached the translation market with its BDAng imprint, featuring editions by Line Gamache and Richard Suicide. Even France's venerable indie outfit L'Association got into the action with an (albeit non-tranlated) anthology of work by Henriette Valium. Quebec, and especially Montreal, sometimes seem to have a more thriving scene, with a social aspect and a higher proportion of zine and art comics production than the rest of English Canada put together.  4. Webcomics Publishing comics on the web seems to be the safest and easiest way to present comic art to the widest variety of people these days. Certainly, the number of people who surf the web is much larger than the number of people who might stumble across your minicomic, zine, or graphic novel in a comic book shop or independant bookstore. Hence, the webcomics phenomenon. For example, 2007 was the year that the Shuster Awards recognized webcomics with a separate category (Dan Kim was the winner). Comic strips and comics books continue to migrate to the web, with several webcomics also making the transition to print in newspapers and book collections. U.S. cartoonist Nicholas Gurewitch's Perry Bible Fellowship webcomic was a bestseller as a book collection on the Chapters-Indigo and Amazon.ca graphic novel list, while Marvel Comics made a poorly-received attempt at archiving old comics online. As well, 2007 saw a further consolidation of webcomics publishing, as cartoonists continued to move out of the wilderness of indy webcomics and the myspace/comicspace social networks for the relative collective/protective safety of umbrella sites and large syndicates. While established cartoonists like Stuart Immonen could carve out a space online for their comics work, younger artists sought out venues through larger forums like DC Comics Zuda or the Vancouver start-up Zeroes 2 Heroes. The debut of Transmission X, a collective of Toronto area cartoonists who have already established themselves in print comics and illustration (similar to the Act-I-Vate crowd in the U.S.), and the general high quality of the serialized work being produced by the collective, perhaps points the way to the future of webcomics. (see all webcomics tags)  5. Classic Reprints 2007 also saw several reprint projects launched, exploring and celebrating the heritage of Canadian comics culture. Coming in for special attention was Laurence Hyde, a cartoonist and filmmaker who began his career in the socialist press of the 1930s. Hyde's 1950s anti-nuclear woodcut novel Southern Cross was reprinted twice: it was reprinted in full by Drawn and Quaterly and was also included in a bestselling anthology of woodcut novels edited by George Walker, Graphic Witness. In addition to the La Pasteque's reprints of the Red Ketchup series, plans are in the work to reprint several other Canadian cartoonists of the past, most notably a two volume edition dedicated to Doug Wright, due from D+Q in 2008. D+Q also forged ahead with its ongoing projects, including Moomin, the Gasoline Alley series and Clare Briggs' Oh Skinnay! (these last 2 edited by Jeet Heer). The history of Canadian comics was also celebrated in John Bell's Invaders from the North, a colourful overview of comics in Canada, based on years of collecting and research by the dean of Canadian comics historians. As a nice coda to Bell's book, the U.S. fanzine Alter Ego reprinted the classic 1970s history, The Great Canadian Comic Books.  6. The Dollar The Canadian and world economy were a top comics story in 2007. The value of the U.S. dollar relative to Canada's had a huge impact on prices, although U.S. book and comic publishers were slow to respond to these changes, leading to some creative merchandising on the part of booksellers and comic shop owners and complaints from readers. Several schemes were suggested by retailers and bloggers and prices are beginning to stabilize to reflect the more-or-less dollar parity that should prevail for the next half year, at least. The U.S. economy in general is heading for a down-turn, with some predicting a recession for 2008. The war in Iraq, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, and other aspects of Empire, are some of the bigger drags on the shared Canada-U.S. economy that mean bad news for consumers in the new year. Illustration gigs, publishing deals, and book sales may suffer in the long run. The world of comics printing is already in for a change, as the ongoing Quebecor saga demonstrates. Sequential tried to take the pulse of the changing comics retail trade in 2007 with a series of Comic Shoppe Talks and regular convention round-ups. Attempts were also made to track bestsellers. We will be interested to learn how the dollar effects the business in 2008. (see all comics retailers tags) ------------- General Overview and Summary Publishing Graphic novel publishing in Canada continued to grow in 2007, with several new imprints entering the fray. Established stalwart Drawn and Quarterly continued to lead the way, with a number of bestselling and award-winning graphic novels by Canadian, U.S., and international creators to its credit. Well-received volumes published by D+Q included Exit Wounds, by the Israeli cartoonist Rutu Modan, Shortcomings (Adrian Tomine, USA) reprints of Moomin comic strip (Tove Jansson, Finland), and Abandon the Old in Tokyo (Tatsumi, Japan). D+Q's stable of Canadian cartoonists also had a good year: 2007 saw new books from Julie Doucet, Guy Delisle, and Pascal Blanchet. As well, Seth polished off his high-profile George Sprott serial for the New York Times. Large Canadian publishers and distributors continue to benefit from the manga craze (but ventured into the graphic novel wilds with a few books) while new books from Cumulus Press, Pedlar Press and a host of self-publishers, zinesters, and webcomics types kept up the indie spirit. Quebec publishers Mecanique Generale, La Pasteque, L'Oie de Cravan, and Conundrum Press issued a record number of books in 2007 (see #3 in the Top Trends list above). New work by Delisle, Blanchet, Jimmy B., Leif Tande and PhlppGrrd were some of the highlights of BDQ in 2007. Outside the world of graphic novels, the few publishers of U.S.-style comic books in Canada were basically silent in 2007: Dreamwave continues to be a non-starter and Mr. Comics has severely curtailed it's publishing compared to 2006, with no changes to their website since August. Ditto the most recent incarnation of Captain Canuck, whose newest series seemed to just fade away in 2007.  Awards It's a measure of the general popularity of comics that graphic novels now find themselves nominated for mainstream book prizes. In June, The Jack Chisvin Family Award in Holocaust Memoir/Literature was awarded to I Was A Child of Holocaust Survivors by Bernice Eisenstein (McClelland & Stewart). However, the majority of prizes handed out to Canadian comics and creators in 2007 came from within the comics readership and fan communities. (all awards tags) Passages  Several cartoonists passed away in 2007, ranging from the tragically very young to older Giants of the North. Please join with us in bidding a final fond farewell to these artists.
Here's to a productive and fun comics year in 2008! (images copyright Lynn Johnston, Svetlana Chmakova, Catherine Lepage, Cameron Stewart, Graeme MacKay, & Seth) Labels: analysis, British Columbia, Lynn Johnston, Ontario, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 1 comments Monday, December 31, 2007 Happy New Year!  Sequential predicts: 2008 will be great! Lots of great comics, lots of bad comics, and lots of dopey internet blather about both! One last go around: Some quick links about comics in Canada.
Murphy and Krieger were told by Province management that their cartoons would no longer be regularly published on the editorial pages of The Province, they were offered other positions at the newspaper as well as the option of leaving the employ of The Province with buy-out payments. Happy New Year, Sequential readers! Sequential will return sometime in 2008 with new features and our year-end wrap-up. (top: image by Pascal Blanchet from Saturday's National Post) Labels: blogosphere, British Columbia, comics retailers, graphic novels, political cartooning, U.S. superhero franchises, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, December 14, 2007 Saturday: Vancouver Comics JamThis weekend marks the 3rd anniversary of the Vancouver Comics Jam, Congratulations from Sequential! From Ed Brisson: December's jam marks three long years since we started the first comic jam. The jam has outlasted two of its past venues even. When: Saturday, December 15th, 2007. 8pm until midnight. I've reserved the upstairs room at the Clubhouse Japanese Restaurant for the Jam. Crosspost as you see fit. Don't forget to check out the official VCJ site at: http://vancouvercomicjam.com/ Past jams posted here: http://community.livejournal.com/vcj/See you there! Ed Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, December 13, 2007 D+Q has Permalinks!  Wow, it seemed like for a while there, even though someone at the D+Q blog would post interesting stuff about events, art, and cartoonists, I wouldn't bother to link to it since there were no permalinks and you had to scroll down the page to see anything. Now D+Q has two blogs, a general publishing blog and one for their store. Lots of great stuff to see at both, like the R.Suicide/Elizabeth Belliveau launch photos, links to a Pascal Blanchet interview with Jian Ghomeshi, a list of the top 10 bestselling comics at the D+Q store, etc, etc. in other comic book news:
Despite gay marriage and other actions, Canadian customs officers have been quietly but systematically blocking U.S.-made erotica. Their actions have had the effect of severely limiting free speech. Lest you think this is only about curtailing the masturbatory options of law-abiding Canadians and wreaking havoc on the profit margin of of the sex-industry, it is, in fact, a broad assault on civil liberties that should worry people on both sides of the extensive border." (image: Richard Suicide's My Life as a Foot) Labels: blogosphere, British Columbia, censorship, graphic novels, manga, political cartooning, Quebec, reviews, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Tuesday, December 11, 2007 Tonite: Julie Morstad MILK TEETH Book Launch  Lucky's Comics in Vancouver is hosting the launch of MILK TEETH, by Julie Morstad, part of the Drawn and Quarterly Petits Livres series of small art books. Tuesday, December 11th, 6:00 PM Book launch and etchings on display Lucky's Comics 3972 Main Street Vancouver, BC Milk Teeth is a collection of illustrations by Vancouver artist Julie Morstad. Morstad spins fairy tales infused with dreamlike innocence and a touch of the macabre. Milk Teeth's universe, populated by animals, flowers, peculiar objects and disembodied heads, has a sensibility reminiscent of Marcel Dzama's surreal drawings, Jeffrey Eugenides' haunting novel The Virgin Suicides, and Peter Weir's classic film Picnic at Hanging Rock. See a preview at the D+Q site here. Morstad is a 2004 graduate of the Alberta College of Art and Design. She has done illustrations for The Globe & Mail, Warner Brothers Records, Bust, and The Walrus. Her work has been shown in galleries, featured on the cover of Neko Case's 2006 album Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, and developed into a line of patterned wallpapers with a distinctive nostalgic quality. Morstad lives and works in Vancouver and divides her time between drawing, illustration, animation and design. Lucky's Comics: 604.875.9858 D+Q: 514.279.0691 Labels: Alberta, book launches, British Columbia, events, exhibits, graphic novels, publishing, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, November 29, 2007 Shahid Mahmood Update: Human Rights ComplaintCanadian cartoonist Shahid Mahmood has filed a Human Rights Complaint against Air Canada. The complaint is the result of his continued inability to get answers about why he is on an Air Canada/government no-fly list. (Globe/Canadian Press). (CBC). From a report of the press conference by InsideToronto's Lisa Rainford: At a press conference Tuesday morning at the law offices of Bakerlaw, at Christie and Dupont streets, Mahmood and his lawyer Nicole Chrolavicius, announced they would be filing a human rights complaint against Air Canada over the country's unofficial No-Fly list. Labels: British Columbia, Ontario, political cartooning, Quebec, real world, Shahid Mahmood, Toronto, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thirsty Thursday 
Labels: awards, British Columbia, charity, exhibits, Global Links, graphic novels, interviews, Lynn Johnston, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Wednesday, November 28, 2007 Midweek Meanderings
None of the three mascots actually exist in real life. Miga the Sea Bear is a combination of an orca and a sea otter. Sumi, the Paralympic mascot, is a Thunderbird but looks more like a bear with wings. And Quatchi is the first Sasquatch in history to actually make an appearance before human beings. Labels: blogosphere, British Columbia, comic strips, Global Links, graphic novels, mascots, Ontario, publishing, Toronto, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Monday, November 19, 2007 Keeping Track, One Boring News Item at a TimeLooking over the links to news and reviews about people who create sequential cartoon images and/or static caricatures reveals a short list of interest to loyal Sequential readers. Seemingly no-one published the great Canadian graphic novel over the weekend. But then again, nobody ever does. 1. Halifax policart Michael deAdder has a new book of cartoons out, according to this Daily News profile. de Book is published by the Daily News and features 88 pages culled from the artists distinctive brand of daily craft and bile: his finest work, including a depiction of Bert and Ernie heading to Canada for a gay marriage, and Premier Rodney MacDonald living rent-free and playing video games in his parents' house - after getting a substantial raise. 2. Cartoonist Norm Muffit remembers daredevil pilot, Flying Bandit "Willy" Laserich, and a time when crawing a cartoon could jeopardize a plum government job: Northern News Services cartoonist Norm Muffitt, a former RCMP officer, pilot and Transport Canada official, remembers the controversy well. He drew many a cartoon in support of Laserich, which made for an uncomfortable moment when applying for an enforcement job with Transport Canada. 3. Writing for the Vancouver Courier, Shawn Conner reviews a trio of the latest contenders for great Canadian graphic novel status: White Rapids, Southern Cross, and Therefore Repent, by Sequential's own Salgood Sam. (link via BDQ) 4. Pierre-Luc Gagnon reviews two new French-language graphic novels by Leif Tande that had their debut at this past weekend's Salon du livre de Montreal. Great Canadian Graphic Novels (GCGN)? Time, and translation, will tell. Labels: British Columbia, events, graphic novels, Halifax, links, misc, Nova Scotia, political cartooning, Quebec, reviews, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, November 16, 2007 This Weekend: Vancouver Comics JamEd Brisson writes:
Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Monday, October 22, 2007 Weekend RoundupSome news items from the world of Canadian comic books and graphic novels: 1. Chris Oliveros is profiled by the Montreal Mirror on the occasion of the launch of the D+Q store and the translation of Pascal Blanchet's White Rapids. 2. Shawn Houde covers the comics price war in Winnipeg as the Canadian dollar continues to trounce its wimpy U.S. nemesis. 3. This past Saturday was 24-Hour Comics Day. An example: from Elfsar Comics in Vancouver. Please send your reports, links and comics to Sequential. 4. Chester Brown auction ends tonite! 5. Trampoline Hall: Comics stenography is tonight! Come see a phalanx of Toronto's top cartooning talents record the proceedings of Toronto's top literary salon. Labels: British Columbia, links, Manitoba, Quebec, Vancouver, Winnipeg - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, October 19, 2007 Vancouver Jam vs 24 Hr Comix Dayvia Ed Brisson: it's two days until the jam and I have still not been able to secure a venue. I've followed up on all of the leads that have been sent my way but none have panned out - either the place is already booked or they have some sort of event going on already. Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Saturday, October 13, 2007 Vancouver Comix Jam Looks Elsewherevia Ed Brisson: Ugh. Labels: British Columbia, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Tuesday, October 09, 2007 Word on the Street RoundupSome reports from the various Word on the Street events from last week. I spent a fun 2 hours at the Toronto event myself. Brad Mackay and I talked onstage about cartoonists from Canada's past. Later, we watched Chester Brown talk about the series of strips he did for the Live with Culture program. Chester created a zombie romance comic that is currently being serialized in NOW magazine --his first new published work in a while! Chester is very funny and it's too bad that the Live with Culture hierarchy nixed putting his strip on giant banners around the city (the banners they are currently using have generic clip-art style images on them). I also took in the panel on artist/writer collaborations hosted by Chris Butcher. Writers Jim Munroe and Ray Fawkes talked about divvying up the cash and riding herd on artists, while artist Willow Dawson talked about how not to waste a cartoonist's time if you have a pitch to make. This panel was a real eye-opener for me in the sense that there were people (wannabe published writers, mostly) actually taking notes and asking questions about how to meet cartoonists, etc. Butcher is a good host for these sorts of events and kept the ball rolling smoothly. Most of the talks at the Comics and Graphic Novels tent had a fair crowd of between 25 and 50 people. The Beguiling had a book table set up as well as its own tent where artists were doing signings, as did several comics publishers. 1. The Transmission X gang in Halifax. 2. Some great photos. 3. Chip Zdarsky's credentials story. 4. Bad vibes. 5. The Boytoons gang in Vancouver. 5. Jason Turner at Word Under the Street. 6. Colin Upton's report. Labels: British Columbia, events, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Toronto, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, September 28, 2007 This Weekend: Word on the StreetThis Sunday, September 30th, at the Word on the Street literary festival, a sort of mini comics festival is taking place. Last weekend, the Halifax event hosted J. Torres, Mike Lobel, Scott Chantler, Darwyn Cooke & Steven McNiven. This week, both Vancouver and Toronto host comics-themed events. 1. In Vancouver, the Word Under the Street event is a zine and comics fair. The show has been relocated to the front of the Canada Post Main Post Office building, at the corner of Homer and Georgia Streets, across the street from Library Square. 2. In Toronto, The Comics and Graphic Novels Tent features appearances by Chris Butcher, Peter Birkemoe, Chip Zdarsky, Kagan McLeod, Mark Asquith, Eric Kim, Svetlana Chmakova, Noel Tuazon, Jim Munroe, Chester Brown, Ray Fawkes, Willow Dawson, Csott Chantler, Jeff Lemire, Zach Worton, Ty Templeton, Jim Zubkavich, Ryan North, John Martz, and Nadine Lessio. Also on the agenda, the Brad and Bryan Show, wherein "comics historians" Brad MacKay and Bryan Munn (ahem) offer up 30 minutes of Canadian Comics History in a chatty, informal session, hopefully abetted by some pretty pictures. The event takes place at Queens Park. Labels: British Columbia, events, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Toronto, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Saturday, September 22, 2007 Jim Munroe's on the road: Vancouver - Toronto + the Ample Free Sample ContestED:max:Ok, doing a little self promo, pardon my tangled web... The Rapture is spreading Jim Munroe's on the road
Write your own story with my art, maybe win a copy of the book....? Hey sinners.  So Jim's cracked up a fun idea for a contest!....the following is from his site....The first third of Therefore Repent! - 60 pages - is now available for your browsing pleasure. So are you Game? I'd love to see what you can come up with... Cheers Max Labels: book launches, British Columbia, can-con, contest, digital comics, events, graphic novels, new books, Ontario, preview, Toronto, Vancouver, webcomics - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, September 13, 2007 Vancouver Comix Jam: CancelledFrom Ed Brisson, organizer in chief of the Vancouver Comic Jam: Hey folks, Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Wednesday, August 29, 2007 Zeroes2Heroes Update  We linked to T. Campbell's criticisms of Vancouver start-up Zeroes2Heroes.com last week. I'm sure the main question many observers have been asking based on the press releases and what is on the site so far, since it differs from existing webcomics business models (if only in the scope of its ambitions) is how (and for what) this company will pay creators and who gets the rights for what is created. Campbell now has a podcast of his interview with z2h president Matthew Toner and some clarifications on his blog. Zeroes2Heroes has quite a few big plans involving user participation and Toner mentions the youtube model alot in the podcast. He talks about the Comic Creation Nation project as a way for "undiscovered writers" who may not have considered comics to get a "foot in the door" as published writers by entering a project selection derby and then getting an artist, paid by z2h, to produce a comic. The company has already received money from Telefilm Canada, the federal government granting agency that helps finance most of the tv and movies in this country, to produce these comics, apparently. So at least the project will be a paying gig for whatever professional artists are chosen to illustrate the contest winners. From the website: "Zeros 2 Heroes' first comic creation campaign -- Canada: Comic Creation Nation -- will effectively make the company Canada's largest online publisher of comics. Canada: Comic Creation Nation will use social media techniques to identify, qualify and create 30 to 50 new suitable for development as feature films, television series, direct-to-DVD animation and --of course-- comic books." As for rights, it sounds from the podcast like the company wants to act only as a marketing agent or manager for comics creators, big and small, helping out with signings, products, and maybe "micro-loans" perhaps financed by Telefilm or private sector production companies/publishers (maybe for a share of the back end or rights, it's still unclear --hopefully Sequential can clarify this soon). As for the company's website, it claims that creators of the Comic Creation Nation project retain rights while agreeing to a fifty-fifty split of profits, with no promises made if the resulting webcomic is optioned as a movie, etc. And the "standard" contract the company is offering seems only available for perusal by those who are chosen by z2h's "community" when the contest ends October 31st. (In Sequential's experience, there is no such thing as a standard contract: everything is negotiable and having a lawyer or agent look at any document you sign is always a good idea). Labels: British Columbia, creator's rights, let's get technical, Vancouver, webcomics - Stumble It! - 2 comments Friday, August 24, 2007 This Weekend: Comix and Stories, Vancouver  The annual Vancouver small-press and art comix convention, Comix & Stories takes place this Sunday, August 26 at Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street. Admission: $3.00 From the Georgia Straight:
(top image: Miriam Libicki's Jobnik!) Labels: British Columbia, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, August 16, 2007 Vancouver Comic Jam: Saturday, August 18The Vancouver Jam has been moved up from the 25th to the 18th: What: Vancouver Comic Jam. Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Tuesday, August 14, 2007 Geppi Auctions Part of Vancouver CollectionThe Globe covers the auction last week of some comics unearthed in a Mystery Hoard TM found in Vancouver several years ago. Vanouver antiques dealer Chris dealer bought the collection of comics in 1996 and sold it to Steve Geppi, owner of Diamond Comics, for half a million dollars. Last week Geppi dumped his doubles through Heritage Auctions. Bell had discovered the comics while searching an estate sale for antiques and collectibles suitable for his shop, Affordable 2nd Thoughts. Bell believes that the deceased owner of the items had once owned a bookstore, but he wouldn't give any other information about the man. Labels: auctions, British Columbia, comics retailers, international, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Friday, August 10, 2007 Super Amigos: New Canadian Documentary about Mexican HeroesThe Georgia Straight's Craig Takeuchi reviews this new doc, now showing as part of the Vancouver Queer Film Fest: SUPER AMIGOS (Canada/Mexico) This absorbing documentary also employs some comic-book-style animation to tell the story of several Mexican activists who assume superhero personas, in the tradition of lucha libre wrestlers, to fight for social causes. Super Barrio helps residents fight evictions, Super Animal fights to save bulls from being tortured in bullfights, Super Ecologista combats environmental pollution, Super Gay battles homophobia, and Fray Tormenta stands up for the poor. It becomes clear these super amigos cannot surmount all the obstacles they face, but their resilience, accomplishments, and effort remain inspirational. Cinemark Tinseltown, August 17 (5 p.m.), and Vancity Theatre, August 23 (9:45 p.m.) Labels: British Columbia, comics on film, international, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Wednesday, July 25, 2007 Zeros 2 Heroes, New Vancouver-Based Comics Social Networking SiteAnother social networking site, akin to MySpace and ComicSpace, has been launched by a Vanouver, BC -based start-up called Zeroes 2 Heroes Media. The site shares many of the familiar features common to other sites and bills itself as a means to "find new works, buy and sell comics, figurines and other collectibles, track down rides to local conventions, and help entertainment studios shape their ideas." This last point is perhaps the most salient: the entire site appears to be set up to encourage pop culture fans and artists to develop content that is ultimately licensable --sort of a giant idea harvesting machine. Zeros 2 Heroes also seems to work as a satellite production company and market research/focus group supplier for other media groups, as well as a developer of its own corporate properties. The first announced deal involves a relaunch of the CGI tv series ReBoot, in conjunction with that property's owner, Rainmaker Animation. The initial plan, to be unveiled at the San Diego ComicCon later this week, seems to involve getting fans of the show to help create a trilogy of movies based on the series --no word yet on how these fans will be compensated for their input. Labels: British Columbia, comics on tv, interweb, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments Thursday, July 19, 2007 Vancouver Comics Jam: New LocationFrom Ed Brisson: As many of you probably already know, the Jolly Alderman Pub has closed its doors, leaving the VCJ scrambling to find a new location. Thanks for all those who sent in suggestions and even more so to those who actually did some footwork and provided contacts. The next Vancouver Comic Jam will be held at Original Joe's, at the corner of Broadway and Cambie. Thanks to Josh (the night manager) for letting us crash the restaurant. Hopefully this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship! (Alternatively, it could be that the VCJ is the kiss of death for businesses - first The Draw, then The Jolly Alderman, and now...?) ANYHOW: What: Vancouver Comic Jam. When: Saturday, July 21st, 2007. 8pm until midnight. Where: Original Joe's (Broadway and Cambie) Who: Anyone who is of legal drinking age is invited. How Much: Free. Bring your own pencils/pens. Paper is provided. RAV line construction is taking place on Cambie, so keep that in mind if you need to park. There should be plenty of parking available on the side streets. Crosspost as you see fit. Upcoming Comic Jam dates have been posted here. Visit us on Comic Space. Labels: British Columbia, comic jams, events, Vancouver - Stumble It! - 0 comments 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 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 - |
