Monday, March 22, 2010  
Bedeis Causa Nominees

:: Posted by Bryan @ 3/22/2010 08:09:00 AM

FBDFQ ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR 2010 PRIX BEDEIS CAUSA

In advance of the 23rd FESTIVAL DE LA BANDE DESSINEE FRANCOPHONE DE QUEBEC, which will be held in Quebec City, April 7-11, 2010, the organizers have announced the finalists for the Priz Bedeis Causa 2010.

The ceremony for the awards will be held at the Observatoire de la Capitale, April 9 next at 17:00, will be an opportunity to meet several players in the community and reflect the current vitality of the 9th art in Quebec.

The Finalists:

Prix Real Fillion
Quebec author, writer or artist, debut album
-Jean-Sebastien Berube, Radisson t. 1 - Son of Iroquois (Glenat Quebec)
-Pascal Colpron, Mon petit nombril (La Pasteque)
-Sebastien Rivest, Malaise (Mecanique generale/Les 400 coups)

Grand Prix de la Ville de Quebec
Best album released in French in Quebec
-PAUL en QUEBEC, Michel Rabagliati (La Pasteque)
-TUER VELASQUEZ, Philippe Girard (Glenat Quebec)
-JIMMY et le BIGFOOT, Pascal Girard (La Pasteque)

Prix Alberic Bourgeois
Best French-language album published abroad by a Quebec author, illustrator or
scriptwriter
-SAINT-GERMAIN T. 1 - THE COUNT OF LIGHTS, Jean-Francois Bergeron and Thierry Gloris (Glenat)
-LES NOMBRILS T. 4 – DUEL DE BELLES, Delaf et Dubuc (Dupuis)
-MAGASIN GeNeRAL, T. 5 – MONTREAL, Regis Loisel & Jean-Louis Tripp (Casterman)


Prix Maurice Petitdidier
Pick of the jury for Francophone Album published abroad
-DIEU EN PERSONNE, Marc-Antoine Mathieu (Delcourt)
-BLAST, Manu Larcenet (Dargaud)
-PINOCCHIO, Winschluss (Les requins marteaux)

During the ceremony, the organization will also present FBDFQ Prix Albert-Chartier,
Award to honor an individual or organization that has made a mark on the world of francophone comics in Quebec.

The panel responsible for selecting the finalists was composed of journalists and
booksellers: Pierre Blais (journalist on Canal Vox and Radio-Canada), Nicolas Houle (Le Soleil newspaper), Marco Duchesne (Librairie Pantoute), David Kelly (Renaud-Bray), and Patrick Marleau (L'imaginaire). This edition of the awards focuses on albums released between February 2009 and February 2010.

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   Tuesday, March 16, 2010  
New Books: Yuna

:: Posted by Bryan @ 3/16/2010 05:48:00 AM



Yuna, T. 2: L'Ile aux Tombeaux

by Jacques Lamontagne and Yi Ma
$21.95
Soleil
ISBN : 9782302009622

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   Tuesday, February 09, 2010  
Angouleme Prize Follow-up: Paul a Quebec

:: Posted by Bryan @ 2/09/2010 11:19:00 AM
As we reported last week, Michel Rabagliati's Paul a Quebec graphic novel, published by La Pasteque, won the popular vote for favourite book at the Angouleme festival in France. There has been some grumbling and controversy about the prize since then. Although the book has sold 15,000 copies in Quebec since its publication in early 2009, it has not been widely available in France, begging the question of how it garnered so many internet votes for a French prize and leading to speculations about ballot stuffing.

Readers will remember that the internet voting determined 5 finalists, from which the winner was selected by a jury. The other four books were Blast T.1 (de Manu Larcenet, Dargaud), Siegfried T.2 (d'Alex Alice, Dargaud), Il etait une fois en France T.3 (de Fabien Nury et Sylvain Vallee, Glenat) and Billy Brouillard T.1 (de Guillaume Bianco, Soleil). As juror Mael Rannou explains on the du9 blog (google trans), many of the jury hadn't read all of the books until the weekend the prize was given and they decided on Paul not just because it was a great book but because they were happy to showcase an deserving international work from a smaller publisher. The book is scheduled for a wider French release next month.

(via Rich Johnston and Dirk Deppey)

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Tintin in Quebec

:: Posted by Bryan @ 2/09/2010 02:10:00 AM

The National Post saw fit to run this article about the Quebecois verion of Herge's Coke en Stock on its front page Saturday. It's not exactly an earth-shaking front-page style story, but hey, it was the weekend. The lowdown? The book was supposed to be the first "regional" translation of the Tintin adventures for Quebec. Even though French-speaking people in Quebec have been reading Tintin in the original Franco-Belgian for decades, the new version included a title change and the addition of Quebec slang or "juoual", and even though the book is a nominal bestseller in the province, with 10,000 copies sold to date, the critical response has ranged from indifference to outrage.

If your French is up to it, you might want to read this Le Devoir article from 2008 which touches on the same points but also includes a Michel Rabagliati quote. There is a discussion and specific criticisms of the language of the book at the tintologists site. I also enjoyed this post by Eric Bouchard on the Monet bookstore's blog, which mentions the use of joual and Tintin in the comics of Valium and of Luc Giard. One of the major criticisms is that the characters in the book don't sound like themselves. No longer individuals (ie, swearing sailor, polite boy reporter, spoiled Arab brat), they all talk like working class French-Canadians.

Herge published Coke en Stock in 1958 the English translation, in print since the 70s, is known as "The Red Sea Sharks" --the original title being a play on words that referred, I think, sharks, as well as to the Coke used as fuel on boats and also a codeword used by the slavetraders in the book. ("Colocs" translates as "Roommates" as far as I can tell. A little help?) I expect people are generally baffled more than angered, but what do I know.

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   Monday, February 01, 2010  
Paul a Quebec wins Prix du Public Fnac-SNCF at Angouleme

:: Posted by Bryan @ 2/01/2010 12:06:00 AM


Michel Rabagliati's latest graphic novel, Paul a Quebec, the sixth in his Paul series, has won an audience favourite prize at the giant Angouleme comics festival in France. This is the first time a Canadian book has won one of the many Angouleme prizes, handed out over the course of the week-long festival.

The book won the complicated-sounding "Prix du Public FNAC-SNCF" (sponsored by a book site and the French national railway). Following a public vote that took place over the past two months online, a large selection of French and international titles was winnowed down and a jury selected a winner from among five finalists early Sunday morning. The winning book is scheduled for a big promotion via the FNAC stores. Basically a fan-favourite or popularity award, the Prix du Public for Paul a Quebec puts an interesting spin on our perceptions of the place of the Quebec graphic novel in France. As I wrote in the print edition of Sequential almost a year ago, in France "Quebec comics often struggle to gain acceptance on their own terms and Quebec publishers have had a hard time finding a foothold in the larger European market." This sort of looks like a foothold to me.

The book is published by La Pasteque, who note on their blog that the Angouleme prize is a "consecration" that goes along way towards establishing the Paul books as classics.

(The Angouleme site offers a guide to the book here.)

Official announcement of prizes.

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   Monday, January 25, 2010  
New Books: Refus Total by Renaud Germain

:: Posted by Bryan @ 1/25/2010 12:58:00 PM

Refus total
by Renaud Germain
$15.50
self-published
available here

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   Thursday, January 21, 2010  
New Books: Histoire Absolument Impubliable by David Turgeon

:: Posted by Bryan @ 1/21/2010 02:38:00 AM

Histoire Absolument Impubliable
by David Turgeon
Colosse
56 colour pages
ISBN # 2923664156
$14.00

Critic and cartoonist Turgeon also has a book out called Salon Du Livre, also from Colosse. Turgeon and the gang will be at the Angouleme festival in France this month.


buy it

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   Tuesday, November 24, 2009  
Harvey Graphic Novel Wins GG

:: Posted by Bryan @ 11/24/2009 01:38:00 AM

Harvey, a graphic novel by writer Herve Bouchard and artist Janice Nadeau, has won two awards in the children's literature category of the Governor General's Awards. Published by Quebec publisher La Pasteque, the book won in both the writer and illustrator categories for French-language children's literature.

As noted during the announcement of the awards on November 17, this is the first time one book has won in both categories of children's literature (text and illustration). The double win is also notable in light of last year's controversy over the lack of nomination for cartoonist Jillian Tamaki for her work on the English-language graphic novel Skim, for which writer Mariko Tamaki was nominated.

Each award is valued at $25,000 and each winner receives a specially-bound copy of the winning book created by Montreal bookbinder Lise Dubois. The publisher receives $3,000 per winning book as well. This is the third career GG win for artist Nadeau.

Harvey is described at the Awards website as a book that "makes us feel the confusion and helplessness of a little boy faced with the death of his father. [Herve Bouchard's] surprising and extremely sensitive writing is deeply moving. Through a series of poetically powerful metaphors, he allows us the freedom to explore the multiple layers of his story."

Janice Nadeau's drawings depict "the sadness of spring and the melancholy of loss. The subtle drawings dance with the text and give rhythm to the reading. Herve Bouchard's Quebec comes alive under the brush strokes of the illustrator."

GG Press release

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   Monday, November 09, 2009  
Bruno Laporte, 1964-2009

:: Posted by Bryan @ 11/09/2009 12:16:00 AM

Montreal Cartoonist was BD Ambassador

The cartoonist Bruno Laporte died Sunday, October 25, in a Montreal paragliding accident.

Laporte was best known as the artist behind the "Rupert K." series of humourous albums.

Beginning in 1988, Laporte began placing his comics work in a variety of Quebec publications. Laporte's Rupert K, his anti-authoritarian boy character, equal parts Adrian Mole and Bart Simpson, first appeared in the pages of the University of Montreal's student paper. With his writer brother Gilles Laporte, he produced three Rupert K albums between 1997 and 2001. A fourth was finished and awaiting publication at the time of his death.

Laporte was an unceasing booster of Quebec bande dessinee and was also, through Rupert, one of the first Quebec cartoonists to make a foray into the European market, appearing at France's Angouleme festival in 2000.

A funeral was held October 30th and a memorial website has been established at brunolaporte.net.


400 coups/Publisher's website

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   Friday, October 09, 2009  
New Books: Nombrils 4

:: Posted by Bryan @ 10/09/2009 07:56:00 AM

Les Nombrils 4: Duel de belles
by DELAF & DUBUC
Dupuis
48 pgs

The international bestselling series continues.

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   Thursday, October 08, 2009  
This Weekend: Giant Comics Rendezvous in Quebec

:: Posted by Bryan @ 10/08/2009 01:37:00 AM

10th Rendez-vous international de la bande dessinee de Gatineau

This weekend is the big RVIBDG in Gatineau, Quebec, featuring a select cross-section of international comics. This is a big festival, part of a book fest called the "Salon du livre de l'Outaouais" and involves the mayor and a whole swathe of culture-crats.

This year, the line-up includes LOUSTAL and Lewis TRONDHEIM (France), Christophe BERTSCHY (Switzerland), Christian DURIEUX (Belgium), Lynn JOHNSTON and Ronn SUTTON (English-Canada). Quebec guests include Francis DESHARNAIS (Burquette), Jean-Philippe MORIN (Archibald le cannibale, L'Astronaute and Docteur Big Love), Gabriel MORRISSETTE (Northguard, Daisy Dreamer, Egide, etc.), Daniel SHELTON (BEN), Nicolas BOUCHER, alias Nicoco B. (DAIMON, les memoires de Nick Butch), and Myriam ROY (Nouvelle Ere) --these last two graduates in Comics from the Ecole multidisciplinaire de l'image (Universite du Quebec en Outaouais), one of the only degree-granting schools of comic art in Canada. As well, some 15 writers and artists will be joining our guests on the festival site, including Jean-Sebastien Berube, Serge Brouillet, Alain Champagne, Philippe Daveze, Tristan Demers, Cyril Doisneau, Tom Fowler, Caroline Frechette, Normand Gregoire, Jocelyn Jalette, Michel Rabagliati, Paul Roux, Craig A. Taillefer, and Stanley Wany.

Lots of exhibitors and signings, too.

Thanksgiving weekend,
October 9 to 12,
Theatre Foyer,
Canadian Museum of Civilization,
Gatineau, Quebec
(free admission)

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   Wednesday, October 07, 2009  
New Books: Tuer Velasquez by Philippe Girard

:: Posted by Bryan @ 10/07/2009 11:04:00 AM

Tuer Velasquez

by Philippe Girard
Glenat Quebec

ISBN # 72923621173
$19.95

A childhood memoir by the author of "The Ravine".

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   Thursday, October 01, 2009  
Booklaunch: Aplomb and Cote Nord, Montreal

:: Posted by Bryan @ 10/01/2009 09:27:00 AM

2 new books from Colosse will launch in Montreal tonite at Fichtre bookstore.

Aplomb, de Vincent Giard
ISBN 987-2-923664-10-1
5,25" x 7,25"
132 pages noir et blanc
reliure allemande
septembre 2009

Cote nord, de Jimmy Beaulieu
ISBN 978-2-923664-11-8
5,25" x 7,25"
94 pages noir et blanc
reliure allemande
septembre 2009

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   Sunday, September 27, 2009  
New Books: Aplomb by Vincent Giard

:: Posted by Bryan @ 9/27/2009 06:14:00 AM


APLOMB
by Vincent Giard
136 pages b+w
collection colosse
first 400 covers are unique
$14.00

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   Wednesday, September 16, 2009  
New Books: Little Lush

:: Posted by Bryan @ 9/16/2009 11:28:00 AM


by Jacinthe Leclerc (words)
and Eva Rollin (pictures)

Glenat Quebec

The adventures of an alcoholic career woman in the big city.

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   Monday, April 20, 2009  
Prix Bedeis Causa Winners

:: Posted by Bryan @ 4/20/2009 10:39:00 PM


The winners of the 2009 Prix Bedeis Causa, one of the two major awards given to French-language comics in Quebec, were announced on April 17 as part of the annual Festival de la BD Francophone de Quebec in Quebec City. The long-running humour magazine Croc was awarded the historic Albert Chartier prize. The prizes, recognizing popular and critically-praised comics and creators, are as follows:

PRIX REAL FILLION - Francis Desharnais, for Burquette (Editions les 400 coups)

GRAND PRIX LA VILLE QUEBEC - Burquette, by Francis Desharnais (Editions les 400 coups)

PRIX ALBERIC BOURGEOIS - Les Nombrils Vol. 3: Les liens l'amitie, by Delaf and Dubuc (Dupuis)

PRIX MAURICE PETITDIDIER - Tout seul, by Chaboute (Vents d'Ouest)

PRIX ALBERT CHARTIER - Magazine Croc, 1979-1995

---
Read the full awards coverage at ActuaBD.

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   Thursday, April 09, 2009  
Publishing: Secret Identities by Nicolas Mahler

:: Posted by Bryan @ 4/09/2009 02:59:00 AM

Secret Identities
by Nicolas Mahler
La Pasteque
ISBN 978-2-922585-77-3 ISBN 978-2-922585-77-3
96 pages
$ 24.95

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   Thursday, April 02, 2009  
2008 Shuster Nominees Announced

:: Posted by Bryan @ 4/02/2009 02:18:00 AM
justice society of america #14 variant cover by dale eaglesham 2008The nominees for the 2009 Shuster Award nominees were announced in a press release and on the Shuster website earlier today.

This year's nominees are an interesting mix of French- and English-language comics from a variety of publishers from Canada, the U.S.A., and France.

Among the publishers, DC (and its various imprints) and Marvel seem to lead the pack in nominations. La Pasteque, Mecanique General/400 Coups and Aardvark-Vanaheim are the most-nominated Canadian publishers. Glenat Quebec is also recognized for a story in its sole Canadian publication. New Reliable Press and Groundwood Books both get a nod (although the Shusters seem to be following the lead of the Governor General awards and have chosen to ignore Jillian Tamaki's work in Skim). And although none of their books were really nominated, Arcana Studio, Conundrum Press, Drawn & Quarterly, Red 5, and Udon were all nominated in the best publisher category.

The winners of the awards will be announced at a June 27 ceremony. Nominees for a new children's comics prize will be announced in May, as will the nominees for the self-publishing prize (for which submissions are still being accepted).

The nominees, for works published in 2008, are:

Best Artist
(comic book artist(s) or illustrator/illustrator team)
*Marc Delafontaine (aka Delaf) - Les Nombrils 3 (Dupuis)
*Dale Eaglesham - JSA #12, 14-15, 18-22 (DC)
*David Finch - Ultimatum #1-2 (Marvel)
*Karl Kerschl & Serge LaPointe - Teen Titans: Year One #1-6 (DC)
*Jacques Lamontagne - Les Druides 4 (Soleil)
*Steve McNiven - Amazing Spider-Man #546-548, Wolverine #66-70 (Marvel)
*Steve Rolston - Emiko Superstar (DC/Minx), "Familiar" - House of Mystery #4 (DC/Vertigo), You Ain't No Dancer #3 (New Reliable Press)
*Stephen Sadowski - Avengers/Invaders #1-7 (Marvel/Dynamite), Superpowers #0 (Dynamite), Jack the Lantern: Ghosts #2 (Castle Rain)

Best Cartoonist
("Bedeist?" "Auteur?")

*Gregoire Bouchard - Vers les Mondes Lointains (Paquet)
*Darwyn Cooke - "Chapter X: The Greater Good" New Frontier Special #1, The Spirit #12 (DC)
*Francis Descharnais - Burquette (Les 400 coups)
*Jean-Paul Eid - Des tondeuses et des hommes (La Pasteque)
*Michael Gagne - "The Saga of Rex" Chapter 4 - Flight Vol. 5 (Ballantyne)
*Faith Erin Hicks - The War at Ellsmere (Slave Labor)
*Jeff Lemire - Essex County Vol. 3: The Country Nurse (Top Shelf)
*Seth - "Thoreau MacDonald" in Kramer's Ergot 7 (Buenaventura Press)
*Dave Sim - Glamourpuss #1-4, Judenhaas (Aardvark-Vanaheim)

Best Colourist/Dessinateur Couleur
*Jean-Francois Beaulieu
*Blond
*Chris Chuckry
*Maryse Dubuc
*Nathan Fairbairn
*Lovern Kindzierski
*Francois Lapierre
*Dave McCaig

Best Writer
("Scenariste"?)

*Ian Boothby - many Simpsons comics (Bongo)
*Cecil Castellucci - Janes in Love (DC/Minx)
*Darwyn Cooke - stories in New Frontier Special #1, Superman Confidential 11 (DC Comics)
*Maryse Dubuc - Les Nombrils 3 (Dupuis)
*Ray Fawkes - The Apocalipstix (Oni)
*Francois Lapierre - "Gedeon et la bete du lac" Contes et legendes du Quebec (Glenat Quebec)
*Mariko Tamaki - Emiko Superstar (DC/Minx), Skim (Groundwood Books)
*J. Torres - The Family Dynamic #1-3, Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century #11, 13, 17-19, Teen Titans Go! #51-55 (DC/Johnny DC), Wonder Girl #5-6 (DC Comics)

Best Cover
("Couverture")

*Adrian Alphona - Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Season Two #1 Variant (Marvel Comics)
*Darwyn Cooke - The Spirit #12 (DC)
*Marc Delafontaine - Les Nombrils 3 (Dupuis)
*Dale Eaglesham - JSA #14 Variant (DC Comics)
*David Finch -Amazing Spider-Man #572 Variant (Marvel)
*Philippe Girard - Les Ravins (Mecanique Generale)
*Niko Henrichon - Hostile Tome 1 (Dupuis)
*Steve McNiven - Kick-Ass #1 Variant (Marvel)
*Dean Motter - Mister X: The Condemned #1 (Dark Horse)
*David Sim - Glamourpuss #4 Zombie Variant (Aardvark-Vanaheim)

Best Webcomic

*Kate Beaton - Hark! A Vagrant
*Michael Cho – Papercut
*Lar De Souza & Ryan Sohmer - Least I Could Do and Looking for Group
*Kathryn & Stuart Immonen - Moving Pictures
*Karl Kerschl - The Abominable Charles Christopher
*Gisele Lagace - Menage A 3
*Ramon K. Perez– Kukuburi and Butternut Squash (w/Robert Coughler)
*Cameron Stewart - Sin Titulo

Best Publisher

*Aardvark-Vanaheim
*Arcana Studio
*Conundrum Press
*Drawn & Quarterly
*La Pasteque
*Les 400 Coups/Mecanique Generale
*Red 5 Comics
*Udon Entertainment


See all the details about issue numbers, story titles, nominators, and sundry other credits at the Shusters website.
(top image: best cover nominee Dale Eaglesham's variant cover for JSA #14)

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   Monday, March 23, 2009  
Bedeis Causa Awards Nominees Announced

:: Posted by Bryan @ 3/23/2009 01:00:00 AM

One of two major French-language Quebec comics awards (3 if we count the Expozine prize), the Bedeis Causa will be handed out as part of the 22nd Festival de la bande dessinee francophone de Quebec (FBDFQ). The ceremony will be held at l'Observatoire de la Capitale on April 17. You can see the awards discussed at this thread at the BDQ site.


The Nominees:

Prix Real-Fillion
Best first album

- Maryse Chouinard, Soeur mon ame (Monet Editeur)
- Francis Desharnais, Burquette (Editions les 400 coups)
- Yvon Roy, Agaguk (Editions Adonis)

Grand prix de la Ville de Quebec
Best French-language album published in Quebec

- Burquette, by Francis Desharnais (Editions les 400 coups)
- Les Ravins, by Philippe Girard (Mecanique generale)
- Voyage en zone d'exploitation, by Louis Remillard (Editions les 400 coups)

Prix Alberic-Bourgeois
Best French-language foreign album by someone from Quebec

- Les Nombrils 3 : Les liens de l'amitie, by Delaf et Dubuc (Dupuis)
- Les Druides 4 : La ronde des geants, by Jacques Lamontagne (Soleil Producitons)
- L'ordre des dragons 1 : La lance, by Denis Rodier (Soleil Productions)


Prix Maurice-Petitdidier

French-language foreign album)

- Spirou, Journal d'un ingenu, by Emile Bravo (Dupuis)
- Tout seul, by Chaboute (Vents d'Ouest)
- Le combat ordinaire, volume 4: Planter des clous, by Manu Larcenet

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   Monday, March 02, 2009  
EXPOZINE Awards Gala Tuesday, March 3

:: Posted by max @ 3/02/2009 05:08:00 PM

The Expozine Alternative Press Awards Gala
*free admission*

Come and celebrate the best of the nearly 300 small presses that took part in last fall's Expozine small press, comic and zine fair! Six prizes will be awarded, recognizing the best book, comic and zine sold at Expozine.

Each exhibitor was asked to submit one publication, and the winners were chosen by an esteemed panel of judges out of the hundreds of publications submitted at Expozine 2008. The gala is a rare chance for you to meet and mingle with the most talented up-and-comers of the local publishing scene, as well as purchase copies of the 36 short-listed titles.

Admission is free, beer and liquor specials will be in effect, and your MC, Ed Fuller, will regale the crowd!

Les nomines:

Nomines francophones fanzines :

Trio a emporter, par Kathey Tibo
Gargouillis indigeste #003, www.gargouillis.com
Ffsshmrwlbaouarf par Simon Bosse/ Mille Putois, www.myspace.com/milleputois
Ectropion, collectif de cremation litteraire, www.myspace.com/zineectropion
Fanzine sans titre, Genevieve Dumas
Toxico (Fanzine # 3), par Delf Berg, delfberg.blogspot.com

Nomines francophones BD :

Hasemeister : C'etait 2007, Frederic Mahieu, www.hasemeister.com
La terreur noir pâle, C. Reney
Fatima, A. Desmarteaux, Egotrip Productions, www.arthuro.ca
Une aventure de M. Pixel, etienne Beck, L'Employe du Moi, www.employe-du-moi.org
Chimeris 1: Sirus, Adeline Lamarre, Vaar editeur, www.vaar.ca
Humoro Sapiens, Yayo, Les 400 Coups, www.editions400coups.ca

Nomines francophones livres :

Stephane Ranger, Plusieurs excuses, Ta mere, tamere.org
Isabelle Ayotte, Les solitudes de la premiere saison, www.isabelleayotte.blogspot.com
Karmen Mantha, Tout est interrelie, editions du Pigeon, www.editionsdupigeon.com
Mario Rendace, 28 petites fables typographiques, editions du Colporteur
Marie-Andree Gilbert, Le velo couleur peau, editions Les Raboussiers, lesraboussiers.blogspot.com
Maxime DeBleu, Une autre seconde, editions Ü, www.utrema.ca

The nominees :

English Zine:

Four Minutes To Midnight no. 10, www.lokidesign.net/2356
Nailbiter: An Anxiety Zine, www.steemilie.free23.net
Soulgazers II, Camilla Wynne, Michelle Sterling, Simon Reader, Jeff Miller, Spencer Krug, Anna Leventhal
Lickety Split no. 7, www.licketysplitzine.com
Mostly True vol.19 issue 7, Bill Daniel, Microcosm Publishing, www.billdaniel.net, www.microcosmpublishing.com
Place Magazine, Winter 08 issue, www.placemag.org

English Book:

Words the Dog Knows, J.R. Carpenter, Conundrum Press, www.conundrumpress.com
The Debaucher, Jason Camlot, Insomniac Press www.insomniacpress.com
The Sunlight Chronicles, Chris Dyer, Divine Life LLC, www.sunlight-chronicles.com
Fear Of Fighting, Stacey May Fowles & Marlena Zuber, Invisible Publishing, www.invisiblepublishing.com
Blert, Jordan Scott, Coach House Books, www.chbooks.com
Jack, Mike Spry, Snare Books, snarebooks.wordpress.com

English Comic:

Mourning a lover, Sofeel, myspace.com/sofeel
Welcome to the Dollhouse by Ken Dahl, Microcosm Publishing, www.microcosmpublishing.com
BFF by Nate Beaty, Microcosm Publishing, natebeaty.com, www.microcosmpublishing.com
Hypocrite, Dakota McFadzean, dakota.mcfadzean.googlepages.com
Finding Joy, Luke Ramsey, Anteism Publishing, islandsfold.com
Kieffer #2, Jason Kieffer, jasonkieffer.com

Le Chic Gala des Prix Expozine de l'edition alternative
*c'est gratuit!*

Dans ses sept annees d'existence, Expozine, la foire annuelle des fanzines, bandes dessinees et petits editeurs de Montreal, est devenu le plus grand rassemblement de publications alternative au pays. L'edition 2008 d'Expozine a battue les records, avec pres de 300 exposants presents et environs 15 000 visiteurs.

Le comite organisateur a demande a chacun des exposants de soumettre leur meilleure creation. Six juges distingues ont procede au choix de six finalistes par categorie, les gagnants seront annonces au gala anime par le maître de ceremonie Ed Fuller.

De plus, DES COPIES DES 36 PUBLICATIONS NOMINeES SERONT DISPONIBLES POUR ACHAT AU GALA (yay!) -- une rare occasion de se procurer des exemplaires de ces publications souvent obscures, inusitees et la plupart du temps produites a tirages tres limites!

Tuesday, March 3, 7:00pm
4873. St-Laurent
Montreal, QC
facebookpage

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   Friday, February 20, 2009  
Denis Rodier launches L'Ordre des Dragons chez Planete BD

:: Posted by max @ 2/20/2009 01:00:00 PM
Co: Facebook
Denis Rodier will be appearing at to launch the second volume of his series L'Ordre des Dragons, "Mount Moses" (with Jean-Luc Istin on Sunday).

Denis Rodier revient nous visiter nous visiter pour dedicacer le deuxieme volume de son excellente serie L'Ordre des Dragons, "Le Mont Moïse" (avec Jean-Luc Istin, chez Soleil).

Saturday, February 28, 2009
1:00pm - 4:00pm
Planete BD
3883 St-Denis
Montreal, QC

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Jean-Claude Fournier singing at Planete BD April 5

:: Posted by max @ 2/20/2009 11:19:00 AM

De passage dans la province, Jean-Claude Fournier, ancien auteur des Crannibales et de Spirou et Fantasio, et, plus recemment des Chevaux du Vent (avec Lax, dans la collection Aire Libre) viendra faire un petit tour chez Planete BD pour une seance de dedicace.

Jean-Claude Fournier is traveling through Quebec and will be stoping at Planete BD for a signing. Formerly an author for Les Crannibales, and Spirou & Fantasio, and more recently Chevaux du Vent [Wind Horses] (with artist Lax in the Aire Libre collection).

Sunday, April 5, 2009
2:00pm - 4:30pm
3883 St-Denis
Montreal, QC

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   Thursday, February 19, 2009  
Prix Bedelys Nominees

:: Posted by Bryan @ 2/19/2009 12:51:00 AM
The nominees for several of the Prix Bedelys categories have been announced.

The Prix Bedelys is a group of comics prizes awarded by the non-profit Promo 9e Art, and recognize French-language comics from Quebec and elsewhere. The awards will be handed out later this year. With the exception of the controversial and reputedly funny Burquette, the nominated Quebec books are among the most beautiful-looking French-language comics I've seen this year. The international list is a mixed bag. I've only seen a Bart Beaty review of one or two, but several appear ugly. Am I wrong?

The nominees are:

Prix Bedelys Quebec (best book from Quebec)

Burquette by Francis Desharnais (Les 400 coups)
Macanudo by Liniers (La Pasteque)
Paresse by Pascal Girard (La Pasteque)
Les Ravins by Philippe Girard (Mecanique generale)
Une piquante petite brunette by Albert Chartier (Les 400 coups)

Bedelys d'Or (Gold Medal for best international)

Adamson tome 1 by Veys & Puerta (Robert Laffont)
Coupures irlandaises by Kris & Bailly (Futuropolis)
La guerre d'Alan tome 3 by Emmanuel Guibert (L'Association)
Lettres d'Agathe by Nathalie Ferlut (Delcourt)
Lulu femme nue by Etienne Davodeau (Futuropolis)
Matteo tome 1 by Jean-Pierre Gibrat (Futuropolis)
RG tome 2 by Pierre Dragon & Frederic Peeters (Gallimard)
Tout seul by Chaboute (Vents d'Ouest)
Spirou vol 4 by Emile Bravo (Dupuis)
Zoo tome 3 by Bonifay & Frank Pe (Dupuis)

The awards website hasn't been updated. Thanks to Michel Viau at the BDQ forums.

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   Wednesday, February 11, 2009  
Kafka in America

:: Posted by Bryan @ 2/11/2009 03:19:00 AM

Very wonderful. An adaptation of Kafka's Amerika by Real Godbout. Compares favourably with Robert Crumb's version. (Thanks to Eric Theriault at BDQ)

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   Friday, January 23, 2009  
R.I.P. Mensuhell

:: Posted by Bryan @ 1/23/2009 01:53:00 AM

Mensuhell is no more. I mentioned this when it was first announced last year, and again in the year-end wrap up, but I neglected to mention the actual appearance of the final issue.

The long-running fanzine went out with a bang with issue #109 in December with a "Sergeant Pepper's"-style cover by cartoonist Sirkowski featuring many of the characters and cartooning styles that had appeared in the zine during its long run. Mensuhell was basically the best comics anthology published on a regular (monthly! for 6 years!) basis in Canada, responsible for introducing many young talents from the Quebec comics scene, as well as providing a home and community for more established cartoonists and fans. It was also a source of learned history about BDQ (bandes dessinees from Quebec). The few issues I have in my possession reveal that the zine was a veritable who's who of the times and of cartooning talent. Publisher Francis Hervieux should be congratulated for his long effort. As well, congratulations are in order for the many contributors. Good luck and bon voyage.

There is a long discussion of the final issue at the BDQ forum (google translation).

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   Wednesday, January 14, 2009  
Histoire d'hiver

:: Posted by Bryan @ 1/14/2009 08:00:00 AM
Hachette Canada 2009 Bande Dessinee Contest

After the relative success of its first contest and publication, Contes et legendes du Quebec, Hachette has announced a new contest, "Histoire d'hiver." Designed to give unpublished comics creators their first professional credit, the contest will be
winners will be determined by a jury made of Francois Avard, Christian Chevrier, Fabien Deglise, Marc Delafontaine, Annie Leonard, and Eva Rollin.

Prizes: a grand prize of $2000, $1500 for 2nd and 3rd place, and 3 special mentions of $1000 each will be handed out to worthy recipients. All winners also get a spot in the anthology.

A synopsis and 2 pages must be mailed to the contest by April 1, 2009.

Concours 2009 de bande dessinee Hachette Canada
9001, boul. de l'Acadie
Bureau 1002
Montreal, Quebec
H4N 3H5

full details here (pdf)

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   Friday, December 12, 2008  
Publishing: Imagination contre les pigeons sp@mmeurs

:: Posted by Bryan @ 12/12/2008 03:56:00 AM


Imagination contre les pigeons sp@mmeurs : histoires quotidiennes peu ordinaires /
by Christ Oliver, et al
Vermillon, 2008.
ISBN 978-1-897058-77-0

details here

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   Monday, December 08, 2008  
Publishing: Contes et legendes du Quebec

:: Posted by Bryan @ 12/08/2008 05:00:00 AM

I'm not sure, but I think this is the first publication of the new Glenat Quebec label since the publisher, the comics subsidiary of French giant Hachette, set up shop as a separate imprint in Quebec. The book is an anthology of horror stories featuring young artists selected by a jury of prominent cartoonists, writers, and comics retailers, along with the publisher, Christian Chevirer. See details here.


Contes et legendes du Quebec
by various (Jean-Sebastien Berube, Patrick Boutin-Gagne, Francois Lapierre, Daniel Lafrance, Normand Gregoire, Olivier Carpentier, Gautier Langevin, Gabriel Champagne, Serge Brouillet)
Glenat Quebec
$19.95
49 pages
November 2008
ISBN : 9782923621098


a trailer for the book is available on youtube

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   Wednesday, November 26, 2008  
Publishing: Colosse x 4

:: Posted by Bryan @ 11/26/2008 01:00:00 AM

Just in time for this weekend's Expozine in Montreal, a collection of four new books from Mecanique Generale:

1. (sans-titre)
pascal girard

colosse 006
ISBN 978-2-923664-05-7
6" x 3"
56 pages couleurs
reliure allemande
novembre 2008

(see above image)

encore ca by julie delporte colosse 2008
2. Encore ca
Julie Delporte

colosse 007

ISBN 978-2-923664-06-4
6" x 4"
46 pages n+b
reliure allemande
novembre 2008

la suite de minerve by david turgeon colosse 2008

3. La Suite de Minerve
David Turgeon

colosse 008
ISBN 978-2-923664-07-1
6" x 9"
120 pages n+b
reliure allemande
novembre 2008

demi sommeil by jimmy Beaulieu 2008 graphic novel bd

4. Demi-sommeil
Jimmy Beaulieu

colosse 009
ISBN 978-2-923664-08-8
5,25" x 7,25"
98 pages couleur
reliure allemande
novembre 2008

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   Wednesday, November 05, 2008  
Publishing: Paul a Quebec

:: Posted by Bryan @ 11/05/2008 12:46:00 AM

The sixth album by Michel Rabagliati, Paul a Quebec, is set to be released by Pasteque in 2009.

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   Tuesday, October 28, 2008  
Gatineau Photos

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

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

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

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

SPECIAL EVENTS

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

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

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

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


VENUES

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

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

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


Program:

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

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

Unveiling at the Alliance francaise

Friday, October 24th, at 6:00 pm

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

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

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

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

A reception will be held.

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

Animations - ON THE STAGE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

EXHIBITIONS

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

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

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

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

Contest | Invente-moi un Schtroumpf!

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


GUESTS
shown in order in the pictures >>


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SURPRISE GUESTS!

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

Timetable of Events

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

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

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

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

AUTOGRAPH SESSIONS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Program and other details are here.



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   Thursday, October 09, 2008  
Jimmy Beaulieu & Pascal Girard to attend Quai des bulles festival in Brittany

:: Posted by max @ 10/09/2008 09:36:00 PM
Got a email with "Love and kisses" from my buddy Jimmy Beaulieu letting us know that he and Pascal Girard will be spending the month of october in St-Malo, France, as guests of the Quai des bulles festival. They have started a blog for the occasion : Les malouins temporaires, where you will be able to follow their adventures in Brittany "or not... we'll see..." he says.

He also says several MG books [in french] are being printed or released for the occasion! For those not in the know Mecanique Generale is a nice little art comics publisher that has close ties with the European community and Jimmy is a bit of a publishing and teaching dynamo, not to mention very accomplished artist and story teller. Do your self a favor and at least check out the links even if you don''t read french.

Original FR text includes some more extensive info.

Allo, pascal girard (www.paresse.ca) et moi (velue.blogspot.com) sommes a St-Malo, en ce moment, pour tout le mois d'octobre, dans le cadre d'une residence organisee par le festival Quai des bulles (www.quaidesbulles.com). On a demarre un blog pour l'occasion : Les malouins temporaires (lesmalouinstemporaires.blogspot.com), qui vous donnera l'occasion de plus ou moins suivre nos aventures (!) bretonnes.

Et en passant, au Quebec, nos deux nouveautes de la rentree sont sorties : Tantrum, de Jules Feiffer (traduction francaise d'une de mes livres preferes) et Par un fil, de Jean-Nicolas Vallee (enfin un livre personnel de ce veteran de la bande dessinee quebecoise). Si votre libraire prefere ne les a pas, il est incompetent. Donc il serait grand temps pour vous de changer de libraire prefere (faites-lui remarquer, quand meme).

D'ici la mi-novembre, aussi, paraitront (pas chez MG mais dans la collection [strips] des 400 coups, aussi dirigee par votre humble serviteur) un nouveau Ben, de Daniel Shelton (L'envers de la retraite, qui reprend l'integrale des strips de la deuxieme année de Ben) et le gros evenement : Une piquante petite brunette, qui rendra enfin disponible une partie de l'oeuvre d'Albert Chartier, pionnier de la bande dessinee quebecoise.

Et a la Pasteque paraitra sous peu le recueil Paresse de pascal girard et Quelque part au debut du XXe siecle, collctif dirige par Nicolas Langelier pour lequel j'ai fait quelques dessins.

A bientot,

bise aux filles,

Jimmy

--
Jimmy Beaulieu
-----------------------------------
mecanique generale >>> www.mecaniquegenerale.org
la chronique velue >>> http://velue.blogspot.com/
monsieur populaire >>> www.myspace.com/monsieurpopulaire

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   Sunday, September 21, 2008  
MiniKim Launch at Librairie Planete BD

:: Posted by max @ 9/21/2008 02:00:00 PM


I just checked out Librairie Planete BD for the first time the other week.

It's a really cool BD shop on one of the more popular and fashionable parts of town in Montreal. It's also a few blocks from both Millenium and Fichtre, but closer to downtown which will work for them.


Local Artist MiniKim is Lunching her newest book there in September, you can sign up for the events facebook page here. It's the second one in the all ages series, called Alta Donna!

La jeune dessinatrice MiniKim vient nous presenter sa nouveaute, le deuxieme tome de Alta Donna, une serie haute en couleurs pour toute la famille !

Sunday, September 21, 2008
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Planete BD
3883 St-Denis
Montreal, QC

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   Monday, September 15, 2008  
Publishing: Les Ravins by Phillipe Girard

:: Posted by Bryan @ 9/15/2008 01:32:00 AM


Les Ravins
by Phillipe Girard
Mecanique General

reviews here and here

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   Monday, September 08, 2008  
Lost Chartier

:: Posted by Bryan @ 9/08/2008 05:00:00 AM
albert chartier une piquant petite brunette book cover comic strip bd 2008
Albert Chartier (1912-2004) was one of Canada's greatest strip cartoonists, best-known for his extremely long-running strip Onesime, but most of his work is sadly out of print, with the exception of a few anthologies that have reprinted some strips over the last decade. As we reported earlier, the good news is that Les 400 Coups, a division of Montreal comics publisher Mecanique Generale, is publishing a collection of Chartier's sexy girl strips this fall. The book is called Albert Chartier: Une Piquant Petite Brunette and collects tons of the risque, mostly-silent strips that Chartier syndicated to one or two papers in Canada back in the 1960s. The bad news is that the publisher has some gaps in their collection and is making an appeal to collectors and archivists to help fill the gaps. Read the appeal from Jimmy B over at the bdq boards --translated here. (The best thing about the translation: apparently, thanks to this risque strip collection, we will now "be able to harness the peter.")

As well, the family of Chartier is circulating a form letter to the head of Canada Post, requesting a stamp in honour of the cartoonist's 100th birthday in 2012. The full text is also at the link, as are many examples of the strips in question.

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   Thursday, August 14, 2008  
The Doug Wright Awards' so called 'Canadian' language controversy

:: Posted by max @ 8/14/2008 06:00:00 PM
With a charged OP ed piece by Herve St-Louis, the publisher and editor for comicbookbin.com has kicked off a pretty intense conversation over the question of whether or not The Doug Wright Awards has the "right" to call itself a Canadian award.

Tom Spurgeon has started to act as something of a neutral presenter of the issue, posting several responses to the first posting from St-Louis on The Comics Reporter. And there's alot of back and forth in the comments of PW The Beat. So far i've found the debate very interesting.

I have a problem with the tone taken at the start by St-Louis myself; I feel he was pretty wildly hyperbolic in his analogies, and presents a basically false premise. And he seems upon a little asking around, to be speculating a lot about the intentions of the DWA organizers without information. There was a small amount of communication with our own Bryan Munn informally as a DWA representative on the subject, but it seems St-Louis cut that short and ran with his story.

But from a purely rhetorical point of view, many have made some very good points on the broader subject.

Bryan, who is responsible for most of the posting here on Sequential now, is bowing out of commenting on the debate on our site as he's closely involved with the Doug Wright Awards, so I'm going to try to keep on top of this for Sequential, work schedule permitting.

I will be thinking on it and perhaps posting my own perspective more in the future but at this time a few things seem clear to me.


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

The About page's first short opening paragraph from the DWA site.

About The Doug Wright Awards

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

And, the very relevant last one...

Language of work
[SeqEd:accepted for submissions]

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

And if testimony is required, going back to the first year of the awards, I can confirm from my own discussions with the organizers, that what Brad MacKay says in his official statement as true; That there has all along been very active discussion of how eventually to address the question of, at some point, bringing in a french language category. But that for now they lack the resources to do so. There has been no active discrimination against french creators in anyway, or a flat refusal to address the issue. Only a recognition that they are unequipped to review french language submissions at this time in a manor suited to the standards they set out for the DWA.

And far from being presented as THE Canadian comics award, they are more like A Literary Canadian Comics Award in affect. And yes we could be really precise and call them The Doug Wrights, A Literary English Language Canadian Comics Award, but frankly as precise as that would be, it would be a terrible, terrible name!

OK yes I'm being a little dramatic, but The Doug Wright English Canadian Comics Awards is truly not too much better. So it's the The Doug Wright Awards, period.

As Hervé points out; hyphenation, and over qualification is a pain in the arse.

The idea is to make the awards appealing, and interesting. Not boring and didactic.


Now It's all very fine and well to say they could make the contacts here in Quebec, associate with a local award or start a parallel operation.

But it takes two to tango, and speaking as an Anglo, living in Montreal, I have to say the French community here at least, when not too busy with their own things to be bothered, is seldom very welcoming or enthusiastic of this kind of collaboration over all. Nor do they reach out often themselves in a collaborative manner to make such things happen. It's like herding cats here on both sides of the language divide.

Maybe in Alberta where Hervé lives now, he's unaware of this. He started out here so he should know. It was true more so when he lived here!

It's true that in their own language sphere many people have done amazing things to promote local French work to an international French audience. But making the effort to promote their work to an audience that overwhelmingly won't be able to read it is never appealing to any publisher. Frankly I for one can't fault them for that.

And far from generally being ignored by English Canada, I and many Anglo's have come to Montreal thinking we would be able to connect and build bridges with the french community, only to find a wall of often disinterested backs turned on us because we speak French as poorly as many of the Quebecois speak English.

For those who are more engaged and welcoming - and there are many now - it's shrugs and a lack of interest in general. Not to say it's always cold, but I have not experienced a culture in a hurry to be embraced by it's English neighbors. They want more than not to be admired in their own language in their own region or in the EU. For those few desiring more English attention, they look south, like a lot of us here, were there are many many millions more in the audience than here. A practical issues more than not.

I would put it to Herve that this often kind of insular approach, and a love of confrontation and conflict expressed to me by many of my Francophone Montreal peers, and as exemplified by the rather inflammatory examples in his post - Is as much if not more a problem than any active bigotry in the English community...

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

Really? Comparing asking for translations to bleaching skin, AND forced gender reassignment. Was one over the top inaccurate analogy not enough? Hmmmmm.


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

Coverage and effort has improved, yes, far more of both things happen now than just 5 years ago. But it's been very, very slow.

And my said inquiries are more often than not responded to with shrugs and the refrain that they rather someone else do the work. They are too busy, it's as simple as that. No bigotry, no conspiracy, no surprising undercurrent of hate.

I've done my own best when I've had the time to do so to promote local work, regardless of language, as has Bryan who is I'll repeat an active member of the DWA organization.

I have tried at some length to recruit contributors for this very site to help cover the Quebec scene, as well as trying to find people on the coasts and in the mid west.

I have constantly failed to find interested parties on all counts.

Even Herve's own site spends most of it's time reporting on American, English comics. On the site's menu there is not even a way to filter the posts to view QC or Montreal stories. Just Cunuck. And I invite you to look for yourself to see how many are for French Language books....

It seems to me Herve is asking, demanding, others to confer praise for work he seldom promotes himself. No he does not call himself THE Canadian comic news site anymore than the DWA call them selves THE Canadian comic awards, but then this only furthers my point.

I can understand that there are a lot of bruised egos, as I'm always reminded when I talk to my peers here in Montreal about this sort of thing. It does not come up nearly as often as Herve's article would suggest but sure, some feel a little left out.

But I have a hard time giving too much credit to said egos, when they do so little to change the situation themselves through constructive positive actions. But rather it seems - when bothered to do anything - prefer to rant at supposed arms length about it. In this case at Provincial length, and without foundation or information speculating in an overwhelmingly demonizing way about the intentions of the 'Others' they think someone may perceive themselves slighted or ignored by.


So what do I think they should do instead?

How about this; I've not talked to anyone about this so I don't know if the will or means can be mustered, but say they do and could be. Say someone in QC, or the french community outside of QC cares about this all that much, and wants to do something.

Say maybe the Prix Bedelys have any interest in this, that they take the initiative to put together a jury and reading list for a French language award to spotlight Original French books to the rest of Canada and the English comics reading world and any French readers who may be paying attention, to be presented at The Doug Wright Awards.

They can also help raise funds locally for the prize and to pay for the trophy, and The Doug Wright Awards in turn give them the additional press and attention. The DWA orginization have the current problem of a lack of resources and means on their side addressed in this way.

Maybe as a way to make this a mutual trade - not to besmirch anyone's best intentions; but the Bédélys trophy is not, well, all that impressive. Perhaps they also might be able to persuade the Doug Wright Awards rather famous trophy builder to help them out as well?

Call it a trade for mutual benefit, and fix the problem by doing something about it, rather than making over the top and inaccurate analogies to civil rights abuses and the intentions of others you don't actually talk with before speculating on publicly.

But in the mean time, until the French Comics community is willing or wants to be bothered to take on the task of promoting their own work to the rest of the world regardless if it's Francophone or not, I think it's a little disingenuous for someone in the to cry discrimination in this manor.

A lack of means does not equate a intentional bigoted refusal.


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