Labels: editorial, Letter to the Editor, news, renovations

Labels: conventions, festivals, news, TCAF 2010, Toronto

Labels: Dan Clowes, Drawn and Quarterly, news, TCAF 2010, Toronto

"While being nominated for a Shuster or an Eisner award is a great honour for any creator, if we take a closer look at the award categories -- specifically where webcomics are concerned -- it seems like something is missing."

"Should webcomics be so thoroughly separated from the rest of the industry?

Could it be that the lack of webcomic nominations for Best Artist, Best Writer, Best Cartoonist or Best Colorist are due to their method of publication? Isn't it possible that somehow, somewhere, people are writing on the internet just as well as others are writing for print? It's too early to be pointing fingers or yelling about prejudice, but this division of suitability seems somewhat arbitrary and unfair. But how do we know this to be the case? Maybe webcomics are considered, but none have been good enough to merit a nomination. Well, this year's nominations prove that isn't so: Nominations for Best Artist list all credited work for the past year, for instance: "Steve McNiven -- Amazing Spider-Man #546-548, Wolverine #66-70 (Marvel Comics)". Yet, for Karl Kerschl, only his print work is mentioned." -->>

Labels: awards, C-List, can-con, events, events links, news, shusters, webcomics, wordonthestreet

Labels: comic strips, new books, news, webcomics

Labels: "summer reading 09", Montreal, news, Quebec, summer reading

Creditors of Quebecor in both the U.S. and Canada have approved the printing giant's reorganization plan, clearing the way for the company to emerge from bankruptcy in mid-July. The company reported that 86% of creditors in the U.S. approved the plan while 96% of Canadian creditors supported the plan. A joint confirmation hearing on the U.S. plan and the Canadian plan is scheduled for June 30 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Barring any last minute issues, Quebecor anticipates consummating both plans next month. More on PW site here --->

Labels: international, news, printing, Quebec

"Since January 2008, Diamond Comics, the largest comic book distributor in North America has required that all products it distributes include barcodes that can be scanned by its staff and by North American comic book retailers. Diamond Comics has aggressively encouraged comic book retailers to adopt its point of sale (POS) scanning technology. Many Canadian retailers have adopted the scanning technology in their stores. However, many product vendors have stopped including specific Canadian prices on their products. In turn, Canadian retailers have begun using American prices on products ordered through Diamond Comics. Many comic book retailers use Diamond Comics exclusively as their distribution channel. Many stores now inform their customers that all prices are quoted in US dollars and adjusted at the checkout point to match the current Canadian/US dollar exchange rate."

Labels: comics retailers, news, sale

Labels: change, comics retailers, conventions, Diamond, interviews, news, Ontario, paradise comicon, Toronto

Teacher's graphic tales star kids on the fringes

By Iain Marlow
STAFF REPORTER

Dave Lapp has drawn a graphic novel homage to the Regent Park art centre he's worked in for 12 years. It says as much about him as it does about the centre and the kids who frequent it.Drop-In is defined by tension and anxiety, attained through assembling peculiar moments perched on a razor's edge between awkward and actual danger.

One, too unbearable to include in his collection of truthful, comic-book-style vignettes, involves kids who shove a shopping cart down a staircase toward the drop-in centre. It narrowly misses a little girl. Lapp, 43, runs out to yell at them.

The lead boy just glares at him."As if saying, `Is that all you got?'" Lapp recalls, shivering slightly...

Labels: new books, news, Toronto

Labels: awards, graphic novels, news, Ontario, Quebec, skim, Toronto

If we agree that Canada should have a distinctive policy for its comic book industry, then the next question is what strategy to must use to enact its policy. Should the Canadian Government and provinces be actively supporting the comic book industry through grants, loans, tax credits, or help for representation abroad? Should for example, a special push be made to create comic books for special groups like children and aboriginal Canadians? In the book world, most type of literature is supported, but material such as cookbooks and travel material are not supported to the same extent as fiction. In the film world, the government does not support pornography, reality television, and game shows. In animation, because most of the contents is geared towards children, there are stricter guidelines and requests for clear overt Canadian contents in the works. In video games, there doesn't seem to be any oversight over the contents of the products, probably because the job creation aspect is the ultimate objective of the government as opposed to the promotion of Canadian culture.

There are many genres of comic books touching very different target markets, not sound support strategy can be generated without first understanding what it is one seeks to promote. In hindsight, perhaps Canadian comic book readers should take their local industry more seriously and start asking themselves what kind of comic books they would like their fellow Canadians to create.

Labels: analysis, blogosphere, can-con, news, Ottawa

The Montreal Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will be attending Con*Cept. Weather permitting, there will be telescopes day and night! Yes, the sun is a star, and can be observed through specialized telescopes. Two Center members are planning to bring their hydrogen alpha and calcium K solar telescopes.

Programmation pour les Fans du Futur

Sam. 10h00-12h00: Il était une fois...
(activités à nature historique et géographique incluant la présentation de fossiles)

13h30-18h00: Terre de contes (ateliers créatifs, un ou deux invités spéciaux, et préparation des costumes de nos fans du futur avant la mascarade)


Dim.
09h30-12h30: Explorations spatiales (un autre invité spécial, jeux et ateliers sur la galaxie)

13h30-18h00: Fou de la science (expériences amusantes et autres activités)

We have a tentative schedule for the Young Fans programming.

Fans in Training

Sat. 10:00 to 12:30: Long Ago and Far Away (activities of a historical and geographical nature including a fossils exhibit)

1:30 to 6pm: Land of Make-Believe (imaginative crafts, a very special Guest or two and preparation for the Fan in Training fashion show before the Masquerade)

Sun. 9:30 to 12:30: Spatial Explorations (another special Visitor, galactic games and crafts)

1:30 to 6pm: Mad About Science (experimental fun and other activities)

All our Guests of Honour will be visiting our young fans!

Labels: conventions, events, events links, fanfic, festivals, Montreal, news, Quebec, sci-fi, zine fair, zines

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

About The Doug Wright Awards

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

Language of work
[SeqEd:accepted for submissions]

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

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

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

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

Promotional film for full-length documentary on Hoverboy- one time hero of radio, comic books, and TV. Now a forgotten footnote of 20th Century popular culture. Featuring interviews with Rick Green (PRISONERS OF GRAVITY, RED GREEN SHOW) and writer/artist Ty Templeton (BATMAN, AVENGERS) who is preparing to release the first Hoverboy comic in more than 30 years. For more Hoverboy history go to www.hoverboy.com

Labels: barely comics, can-con, comics history, comics on film, comics on tv, events, misunderstanding comics, new books, news

Labels: book launches, Montreal, new books, news, Ontario, Quebec, Toronto

Jim Munroe (w)
Salgood Sam (a)

What if the religious right... are right?

Therefore Repent! is a graphic novel set in a Chicago neighborhood after the Rapture. Once the Christians have floated bodily into the sky, life goes on pretty much as usual for the immoral majority... except that magic works, if you're willing to risk demonic mutations. CNN reports that Mr. Christ and Mr. Bush are on a speaking tour of the red states. And an angelic army appears to have been deployed to mop up the sinners. But through it all, outsiders Raven and Mummy face the possibility of a bigger problem than the end of the world: the end of their relationship.

In the tradition of The Book of Revelations, Therefore Repent!, courtesy of novelist Jim Munroe (Flyboy Action Figure Comes With Gasmask) and acclaimed artist Salgood SamSea of Red) is a lurid, dark fantasy tale. By taking the apocryphal scripture as literal truth - as the American powers-that-be claim to do - the story also explores the political and spiritual ramifications of God abandoning humanity.

TPB-FC
6" x 8"
$14.99
160 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-60010-146-1

Labels: can-con, corrections, new books, news, preview

Labels: book launches, cartoonists, new books, news, tools of the trade, Toronto, trade

Do It Yourself GoreFest:
Special Effects on the Cheap

Indie Artist, Promote Yourself:
A How-to Guide to DIY Promotion lead by indie promoter extraordinaire Trevor Coleman.

Labels: book launches, can-con, Canzine, conventions, events, new books, news, Ontario, small press, Toronto, undergrounds, zine fair, zines

Labels: anthologies, bd, can-con, cartoon reportage, comics writers, Expozine, Montreal, new books, news, Quebec, small press

Award-winning graphic novel writer and former Edmonton resident Derek McCulloch will return to his old stomping grounds this October to pass on a little of what he's learned about the blues in his time in America. On Friday, October 5th, McCulloch will appear first at Happy Harbor comics, where he will sign copies of his graphic novel, Stagger Lee. Later that evening, he will appear at the Edmonton Public Library, where he will give a slide show and lecture on the history and myth of Stagger Lee.

Appearing with Derek is local comic historian and professional reviewer Tim Lasiuta who will be signing copies of his book "Brush Strokes With Greatness - Life & Times of Joe Sinnott" and will be available to talk to fans about other great comic legends. You can listen to Tim's weekly, live comic webcast on World News Radio's COMIC ZONE every Wednesday at 2 pm Pacific!

Friday, October 5th, 4 p.m - 6 p.m. - Signing
at Happy Harbor Comics,
10112 - 124 Street,
(780) 452-8211
7 p.m. - Slide show, reading,
Q&A, and signing at Edmonton Public Library,
Centre Core, Centre for Reading and the Arts,
Stanley A Milner Library,
7 Sir Winston Churchill Square,
(780) 496-7000

Labels: book launches, comics in libraries, comics retailers, Edmonton, events, new books, news

Bonjour a tous le 5 octobre prochain, dans le cadre du festival Atenne_a, lancement du prochain fanzine bidon accompagne d'un cd du groupe (swedish) death polka. et une merveilleuse couverture realisee par Valerie Morency. 5a 7 plus spectale a 19hr a la chapelle de l'amerique francaise a Quebec. histoire ecrite par samuel murdock basee sur le premier effondrement du pont de quebec 2, cote de la Fabrique. merci et au plaisirs http://www.swedishdeathpolka.com/ http://www.antenne-a.com/ http://pishier.blogspot.com/ http://kabochenook01.blogspot.com/

Labels: book launches, can-con, comics with music, events, francophone, links, music, new books, news, Quebec, undergrounds, zines

Labels: awards, can-con, conventions, events, Expozine, links, Montreal, news, Ontario, Ottawa, Quebec, small press, Toronto, zine fair, zines

Labels: can-con, cartoonists, links, Montreal, news, Quebec

Labels: book launches, can-con, events, graphic novels, Montreal, news

Pierre-Andre Dery is still a member of the board of Grafiksismik, but not of Dreamwave II. However, Dreamwave II is owned by Dery Capital Inc, controlled by Pierre's brother Christian Dery. And Capitain Blitzkrieg is owned by Valerie Martineau, Pierre's long term partner.

[...]

I spoke with Pierre over the weekend and he told me "Grafiksismik went bankrupt in the fall of 2005 after being unable to collect tens of thousands of dollars owed by Speakeasy... At the time every Grafik staffer were up to date with their payments with some freelancer debts remaining. The former stockholders have been slowly (Meaning too slowly, but still as fast as they can) paying those freelancers from their own pockets with a couple left unpaid to this day. When we'll be done paying freelancer debts this fall, it'll will have taken two years to pay up everyone the money we expected at the time from Speakeasy.

"While I have freelanced for Capitaine Blitzkrieg in different capacities in the past, I am not currently affiliated with this studio, I've been working full-time for a video game developer for over a year."

Labels: news, publishing, Quebec

Labels: comic jams, events, links, Montreal, news, Quebec

Captain Canuck Is Dead; National Hero Since 1975
By BRAD McCOY
National Post
Published: March 31, 2007

Captain Canuck, Canada's superhero, is fatally shot by a sniper in the latest issue of his eponymous comic, which arrived in stores yesterday. The assassination ends the guardian of the north's fight for right, which began in 1975.

Captain Canuck, while heading to the Parliament Buildings, is shot and killed.

The last episode in Captain Canuck's life comes after a turbulent publishing career. Created by writer Don Fleishman and artist/co-writer Richard Comedy, the original Captain Canuck first appeared in Captain Canuck #1 (July 1975). The story followed Tom Evans, a Canadian secret agent who gained superhuman strength from contact with extraterrestrials. This first version of the Canadian superhero ran 14 issues, ending in 1981, and was drawn mostly by George Freeman taking over from Richard Comedy. The series was revived in 1993 and again in 2004. In 2006 a fourth incarnation of the character was featured in a new series.

The decision to make the new Captain a woman polarized the superhero fan community. Captain Canuck (whose true identity is Sally Maple) is a staunch feminist and fights for women's rights and multiculturalism. Her adventures often lead her to interact with government officials and to petition the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa.

But in the current issue of her title, Captain Canuck takes bullets in the shoulder and stomach while on the steps of Parliament. The assassin is alleged to be Redcoat, an intelligence agent romantically involved with Captain Canuck. He was apparently under the control of Mr. Gold, a supervillain. "It seemed a little radical when it was first brought up," said Richard Comedy, the president and publisher of Canuck Comics, about the hero's death. "But sometimes stories just take you places."

"We as publishers and as creative people knew where the ending was going to go for a long time," he said. "We knew people might not like it, but I think we delivered a compelling story that made everyone think."

He added: "The stories we have planned dealing with Cap's death are really compelling too."

This is not Captain Canuck's first brush with death. In the 1970s he battled alien invaders and was presumed dead but was actually transported back in time to the period when Vikings first discovered Canada. Years later the character was thawed out to continue his career.

More recently, Kebec, the Captain's francophone partner --who was thought killed by an explosion as he tried to defuse a bomb-- was revealed to be alive. Kebec was saved by sovereignist forces, who put him on ice and thawed him for their own missions. Captain Canuck broke the separatist hold on Kebec, and the two had a brief reunion. Kebec, who has taken on the name Kapitain Kebec, is now on a quest to redeem his actions.

Cultural commentators from the world of comic books have begun to weigh in on the event, expressing opinions on the philosphical and economic underpinnings of the red-and-white clad hero and the implications of her death. Jeet Heer, a Regina-based writer and academic, puzzles over the very existence of a Canadian superhero, implying that the death of Captian Canuck was a forgone conclusion. "Ingrained in the superhero genre is a sense of America's invincibility, its inherent goodness, and its world historical destiny," he says. "National heroes from other country (be they Captain Canuck, England's Union Jack, Frances's Superdupont, or Israel's Shaloman) always seem parodic and desultory. Despite its faltering in Iraq, the United States is the world's only superpower and for that reason it's the only country that creates confident and commercially successful superheroes."

The commercial viability of Captain Canuck may be the main reason for the Captain's death, at least in the minds of some comic book retailers. According to Harold Pottermole, owner of the Sirens' Song bookstore in Toronto, superhero comics and their publishers may be a dying breed. "Everything that these companies do is in complete isolation from true market forces. They are not now, nor have they been for thirty years part of the mass-media. Companies run by fans with comics drawn by fans rarely think of catering to anyone but themselves, which unfortunately means comics aimed primarily at adult men who still want to read comics featuring characters suited to children's entertainment."

Trying to incorporate aspects of the real world --like death and the struggle for women's rights-- into superhero comics is like someone "writing a Berenstain Bears novel for adults," Pottermole adds.

So is this the end of Captain Canuck? "He's very dead right now," Mr. Comedy said.

Still, these are comic books, where characters have a history of dying and returning. Most famously, DC published "The Death of Superman" in November 1992. That comic was a best seller, but the Man of Steel eventually returned to the land of the living in August 1993.

Fans on newsarama.com, a Web site devoted to comic book news, quickly posted their reactions to Captain Canuck's death. They ranged from a cynical "Yeah, right!" and "I know it's temporary" to the more media-savvy: "I'm fairly sure killing Cap with a movie in development would not be very sensible. So, I shall wait and see." Others were even less forgiving: "This is just a blatant attempt to cash in on recent trends in U.S. comics."

Labels: news, Ontario, Ottawa, publishing, Toronto

I found out how graphic novels became eligible for grants, what phone calls stress their staff the most, and that technological changes may banish the ghost of vanity press and make self-publishers eligible for funding.

Labels: can-con, grants, interviews, news, pod casts, publishing

Labels: news, political cartooning, real world

And here are my own photos from the night, you can see them all here on flickr...

Labels: awards, can-con, events, Montreal, news, people, publishing, zines

The store's cause is starting to get support from individuals across the country.

Toronto-area resident Terry Lewis, who describes himself as "perfectly straight," says he was so outraged by Little Sister's troubles that he's trying to mount his own fundraising campaign.

"You can't call it anything less than abuse by Canada Customs," says Lewis. "Someone in Canada Customs has decided they don't like the material that Little Sister's imports. The problem with that kind of abuse of authority is there's no knowing where it's going to stop."

Labels: censorship, news, Ontario, Toronto

Wednesday March 7, 2007
Mainline Theatre
3997 Boul. St-Laurent,
9:00 pm, FREE admission.

About the awards:

To reflect the wide diversity of printed matter that was represented last November at Expozine, Montreal's only annual small press, comic and zine fair, six prizes will be awarded: three prizes in English and three in French, for the following categories: Best book, Best comic, Best zine. Each of the more than 200 Expozine 2006 participants were asked to submit their best creation for consideration for the prizes. The shortlist was selected by an esteemed panel of judges, and are listed below.

SHORTLIST

• Best English Comic
• Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
• Ojingogo (#2) by Matthew Forsythe
• Revolver 2 by Salgood Sam with Jim Munroe
• Screwed Ball by Bill Charbonneau
• I Found It in My Urethra! by Robin Bougie

• Best English Zine:
• knoggin knowledge, a danger to themselves, and Rolling Man by Kerry Byrne.
• A Queersafe Zine by Mary Potter, Leah Newbold, Adriana. Drawings by Sarah Mangle.
• Welcome to Gayside by The Third Leg.
• Wires by Jeff Otaku.
• thanksgiving by Sarah Pinder.

• Best English Book:
• The Feast: A Collection of Art in Black and White by Permanent Marker Art Society / Shawn O'Keefe and Harley Smart
• In Search of Divine Styler by Ryan Somers, a.k.a. Fritz tha Cat (MudScout Press)
• Jugsaw Youth: Two New Stories by J.B. Staniforth
• Monsters for Real (Loveletters #1 through 11) by Jim Holyoak
• *Tattoo This Madness In by Daniel Allen Cox, Dusty Owl Press
• *The Theory of the Loser Class by Jon Paul Fiorentino, Coach House Press

• Meilleur Bande Dessinée:
• Hasermeister (spécial Halloween) par Frédéric Mahieu
• Le Bob #5 par collectif de Québec
• Mélodie burlesque par Sylvie Rancourt et Jacques Boivin
• Le commun des mortels par Louis Bouvier

• Meilleur Zine:
• FAS: Non-apprivoisable et non-domesticable, par fas.mjack.net
• Sexyfall / shute nous, par Louise-Andrée Lapierre
• Clémentine, par Vincent Couture
• Fanzine bidon #13 spécial mouvement, par Pierre Bouchard
• Take out / prêt-à-porter, par La Centrale

• Meilleur Livre
• (à venir)

Labels: awards, can-con, events, Montreal, news, publishing, zines

Labels: comic jams, events, Montreal, news