Sequential // Comics News & Culture from Canada

Canadian Comix News & Culture

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

Labels: bd, graphic novels, publishing

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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.

Labels: bd, comic strips, comics history, help wanted, publishing

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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Publishing: CTON's Super A-maze-ing Year of Crazy Comics

:: Posted by Bryan @ 8/26/2008 02:00:00 AM

OWL magazine stalwart Clayton Hanmer presents a collection of comics-goodness, CTON's Super A-maze-ing Year of Crazy Comics, Puzzles, Mazes, Blobs, & More! The Toronto-based cartoonist will be officially launching the book in September.

OWL Books

CTON blog

Labels: kids comics, publishing

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Monday, August 25, 2008

Shock Effect production process

:: Posted by dave h @ 8/25/2008 03:18:00 PM

Shock Effect, a newly-minted sci-fi comic by Toronto writer Ian Daffern and Toronto artist John Lang, is in competition at DC Comics' publishing competition site, www.Zuda.com, at this link: www.zudacomics.com/node/543

www.Zuda.com is a site where artists submit their work and compete against similar comics, in order to win a publishing contract with publishing giant DC Comics. You can vote for them, offer critcism, leave comments about the comic and offer support.

To promote their effort -and to drive people to their appearance at Zuda and encourage people to vote for them - Ian and John have put up a production blog, which includes a short documentary on their creative process, at www.shockeffect.blogspot.com

Take a look, vote at www.Zuda.com, and consider leaving a comment - it ends Aug 28th. Best of luck, guys!

Labels: publishing, Toronto, webcomics

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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Publishing: Von Allan's "Li'l Kids: road to god knows... adventures!"

:: Posted by Bryan @ 8/19/2008 05:00:00 AM

Prolific blogger Von Allan, who has posted ceaselessly on his efforts to create and market his first graphic novel, "The Road to God Knows", has some exciting news: a companion volume to the book is finished and available in print. See the press release below:

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (August 17, 2008) -- Comic books and graphic novels have, over the past twenty years, become a widely embraced medium in book publishing. Initially dismissed as children's entertainment, comics have now developed a maturity and range of vision that rivals other forms of art and literature. Graphic novels are read by people from all walks of life and have reached a level of critical acceptance that was unheard of decades ago. This resurgence has been led by a number of young artists who bring unique voices to the medium. Von Allan, an Ottawa-based artist and graphic novelist, joins this group with his recently published graphic novel "Li'l Kids: road to god knows ... adventures!"

"Graphic novels offer a combination of words and images that speak to us on a very fundamental level," says Allan. "In a way I think it's storytelling at its most primal form. It allows an author to engage with a reader in a way that's similar to literature and yet very, very different. Comics, when you come right down to it, are just ink marks on a piece of paper. That a reader can interpret that into a fully formed story is really quite remarkable. On top of it, so much of what makes sequential art come alive is defined by what's not there. The gutter space between each panel of art is very important. This is where the reader's imagination and personality comes into play. It's a beautiful medium and one I love exploring. Hopefully that sense of exploration comes across in 'Li'l Kids.'"

Another unique aspect of the graphic novel is its availability in multiple channels. "Li'l Kids" is downloadable as a free PDF eBook on the artist's website. In addition, a free torrent version is available via LegalTorrents.com. The graphic novel is distributed under a Creative Commons Canada licence that grants readers the ability to distribute the online versions of the book for free. "I believe in both print publishing and bookstores and I always have," says Allan. "But I also believe that obscurity is one of the hardest things for young artists to avoid. By using a variety of online distribution tools as well as more traditional print publishing, I'm hoping more people will get to know both myself and my work. I believe that this helps build a platform for my continued development as an artist and helps grow my audience at the same time. I'm also very pleased to see that the book is already available through a number of channels, notably online at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble."

"Li'l Kids" is a collection of three interlocked short stories that focus on elements from a young girl's life. We see Marie, the main character in each story, develop and grow; from meeting a new friend to her burgeoning awareness of both her family's poverty and her mom's mental illness. This later theme is more fully explored in the graphic novel "the road to god knows...;" Marie is only eight years old at the time of these three stories. As a result, she is only just beginning to be aware of the world around her and her place in it. Each story stands on its own but, when taken together, they demonstrate that childhood, like most aspects of life, can have its ups and downs. Being a child can be fun, scary, and magical; but sometimes the things that seem very little at the time can have a profound effect on you later on in life. That's certainly true for Marie and her experiences in these stories help to bear that out. Later, in "the road to god knows...," we see just how significant some of those events can be.

In addition to the three stories, this collection includes a large amount of supporting material. Concept and thumbnail art illustrate how each story was put together. Allan also discusses where each story's inspiration came from and how each story's initial idea formed. Lastly, he shows each step from story outline to completed script.

"Li'l Kids: road to god knows... adventures!" is an 88 page graphic novel and has an ISBN of 978-0-9781237-1-0. The suggested retail price is $13.95 US.

About Von Allan: Von Allan was born red-headed and freckled in Arnprior, Ontario, just in time for "Star Wars: A New Hope." He managed Perfect Books, an independent bookstore in Ottawa, for many years while working on story ideas in his spare time; eventually, he decided to make the leap to a creative life, and "the road to god knows..." was the result. Additional information about the graphic novel can be found at www.vonallan.com.

Labels: book launches, graphic novels, Ontario, Ottawa, profiles, publishing

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Friday, August 15, 2008

More hot air about the so called DWA controversy.

:: Posted by max @ 8/15/2008 03:33:00 PM

In response to The Doug Wright Awards' so called 'Canadian' language controversy, re: your defense of the Doug Wright Awards
from Robert Haines.

With all due respect to Robert, and due warning to future commenters. I don't have time to manually post comments for you.

That's why we use an automated blogger system for the site, so I don't have to do things like that. It's password protected so that we don't get spammed to death.

If you want to participate sign up.

And if you waste my time with poorly thought through crap in my Email, If i do anything, it's more likely to be this - post you on the front page of the site to tear it apart.

Don't get your hopes up, not doing it again for this subject. This one time to make a point, USE THE COMMENTS.

Hello Max, I do not have a blog account and so I am unable to comment directly at Sequential. Please post this comment as found below:

I'm glad to see Sequential address this issue and not run away. I think you are ignoring the truth about how the DWA's advertise themselves. Place the words 'Canada's premier comic award' or 'the country's premier comic award' into google and see what comes up (don't forget to look at the cached results, also). There can be no debate that the DWA's refer to themselves this way.

So, Bryan Munn is deeply involved with the DWA's and Sequential? That might explain his Sequential post on June 27, 2008: "... the 4th Annual Doug Wright Awards, the country's premier comics awards ...", though that was lifted right off of the DWA's website. Or on The Comics Journal message board, Brad MacKay wrote, "...Canada's premier cartooning awards meets Canada's best-known cartoonist" and, "...the 4th Annual Doug Wright Awards, the country's premier comics awards...". Check The Beguiling's website, as well as the TCAF site, to see the same sentiment. Brian and Brad are both deeply involved in the DWA's and they are the ones writing these words. A lot of people don't see any difference between being 'Canada's premier awards' and 'THE Canadian awards'. In fact, the DWA wording of 'premier' is probably more pretentious and self serving than 'THE'.

Herve may have been over the top with some of comparisons, but he certainly brought a long discussed topic out into the open. I cannot speak for Herve but it would seem to me that the issue really is that the DWA's are self described as 'Canada's premier awards', while containing no French Canadian content.

Further, your suggestion of having the Wright's merge, or work alongside, the Prix Bedelys is an strange suggestion. There is another, much more obvious, pairing. But we all know that would never happen, and only because the DWA membership meeting would resemble a scene from Cronenberg's Scanners at the suggestion.

Best,
Robert Haines

Bryan is deeply involved? I said closely involved, he helps organize at the events. I didn't characterize it as deep. I'll leave that for him to comment on if he feels inclined but it's truly irrelevant to the charge of discrimination. What this was about primarily.

As for the the Prix Bedelys/hypothetical solution i proposed - I just suggested a collaboration, a sharing of resources, not a bloody "merger"!

And how the hell is 'work alongside' any different from my 'trade for mutual benefit' or your 'pairing'. Don't be a prat.

NOTHING comes up for the solid phrase "Canada's premier comic award"

"Canada's premier comics and graphic novels awards" gets two hits, one is a TCAF/DWA site, the other is Dave Sim talking about the same auction as the first.

To get anything else you have to take it out of quotes, and what you end up proving is that they are in fact well known in Lit circles, and have courted an elite profile from the start.

Premier = 1#
First in status or importance;
principal or chief:
an architect of premier rank.

Not THE.

Take a look at the Jury Lineups. The press they get. The critical awareness of the work the nominate and awarded.

Look up "Doug Wright Awards" in the news search.

EXCLUDE us. EXCLUDE Brads past day job work at the CBC. what do you have?

Along with many other sites, Walrus Magazine, Quill & Quire, Editor & Publisher, Publishers Weekly, Globe and Mail, etc.

Not all nice long articles at all but some good coverage in some very prominent, NON comics media. The first two being Literary in fact.

Do the same of ANY of the other awards currently in Canada. In the News search I ran on "The Shusters", not even "The Joe Shuster Awards" which draws a blank - I got one hit today, in an article about the DWA. It's a short reference about how the ONE thing they do, "nominally" better is award french language books....! hah! I love irony.

Hey, I love that they are out there too, doing what they do. It's great they put together a special comity to nominate FR language books. I haven't got one bone to pick with any of the awards. But no others are an elite award with anything like a national profile!

O_o [ <-this is me giving the hairy eye] The Shusters are ~~a fan pick. And that's~~ great, and different.

Populous.

Not elite.

Not critically Primer.

[ed: seems they switched, from their site-"Although these awards were chosen, in their first three incarnations, by a public vote, the process changed in 2007 to decision by a jury of individuals [~~not listed anywhere~~] to ensure each nominee is given adequate consideration" ~~They don't provide the Names of these individuals or their credentials, so if anything, it's gone from populous to anonymous!~~ Ok, got ahead of myself, here's their list now, and it' was along side this "Creator nominees are nominated for their BODY OF WORK during the previous calendar year, not just for one specific work, although they may have only had one specific work published. Winners are selected by a jury."]

For the DWA, the Past Jury list includes Bruce McDonald, Mark Kingwell, Judy MacDonald, Lorenz Peter, Jessica Johnson, Ho Che Anderson, Marc Glassman, Katrina Onstad, Helena Reckitt, Mariko Tamaki. Chester Brown. Rebecca Caldwell, Nora Young, Jerry Ciccoritti & Don McKellar.

Every year a film maker, at least one prominent member of the media if not two, someone from the Arts or Academia, and a critically significant cartoonist.

With it's Jury's CV's on it's sleeve, and a purely Critical standard, ED: nominating a SINGLE book per Creator, The DWA are currently the most prominent, critically elite, highest standard bearing Award that ANYONE and EVERYONE in the country can be eligible for assuming they can fit into what is still, JUST TWO AWARDS CATEGORIES in ONE language. Because for now, it's a small operation despite it's critical standing and they do not have the time and money to do more! Would love to, but nope.

ED: The Shusters have never had a Literary profile, it's not how they present themselves, or how the books they choose come off exclusively as a rule, as it pretty much is for the DWA. Great that they got a kick ass Jury now, but it's just true. Even the prize is a lot more classic comic book humble. Compared to this? The JSA don't promote an elite image, it's just a fact. They are not intentionally Literary at all.

The DWA does, and is. And I don't think they are going to apologize for that. It's how they started, it's what they are all about.

All of this only proves they have one front
on which they truly discriminate, QUALITY.

You can call it a small operation. Call it elitist. You can point out how incredibly small the community is leading to some very close associations that are frankly unavoidable. This is true for all awards let alone the all the comics awards in Canada.

You could suggest we should sit around and wait for someone outside of the community to notice the work - which would be stupid. Far better we got off our asses and brought the outside in to see the work.

Hey, you can even talk about how funny it was when Seth was given the very trophy he built himself the first year, and turned bright red and said himself how someone should have stopped that from happening as the jury sat and chuckled at him. Darwin Cooke also i suspect was bright red, when he stormed out of the ceremony yelling 'this is bullshit' and went to drink some more at the bar.

That was pretty funny.

But excluding Seth's book from the list, given it was the most wildly reviewed and lauded comic of the season hands down even without the nomination! Would have made the DWA claim to be for the Best Book false. It would have been the best book, barring having to compete with Seth's.

He was asked to make the trophies before his book came out and was eligible for the list, or the list had even been drawn up. What ya' going to do?

It's a small fucking scene people, thousands of creators but the cream is a thin skim on the top of it. And as it turns out a few creators of that caliber are amongst the ones who thought recognition for this kind of achievement was lacking in Canada and took it upon themselves to begin to do something about it.

I personally cant thank them enough, even know I also personally felt out of my place at times being nominated that first year.

Yep, that's right, I was nominated and here I am, dyslexic and too damn busy but still the guy running the ONLY web site so far dedicated exclusively to Canadian comics coverage and who cant get any of you other geeks to contribute unless it's to try to tear down shit.

When if ever are more people in the 'community' going to work towards something instead of against?

It's a FUCKING small scene and a lot of it is bloody lazy or superficial. Pardon my french.

And you can complain all you like about that stuff. I, and I'm sure the DWA organizers will shrug and say, what's your point? Do you suggest it would be better not to have the DWA at all? 'cus these are the options for now.

No one else was stepping up to do the job, to put an award like this together at all! The Shusters started around the same time and have very different goals. Before that, ZIP for a dog's age.

So a group of Journalists, Critics, Super Fans and a couple of creators got together and made it happen with the help of the Wright family and some amazing volunteers. What have you done Robert? Better be good trying to pull this one. And I mean outside of being Deeply Involved with the Shusters yourself? That's great you doing that, but it brings your critique into some light don't it?

Course line of it's a small world after all goes here.

Calling the DWA anything else is BS. Calling it pretentious is redundant, and calling it, or suggesting it's bigoted against French comics or French creators is not only steaming hot BS, it's also offensive, dirty politics gaming, confrontational, and unsubstantiated. AND TO BE CLEAR, that was what Herve charged the DWA with.

100% FAIL

Good day sir.
Max Douglas, aka Salgood Sam.

PS: want to comment on this? USE THE COMMENTS.

Labels: awards, blogosphere, can-con, events, festivals, Letter to the Editor, publishing, tcaf

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Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Publishing: Scott Pilgrim Full-Colour Odds & Ends 2008

:: Posted by Bryan @ 8/05/2008 06:00:00 AM

Scott Pilgrim Full-Colour Odds & Ends 2008
Bryan Lee O'Malley, writer/artist
Oni, July 2008
32 pages

read about it here

Labels: floppies, graphic novels, publishing

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Friday, July 25, 2008

Quickly

:: Posted by Bryan @ 7/25/2008 03:22:00 AM

Some quick links to recent news and views from the world of Canadian comics, for your weekend reading:

Sequential congratulates Halifax comics blogger Rachelle Goguen and her beau on their wedding. Best wishes!

Kevin Boyd on what makes a successful convention.

D+Q has a new hire, Kit Malo, Director of Operations.

The Inkstuds podcast is on a roll lately with a great lineup of Canadian comics creators, including Miriam Libicki, Camilla D'Errico, David Collier, and Marc Bell representing.

Labels: events, Halifax, links, Nova Scotia, pod casts, publishing, Quebec

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Thursday, July 24, 2008

MensuHell To End Monthly Publication

:: Posted by Bryan @ 7/24/2008 06:00:00 AM

The long-running Quebec comics fanzine MensuHell will cease publication on a monthly basis by the end of 2008, according to a post on the BDQ forums (see translated version here). According to MensuHell editor/publisher Francis Hervieux, "the MesnuHell as you know it is coming to an end." The zine has showcased a wide array of Quebec comics talent since beginning in 1995. The zine was originally titled Requin Roll Presente but changed to MensuHell and more regular publication in 2000. Each month the zine presents a combination of serialized comics, historical articles, gags, and short stories, ranging from the work of first-timers to well-established pros and writers about comics.

Labels: bd, publishing, Quebec, zines

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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Publishing: The Apocalipstix

:: Posted by Bryan @ 7/23/2008 06:01:00 AM

Out today, The Apocalipstix by writer Ray Fawkes and artist Cameron Stewart. The first volume in a new series published by U.S. graphic novel publisher Oni Press, the book follows the adventures of an all-female rock band.

THE APOCALIPSTIX, Vol. 1
$11.95
Pages: 144
ISBN: 978-1-932664-45-4
Diamond Code: MAY08 4059

website

A 50-page preview is available here.

See the book profile in the Toronto Star.

Labels: comics with music, graphic novels, Ontario, publishing, Toronto

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Publishing: Mysterious Minute-Men

:: Posted by Bryan @ 7/23/2008 06:00:00 AM

Mike Aragona's The Mysterious Minute-Men Omnibus is now available. A 254 page book collecting the superhero parody serialized in the Aragona-edited fanzine/APA Comicopia.

Labels: publishing

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Thursday, July 10, 2008

Doing the Rounds

:: Posted by Bryan @ 7/10/2008 01:35:00 AM

Summer Reading Part I: Since I had only 3 hours sleep Tuesday night, today I read 4 old Lois Lane comics, Billy Hazelnuts, Joe Ollman's Chewing on Tinfoil, and an old issue of the Cherkas/Hancock Suburban Nightmares series that I found for 50 cents at the BMV on Bloor Street ... as well as the information at the following links:

Comic book collection stolen in Kincardine.

The U.S. vs Canada, in caricature.

Merriam-Webster dictionary finally lists "fanboy."

Happy 10th Anniversary, Editions La Pasteque, publisher of fine French-language graphic novels!

Robin Bougie on stealing money to buy comics when he was a kid. Part One. Part 2.

The most popular graphic novels in Canada are translated comics from Japan. Chris Butcher comments on the state of the manga industry in North America: Part One. Part 2.

(top image: Michael Nicoll Yahgulanass' "Haida Manga Bear")

Labels: graphic novels, links, publishing, summer reading

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Crystal Fractal Comics at Paradise Con

:: Posted by Bryan @ 7/10/2008 01:20:00 AM

It's easy to get your press release or publishing news linked to at Sequential, Just email us and watch the magic happen!

The book below is debuting at this coming weekend's Paradise Comics Convention in Toronto.

CRYSTAL FRACTAL COMICS DEBUTS WITH PARADISE TORONTO COMICON PREVIEW EDITION OF "CRYSTAL FRACTAL UNIVERSE 0.0"

- Special CGC "Signature Series" will be available -

Crystal Fractal Comics [ED: not a great web site, their Myspace page has more art] launches at the July 12 & 13, 2008 Paradise Toronto Comicon with a special Paradise Toronto Comicon preview edition of "Crystal Fractal Universe 0.0."

"Crystal Fractal Universe 0.0" provides a glimpse of the upcoming line of comics including "Doctor Twilight", "Magus Rex" and "Project Epsilon London Town" and includes two short stories including "CFU The Crossing" written by Derrek Lennox with Jeffrey Haas and art by Jian Yi. This printing will be limited to less than 2000 copies, with less than 133 set aside for the CGC Signature Series program. The exact print run will be released at the Convention.

"We are extremely excited to release this preview edition at the Paradise Toronto ComiCON," says Derrek Lennox, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Crystal Fractal Comics, "and of course to see the response and reaction to featured writers from the US and Canada, as well as renown artists from China, Argentia and Canada – artists from around the world that will be showcased as the comic series are released."

Crystal Fractal Comics is a Toronto, Ontario; Canada based comic book and character property company.

Labels: conventions, events, Ontario, publishing, Toronto

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Monday, July 07, 2008

New Books from Les 400 Coups

:: Posted by Bryan @ 7/07/2008 02:10:00 AM

Michel Viau lists the upcoming (August to October) graphic novel and strip releases from Les 400 Coups and Mecanique Generale. Included in the list is a French-language reprint of Jules Feiffer's Tantrum graphic novel and a collection of strips by Albert Chartier, Une piquante petite brunette.

Labels: bd, graphic novels, publishing

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Thursday, June 26, 2008

Publishing: New Releases, Summer 2008

:: Posted by Bryan @ 6/26/2008 01:38:00 AM

Some new books from Canadian creators that are now out or soon will be:

Chiggers, Hope Larson
A young adult book about girls at a summer camp from publisher Simon & Schuster.

Rabbit and Bear Paws 2: The Voyageurs, Chad Solomon & Christopher Meyer
Continuing the adventures of the Ojibway Asterix and Obelix. (See my review of the first volume here.)

No Girls Allowed, Susan Hughes & Willow Dawson
A collection of stories about famous "Joan of Arc" types (Kids Can Press).

Claire and the Bakery Thief, Janice Poon
A mystery graphic novel for 7-10 year olds, with recipes! (Kids Can Press)

Are you publishing a new book or is there a book you would like to see mentioned on Sequential? Please let us know.

Labels: graphic novels, publishing

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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Today: Ditko Book Launch, Toronto

:: Posted by Bryan @ 6/18/2008 06:01:00 AM

Toronto writer and blogger Blake Bell celebrates the release of his long-awaited Steve Ditko biography. Ditko is one of the top-twenty post-war creators of U.S. kids' comics (Spider-Man, Marvel monster and horror comics) who also has had a very interesting career as a creator of highly personal and idiosyncratic politico-philosophical comics. Bell has spent years researching his life and work.

The World of Steve Ditko Book Launch, with author Blake Bell
(includes a screening of the BBC documentary film about Ditko)
In partnership with The Merrill Collection and the Beguiling
Wednesday, June 18th 7PM-9PM
Lillian H. Smith Library, 239 College St. (at Spadina)

FREE

Labels: book launches, comics history, Ontario, publishing, Toronto, trade, U.S. superhero franchises

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Friday, June 13, 2008

Today: Book Expo Canada

:: Posted by Bryan @ 6/13/2008 06:00:00 AM

Today and this Weekend in Toronto: Book Expo Canada

Chris Butcher has the lowdown on several comics-specific panels. Book Expo is the annual trade show run by trade show giant (and Publishers Weekly owner) Reed. For the last few years, both the U.S. and Canada shows have a large comics/graphic novel showcase, with publishers and distributors showing their wares. Kind of like a comics con, except with authors and business people in suits and no costumes (except for the odd kids' book character like Dora the Explorer).

June 12-16
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
North Building

Labels: comics retailers, events, graphic novels, Ontario, publishing, Toronto

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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

D+Q to Reprint John Stanley Classics

:: Posted by Bryan @ 5/20/2008 02:53:00 AM

Sequential heard about this "secret" reprint project a few weeks ago but now it's official: Montreal's Drawn and Quarterly will be reprinting classic kids comics series Melvin Monster, Thirteen Going on Eighteen, Kookie, and Dunc and Loo, all by cartoonist John Stanley, the artist/writer behind Little Lulu. Stanley's non-Lulu comics have long been championed by D+Q cartoonist Seth and now it looks like his publisher has taken up the torch, as these blog posts reveal.

Labels: publishing

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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Tonite: Billy Mavreas Booklaunch, Montreal

:: Posted by Bryan @ 5/13/2008 01:23:00 AM

Just a reminder. See here for details.

INSIDE OUTSIDE OVERLAP

7:00pm - 11:00pm

Casa Del Popolo
4873 St-Laurent
Montreal

Labels: book launches, events, graphic novels, Montreal, publishing, Quebec

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Thursday, April 10, 2008

Acadieman Goes Number Two

:: Posted by Bryan @ 4/10/2008 12:48:00 AM

Sequential welcomes your press releases and news about Canadian comics.

This candidate for best title for a press release was emailed to me by 3 separate people:

Acadieman goes number two with the help of his friends

MONCTON - Acadieman Comics number two will be launched April 25th at the Cafe Aberdeen in Moncton. A year after releasing the first issue of the Acadieman series, artist Dano LeBlanc and Short Circuit Publishing have finally managed to get their act together and publish a second comic starring the popular Acadian superhero.

"It's about friggin' time", says Dano LeBlanc. Publisher, Andre Wilson claims it's mostly Dano's fault the second comic wasn't released, as planned, last October. But he forgives him. "Hey, we had a best seller with the first one. So what if he's a little slow getting the second comic finished. Besides, Dano was supposedly pretty busy this past year."

In his defense Dano says : "I'm not a machine!"

This second comic continues the story of Acadieman's origins and also presents a number of other local artists. These strips include Sniper Ninja Bears (Samuel Chiasson et Jean Sébastien Levesque), Voodoo Gun (Mark Young), l'Histoire de l'Acadie selon Roger (Daniel Fournier), The Strange Men (Adam Beaumont), Gothic Beach Party et Don't Just Stand There, Kill Something (Tim Moerman), as well as 11 comics created by sixth grade French-immersion students from Besborough school.

Asked what this second comic book represents for the arts scene in New Brunswick, LeBlanc says : "I don't have a clue." He's nonetheless happy that he's able to promote other comic book artists from the region.

This second comic contains other surprises which won't be revealed until the book launch. A comic book signing will take place during the launch. Another will be held the following day at The Comic Hunter as part of the Frye Festival.

Labels: floppies, New Brunswick, publishing

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Friday, April 04, 2008

Weekly Bestsellers in Canada: April 3

:: Posted by Bryan @ 4/04/2008 11:26:00 AM

The Top 50 Graphic Novels in Canada, courtesy of BookManager. The full list is available here. The list is compiled by BookManager based on sales through over 400 independent bookstores. Sales through comic shops and larger retailers like Chapters-Indigo are not reflected in this list. For balance, you might want to try the Amazon.ca and Chapters-Indigo lists. This list has two parts, the top 50 overall and (at the bottom) the top 30 by Canadian creators. I've added last week's ranking in parentheses, with a (-) indicating an absence from the top 50 last week --although books that were not in the top 50 last week were most likely in the top 100, with the possible exception of a few newly published hits

Top 50 Comics and Graphic Novels in Canada

1. (2) Naruto 28, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
2. (1) Fruits Basket 19, Natsuki Takay (Tokyopop)
3. (-) Vampire Knight 4, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)
4. (3) Fullmetal Alchemist 16, Hiromu Arakawa (VIZ)
5. (15) Naruto 27, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
6. (4) Negima! 17: Magister Negi Magi, Toshifumi/Hiroe (Random House)
7. (30) Senior's Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
8. (11) Death Note 2, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
9. (5) Death Note 1, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
10. (14) Naruto 1, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
11. (7) Naruto 2, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
12. (6) Jellaby, Kean Soo (Hyperion)
13. (9) Death Note 4, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
14. (31) Complete Persepolis, Satrapi (Knopf)
15. (8) Vampire Knight 2, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)
16. (13) Naruto 26, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
17. (10) Naruto 3, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
18. (12) Death Note 12, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
19. (-) Dark Wraith of Shannara, Terry Brooks et al (Random House)
20. (24) Death Note 3, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
-----
21. (17) Garfield Goes Bananas, Jim Davis (Random House)
22. (16) Fruits Basket 1, Natsuki Takaya (Tokyopop)
23. (21) Bleach, Vol. 22, Tite Kubo (VIZ)
24. (-) Naruto 20, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
25. (-) Naruto 19, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
26. (32) Death Note 13, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
27. (19) Death Note 7, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
28. (-) Yozakura Quartet , Suzuhito Yasuda/Satsuki Yamashita (Random House)
29. (18) Vampire Knight 3, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)
30. (-) Skim, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
31. (20) Dark Tower:The Gunslinger Born, Peter David (Marvel)
32. (38) Naruto 24, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
33. (22) Persepolis 1, Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon)
34. (45) Death Note 5, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
35. (27) Black Cat 13, Kentaro Yabuk (VIZ)
36. (25) Naruto 25, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
37. (43) Authoritative Calvin And Hobbes, Bill Watterson (Andrews McMeel)
38. (-) Naruto 22, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
39. (-) Naruto 4, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
40. (26) Death Note 6, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
-----
41. (-) Naruto 23, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
42. (-) Asterix and the Falling Sky,, Uderzo (Orion)
43. (-) Bleach 2, Tite Kubo (VIZ)
44. (-) Watchmen, Moore/Gibbons (DC)
45. (41) Hell Girl 1, Miyuki Eto (Random House)
46. (-) Naruto 5, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
47. (-) Essential Calvin And Hobbes, Bill Watterson (Andrews McMeel)
48. (-) Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons, Bill Watterson (Andrews McMeel)
49. (39) One Piece 17, Eiichiro Oda (VIZ)
50. (23) Vampire Knight 1, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)

The graphic version of Terry Brooks' Shannara fantasy novels, Dark Wraith of Shannara makes an impressive debut at #19. Likewise a high debut for a Canadian book that has been creeping up the All-Canadian list, Skim, at #30. See here for last week's list. The pattern that emerges from looking at these lists over a period of weeks is that certain books, especially manga series, continuously jostle with each other, sliding up and down the longer list on the strength of a new volume or a spate of purchases for the kiddies.

The BookManager List is a wondrous, scary place, where everyone from Todd Hignite to Charles Schulz to Dan DeCarlo to Oor Willie to Avril Lavigne duke it out and where one sale in one tiny bookstore can move a book from #999 to #200. This is also the place where you find books by Canadian creators and where our Canadian Top 25 comes from:

Sequential's All-Canadian Top 30
from BookManager

1. (2) Senior's Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
2. (1) Jellaby, Kean Soo (Hyperion)
3. (5) Skim, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
4. (3) Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography, Chester Brown (D+Q)
5. (25) The Spirit (Hardcover), Darwyn Cooke Jeph Loeb J Bone (DC)
6. (7) The New Frontier 2 (Paperback), Darwyn Cooke (DC)
7. (-) Paul Goes Fishing, Michel Rabagliati (D+Q)
8. (4) Essex County 1: Tales From the Farm, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
9. (-) Invaders from the North: How Canada Conquered the Comic Book Universe, John Bell (Dundurn)
10. (12) Extraction!: a comix reportage, Tessier/Dubois (Cumulous)
-----
11. (6) Teaching is a Learning Experience!, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
12. (8) The New Frontier 1 (Paperback), Darwyn Cooke (DC)
13. (13) I Never Liked You, Chester Brown (D+Q)
14. (14) She's Turning into One of Them!, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
15. (19) Keep the Home Fries Burning, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
16. (22) Milk Teeth, Julie Morstad (D+Q)
17. (21) Therefore Repent! Jim Munroe Salgood Sam (NMK/IDW)
18. (28) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni)
19. (-) Never Wink at a Worried Woman, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
20. (-) Northwest Passage, Scott Chantler (Oni)
-----
21. (-) Just One More Hug, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
22. (-) Zombies Calling!, Faith Erins Hicks (Slave Labor)
23. (-) Middle Aged Spread, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
24. (9) The BackBench Collection, Graham Harrop (Ronsdale)
25. (10) Last Straw (1985), Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
26. (16) White Rapids, Pascal Blanchet (D+Q)
27. (17) Albert and the Others, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
28. (15) Essex County 2: Ghost Stories, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
29. (18) Dramacon 3, Svetlana Chmakova (Tokyopop)
30. (20) Dramacon 2, Svetlana Chmakova (Tokyopop)

I think Zombies Calling! is the only new new book on the list. Everything else has been off and on the list for some time. The top 4 on the All-Canadian list rank in the top 60 overall. #5 ranks at 125 overall. #8 is 360 overall. #14 is 560 overall. #22 is 800 overall. Etc.

Labels: analysis, bestsellers, BookManager, comic strips, comics retailers, graphic novels, manga, publishing

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Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Weekly Bestsellers in Canada: March 26

:: Posted by Bryan @ 3/26/2008 06:00:00 AM

The Top 50 Graphic Novels in Canada, courtesy of BookManager. The full list is available here. The list is compiled by BookManager based on sales through over 400 independent bookstores. Sales through comic shops and larger retailers like Chapters-Indigo are not reflected in this list. For balance, you might want to try the Amazon.ca and Chapters-Indigo lists. This list has two parts, the top 50 overall and (at the bottom) the top 30 by Canadian creators. I've added last week's ranking in parentheses, with a (-) indicating an absence from the top 50 last week --although books that were not in the top 50 last week were most likely in the top 100, with the possible exception of a few newly published hits

Top 50 Comics and Graphic Novels in Canada

1. (-) Fruits Basket 19, Natsuki Takay (Tokyopop)
2. (1) Naruto 28, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
3. (21) Fullmetal Alchemist 16, Hiromu Arakawa (VIZ)
4. (2) Negima! 17: Magister Negi Magi, Ken Akamatsu Toshifumi Yoshida Ikoi Hiroe (Random House)
5. (4) Death Note 1, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
6. (8) Jellaby, Kean Soo (Hyperion)
7. (17) Naruto 2, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
8. (50) Vampire Knight 2, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)
9. (11) Death Note 4, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
10. (-) Naruto 3, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
11. (16) Death Note 2, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
12. (-) Death Note 12, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
13. (5) Naruto 26, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
14. (10) Naruto 1, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
15. (3) Naruto 27, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
16. (-) Fruits Basket 1, Natsuki Takaya (Tokyopop)
17. (28) Garfield Goes Bananas, Jim Davis (Random House)
18. (31) Vampire Knight 3, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)
19. (35) Death Note 7, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
20. (34) Dark Tower:The Gunslinger Born, Peter David (Marvel)
-----
21. (9) Bleach, Vol. 22, Tite Kubo (VIZ)
22. (7) Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon)
23. (33) Vampire Knight 1, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)
24. (-) Death Note 3, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
25. (6) Naruto Vol. 25, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
26. (18) Death Note 6, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
27. (32) Black Cat, Vol. 13, Kentaro Yabuk (VIZ)
28. (13) Chibi Vampire 7, Kagesaki Yuna (Tokyopop)
29. (37) Death Note 8, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
30. (29) Senior's Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
31. (22) Complete Persepolis, Satrapi (Knopf)
32. (14) Death Note 13, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
33. (19) Bleach 1, Tite Kubo (VIZ)
34. (-) Fullmetal Alchemist 1, Hiromu Arakawa (VIZ)
35. (20) xxxHOLiC 11, Clamp (Random House)
36. (-) Death Note 9, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
37. (39) Fruits Basket 2, Natsuki Takaya (Tokyopop)
38. (15) Naruto Vol. 24, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
39. (38) One Piece 17, Eiichiro Oda (VIZ)
40. (-) Best of Pokemon Adventures: Red:Red, Hidenori Kusaka Mato (VIZ)
-----
41. (27) Hell Girl 1, Miyuki Eto (Random House)
42. (44) Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography, Chester Brown (D+Q)
43. (30) Authoritative Calvin And Hobbes, Bill Watterson (Andrews McMeel)
44. (46) Hack Gu 1, Hamazaki Tatsuya (Tokyopop)
45. (-) Death Note 5, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
46. (-) Persepolis 2, Marjane Satrapi (Knopf)
47. (24) Wild Ones 2, Kiyo Fujiwara (VIZ)
48. (25) Maus I, Art Spiegelman (Knopf)
49. (23) Tsubasa 16: Reservoir Chronicle, Clamp (Random House)
50. (43) Mamotte! Lollipop 5, Michiyo Kikuta (Random House)

Naruto and Death Note seem to be having a friendly competition for most books in the top 50.

See here for last week's list. . The pattern that emerges from looking at these lists over a period of weeks is that certain books, especially manga series, continuously jostle with each other, sliding up and down the longer list on the strength of a new volume or a spate of purchases for the kiddies.

The BookManager List is a wondrous, scary place, where everyone from Todd Hignite to Charles Schulz to Dan DeCarlo to Oor Willie to Avril Lavigne duke it out and where one sale in one tiny bookstore can move a book from #999 to #200. This is also the place where you find books by Canadian creators and where our Canadian Top 25 comes from:

Sequential's All-Canadian Top 30
from BookManager

1. (1) Jellaby, Kean Soo (Hyperion)
2. (2) Senior's Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
3. (3) Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography, Chester Brown (D+Q)
4. (4) Essex County 1: Tales From the Farm, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
5. (10) Skim, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
6. (5) Teaching is a Learning Experience!, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
7. (15) The New Frontier 2 (Paperback), Darwyn Cooke (DC)
8. (16) The New Frontier 1 (Paperback), Darwyn Cooke (DC)
9. (6) The BackBench Collection, Graham Harrop (Ronsdale)
10. (7) Last Straw (1985), Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
-----
11. (17) The Plain Janes, Cecil Castellucci et al (DC/Minx)
12. (-) Extraction!: a comix reportage, Tessier/Dubois (Cumulous)
13. (-) I Never Liked You, Chester Brown (D+Q)
14. (24) She's Turning into One of Them!, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
15. (8) Essex County 2: Ghost Stories, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
16. (25) White Rapids, Pascal Blanchet (D+Q)
17. (27) Albert and the Others, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
18. (9) Dramacon 3, Svetlana Chmakova (Tokyopop)
19. (-) Keep the Home Fries Burning, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
20. (23) Dramacon 2, Svetlana Chmakova (Tokyopop)
-----
21. (11) Therefore Repent! Jim Munroe Salgood Sam (NMK/IDW)
22. (12) Milk Teeth, Julie Morstad (D+Q)
23. (13) Degrassi Extra Credit 3: Missing You, J Torres/Eric Kim (Pocket)
24. (14) There Goes My Baby, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
25. (19) The Spirit (Hardcover), Darwyn Cooke Jeph Loeb J Bone (DC)
26. (20) Degrassi Extra Credit 4, J Torres Steve Rolston (Pocket)
27. (21) What, Me Pregnant? (1991) Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
28. (18) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni)
29. (22) Dramacon 1, Svetlana Chmakova (Tokyopop)
30. (-) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni)

Multiple books in the top 30 for Chester Brown, Lynn Johnston, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Svetlana Chmakova, Darwyn Cooke, J. Torres, and Jeff Lemire!

Although a perennial favourite, Brown's I Never Liked You is the only new entry to the list that hasn't been seen there in the last 5 months. Forgivable, since it was originally published in 2004. The New Frontier franchise continues its resurgence, spurred by dvd and comic book sales, perhaps? Of the most recently published, Skim seems to be showing the fastest growth outside the #1 spot.

Labels: analysis, bestsellers, BookManager, comic strips, comics retailers, graphic novels, manga, publishing

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Thursday, March 20, 2008

Weekly Bestsellers in Canada: March 20

:: Posted by Bryan @ 3/20/2008 12:01:00 AM

The Top 50 Graphic Novels in Canada, courtesy of BookManager. The full list is available here. The list is compiled by BookManager based on sales through over 400 independent bookstores. Sales through comic shops and larger retailers like Chapters-Indigo are not reflected in this list. For balance, you might want to try the Amazon.ca and Chapters-Indigo lists. This list has two parts, the top 50 overall and (at the bottom) the top 30 by Canadian creators. I've added last week's ranking in parentheses, with a (-) indicating an absence from the top 50 last week --although books that were not in the top 50 last week were most likely in the top 100, with the possible exception of a few newly published hits

Top 50 Comics and Graphic Novels in Canada

1. (1) Naruto, Vol. 28, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
2. (2) Negima! 17: Magister Negi Magi, Ken Akamatsu Toshifumi Yoshida Ikoi Hiroe (Random House)
3. (4) Naruto Vol. 27, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
4. (3) Death Note, Vol. 1, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
5. (6) Naruto Vol. 26, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
6. (9) Naruto Vol. 25, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
7. (16) Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon)
8. (14) Jellaby, Kean Soo (Hyperion)
9. (5) Bleach, Vol. 22, Tite Kubo (VIZ)
10. (7) Naruto Vol. 1, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
11. (17) Death Note 4, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
12. (8) Death Note 3, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
13. (18) Chibi Vampire 7, Kagesaki Yuna (Tokyopop)
14. (15) Death Note 13, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
15. (11) Naruto Vol. 24, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
16. (10) Death Note 2, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
17. (12) Naruto, Vol. 2, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
18. (21) Death Note 6, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
19. (33) Bleach 1, Tite Kubo (VIZ)
20. (-) xxxHOLiC 11, Clamp (Random House)
-----
21. (-) Fullmetal Alchemist 16, Hiromu Arakawa (VIZ)
22. (40) Complete Persepolis, Satrapi (Knopf)
23. (13) Tsubasa 16: Reservoir Chronicle, Clamp (Random House)
24. (23) Wild Ones 2, Kiyo Fujiwara (VIZ)
25. (-) Maus I, Art Spiegelman (Knopf)
26. (22) Death Note 5, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
27. (-) Hell Girl 1, Miyuki Eto (Random House)
28. (19) Garfield Goes Bananas, Jim Davis (Random House)
29. (20) Senior's Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
30. (45) Authoritative Calvin And Hobbes, Bill Watterson (Andrews McMeel)
31. (48) Vampire Knight 3, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)
32. (24) Black Cat, Vol. 13, Kentaro Yabuk (VIZ)
33. (31) Vampire Knight 1, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)
34. (50) Dark Tower:The Gunslinger Born, Peter David (Marvel)
35. (-) Death Note 7, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
36. (25) Naruto 23, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
37. (-) Death Note 8, Tsugumi Ohba Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
38. (35) One Piece 17, Eiichiro Oda (VIZ)
39. (-) Fruits Basket 2, Natsuki Takaya (Tokyopop)
40. (-) Fruits Basket 4, Natsuki Takaya (Tokyopop)
-----
41. (-) Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures 1, Haden Blackman, et al (Dark Horse)
42. (-) My Heavenly Hockey Club 4, Ai Morinaga (Random House)
43. (-) Mamotte! Lollipop 5, Michiyo Kikuta (Random House)
44. (39) Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography, Chester Brown (D+Q)
45. (26) Fruits Basket 18, Natsuki Takaya (Tokyopop)
46. (28) Hack Gu 1, Hamazaki Tatsuya (Tokyopop)
47. (29) Bleach 20, Tite Kubo (VIZ)
48. (27) Naruto, Official Fanbook, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
49. (-) Watchmen, Moore/Gibbons (DC)
50. (30) Vampire Knight 2, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)

I believe these numbers reflect part of March Break and an increase in youngsters buying more Naruto (Volume 28 has certainly spurred sales of closer volumes in the series) as well as Death Note (everyone's favourite manga about a highschool-aged mass murderer). A couple newly-published manga at 42 & 43, as well.

See here for last week's list. . The pattern that emerges from looking at these lists over a period of weeks is that certain books, especially manga series, continuously jostle with each other, sliding up and down the longer list on the strength of a new volume or a spate of purchases for the kiddies.

The BookManager List is a wondrous, scary place, where everyone from Todd Hignite to Charles Schulz to Dan DeCarlo to Oor Willie to Avril Lavigne duke it out and where one sale in one tiny bookstore can move a book from #999 to #200. This is also the place where you find books by Canadian creators and where our Canadian Top 25 comes from:

Sequential's All-Canadian Top 30
from BookManager

1. (3) Jellaby, Kean Soo (Hyperion)
2. (1) Senior's Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
3. (2) Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography, Chester Brown (D+Q)
4. (4) Essex County 1: Tales From the Farm, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
5. (11) Teaching is a Learning Experience!, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
6. (24) The BackBench Collection, Graham Harrop (Ronsdale)
7. (23) Last Straw (1985), Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
8. (5) Essex County 2: Ghost Stories, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
9. (6) Dramacon 3, Svetlana Chmakova (Tokyopop)
10. (7) Skim, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
-----
11. (8) Therefore Repent! Jim Munroe Salgood Sam (insomniac/IDW)
12. (-) Milk Teeth, Julie Morstad (D+Q)
13. (21) Degrassi Extra Credit 3: Missing You, J Torres/Eric Kim (Pocket)
14. (-) There Goes My Baby, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
15. (-) The New Frontier 2 (Paperback), Darwyn Cooke (DC)
16. (25) The New Frontier 1 (Paperback), Darwyn Cooke (DC)
17. (10) The Plain Janes, Cecil Castellucci et al (DC/Minx)
18. (9) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni)
19. (30) The Spirit (Hardcover), Darwyn Cooke Jeph Loeb J Bone (DC)
20. (-) Degrassi Extra Credit 4, J Torres Steve Rolston (Pocket)
-----
21. (-) What, Me Pregnant? (1991) Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
22. (12) Dramacon 1, Svetlana Chmakova (Tokyopop)
23. (13) Dramacon 2, Svetlana Chmakova (Tokyopop)
24. (14) She's Turning into One of Them!, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
25. (15) White Rapids, Pascal Blanchet (D+Q)
26. (16) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni)
27. (17) Albert and the Others, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
28. (19) Family Business, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
29. (18) Never Wink at a Worried Woman, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
30. (20) Graphic Witness: Four Wordless Graphic Novels, ed. George A Walker (Firefly)

Canadian cartoonists, do not despair! It is the case with this list that on oany given week, a 17-year-old collection of For Better or For Worse comic strips will outsell your graphic novel. It is just a fact of the universe.

I feel safe in saying that Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier (inexplicably still available in multilpe volumes and formats) got a boost this week from the release of the dvd animated adaptation.

Labels: analysis, bestsellers, BookManager, comic strips, comics retailers, graphic novels, manga, publishing

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Monday, March 17, 2008

Colin Upton Needs Cheering Up

:: Posted by Bryan @ 3/17/2008 12:01:00 AM

A bad week for Mr. Big Thing, aka Vancouver cartoonist Colin Upton. He got turned down for a Canada Council grant and then he got some crappy medical news.

In Other News:

Jeff Lemire has a new 5-page comic online.

This past Saturday, Happy Harbor Comics in Edmonton hosted their annual 12-Hour Comic Challenge for charity. Jamie Hall of The Edmonton Journal has a report.

No, it's not Guy Delisle. Sudbury cartoonist Sue Dewar writes about her trip to China.

Patrick Berube reviews Delisle's Chroniques Birmanes for Comic Book Bin and cofrims it will be translated by D+Q.

This Georgia Straight article makes coherent sense of the latest press release from Zeros 2 Heroes, including the news that Astral Media has committed $18,000 towards script development for the latest winner of the Comic Book Nation contest.

Another Vancouver web-based company, Optimum Wound Comics, has announced their first graphic novel release, Croatian artist Danijel Zezelj's Rex. Comic Book Bin has the press release.

Steve Murray writes about how his parents used comics as positive reinforcement for the National Post.

Teletoon is airing a few animated episodes of U.S. cartoonist's Aaron McGruder's Boondocks after the offending eps were yanked from the Cartoon Network. I can't tell if this is news or not --this isn't really an animation blog and I don't follow the show in question (it's pretty crappy).

Labels: blogosphere, comics on film, comics on tv, Edmonton, graphic novels, publishing, reviews, Vancouver

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Friday, March 14, 2008

Weekly Bestsellers in Canada: March 13

:: Posted by Bryan @ 3/14/2008 01:00:00 PM