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The first major new graphic novel by Seth in 3 years.

Celebrated cartoonist and New Yorker cover artist Seth gives us the fictional life of George Sprott. On the surface George seems a charming, foolish, old man --but who is he? And who was he? Told as a patchwork tale, we come to know George, piece by piece, in a series of "interviews," flashbacks, and personal reminiscences. George Sprott is a story about time, identity, loss, and the persistence of memory. Though, ultimately, this is the story of a man's death, Seth leavens it with humor and restraint. Originally serialized in The New York Times Magazine, this greatly expanded and "re-mastered”\" version is George Sprott's first publication as a complete work.

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The first of a historic two-volume set, Doug Wright: Canada's Master Cartoonist presents the first-ever comprehensive look at the life and career of one of the most-read and best-loved cartoonists of the 1960s. Compiled in cooperation with Wright's family, it draws from thousands of pieces of art, pictures, letters, and the artist's own journals, to provide a fully rounded view of Doug Wright, both as a cartoonist and as an individual.

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"the company sent retailers across the country about 4,000 copies of a promotional comic book it created, called The Literates. The comic features the exploits of bookselling superheroes Spine and Paige, who endeavour – in the first issue, at any rate – to convince a reader to purchase American author Christopher Moore's Fool. [...] The eight-page pamphlet has the look and feel of a real comic, and it comes in a protective plastic sleeve with cardboard backing, just like at a real comic book store."

"prosaically called Canadian Booksellers Association Summer Conference 2009, will be held June 20-21 in a hotel on Toronto's downtown waterfront. Billed as "stronger, smarter, shorter and sweeter" than BookExpo, it promises a potpourri of events and opportunities - professional development sessions, an awards ceremony, panel discussions with publishing executives, author presentations, previews of marketing, promotion and advertising plans."

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Sean Craig, Brad Mackay, Globe and Mail Update
March 31, 2009

OTTAWA/TORONTO ---Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty have announced a $50-million aid package for Canada's struggling comic book industry.

They said Canada's bailout, which they called a "short term loan," is proportionate to the operations of Canadian retailers and publishers, which are estimated to be about 20 per cent of North American production.

The two leaders announced the package on Tuesday morning at a joint press conference in Toronto.

Ontario will contribute about $10 million to the package and Ottawa will provide $40 million.

Harper told reporters the aid package "is not a blank cheque" and that he wants to see comic book stores, distributors, publishers, and cartoonists work together to restructure their operations.

"All stakeholders are going have to be part of the solution," Harper said.

The aid package will also:

-give loan access to small retailers, start-up publishers and more established publishers and other businesses that are part of the general comic book industry
-give additional tax breaks to those directly involved in the production of comics in Canada, including cartoonists, writers, artists, and inkers (but not colourists, letterers or editors)
-create a Federal program for archiving and accessing webcomics and make their production subject to funding from the new technologies branch of Telefilm Canada

In the U.S., Marvel, Darkhorse and Fantagraphics had said they need credit and loans as they restructure their companies.

Meanwhile, DC has said it does not need immediate help, but had asked for a line of credit.

Harper said the aid package was part of a "holistic approach" to save an industry that helps provide hundreds of thousands of jobs to Canadians.

He said governments need to act, especially in the wake of the financial sector economic crisis. The publishing, and especially the comics industry, has been particularly hard hit by the credit crunch, which affected their producers' access to loans and their consumers discretionary purchasing power.

A comics industry failure would have ripple affects well beyond Ontario, the centre of Canada's comics producing and consumption sector, Harper said.

"This is a huge problem that faces the Ontario economy and the Canadian economy by extension and it is critical that we work together," he said.

McGuinty said the economic crisis has created the need for bold action.

"These are extraordinary circumstances that require extraordinary measures," he said.

Today's announcement came on the heels of the proposed US $500 million in aid to comics publishers and retailers that U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Friday.

Ontario NDP leader Howard Hampton said the loan package should suffice for now, but it would have been more useful had it been handed down earlier.

As credit has tightened, it has become harder for every part of the industry to function, said Hampton.

Displaying an understanding of the specifics of the market, he added that everyone from "the Wednesday crowd" to the publishers and distributors themselves, need access to credit in order to keep the industry running.

"We saw that happening months ago," he said.

If the money had been handed down at that time, "it would have made an even bigger difference," Hampton said.

Comics industry analyst Jeet Heer estimated that the combined loan packages from Canada and the U.S. would help keep the struggling North American comics industry afloat only for the next quarter or so.

"It probably only buys them three months or four months where they can get their ducks in order ... and hopefully come up with a plan to get everything straightened out so that they can survive," he told The Globe and Mail on Tuesday evening.

Diamond Distributors Canadian spokesperson Max Douglas said the Canadian response will provide a "great sigh of relief" across the industry, noting that the loans will help his company complete a transition it began in 2005. He said Diamond is moving towards creating more streamlined distribution systems, using solar-powered robots, and moving away from "that same old adolescent superhero crap we've been pushing for decades."

Douglas added that the bailouts show a "great signal of stability" for the industry.

Drawn and Quarterly publisher Chris Oliveros told The Globe the aid package is good for Ontario, Quebec and the country.

He said he's pleased that the bailout includes commitments by the government to develop young talent at the same time that it makes it possible to translate "even more painfully arty, twee, puzzling and metaphysically troubling graphic novels by cartoonists from Iceland, Slovenia, and, of course, France."

"I think the commitment of maintaining levels of quality and accessibility for emerging producers in Canada at the existing level is a fairly good commitment," said Douglas.

"As long as we maintain our share in the Canadian market, which is part of this loan, I think we'll be part of the future investment and will continue to work with the companies."

Oliveros indicated that D+Q's plans are to continue production at the current level.

"Our plans for the Fall publishing season right at the moment are to see us continue on at that (20 per cent) level, and this type of support, as we work out the details, will give us the ability to continue on roughly at that level," he said. Oliveros added that one side-benefit of the bailout is a contract D+Q has signed with the Prime Minister to publish a graphic novel history of hockey, written by Harper and illustrated by artist Chester Brown. "It's sort of a libertarian-family values-law-and-order take on Canada's favourite past-time."

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff criticized the deal, noting that he has a new book coming out as well that he thinks would benefit from a graphic treatment. "It's sort of a literary justification for torture and the War in Afghanistan," he added. "I think maybe Julie Doucet or Michel Rabagliati would be good choices as illustrators."

Meanwhile, Douglas took issue with critics of his monopoly-like distributor who have said they make too much money -- some quoting the questionable figure of more than $1 billion per year, which has never filtered down to Canadian tax coffers and has been debunked by some industry analysts.

He said "that based on our estimates" Canadian consumers are as comics crazy any other North American or foreign comics market.

"It's a little bit frustrating to concentrate on distributors," he said.

He also reminded critics that only two years ago, Canadians were paying almost twice as much as their U.S. neighbours for the same comics and graphic novels, not to mention action figures and Buffy the Vampire Slayer limited edition dvds and Battlestar Galactica scale models.

He said he wants Ottawa to "concentrate on the root cause of the problem. We still think the root cause of the problem is too much manga and art comics" he said.

Peter Birkemoe, owner of The Beguiling in Toronto, called the Canadian aid package "good news for cartoonists and their families."

But he also said he was concerned that Harper told reporters that "everyone" will have to make concessions.

"Labour costs are not the problem," he told The Globe.

But Birkemoe noted that the current industry leadership will have to decide how to proceed to help make the Canadian comics industry economically viable in the years ahead.

A spokesman for Warner Brothers, which owns DC Comics, said, "There will be job losses ... it's something that is going to happen. We kind of hoped the Watchmen movie would help get us through this, but response has bee tepid: it kinda sucked and everyone was really freaked out by that giant blue penis."

But he added, it's better to have some job losses rather than "not having the industry at all. We are just going to have to reprint more Siegel and Shuster and Jack Kirby comics since we don't have to pay royalties for those."

Heer said it was inevitable that cartoonists would have to make concessions, no matter how painful they might be.

"If they don't make serious concessions, then Marvel, DC, Darkhorse, and even Fantagraphics and D+Q will continue to lose market share to manga, video games, and porn and they'll lose their jobs anyway," he said.

He said it is likely cartoonists will be asked to make concessions on selected perk benefits -- such as food and shelter -- before they are asked to increase page production.

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The don't just write about comics on the internet, y'know.

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ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN artist Stuart Immonen teams up with HELLCAT writer Kathryn Immonen for a fascinating original graphic novel! NABAYT tracks the alarming failures of paranoid urbanites, murderous waitstaff, heart-broken ambulance drivers, mariachi bands, talking cats and dogs, people who like cake and many who wield knives for a variety of purposes. This full-color printing contains all 52 strips from the Immonens' year-long web project along with two new strips and fresh, revealing bios in a perfect-bound deluxe edition hardcover designed by the House of Immonen. A gorgeous collection in a handsome limited edition!

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Following White Rapids --named "Best Comic of 2007" by The Onion—Pascal Blanchet brings us Baloney. Winds swirl and darkness reigns over a hamlet perched atop a craggy peak. Russian fatalism sets the tone as Blanchet orchestrates the tale of a village butcher, his disabled daughter, and her tutor, in their doomed uprising against the swaggering Duke Shostakov, local governor and owner of the only heating company in town.

Curvy, retro lines and atmospheric, full-page panels evoke plaintive melodies, staccato passages and soaring solos. In a graphic novel about love and despair that is also a homage to the music of the 1930s and 40s, double bassists and trombonists lean into the frame, striking up a score that blends vaudeville with Kurt Weill and Russia's great modern composers. Rendered in two-color, red and black chiaroscuro, light struggles to emerge from darkness and endurance makes way for heroism, all to no avail. Read Baloney as a reverie composed to the melodies of Prokofiev and Shostakovich: a beautiful conjuring of moods, or a call to arms against the exorbitant rates charged by utilities.
December 2008/January 2009

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Canada imported $3.96-billion worth of cultural products in 2007 - the last year for which statistics are available - while exporting only $1.96-billion worth of cultural goods. Printed materials account for the majority of imports, including $1.4-billion of books and $1.1-billion of newspaper and periodicals, while film and video imports were a comparatively paltry $297-million, or about 7.5 per cent.

Trade with the United States accounts for 75 per cent of cultural imports, worth just under $3-billion, and 90 per cent of exports, worth almost $1.8-billion.

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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

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

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• 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.

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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.

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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, Moncton, New Brunswick, publishing

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• 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).

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• Rick Trembles gives more than I ever wanted to know about tweenybopper Hannah Montana, in his latest comic strip movie review.

• Welcome back, Michael Cho. The Toronto cartoonist just got over a 3-week bout of hospital-quality intestinal nastiness.

• Jay Stephens has a comics version of his Secret Saturdays animated tv show coming from DC in June.

• Scott Chantler has announced that his next graphic novel project is a non-fiction adaptation of his grandfather's wartime diary. Scheduled for a 2009 release from Tundra Books.

• The nominees for the BC and Yukon Community Newspapers Association's Ma Murray Awards have been announced: Dennis Parker (Gulf Islands Driftwood), Wendy Brown (Powell River Peak), Wyatt Tremblay (Yukon News). The winner will be announced in April.

• Upcoming: The Expozine Gala takes place this coming Monday, March 10. 9 p.m., free admission, Mainline Theatre, 3997 St-Laurent, Montreal.
  

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Zeros 2 Heroes Media is currently producing Gustav Hayes from Winnipeg creator Morgan Jeske. Jeske is working with editors and artists provided by Zeros 2 Heroes Media to bring his comic to life on the page.
"With 'Gustav Hayes' I hold the genre close to my heart. Science Fiction has always appealed to me, more so than Fantasy for instance. My hope is that some people read the book, and decide that they'd like to read more stories like it. In all seriousness, the fact that I'll have had a comic book published, is an amazing event for me," says Jeske on the excitement around his book.
Gustav Hayes centers on a broken anti-hero amidst the post apocalyptic nightmare of a world he is in. Gustav is a former 80's-style pop singer that battles hordes of evil creatures sent to destroy the remnants of civilization. Morgan Jeske is currently working with Zeros 2 Heroes comic editors and artists to produce his very first comic. As part of the agreement, Zeros 2 Heroes Media not only produces Jeske's book, but they will be working to get fan and media driven publicity from his hometown of Winnipeg Manitoba.
"I've been interested in the potential of Web comics for a long time," says Zeros 2 Heroes Editor-in-Chief Paul Dini. "I thought that was a very supportive way to bring new talent into what has generally been a tough business for novices."
Zeros 2 Heroes Media will be providing Jeske with his own online publication as well as putting together a plan to help get the word out to various media sources. The intention is to have not only a piece of professional work for his portfolio, but also to help him launch his professional writing career.
"Morgan's talent and creativity shines brightly in his story I think Gustav Hayes is one of those pieces of work that has potential," says Zeroes 2 Heroes Media Chairman Paul Gertz.
"This cross-platform entertainment opportunity is exactly what we're looking for in terms of our corporate mandate," says Western Region Director Earl Hong Tai of Telefilm Canada. Telefilm Canada plays in integral part in the development of Canadian writers and artists and helping pitches come to life with Canada Comic Creation Nation is another way for them to lend a hand.

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• Patrick Berube reviews the bd album Magasin General, Vol 1 for CBB.

• Zak Edwards reviews Essex County 2: Ghost Stories by Jeff Lemire at CBB.

• Reed Elsevier, the U.S. producer of Book Expo Canada, has announced the sale of its publishing division, including Publisher's Weekly and its subsidiaries, inclyding Heidi MacDonald's The Beat weblog.

• Exclaim profiles the new Cumulus Press book, Extraction!

• Emru Townsend of Frames prr Second magazine reviews an academic anthology about manga and anime, Mechademia 2: Networks of Desire.

• Eye weekly profiles Toronto's The World's Biggest Bookstore.

• Dave Sim reveals his other secret project, a history of the Holocaust, Judenhass.

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Canada's largest manga publisher UDON has announced five new additions to its Korean Manhwa line-up: joining a series of comics originally published by Korea's Haksan Publishing, a new Haksan series - Daring Students' Association. In addition, four new series from Seoul Cultural Publishers: Dear Waltz, Chronicles of the Grim Peddler, Evyione: Ocean Fantasy, and Reading Club.

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In 2007, 22 Quebec publishers have issued 67 Comic books, French and English, representing a fairly marked decline compared to the year 2006, but still an increase compared to the production of the year 2005.

It must be noted that 2006 was exceptional, with the release of 86 titles, or 28% more than in 2007. However, the production of 2005, with 44 albums released, was 34% lower than that of this year. For example, if we except 2006 and its phenomenal production, the year 2007 is part of a continued 8 year increase in comics production.

Some publishers that emerged last year have been quiet this year: Fichtre! published only an autobiographical essay by Marc Tessier, while Arion (which seems to have completely ceased its activities) and Du Quebecois have no forthcoming albums scheduled. After an absence of several years, Michel D'Amours returned to comics publishing comics with a new house, Valour, which is unfortunately not very well distributed. As well, Line Arsenault continues her self-publishing.

Children's publishers (Boomerang, Quebec Amerique, Lauzier, Bayard, FouLire, Le Raton laveur and Les Intouchables) still have a finger in the BD pie. However, none of these has published a collection exclusively devoted to comics. Published albums are therefore AWOL from their catalogues.

Again this year, the bulk of production is divided between four publishers. Drawn & Quarterly, La Pasteque, mecanique generale et Presses aventure, on their own, have published 42 books, more than 62% of annual production. Of other publishers moderately active in 2007, we note Conundrum Press (5 titles) and L'Oie de Cravan (3 titles).

In 2007, 70% of comics albums published in Quebec were in French, a decline compared to previous years (75.5% in 2006 and 77% in 2005). Whereas in 2000, 83% of the albums were published in French. Although, it must be said that both Montreal Anglophone publishers, Drawn & Quarterly and Conundrum Press, have been particularly active this year with 28% of the production together. Several Francophone authors (Guy Delisle, Julie Doucet, Richard Suicide, Pascal Blanchet, and Line Gamache) have seen their works translated into English by these publishers.

Labels: analysis, bd, graphic novels, publishing, Quebec

As journalists left the Halifax Daily News, several said they're worried a free newspaper aimed at commuters will mean a decline in the city's journalism.

Michael de Adder, an award-winning cartoonist for the newspaper, said "it doesn't sound like it (Metro) can serve the population as well as a daily newspaper can or two daily newspapers can."

De Adder said cartoonists across the country are starting to wonder about their craft.

"What is the future? It looks pretty bleak today," he said.

Labels: Halifax, media monopolies, Nova Scotia, political cartooning, publishing, Quebec

Labels: analysis, comics retailers, comicshoptalk, publishing, Quebec

• In anticipation of the concluding chapter of Y: The Last Man, Pia Guerra, who provides the beautiful artwork for that series, takes webreaders on a tour of the Dr. Who memorabilia-laden studio she shares with writer Ian Boothby. She is also interviewed by Newsarama's Zack Smith.

• Oshawa's Adam Prosser pens the first review of Dave Sim's Glamourpuss I've seen. Elsewhere, Sim himself took to the Comics Journal messageboard to field questions and promote his new comic book series. As Sim has taken pains to reiterate, he is using a computer located at LOOKIN' FOR HEROES here at 93 Ontario St. S. in Kitchener (one block away from the defunct Now and Then Books.

• Canadian cartoonist Takeshi Miyazawa (Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane) is interviewed about working as a mangaka in Japan and the differences between North American and Japanese comics editing.

• Magazine writer, editor and publisher John Macfarlane retired last week. Over the years, Macfarlane helmed such Canadian institutions as Toronto Life, Saturday Night, and Weekend magazine (home of cartoonist Doug Wright in the 1970s). The National Post's Katherine Govier has a few anecdotes.

Labels: floppies, interviews, interweb, manga, Newfoundland, Ontario, publishing, Toronto

• As we all anxiously await the opportunity to talk with Dave Sim at the Comics Journal boards on January 30 (today!), this post sums up his recent projects.

• Pascal Blanchet's White Rapids is reviewed at the McGill Daily.

• Tom Spurgeon discusses the year-end numbers posted at Comics Chronicles. According to numbers released by Diamond Distributors, the Direct Market had its best year since 1995. This means that Diamond had sales of $429 million through all merchandise wholesaled to comic book shops in the U.S. and Canada.

• In related news: The Beat publishes Diamond's 2007 Top 100 Graphic Novels list and the Top Publishers by percent of Direct Market share of 2007.

• Just for fun, the Dumbest Space Gods in science fiction. Jack Kirby lands at #3.

• Madeline Ashby reports on the transculturelle academic workshop on manga and anime, held this past weekend in Montreal. She also discusses Montreal and Scott Pilgrim.

• Thanks to the BDQuebec forums for this link: Craig Yoe presents an early cartoon from Canadian cartoonist Raoul Barre.

Labels: bestsellers, comics retailers, floppies, graphic novels, manga, publishing, Quebec, reviews

Labels: bd, new books, preview, publishing, Quebec

Going into the comics industry with my graphic novel Therefore Repent! I was, in some ways, back at square one. The artist and I put together an ashcan (almost as encouraging a word as “slushpile“) that sampled the first chapter or so of our graphic novel, and blew the dust off my shotgun. I was pleasantly surprised at the responsiveness of the comics publishers as compared to the prose publishers: many of them emailed positive rejections in a prompt manner. One of the companies the artist had worked with had expressed interest, but when I explained that I’d be publishing an edition for the book trade in Canada (as I had with my previous three books) they said they’d have to try to convince their distributor to allow this.

Labels: graphic novels, how-to, publishing

Labels: censorship, events, graphic novels, manga, Ontario, publishing, Quebec, Toronto

the Board of Directors of the Company has authorized it to file for creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in Canada. A number of Quebecor World's U.S. subsidiaries are also covered by the CCAA filing in Canada as well as in the United States under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Application under the CCAA will be heard by the Quebec Superior Court on January 21, 2008 and the filing under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code will be made in the Southern Judicial District of New York.

Quebecor World's Board of Directors, in a unanimous decision, authorized the Company to take this action as the best alternative for the long-term interests of the Company, its employees, customers, creditors and other stakeholders. Operations outside of North America are not included in these filings.

The Company has also announced that it has entered into financing commitments with Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley for new financing in the amount of US$1 billion. This financing, which is subject to approval of Courts in both Canada and the United States, will allow the Company to meet all current operating needs, including wages, benefits and other operating expenses.

Jacques Mallette, Quebecor World's President and CEO said: "These steps allow the Company to continue operating as a going concern for the benefit of all those affected including our many loyal employees, customers and suppliers. The Company has a strong business and valuable assets located throughout the world. We believe that the steps we are taking today and the strong vote of confidence given to us by our new finance lenders will ensure that we will be able to protect the value of the business for our stakeholders."

Mr. Mallette added: "Today's filing is the result of industry pressures, particularly in Europe, combined with the inability of the Company to raise new capital in the current market environment and the inability to complete the sale of its European operations. The steps we initiate today will allow the Company to make changes which are necessary to ensure the long-term viability of the Company within a process that ensures fair and equitable treatment for all stakeholders."

Labels: Ontario, printing, publishing, Quebec, Toronto

Labels: printing, publishing

Labels: Ontario, printing, publishing, Toronto

Labels: Alberta, censorship, legal news, political cartooning, publishing

• the D+Q store is hosting a series of comix and silkscreening workshops --the classes are filling up fast!

• Seth is the featured artist in the most recent issue of Border Crossings, a Canadian art mag

• upcoming in January: Fire Away by Chris von Szombathy, Lucky Volume 2 #2 by Gabrielle Bell, Palooka-ville #19 by Seth, All We Ever Do Is Talk About Wood by Tom Horacek

Labels: comics in school, comics retailers, events, graphic novels, publishing, Quebec

prices, particularly prices of Canadian titles, can only come down so far here, especially given the limited economies of scale available in a country of 33 million and the discounting practised by the country's dominant retailer, Indigo Books and Music. As Roy MacSkimming, author of The Perilous Trade: Book Publishing in Canada 1946-2006, observed yesterday: "If Canadian books had to be priced according to real costs in a totally sort of Adam Smith world, with no government support, they'd be way higher than they are already." Remarked Carolyn Quinn, executive director of the Association of Canadian Publishers: "You can't get blood out of a stone. Profit margins in this country are "very small ... and a book costs what it costs," even with subsidies from the federal government's Book Publishing Industry Development Program, among other publicly funded support networks.

At the same time, Quinn acknowledged that "the industry has evolved" in such a way that "people expect a book that you want to give someone for his or her birthday, whether it's a history of your 25,000-population town or it's The Da Vinci Code, is going to cost more or less about the same."

Martin acknowledged the Random Canada conglomerate, a wholly owned foreign subsidiary with imprints such as Knopf, Doubleday and Vintage, "is better able to withstand the coming storm" than, for example, a Canadian-owned independent like Toronto-based House of Anansi, which has to make most of its money from Canadian titles.

Labels: dollar, Ontario, publishing, Toronto

As for me, it seems my "lifelong" prison sentence has turned out to be just short of four years: a year answering the backlog of mail when CEREBUS ended, keeping up with the mail (total of a little less than 3,000 pages) and doing the Blog & Mail (probably another 2,000 pages) as well as various articles, interviews, reviews, etc. As I said all along, I was just reading into the record and it looks as if God decided that I didn't have much to add (I was starting to wonder: I think I've answered every question at least five times!).

I will be spending roughly 100 hours on the Internet promoting my new bi-monthly title (starting, God willing, January 30 at 6 pm EDST on the Comics Journal Message boards and then going on from there. I'll be posting my schedule at that time).

I know this was supposed to be the official launch of the new title here on Boxing Day but, you know, in a strange way it IS! The official launch will now take place when Jeff Tundis declares the website officially and totally up and running. We'll pick up from there January 30 through most of the month of February when the ordering period is.

Labels: blogosphere, floppies, publishing

NEW MANGA! NEW MANHWA! NEW STREET FIGHTER COMICS!
UDON announces new titles from their 2008 publishing line up

Toronto, ON – Dec 10, 2007 – This past weekend at the 2007 New York Anime Festival UDON Entertainment unveiled a swath of exciting announcements to a room full of thrilled anime and comic book fans. Just in time for Street Fighter’s 20th anniversary (highlighted by the all-new Street Fighter IV video game and the upcoming live action movie), UDON plans to release three pulse-pounding Street Fighter comic book series in 2008.

First up, Street Fighter II Turbo will be a 12 issue maxi-series continuing the core story of UDON’s Street Fighter universe. Featuring the dynamic and energetic artwork of Chamba (Sinbad: Rogue of Mars), this latest arc pits the World Warriors against each other in an epic tournament-style slugfest.

Secondly, artist Omar Dogan (Sakura, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles) follows up his run on the popular Sakura mini-series with Street Fighter Legends: Chun-Li. This new 4 issue mini-series focuses on a young Chun-Li, revealing how she grew up to become the world’s most famous female fighter.

Finally, Joe Ng (Red Sonya: Sonya Goes East, Transformers, G.I. Joe VS Transformers) brings his skilled line work to the pages of Street Fighter III: New Generation. This 6-issue series will not only explore the new characters introduced in the Street Fighter III video games, it will also show fans for the first time what classic characters like Guile, Sakura and others are up to during the SF3 era!

Beyond Street Fighter, UDON is diving back into other publishing projects in 2008. The studio will be expanding their successful Capcom Manga line with several new titles including Onimusha: Twilight of Desire and Devil Kings Basara. Fans can also look forward to more Capcom art books including Onimusha Dawn of Dreams: Official Complete Works and the Darkstalkers Graphic File.

In addition, UDON is also kicking its Korean Manhwa line into high gear with new titles including Daring Students’ Association, Dear Waltz, Reading Club, Evyione and Chronicles of the Grim Peddler.

Release dates and more detailed information will be forthcoming in future press releases, so stay tuned to the blog section of www.udonentertainment.com for all the latest UDON news!

Labels: graphic novels, manga, Ontario, pr, publishing, Toronto

Labels: bestsellers, BookManager, comic strips, graphic novels, manga, publishing

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

Labels: Alberta, book launches, British Columbia, events, exhibits, graphic novels, publishing, Vancouver

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

Friday, December 7, 7:00 PM
D+Q Bookstore
211 Bernard West

D+Q launches 365 Days: A Diary by Julie Doucet
with vernissage for an exhibition of Doucet's prints, which will be up at the Librairie D+Q through January


"Julie Doucet is a conceptual artist trapped in a cartoonist's body... finding fresh ways to channel her creative eruptions onto paper." --The Village Voice

"Like many of her alt-comics contemporaries, Doucet eradicates any uppity delineation between art and comics." --Bust Magazine


Despite Julie Doucet's renunciation of her comics-centric lifestyle over five years ago, 365 Days is imbued with the iconic talent and studied aesthetic of her seminal comic book series Dirty Plotte, which catapulted her into being one of the world's greatest cartoonists. This visual journal, starting in late 2002, is an idiosyncratic collision of her various creative interests, wherein personal narrative, collage and drawing begin to tell the story of her pursuits into printmaking and beyond, chronicling her maturation as a mid-career artist and her fluid extension into a broader arts community.

Now exhibiting internationally, Doucet blurs the boundaries between high art, illustration, craft and comics: where panel borders once divided pages, collage creeps in; events and doodles merge; recollection and narrative blend with the abstract. The surreal neurosis of her comics has subsided to reveal a more relaxed creativity that is unrestricted by form or definition and is as engaging as ever. 365 Days: A Diary by Julie Doucet was excerpted in McSweeney's #13.

Julie Doucet lives in Montreal. Her critically acclaimed comic-book series Dirty Plotte has been collected into the graphic novels My New York Diary; Lift Your Leg, My Fish Is Dead; and My Most Secret Desire. She also has the art books Long Time Relationship, Lady Pep, and Elle Humour.

http://drawnandquarterly.com

Contact: publicity@drawnandquarterly.com / 514-279-0691, Bookstore: 514-279-2224

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