17.Mar.2013 C-List: Spokescreature Bun Toons and other fun things
Been a busy week in a busy month in a, well you get the idea. Work on Dream Life still fills my days but not for much longer! And the wheels are up for the Dracula kickstarter on Monday. Busy busy. Glad for the occasional distractions from my friends. Such as these.
Item! COLOSSE NEWS! “SHOCK REVELATION: the new COLOSSUS is called HOUBA PLUS”.
It contains new comics by Catherine Lamontagne-Drolet, Francois Samson-Dunlop, Carlos Vezina, Sara Hache, Sophie Bédard, Tuan Bui, Samantha Leriche-Gionet, David Turgeon, Vincent Giard and Luc Bossé. The limited run collection is dedicated to Mael Rannou.
Item! Gerhard reveals the cover of the Cerebus comic book that Oliver Ho and Sam Noir are contributing to.
Item! Colin Upton would like you to check out his tumblr. He’s posting a great deal of his back catalog there now.
Item! Rick Trembles shared an alternate version of the Motion Picture Purgatory strip he just did for Lech (Born to Lose: The Last Rock & Roll Movie) Kowalski’s new anti-fracking doc, DRILL BABY DRILL: “This is how revolutions start” -director Lech Kowalski
Item! Bernie Mireault has started a tumblr too!
“I plan to show the comic art I’ve done here but for a first post I’d like to put up a collaborative effort put together between 8 Montreal cartoonists years ago for a slick color magazine commemorating the redesign of the Austin Mini automobile, of all things! - I got to color the whole thing as well as contribute a sequence and I think it’s a successful collaboration that deserves to be shown again.”
Item! Andy Belanger got all Artsy on InnerSPACE hanging Shakespeare.
Item! Dave Cooper hanging in New York!
18.Feb.2013 “I did Maus and I did this page.”
Notes on Art Spiegelman in Vancouver @ the VAG
Feb. 16, 2013
By David Lester
As he puffed on a cigarette, Art Spiegelman was charming and witty in conversation despite the meandering questions of Vancouver Art Gallery curator Bruce Grenville. In town for the opening of the art gallery’s retrospective of Spiegelman’s work called CO-MIX, the artist touched on his origins as a cartoonist at Topps Bubblegum; the stain glass window of art he created at the request of his former high school; the importance of Robert Crumb, Spain, S. Clay Wilson; his New Yorker covers; and making prints from stone.
In reference to a projected slide Spiegelman talked about how it was a page of art he is proud of and it “took six months to draw,” and he thought it weird to be able to say in retrospect “I did Maus and I did this page.”
He pointed out the unique qualities inherent in comics to be able to compress a story. For Maus, Spiegelman wanted the art to have a hand drawn feel but the look of a font. And how Maus “was built around language.”
While talking about the work he and his wife Francoise Mouly did as makers of books and RAW he said, “You can’t Kindle Chris Ware’s latest book.”
Spiegelman noted the ongoing debates over comics as high art or low art, and his annoyance at Roy Lichtenstein. “Lichtenstein did no more for comics than Warhol did for soup,” he said.
Art Spiegelman CO-MIX: A Retrospective of Comics, Graphics and Scraps runs until June 9, 2013 at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
David Lester is author/artist of The Listener, and the guitarist in Mecca Normal.
10.Jan.2013 Montreal Art Show: Campeau’s Riel
This weekend at Billy Mavreas’s Monastiraki Gallery:
CARL CAMPEAU : Louis Riel
VERNISSAGE – ESTAMPE & DESSIN
VERNISSAGE SAMEDI 12 JAN, 15hr -18hr
EXPOSITION 12 JAN – 3 FEV, 2013
Communiqué de l’artiste
Le présent projet m’a été inspiré par la lecture de la bande dessinée Louis Riel A Comic-strip Biography de Chester Brown. De cette lecture est né un désir de raconter cette histoire à mon tour, dans un vocabulaire qui m’est propre, à travers l’art visuel. J’ai cherché un vocabulaire graphique simple pour illustrer cette page d’histoire. Le parallélogramme me semblait la forme parfaite et assez chargée de sens parce qu’elle illustre bien les multiples dichotomies que contient ce récit. J’ai déposé sur un support vierge différentes compositions qui rappellent tantôt les empennages d’une flèche, tantôt des gerbes de blé ou les frontières de lots de terre agricole. Le but est de résumer les revendications des Métis : le droit à cultiver et le droit de chasser sur des terres qui étaient à eux.
Bio
Carl Campeau vit et travaille à Montréal. Après des études en littérature et en cinéma, il glisse vers l’art visuel. Autodidacte, sa production artistique se caractérise par une économie du langage plastique, par des formes géométriques simples, lignes droites, couleurs monochromes, où chaque action est déposée sur un support brut et immaculé. Que ce soit par ses collages, pastels ou sérigraphies, il réside toujours un désir de raconter une histoire à travers les vides laissés sur les œuvres.
Il présente ici pour sa première exposition solo une relecture très personnelle de la révolte du Nord-Ouest par les Métis et leur chef Louis Riel. À travers un corpus de sérigraphies, il propose vingt-quatre totems modernes en mémoire des hommes emprisonnés, tués ou exécutés lors de la révolte.
25.Sep.2012 Wednesday: Comics Vs Art Booklaunch, Toronto
Comics Versus Art Book Launch
With author Dr. Bart Beaty
Wednesday, September 26th, 2012 @ 7PM
The Central, 603 Markham Street, Toronto
Free to attend!
Comics Versus Art: Comics in the Art World
by Bart Beaty
University of Toronto Press
ISBN-10: 1442612045
ISBN-13: 978-1442612044
On the surface, the relationship between comics and the ‘high’ arts once seemed simple; comic books and strips could be mined for inspiration, but were not themselves considered legitimate art objects. Though this traditional distinction has begun to erode, the worlds of comics and art continue to occupy vastly different social spaces.
Comics Versus Art examines the relationship between comics and the most important institutions of the art world; including museums, auction houses, and the art press. Bart Beaty’s analysis centres around two questions: why were comics excluded from the history of art for most of the twentieth century, and what does it mean that comics production is now more closely aligned with the art world? Approaching this relationship for the first time through the lens of the sociology of culture, Beaty advances a completely novel approach to the comics form.
06.Sep.2012 Tonite: Michael Cho Back Alleys Gallery Opening, Toronto
Award winning artist and illustrator Michael Cho has been painting the back alleys and inconspicuous locations around his Toronto home since 2006. Earlier this year these works were collected and published into his new book: Back Alleys and Urban Landscapes (D+Q). Michael Cho’s original paintings from this series will be exhibited at Gallery 129 Ossington from September 5th to 29th 2012.
Opening:
Thursday, September 6th, 7-10pm
Gallery 129 Ossington
15.Aug.2012 Integrals of Luc Giard
A presentation of Luc Giard’s Art,
the first in a series of youtube collections giving an overview of his work since 1987.
“Présentation de quelques unes de mes créations. Les intégrales sont le premier volume d’un recueil qui vise à donner une vue d’ensemble de mon travail artistique depuis 1987.” - Luc Giard
Luc Giard’s art was first directly inspired by the work of Hergé & Tintin.
Years ago, he published a comic featuring the adventures of an impressionistically drawn Tintin cast as a crass Quebecois character, eating donuts and throwing curses in the street. Luc thought his work a homage to Hervé but Casterman Editions did not have the same opinion. Sued, Luc was forced pulp existing books and changed his Tintin to Ti-Coune, giving hi a cape and a mask, making a point about censorship.
Recent books are Pont du Havre [The Jacques Cartier Bridge], and Konoshiko (Les Impressions Nouvelles/The Impressions News), a new book to be published in France Octobre 2012 & Canada in Novembre.
Facebook | Youtube | Tumblr | Colosse | 400coups | D&Q | La Presse | Wikipedia
09.Aug.2012 Tonite: Hellberta 2 Launch and Exhibit at Magic Pony, Toronto
by BK Munn
Michael Comeau will be launching the follow-up to his Pigskin Peters award-winning Hellberta today at the Magic Pony Gallery in Toronto. The accompanying exhibit features art from Hellberta as well as “recent graphic collages and installations.”
Comeau will be signing the new Hellberta #2, published by Colour Code Printing.
opening reception:
Thursday, August 9th
7-10pm
WHERE:
Magic Pony
680 Queen St. West
Toronto, ON
416-861-1684
Comeau at TCAF earlier this year
16.Jul.2012 The Comic Book Lounge Kids Comicfest
UPCOMING EVENTS @ The Comic Book Lounge & Gallery in Toronto.
July 21 – KIDS COMICSFEST
11am-4pm in conjunction with sponsors the Toronto Cartooonists Workshop, Playful Grounds Coffee Shop and the Joe Shuster Awards! Guests include Willow Dawson, Agnes Garbowska, Chris Yao and Karly McDonald. (We will be open one hour earlier than normal on July 21)
August 18 – A NIGHT WITH PLAYBOY CARTOONIST DOUG SNEYD
7pm-10pm $10 Admission. In anticipation of the event we have lots of copies of THE ART OF DOUG SNEYD in stock. Let Joe know if you are interested in getting one for the event. We’ve seen the image for the exclusive Black Canary print for the event and it is something that you are going to want to get.
05.Jun.2012 FBDM 2012 | Day 3
Video of Day 3 of The first Festival de Bandes Dessinées de Montréal!
A small but promising start.
Organizers estimate 5000+ attended the festival to meet the 37 exhibitors,
despite inclement weather and persistent rain all through Saturday.
Exhibitors expressed satisfaction with the even and the crowds seemed to be having fun.
I shot footage of day one, planed to return Saturday but it rained a lot, all day.
Got caught down town running errands and in the end stayed in once i got back home.
But Sunday talking to guests everyone said despite the horrid weather there was still a good turn out and decent sales all things considered.
Here’s some photos taken Saturday by Jack Ruttan.
But Sunday was lovely, the rain stayed away leaving clear sky and lots of people in attendance. It was pretty crowded really, I can only imagine of more English media had known of the show and passed on word to the student populations of Concordia or McGill.
Striking and maybe a by-product of the area – lots of families live around the park – was the remarkably mixed audience of ages and genders. It’s not really unusual given the more mainstream status of BD in french culture but it stands out even against the diverse crowds seen at TCAF.
I shot a lot more footage, and had many pleasant conversations though mostly off camera. What I caught on camera, I made into the nice long nearly 20 min clip up top. A virtual visit to the premier FBDM. Complete with a welcome from Daniel Dupré, one of the co-founders, and a few random interviews and such.
Here’s some more reporting on the event From Geekorner Montréal, including a photo essay with the names and links for many of the guests.
And Andy of Conundrum Press posted a nice long blog post about the show here.
Andy has been actively promoting more Quebecois creators of late, publishing several translations of books previously only available in French.
02.Jun.2012 FBDM 2012 | day1
The first Festival de Bandes Dessinées de Montréal! A small but promising start.
Watch the clip above, click more to read my written report of my brief first visit to the event.
(more…)
08.May.2012 Salgood Sam’s TCAF 2012 report!
This is a truncated version, as I had already posted a lot of the audio stuff before so I just linked to that content here. If you want to read the full version check it out here.
Recorded some of the sights and sounds of various events on my trip to Toronto for TCAF this year.
I was a tourist this time for a change, so was able to take in a lot of stuff. Great fun and got to spend some quality time with lots of old friends. Also met and talked a few times briefly with Fabio Moon which was nice. Been an admirer of his and his brother’s work for years. Ran into him last at the wrap party but was so wasted I probably gave him a funny impression! Ah well, they seem like very laid-back guys. Hope to chat with them under more calm, less profession-defined circumstances one day. Also had a few good short chats with Tom Neely, enjoyed a nice diner with James Turner, Brian Evinou, and Noel Tuazon. Also had a nice dinner on the last night with my primary collaborator here on Sequential Bryan Munn. We only see each other in person a few times a year so that was great. Met Jason Bradshaw in person finally and got a full set of his Boredom pays minis including he said the last copy left ever of his first issue. Had a warm chat on the TCAF floor with Artist and printer Tyrone McCarthy. Oh I could go on and on probably but can’t recall all the names I should right now so lets get on with it. Here’s my Video log, links to stuff, and some of the audio I recorded over the course of the 4 days. For the full experience make sure to have annotations turned on when you play the clip.
In order of appearance and with links as follows…
Comics vs Games Creative Jam art show at the Magic pony.
New Narrative V: Bodies/Cities conference and panels. I recorded audio from some of them, look here to listen to those.
A few highlights of the first instalment of The Comic Book Lounge’s On the couch [should that not be chesterfield?] with Ty Templeton! His guests were Mark Askwith (producer, InnerSpace), Award-winning cartoonist Scott Chantler (Three Thieves, Two Generals), artist & designer Ken Lashley (Blackhawks), and Will Pascoe (director, Lost Heroes Movie).
And I got roped into this one too at the end. Sorry about my quite voice and poor rhetoric, i don’t level well in a setting like that, I have to be right on top of the mic to be audible most of the time. very low voice and I’m not in the habit of projecting it a lot.
That’s followed but a good 12 or so min of table porn, i tried to scan everything that was on display at TCAF. I missed a room in the back and a few other small spots but otherwise this is just about ever inch of exhibitors spreads, shot in the last hour of the show on Sunday.
Some shots of my Haul from the trip, 22 books I traded for, was given or bought. Look for a nice clean shot of that at the end of the post here.
Some footage of the kick off event, Jeff Smith, Gabriel Ba, and Fabio Moon in conversation moderated by Mark Askwith! Listen to it here.
And last, some snaps of the drawing jam between Becky Cloonan & Zach Worton at the Third Annual Official TCAFête.
It was all a blast! This is just a tiny bit of what I saw and did. TCAF gets bigger every year and this is my first time just going to hang out and take in the sights [I've exhibited I think every year since 2005?] It’s a hell of a lot more fun to attend than exhibit I have to say.
For more on the festival go here, for more reporting on the festival go here.
Jimmy Beaulieu, the FBDFQ, and students striking provocative poses
Blogger Julia Caron posted about an expo at Galerie Morgan Bridge, and Jimmy Beaulieu‘s work on the theme of the student strikes in Quebec. The exhibit was part of the FBDFQ, the Festival de la Bande Dessinée Francophone, which ran last month. It’s always interesting to get the perspective of someone not totally dedicated to comics, but most of all I wanted to mention it for this image from the show that she posted. Check out the rest of the post for more of Jimmy’s work and Julia’s notes on it all.
31.Mar.2012 Sunday: Caitlin Black Exhibit, Toronto Public Library
UPDATE: OPENING EVENT MOVED TO THURSDAY, APRIL 5. 7PM
“Mary of Mud Creek”
An exhibit of art by Caitlin Black,
including puppets, paintings, and origianl art from the graphic novel Mary of Mud Creek .
Toronto Public Library
Richview Branch
1806 Islington Ave (at Eglington)
April 1 – 30, 2012
Opening Reception
April 1
2-4 pm
22.Mar.2012 Grand Opening: The Comic Book Lounge + Gallery, Toronto
Comic Book Shop Emerges Out of Dragon Lady Closing
by BK Munn
The Comic Book Lounge + Gallery, Guerilla Printing, and The Toronto Cartoonists Workshop, have created a space they bill as “an integrated comic consumption and comic creation hub” in downtown Toronto and are having an official launch party and gallery show to christen the new space on Friday, March 23.
A live DJ and the sale of beverages are scheduled to herald the opening of the exhibit of art by featured gallery artist for April, Marvel cover artist Mike Del Mundo (the show continues until mid-April).
GRAND OPENING PARTY : FRIDAY, MARCH 23rd, 2012
PARTY HOURS: 7PM – 11PM
587A COLLEGE STREET (2nd Floor) – TORONTO, ON
The Comic Book Lounge and Gallery
A few blocks from it’s shuttered doors, the stock of the old Dragon lady
has joined up with The Toronto Cartoonists Workshop and Guerilla Printing
to share a space and become a new comics place!
The Comic Book Lounge & Gallery.
BlogTO did a nice little feature on the new outfit. And they have had at least their first signing event. Here’s some shots from both.
09.Aug.2011 Z I N E – D R E A M – 4
Sunday, August 21 2011
from 12 to 5 pm.
Zine Dream is an annual small press art fair featuring over 50 vendors of self published books, comics, music, zines, hand made crafts, prints & much more!
Featuring music by Fresh Flesh, Skull Bong and Moon Wood, DJ’s Laura Mccoy, Val Uher & Boogie Woogie Mix Tape Library. Plus performances by Kathleen Phillips and Amelia Ehrhardt.
@ The TRANZAC, 292 Brunswick Ave Toronto, Ont.
Pay What You Can
11.May.2011 More TCAF, lots more.
Lots more stuff to mention, just got pinged by this post from The Alabaster Sock [tag, you're it], and Tom Spurgeon of The Comics Reporter, who i saw about but in all the rush never got to say hi to [rats], is way ahead of the curve as usual with the record keeping with a huge list of links here and a full report of his own. Going to pull a couple from him next – first is his…
I like the closing observation of a street performer, nice.
Tom mentioned this on his link list, this years best book clip for the Doug Wright Awards…
Brad Mackay of the Doug Wrights also posted his photos of the awards night here, WHAZAMO! has a partial set of the exhibitors from the TCAF floor here, and the QUILLBLOG a few here.
And our friend Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas who i had not seen in about 10 years almost, since the year i founded this blog, sent me a nice batch of shots of his time at the show and the Exhibit he has up at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in the Gendai gallery, Toronto [May 7- June 26th 2011 - you can still catch it!].
That’s it for now, but not all.
31.Mar.2011 Vancouver Comic Jam Art Show
(image by Josué Menjivar)
VANCOUVER COMIC JAM ART SHOW
Opening: Saturday, April 2 · 8:00pm – 11:30pm
The Wallflower Modern Diner, 2404 Main St, Vancouver
The Wallflower will be hosting the first ever Vancouver Comic Jam art show. The show will go up on April 1st, with the official opening on April 2nd. The show will stay up until April 29th.
PARTICIPANTS:
Andrew Scott Clark
Carrie McKay
Christine Vivier
Colin Upton
Donald King
Doug Savage
Ed Brisson
Jackie Klobucar
Jason Copland
Jason Turner
Jeff Ellis
Jenna Sokalski
Julian Lawrence
Marie-Pierre Maingnon
Mei K
Mike Myhre
Mindy Fraser
Kate Craig
Kristin Sayer
Rebecca Dart
Robin Bougie
Robin Thompson
Sean Esty
Scott Ritchings
Toren Atkinson
26.Mar.2011 Rob Granito
Ty Templeton's scathing humorous satire of Rob Granito is one of the highlights of artist responses.
Start with Who On Earth Is Rob Granito? posted March 24 by Rich. Then More Fun With Rob Granito Before MegaCon, Yes Orlando, Rob Granito IS At MegaCon – Pics, Rob Granito Hits YouTube At MegaCon, When Ethan Van Sciver Met Rob Granito, all posted March 25. Concluding for the moment with Artists React To Rob Granito In The Only Way They Can, posted today, March the 26th. [yep, there's been a lot of posting about this, hasn't there?]
The short of it this Rob guy is producing art and prints that are clear swipes of other people’s work–something you do see in comics but is only tolerated if you credit the work as an homage–and saying it’s his own.
This is on top of what can only be described as a fantastically packed full of lies list of false credits, like saying he drew Calvin and Hobbes for example, or other titles we know full well he had nothing to do with.
Well, buddy…
I think mostly the things i linked to up top cover the bases, i just want to add one note coming from having read this from a friend on facebook posting on Ty Templeton’s wall.
Anastasia Acid PopTart [one of the more obvious victims of Robs swipes] has already contacted Chiller [con] and, at this time, they will not cancel Granito’s appearance. They have been informed of his thievery but say that it is up to the individual artists who have been ripped off to deal with the situation. Anastasia has said that she will possibly go to the convention and present papers in person.
Here’s my very public reaction to this, in the form of a note to all convention managers.
This is not how to handle this. The quote is anecdotal, but if it’s true?
Very bad PR and possibly leaves you liable. You have it on very good word from numerous creators, regardless if they have contacted you personally, that someone is forging their work, selling it as his own at your shows. And furthermore that the credentials he presented you with were faked was well.
If you’re taking money from Rob you’re profiting from fraud. You are also a victim of fraud. Even if you are providing space for free. You took him on under the understanding this person is someone who did X Y & Z, and they did not. They lied to you.
In either case you most certainly should not be leaving it to creators to do your job for you and police the event. That’s asking to host a brawl and not going to help create the kind of positive event environment that is in your own best interest. And while i’m not a lawyer, I think you are leaving yourself open to legal consequences by taking money from Rob, who is really playing Russian Roulette here with his brushes.
True, artist don’t have tons of money for legal action. So maybe Rob will get lucky with them and never receive a cease and desist letter or get sued by that crowd. Maybe. Perhaps he’ll just get punched in the face.
But the man is claiming to have worked on some pretty big license properties and is selling their copyrighted merch illegally at YOUR shows.
Get ahead of the curve on this one, and invest in some karma. And keep in mind leaving it to creators, Marvel or DC, Bill Watterson or Jim Davis to file suit or papers means probably leaving yourselves open to receive papers too.
Just a thought.
Rob's rip on the left, Ty's work under a DC/Time Warner copyright on the right.
25.Jan.2011 GeNext@AGR curated by Jack Anderson
Links to as many of the artists sites i could find online.
