19.Apr.2013 Conundrum Press | 5 books for TCAF, team ups with Koyama & D+Q
Nova Scotia based Conundrum Press’s summer line press proudly declares they are “stepping up their game”, rolling out five titles at TCAF. Three authored by Doug Wright Award winners and two by featured guests of the festival.
One of those guests is Michel Rabagliati. His latest translated work, Paul Joins the Scouts will be a heavy hitter for Conundrum likely, especially given the added attention of his DWA nomination this year for The Song of Roland. Also from the BDANG line is Obituary Man. The third book to be translated from the French from Quebec City native Philippe Girard.
Another featured guest, this one appearing for the first time in Canada is Hong Kong artist Chihoi. In support of his first book in English, The Library. A book of Kafkaesque stories, it’s the inaugural release under Conundrum International Imprint.
The Grey Museum is a galactic romp from former Doug Wright Award winner, Toronto native and recently, record shop proprietor, Lorenz Peter. And Science Fiction is the follow-up to Joe Ollmann’s widely popular Mid-Life which was nominated for a Doug Wright Award. Montreal-based Ollmann won the Doug Wright Award in 2007 for This Will All End in Tears.
Conundrum & Koyama Press are teaming up for the launch of two graphic novels, both by artists being published in English for the first time. The Library by Chihoi will be presented with Journal by Julie Delporte at Librairie Drawn & Quarterly on Tuesday, May 14, at 7PM.
Conundrum’s publisher Andy Brown says he thinks it’s a significant event in part because it brings the three prominent Canadian publishers Conundrum, Koyama, and Drawn & Quarterly together under one roof for a day, ”…all the Canadian comics publishers together in harmony”.
17.Apr.2013 Scott Thompson is this year’s Doug Wright Awards host
The Doug Wright Awards announced today that actor/comedian Scott Thompson [Kids in the Hall & Hannibal] will be the host for its 9th annual awards ceremony on Saturday, May 11, 2013 in Toronto!
One of the founding member of The Kids in the Hall, Thompson is known for his starring roles in the CBC Television show Death Come to Town, appearances on HBO’s The Larry Sanders Show, the 1996 feature film Brain Candy, and most recently is part of the cast of the NBC series Hannibal playing a forensics specialist!
He’s also a practiced host of awards, having done so for Canada`s Genie Awards in 2004, So if there was any doubt that the mind behind Buddy Cole would have any problem roasting. Hah! It should make for a fun night!
“With his outrageous sense of humour and impeccable comic timing, Scott is a perfect fit to helm our annual awards ceremony,” said Doug Wright Awards Director Brad Mackay. “As a long-time fan of his work on The Kids in the Hall and The Larry Sanders Show, I couldn’t be more happy that he`s agreed to lend his talents and time to our event. Welcome aboard!”
For more information, visit wrightawards.ca.
And now some Buddy…
Scott also has a very fun podcast, you should subscribe!
11.Apr.2013 The last week for Dracula Son of the Dragon, the kickstarter needs your help!
Full disclosure, this if a personal project of the publisher of this site.
Mark Sable (Graveyard of Empires, Unthinkable) and our own Salgood Sam (Sea of Red, Therefore Repent!) would like to tell you a story, about how the young prince of wallachia lots his soul and became Bram Stokers’ Dracula.
The book is called Dracula Son of the Dragon. To help get it started they’ve been holding a Kickstarter drive to fund the first book of a four part series.
Described as starting in young Vlad’s childhood, “he will learn hard early lessons in politics and betrayal, as a young prince in his native Wallachia. As a prisoner of the Ottoman Turks, how to inflict pain and instill fear in his enemies. And of the dark arts in a scholomance hidden on Lake Hermannstadt.”
Their Kickstarter got off to a great start but is in need of some help to make it’s goal. They are looking to raise 14k, to fund getting the book drawn, and pay for special editions created for the drive. With the bulk of the fund going to supporting Salgood Sam while he draws the book. A case of being able to directly back an independent creator while they make a book for you, personally!
They have a smart set of rewards that include a range of limited editions – drive only trade paperbacks, hand bound soft and hard leather bound editions. Art is on the table, writing chores, walk on parts for a few. One backer is even having Mark read the story to them poolside and getting swimming lessons!
Both creators have a track record in mainstream and independent comics of producing strong work. Dracula is a totally independent production, with the initial planned limited print editions being put out by Salgood’s boutique imprint Spilt Ink exclusively, And slated to be serialized in Salgood’s Revolver Quarterly for the general audience.
The same roof under which his upcoming graphic novel Dream Life will be released. Scheduled to drop at TCAF 2013 in Toronto, May 17-18th. A nearly full preview of Dream Life can be read online. It’s a different genre but contains some beautiful examples of his work. He completed that book as well with the help of a successful funding drive on Indiegogo, making this his second crowdfunding venture.
The Kickstarter dive is ending on the 17th of April, if they fall short of the goal it’s going to be by a slim margin, Mark and Sam are considering trying again there in that case, or using indiegogo perhaps. But would much rather entertain your pledges now to make it the first time.
21.Mar.2013 The 2013 Doug Wright Awards short-list
A feature event at TCAF, The Doug Wright Awards announced their 2013 finalists this morning.
The 9th annual awards short-list includes established creators, past winners, and many first-time nominees. They also unveiled the official poster drawn by 2012 Best Book Award winner & 2013 nominee, Ethan Rilly.
The 2013 Doug Wright Award nominees for Best Book are:
- Lose #4 by Michael DeForge (Koyama Press)
- By This Shall You Know Him by Jesse Jacobs (Koyama Press)
- The Song of Roland by Michel Rabagliati (Conundrum Press)
- Pope Hats #3 by Ethan Rilly (AdHouse Books)
- Wax Cross by Tin Can Forest (Koyama Press)
The 2013 Doug Wright Spotlight Award nominees are:
(a.k.a. “The Nipper” recognizing talents worthy of wider recognition)
- Nina Bunjevac for Heartless (Conundrum Press)
- Brandon Graham for King City (Image Comics)
- Patrick Kyle for Black Mass, Distance Mover, Wowee Zonk #4
- George Walker for The Mysterious Death of Tom Thomson (The Porcupine’s Quill)
- Eric Kostiuk Williams for Hungry Bottom Comics
The 2013 Pigskin Peters Award nominees are:
(Recognizing the best in experimental and avant-garde comics)
- Hamilton Illustrated by David Collier (Wolsak & Wynn)
- Hellberta #2 and “Sir Softly” from š! #12, by Michael Comeau
- Michael DeForge, Larry Eisenstein, Jesse Jacobs, Mark Laliberte (editor), Marc Ngui, Ethan Rilly, Tin Can Forest and Magda Trzaski for 4PANEL, a special comics features in Carousel Magazine #28 and #29
- Ginette Lapalme for “So, what should we do with ourselves?…” from Wowee Zonk #4 and “Little Stump” in š! #12
The Giants of the North: The Canadian Cartoonists Hall of Fame announce that the Quebec cartoonist Albert Chartierwill be posthumously inducted uring the May 11, 2013 ceremony in Toronto. Chartier died in 2004 ending an extraordinary career that lasted more than 65 years during which he drew several popular comic strips including Séraphin, Les Canadiens and Onésime. Onésime is his most well-known work, running for 59 years from November 1943 until June 2002.
About the DWA: Founded in 2004, The Doug Wright Awards recognize the best in English-language comics (or translations of French) by Canadian cartoonists. Now in their ninth year, the Awards will be handed out at a ceremony at Toronto’s Marriott Bloor Yorkville Hotel on Saturday May 11 from 7:00 – 9:00 pm.
The Doug Wright Awards will also be holding a fundraising auction of original art this spring by more than a dozen well-known Canadian cartoonists, including Chester Brown, Seth, Michael DeForge, Michael Cho, John Martz, David Collier and David Boswell.
The finalists for the 2013 Doug Wright Awards were chosen from a long list of more than 120 100 works and submissions published during the 2012 calendar year. This year’s nominating committee included Jerry Ciccoritti, Seth, Bryan Munn, Chris Randle and Sean Rogers.
For more information about the DWAs:
www.wrightawards.ca
Media inquiries: Shireen Cuthbert sfcuthbert@gmail.com
09.Feb.2013 C-list in the snow
Max here, waiting for the sun to come up so I can see how bad the balconies are and dig them out. We’ve been spotty getting back into posting the C-lists, here’s a summery of things we’ve posted on our Facebook page that are still relevant/current…
Item: Much as William Moulton Marston was in his day, Dr Will Brooker was tired of seeing female characters in pop culture that fell short of his ideals, overly relied on tight cloths, high heals and physical attributes. So he set out to invent a new icon. ‘My So-Called Secret Identity‘ [site is not up yet but their Facebook page is], drawn by Suze Shore, is the tale of Cat Abigail Daniels, the smartest person in Gloria City. She remembers everything she reads, sees how everything connects. And she’s getting tired of pretending, hiding, acting dumb to save other people’s feelings. If they won’t take her seriously as Catherine Abigail Daniels, the student and cop’s kid, maybe they’ll take her seriously in a costume. Looks pretty good, I like the primes and goals a lot.
Item: Due to the SNOW, Sherwin’s Toronto launch of Serial Villan has been postponed until March. He spent the evening playing video games in his hotel room. Sounds like his idea of a nice evening off!
Item: In the bigger picture of north american comic, CNET posted “Bizarro world! Print comics boom as digital sales rise. The common wisdom is that as a medium goes digital, the physical sales plummet. But when it comes to comic books, the common wisdom needs a new guru.” – read the full story here.
Item: On counterpoint to some extent, Robin at Inkstuds has a fantastic interview with teacher writer and comic artist Stephen Bissette. They talk for three hours, broken up into two parts about a lot of things. In all seriousness this is one of the best big picture views of the highs and lows of making comics today. Between his own time working at DC to his front row seat watching the current generation of creators he helps to train at CCS, If you want to make comics go listen to this. If you already make comics, go listen. If you gave up, yeah, go listen. Part 1 – Part 2.
Item: In Afin de subventionner adéquatement les auteurs, ”To adequately subsidize authors”, du Journal Montréal’s DB blogger Jean-Dominic Leduc posted last month about the so far unsuccessful attempts of Voro to get backing for a comics project relating to the province of Quebec. The post is mostly an open letter to ACC & CALQ, requesting an increase in funding of their grants for the medium. Check it out, and if you’re a fan or practitioner of comics in Quebec, consider writing your own letter, emails are provided in the post. More funding for comics! It’s a good idea. More posts by Jean-Dominic can be found here.
Item: Thumbs up review here from CBR for the big finally of the Rotoworld storyline, and Andy Belanger’s first DCU story/job. I had the pleasure of reading it a day early while scanning some old art and suffering a sugar crash. I haven’t been following the books so it was a bit of being dropped smack in the middle of madness, Andy should have played me some of his metal i think! Would have gone well with this. Art is good stuff, solid as always. Colors a bit heavy handed, did not help in distinguishing the detail in Andy’s stuff. First are always a little disappointing. I’ll bet they had to be done in a week or something. Crazy. Yanick Paquette’s Cover art looks really nice on the review site, unfortunate about the ‘graphics’ on the printed edition. Congrats for a very respectable first DC headliner Andy!
Item: Editions TRIP are proud to announce they will publish Billy Mavreas latest book : TIBONOM, 80 amazing pages of wordless comics for all ages. Featuring an introduction by, Joe Ollmann.
Item: Kevin A. Boyd on the Shuster blog posted this link to an article for the Hamilton Spectator, about Aram Alexanian’s contributions to Canadian and American Golden Age Comics before he went to work for the family carpet business. It includes a discussion of the Canadian Whites Walter Durajlija & Ivan Koczmarek.
Item[s]: A positive review of Salgood Sam’s [yes that's me!] Revolver Quarterly, from Rachel Fenton, a reader of the digital edition in New Zealand. All places equal distant on the internet. Éric Thériault has a new facebook page to like, Jai Granofsky posted some fun new doodles on his blog, George Todorovski posted a cool ‘Regulators’ trailer for Visionary Comics; A comic he worked on “a while back”. Kalman Andrasofszky joined a collective! This is from their most recent show. Sleeping Lion Heart. Acrylic and silver leaf on wood. 3′x4′ – with the plywood collective for their “HEROES” exhibit. Ramon Perez sightings at Angouleme! Here and here. Having fun doing a victory lap in the EU. Check out this cool set of photos by and of David Boswell: Cartoonist, Photographer, Illustrator, Jaded Roué. Oh hey, it’s the Comic Book Lounge’s 1st Anniversary Minicon and Industry Night today! Congratulations guys!
Ok, sun is up, time for some food and morning exercise! Keep up with us on our facebook page here.
23.Nov.2012 CBC Documentaries: Drawn and Quarterly; King of the Graphic Novel
From The Sunday Edition, with Michael Enright. Co: David Gutnick.
While the future of the book is in question, and independent Canadian publishers struggle just to stay afloat, Drawn and Quarterly is thriving.
In the earl 90s Chris Oliveros wanted the comic strips that he and friends drew to find a larger audience. On that kitchen table, he put together the first issues of a little magazine he called Drawn and Quarterly. Now D and Q is one of hottest publishers of graphic novels on the planet. David Gutnick’s documentary about them is called Graphic Chicken Soup for the Graphic Soul. 21 minutes 33 seconds.
Player appears after the bump.
(more…)
30.Oct.2012 C-List | the facebook roundup
It seems we all have more time to post casually on FB this past week than on the blog. So here’s a roundup of things that caught the sequential crews’ eye recently…
Item: 7 days left to get on board as a backer for True Patriot!
Item: 3 days left to pre-order Revolver for $10.
Item: Conor McCreery from Kill Shakespeare was on Main Street [halifax cbc radio show] talking about their popular book series and how they came up with the idea.
Item: Frozen Light Comics Presents Canada’s Newest batch of Superheroes for an all ages audience.
Item: Son Of Gothra: A new Indy comic by Fred Kennedy & Jeff Brown, art by Vincent Sunico & Charles Prichett, cover by Kalman Andrasofszky. “Abrax is capture by the feared Imperial General Findalpha and begins his transition from tribal raider to stallion of the arenas. The slave of an Empire in turmoil, Abrax of Gothra must navigate his way through the intrigue of the courts and the violence of the arena.”
Item: Brad Mackay suggests If you’re in the Burlington, Ontario region Friday you should go to this.
Item: Becky Cloonan said : A little preview of Swamp Thing Annual, where we lull you into a false sense of security with all the cute romance. Written by Scott Snyder, out Wednesday. The issue features some bits by her beau, Andy Belanger.
Item: Eugene Zhilinsky said: “We did it! The latest (and already popular!) novel of Editions Tchai – Rock Testament – even better than our pilot version we did last year – it’s twice thicker, printed on better paper and has nicer cover color. This is the whole cinch of printing a big run offset. This book was already presented at TCAF 2012. More in our blog here.”
Item: Mirror Comics posted a preview of MISSION ARIZONA 2 here.
Item: The Drink & Draw Montréal site is seeking new bloggers and content creators.
Item: And speaking of Jams, the Ottawa, Montreal, and Picton Comic jams are coming up. The Toronto comic jam book for September 25, 2012 has been posted here.
Item: La Mauvaise Tête presents “Pinkerton”. by Alexandre Fontaine Rousseau & Francois Samson-Dunlop. Two newly single friends, sleeping away their failures, discover that their troubles have something to do with a nostalgic affection for the music of the 1990s. An album of this period holds their attention in particular. Will they finally overcome his bad influence? Pinkerton was a great success as a zine. A bittersweet comedy about love, music and drunken nights that end around a poutine. The Graphic novel includes an afterword by Nicolas Tittley. 176 pages, black and white. French text. In stores November 2012.
Item: Also, Les recrues de l’année | The rookies of the year. News about the studio of La Mauvaise Tête. A tight crew of talented Montrealers.
Item: NSFW: Rick finally gave in, and has done a brand new Motion Picture Purgatory for Noboru (Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead) Iguchi’s DEAD SUSHI: “How to Get Rid of Vaginal Odor!”
Item: Colin Upton wrote: “I have unleashed my pent-up drawing comics rage! Ah! Finished the art of another new mini-comic, this one the first Famous Bus Rides in more than a decade! This one is drawn on black paper with black, white and grey coloured pencils. It’s the story about being stranded in the urban Hellscape of Columbus, Ohio while being too cheap to take a cab!” One assumes you can acquire the book from here.
Item: Robin McNerdel of Inkstuds said: “Hey, I posted an interview with Michael Deforge. I like that guy, and so should you!”
And that’s not even all of it. We’ve been very active on the Facebook fan page, come check it out, like, and keep up on the latest of Canadian comics!
27.Sep.2012 The C-List : The Facebook editon
Been spending a little more time than ussual on Facebook
the last week, promoting a crowdfunder.
In my spare moments collecting stories that float by
and posting them to our page a lot, here’s the last few days worth…
Item!: Bernie Mireault has posted a great long entry about his attending the latest Montreal Comic Con, and joining the EN MASSE crew there for the weekend. He was a regular at the Montreal Comic Jams over the years, he introduced me to them in fact. Sounds like he had a lot of fun with it. And he’s got photos of George Perezz painting with the EN MASSE crew too! Like Zoro!
Item!: New Snail is open, look forward to checking it out next time i’m in Toronto [been a long time since i had a good reason to be on that part of Young] in the mean time Ty took his kids and got to be the first customers, again!
Item!: Photos of a “drawing concert” with Philippe Girard, Todd Picard, Reine Du Mambo, Mathieu Girard, Fred Lebrasseur and Joe Ollmann!
Item!: J.Torres has been posting notices about contributors to his new comcis antholagy and Indigogo project True Patirot. Here’s linkts to their Facebook Page, and posts about Howard Wong & Adrian Alphona, Tom Fowler, Agnes Garbowska, Jay Stephens, J. Bone, Jack Briglio & Ron Salas, Ramon Perez, Andy B, Scott Chantler, Faith Erin Hicks, and the book itself [1st]. Their funding drive on Indiegogo goes live Monday, October 1st.
Item!: Cameron Stewart has been putting up a lot of new pages of Sin Titulo on a regular bassis latley, I’m way behind. Also a bunch of new pin up sketches too.
Item!: My own little fund raiser goes well, but still the last 3rd to go. Check out the trailer, pitch clip, and perks, and consider supporting it?
20.Sep.2012 The C-List: Back to School
Around here we’re allways a little tardy, too busy out back first period smoking and playing Jacks.
~
Item! Dave Sim Responds, at length of course, to expressed publishing interest from Fantagraphics. Fantagraphics publishes his relopy in it’s entirety because that’s just how these guys roll [he said no, sort of] – Long time readers flash back to the letters pages and forums of TCJ yore.
Item! Via Evan at andoneshallsurelydie comes news of a planned anthology edited by J. Torres on the theme of Canadian superheroes entitled True Patriot. That sounds like fun!
Item! Speaking of superheroes, Faith Erin Hicks will be taking her popular newspaper strip and webcomic Superhero Girl to Darkhorse. Brigid Alverson at the Robot 6 blog interviews her about the strip.
Item! blogto.com posted a list of The Best Comic Shops in Toronto, including winner of this years Harry Kremer Award for Outstanding Comic Book Retailer [JSA], the Silver Snail [#2 on the blog to list], and The Comic Book Lounge and Gallery [#3], were winner of the JSA for Outstanding Comic Book Cartoonist Ramón K Pérez picked up his plaque [as seen in photo to the left]. Number one is the always classy Beguiling.
Items! I have not had time to curate a Hey Kids Comix! post in a while. Here’s some comics and webcomics review sites i’ve noticed online to help make up for that a little: Robbmirsky; YourWebcomics, Webcomic reviews, creator interviews; Dungeon Crawler, a rpg themed comic by a large group of rotating contributors including an old school mate of mine, George Todorovski!
Item! I met the guys behind Mirror Comics in passing at the Montreal Comic Con last week, they are appearing at CAN CON this coming weekend. Check out their line, here’s their schedule for the show.
Item! Speaking of which, CAN CON is this coming weekend! I hear it’s a nice little show on it’s way to being not so little. Wish i’d have had the forethought to budget a visit. Check it out and tweet us what you think of it!
Ok, that’s it for now, except this.
As well as being the publisher and sometimes blogger here [Bryan really does most of the heavy lifting these days], I’m also a creator myself. I often feel awkward about posting about my own stuff on this site but a little bit now and then is fair I think? Right now I’m trying to get the word out as wide as I can, about my Indiegogo funding drive to complete my latest book and bring it to market. Here’s my pitch clip and if you like what you see, check out this link to contribute! Thanks – Salgood Sam
16.Sep.2012 8th Annual Joe Shuster Awards Winners
In a nice and short, bilingual ceremony on Saturday night, this years Joe Shuster Awards were presented.
The night was hosted by Jason Rockman Host/Animateur AMPED! With the Rockman CHOM 97.7 – Astral Radio & Catherine Smith-Desbiens, also of Astral Radio.
The Joe Shuster Awards are given annually for outstanding achievements in the creation of comic books, graphic novels and webcomics by Canadians. There are additional awards for Retailers and Publishers and a hall of fame. The Awards were first given April 2005. They are administered by the Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association, a not-for-profit formed in 2004. And they are named in honour of Joe Shuster (1914–1992), the Canadian-born co-creator of Superman!
This years winner are….
Outstanding Comic Book Cover Artist / Dessinateur de couverture de bande dessinée exceptionnel
Francois Lapierre
Chroniques Sauvages
(Glenat Quebec)
The Gene Day Award for Self-Publishers / Le Prix Gene Day de l’auto-édition
Dakota McFadzean
Ghost Rabbit
The Dragon Award – Comics for Kids / Le Prix Dragon – Bande dessinée jeunesse
Paul Roux
Ariane et Nicolas Tome 6: Les Toiles Mysterieuses
(Les 400 Coups)
Outstanding Web Comics Creator / Créateur de bande dessinée web exceptionnel
Emily Carroll
[2nd year in a row!]
Comics 2011
Outstanding Comic Book Writer / Scénariste de bande dessinée exceptionnel
Kurtis J. Wiebe
Green Wake 1-8
The Intrepids 1-6
(Image Comics)
“Logan’s Lost Lesson“/Marvel Holiday Special 2011
(Marvel Comics)
Outstanding Comic Book Artist / Dessinateur de bande dessinée exceptionnel
Stuart Immonen
Fear Itself 1-7
“Queen, King, Off-Suit“/X-Men: To Serve and Protect 4
(Marvel Comics)
“Say You’re Dead“/Outlaw Territory Vol.2
(Image Comics)
Outstanding Comic Book Cartoonist / Auteur de bande dessinée exceptionnel
Ramón K Pérez
Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand
(Archaia Press)
The Harry Kremer Award for Outstanding Comic Book Retailer / Le Prix Harry Kremer du libraire de bandes dessinées exceptionnel
Silver Snail (Toronto, ON)
11.Sep.2012 D+Q, Kate Beaton and Tale of Sand at the Harvey Awards
Saturday night, Baltimore, the Harvey Awards announced the 2012 winners.
Kate Beaton won three, and Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand took two. Drawn & Quarterly was well represented as the publisher of Kate’s book, as well as best repackaged book for Clowes’ Death Ray.
From the official list of winners:
BEST WRITER – Mark Waid for “DAREDEVIL”, published by Marvel ComicsBEST ARTIST – J. H. Williams for “BATWOMAN”, published by DC Comics
BEST CARTOONIST – Kate Beaton for “HARK! A VAGRANT”, harkavagrant.com; printed edition published by Drawn and Quarterly
BEST INKER – Joe Rivera for “DAREDEVIL”, published by Marvel Comics
BEST COVER ARTIST – J. H. WILLIAMS for “BATWOMAN”, published by DC Comics
BEST LETTERER – Chris Eliopoulos for “FEAR ITSELF”, published by Marvel Comics
BEST COLORIST – Dave Stewart for “HELLBOY: THE FURY”, published by Dark Horse Comics
BEST NEW SERIES – “DAREDEVIL”, published by Marvel Comics
BEST CONTINUING OR LIMITED SERIES – “DAREDEVIL”, published by Marvel Comics
BEST ONLINE COMICS WORK – “HARK! A VAGRANT”, by Kate Beaton, harkavagrant.com; print edition published by Drawn and Quarterly
BEST SYNDICATED STRIP – “CUL DE SAC”, by Richard Thompson, syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate
BEST AMERICAN EDITION OF FOREIGN MATERIAL – “THE MANARA LIBRARY, VOLUME 1: INDIAN SUMMER AND OTHER STORIES”, published by Dark Horse Comics
MOST PROMISING NEW TALENT – Sara Pichelli, for “ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN”, published by Marvel ComicsSPECIAL AWARD FOR HUMOR IN COMICS – Kate Beaton for “HARK! A VAGRANT”, harkavagrant.com; printed edition published by Drawn and Quarterly
BEST ORIGINAL GRAPHIC PUBLICATION FOR YOUNGER READERS – “ANYA’S GHOST”, published by First Second
BEST ANTHOLOGY – “DARK HORSE PRESENTS”, published by Dark Horse Comics
BEST DOMESTIC REPRINT PROJECT – “WALT SIMONSON’S THE MIGHTY THOR, ARTIST’S EDITION”, published by IDW
BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY – “JIM HENSON’S TALE OF SAND”, published by Archaia Entertainment
SPECIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRESENTATION – “WALT SIMONSON’S THE MIGHTY THOR, ARTIST’S EDITION”, published by IDW
BEST ORIGINAL GRAPHIC ALBUM – “JIM HENSON’S TALE OF SAND”, published by Archaia Entertainment
BEST BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL OR JOURNALISTIC PRESENTATION – “GENIUS ISOLATED: THE LIFE AND ART OF ALEX TOTH”, published by IDW
BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED – “THE DEATH RAY”, published by Drawn and Quarterly
27.Aug.2012 Let’s Help Sandeep
As a result of last week’s devastating fire in Waterloo, Aardvark-Vanaheim communications director Sandeep Atwal was left homeless.
I understand that not only the equipment and negatives being used for the Cerebus digital project but also Atwal’s collection of Dave Sim sketches and drawings, among other personal possessions, were destroyed.
When I contacted him via email, Atwal shrugged off his loss, noting he was physically okay and the things he had lost were “just stuff”. I’m sure he could use a bit of cheering up and maybe some new stuff?
Luckily, the Cerebus Fangirl blog has stepped up and started a Paypal donation fund for Atwal. Click here to “help Sandeep.”
21.Jul.2012 San Diego Panel Recordings and Pictures
Jamie Coville wrote us with the links for his haul of goodies.
He’s posted online a whooping 16 panels, and the Will Eisner Awards!
Job well done Jamie!
It’s all posted here, and 174 Photos here.
And he prepared the following post, pared with photos for us, after the jump…
18.Jul.2012 Can Con 2012 Sept 21-23
Thanks to Dwight Williams, for the heads up for the next edition of CAN-CON. In our nations capital, Ottawa on the September 21-23 weekend. They still have slots open in the dealers room.
This year, comics-related guests include Artist Guest of Honor Tom Fowler, Jay Odjick, and representatives from Mirror Comics, “…a new indie comic book distributor powered by passionate comic book creators and digital media experts. That’s right, we’re comic book creators ourselves frustrated by the lack of channels for independents to get their works discovered.”
Think this is the first time I’ve heard of them, their line up of books looks pretty good. They call themselves “Distributors” rather than publishers, wonder what the business model is.
I could not imagine a more “shadowy secret organization”ish logo! 
17.Jul.2012 A C-list impostor | Is that an Atwood?
Item: Starting off the last C-list was news of Michael Deforge’s Ant Colony graphic novel being published by D&Q. Deforge has until now being published by Koyama Press, his Lose series continues to be. So for us canucks that was some big news.
But arguably the other name in the same cycle of pree SDCC press from D+Q merited a mention. It was Art Spiegelman. Drawn & Quarterly announced it acquired North American and UK rights to Spiegelman’s Co-Mix: A Retrospective Of Comics, Graphics And Scraps. An expanded English-language version of the bilingual edition published by Flammarion. The work began as a major museum retrospective appearing first at Angouleme during his recent presidency, and then moving to the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The show version will continue on to Cologne, Vancouver and New York City over the next several months. Co-Mix will be distributed in the US by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, in Canada by Raincoast and in the UK by PGUK. Matthew Bloomgarden of the Wylie Agency represented Spiegelman in negotiations.
Item: Evan A. posted a nice list of Canuck achievement for SDCC, here’s a synopsis; Captain Canuck Feature producers sign on a writer; D+Q gets infested with ants; Margaret Atwood cosplays as Margaret Atwood; One of a kind Merch from Jeff Lemire & Bryan Lee O’Malley; & Canada cleans up at the Eisners!
Item: Revisiting that last point, along with much deserved trophies for Darwyn Cooke’s work on Parker, D+Q’s edition of Shigeru Mizuki’s manga Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, and The Dragon netting the retailer’s award, here are freind of the blog Ramón K Pérez’s trophies for Best Graphic Album – New & Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team. They also scooped Best Publication Design – the book was designed by Eric Skillman.
Item: Rachel Richey on Comic Syrup talks about Dustin Harbin’s ode to the DWA, “The Doug Wright Awards 2011: An Essay in Comics, by Some American”.
Item: Robin from Inkstuds has a new project, archiving lost obscure Canadian comics! Check out the Canadian Comics Archive, “A collection of rare, unusual, forgotten and inspiring Canadian comics history”.
Koyama Press September 2012 releases
Koyama Press announces three new titles for release in September 2012
Ed Kanerva wrote us to announce the fall line up, here it is…
THE INFINITE WAIT AND OTHER STORIES by Julia Wertz,
LOSE # 4 by Michael DeForge,
THE BIG TEAM SOCIETY LEAGUE BOOK OF ANSWERS by comics collective Team Society League.
The Infinite Wait and Other Stories is latest book from Julia Wertz, the critically acclaimed author of The Fart Party Vols. 1 and 2 (Atomic Books, 2007 and 2009) and Drinking at the Movies (Random House, 2010).
In contrast to her last book, which was a full-length graphic memoir, The Infinite Wait is not a sustained narrative, but rather a collection of three short stories or graphic novellas. The stories in this collection contain Wertz’s signature acerbic wit, ribald humour and keen eye for the everyday, but they also find the cartoonist delving into the personal. “Industry” catalogues 25 years of alternately terrible and terrific jobs, from selling golf balls, feeding and failing to feed animals, waitressing, and finally to cartooning and the publication of her first book.
“A Strange and Curious Place” is a love letter to Wertz’s hometown library; its mysteries and revelations, and its ability foster growth, rebellion and even artistic affirmation. The most sustained narrative in the collection, the eponymous “The Infinite Wait,” chronicles Wertz’s move from her small hometown to San Francisco, her diagnosis with an incurable, auto-immune disease and her subsequent discovery of comics and comic making.
The collection’s title, The Infinite Wait and Other Stories, intentionally and ironically recalls the vacuous and pretentious book titles of the literary elite, but these stories are the polar opposite of pretension. They are comics born out of illness, but not defined by it, and they are filled with the sometimes messy, heartbreaking and hilarious moments that make up a life.
The fourth installment of Michael DeForge’s award-
This issue—“The Fashion Issue”—features a post-adolescent punk’s leather-and-spike-laced metamorphosis, a look at the lives and fashions of the exquisite corpses that make up the Canadian Royalty, and a town that is haunted by its past, which happens to look a lot like its present. Along with these longer stories, Lose #4 also features shorter strips and pin-ups including Abbey Loafer whose adventures also grace the pages of Toronto’s Offerings zine. Lose #4 is a comic that blends the banal with the bizarre to create a mélange that is filled with horror and discomfort, humanity and humour.
The Big Team Society League Book of Answers by Toronto jam comics collective Team Society League (Aaron Costain, John Martz, Steve Wolfhard, and Zach Worton) is an absurd blend of priapic comic pantomimes that feature an adorable cast of characters doing abominable things. Ridiculously violent and unabashedly immature, The Big Team Society League Book of Answers is a comic destined to be hidden between, and confiscated from, the pages of history textbooks.
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.
13.Jul.2012 Conversing on Comics with Salgood Sam
Always feel a bit awkward posting about myself here, but missed the window on the C-list so what the heck. I did a little interview with Chris Arrant over on Robot 6 that went live today. Part of new serires of interviews he’s doing called “Conversing on comics“. Hopefully with SDCC this weekend, it’s not totally missed in the wash of cosplay photos, new Neil Gaiman book announcements and Hollywood news!
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 VanCAF clips parade
Vancouver Comic Arts Festival panorama of the Roundhouse from Day 1. By AlbertArt
Last weekend was the first VanCAF, Vancouver Comics Arts Festival. From what I hear it went well, the restored Roundhouse I hear was a wonderful space for it. Looks good in the footage i’ve seen. Had a few cued in the SEQUENTIAL TV feed for the last few days but thought it would be good to post them here.
Montreal Man, the youtube handle of the proprietor of RX COMICS I believe, made a good pair of clips briefly interviewing many of the creators presenting their wares.
In the first one you meet Katie from Silly Kingdom. Here Shaggy does his post show rap.
Twitter hash tag #Vancaf produced some pics…
Chris Eng posted his prize loot
“The two most exciting new finds I got at #VanCAF! @LuBellWoo @TangoCharlie”
Alina Pete tweeted while pub-crawling…
Conversation has wandered to the plight of the crack bear. #vancaf #pubcrawl
Sam Logan gives us a peek at the crowds.
AlbertArt shares a sketch he got from Caanan, of occasionalcomics.com.
Savage Chickens wrote “Great recap of #VanCAF from @TheSnipeNews - it was a huge success!” – here’s the post, lots of coverage.
VANCOUVER RALLIES AROUND FIRST COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL
Dante @digitalrailgun tweeted “my #VanCAF weekend post”Tuesday, 29 May 2012 Vancouver Comic Arts Festival 2012
ChinChatComics wrote a ”Daily Snooze” on her blog…
And as a good omen for next year, here’s a shot taken by the organizers and posted just before they set up this years…
#vancaf setup, phase one! (Aka the empty phase)
