"Safety First!" Advises Gang
by Bryan Munn
GUELPH --The already oversized cartoonist population of this small Ontario town was increased by three this weekend when the Safety First Tour rolled into Guelph. Billed as "a reunion of sorts" by Waterloo cartoonist Scott Chantler, the signing tour represents the first public appearance of a group of artists who once worked together at a Waterloo company designing safety posters but are finally pursuing their dreams of comics creation full-time.
Chantler's former co-worker's, Guelph cartoonists Nick Craine, Scott Mooney, and Jay Stephens, were joined by Toronto cartoonist Cameron Stewart at The Dragon comics store on Saturday to meet their fans and sign copies of their books. All five are promoting new cartooning work:
Scott Chantler, a Russ Manning Award-nominee, was signing copies of his new graphic novel, North-West Passage (ONI Press). This is Chantler's first graphic novel as both writer and artist and is the first part of a multi-volume historical adventure story set in 18th-Century Canada among the Hudson Bay fur-traders.
Scott Mooney and Nick Craine recently launched Parting Ways, a graphic novel written by Andrew Foley, with art by Mooney and inks by Craine. This is Mooney's first graphic novel, while Craine is the cartoonist behind two previous GNs and the Cheeseheads comic book series.
Cameron Stewart is a popular superhero comics artist who works regularly for US-based DC Comics. While closely associated with the fan-favourite Catwoman character, Stewart recently collaborated on several graphic novels with writer Grant Morrison, including Seaguy and Seven Soldiers: Guardian. Stewart hinted at the signing that he is working on a more personal graphic novel project to be published elsewhere, possibly with ONI Press.
The prolific Jay Stephens is well-known as the creative force behind the Tutenstein animated cartoon, recently renewed for another season by NBC. While he hasn't drawn many comics for print lately, Stephens was signing his impressive back catalogue of books like Jetcat Clubhouse, Oddville, The Land of Nod, and Atomic City Tales.
All the cartoonists signed extra copies of their books for the store, and chatted amiably about each other's work, their industry experiences, and even inking techniques. One of the highlights of the day was a surprise visit by Waterloo manga cartoonist Svetlana Chmakova, who came as fan to have her books signed. Chmakova's Dramacon manga was recently published by Tokyopop and she has also created a new manga strip for CosmoGirl magazine.
More:
Photos of the Event
Tour Poster and Announcement
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