Comix News & culture
in Montreal and greater Canada
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30.7.05
UW Student, Renaissance Man
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Jeff Maus: Painter, Director, Cartoonist
"His comic book, which Maus says is more like a graphic novel, is based on a film script idea he's had for at least five years, though he's only worked on putting the idea into comic book form over the last two years. Escape from Planet Crazy will be released in stores around Waterloo and Montreal sometime this fall. The plot is set in the ‘60s and is influenced by comics from the New Yorker and old advertisements from the ‘50s and ‘60s."
Imprint
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Bryan@Sequential : 10:08:57 PM
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29.7.05
Trade Comics
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Alberta Politician Reports on New Edu-comic
Carol Haley, MLA for Airdrie-Chestermere, reports on a collection of new materials, including comic books, designed to teach kids about apprenticeship programs and the trades.
"The government wants Albertans to see apprenticeship in the same light as they do university and college. People who work in the trades – especially in Alberta – are skilled professionals who are highly respected, well-paid and in high demand. "
No word yet of any cartooning programs.
Airdrie Echo
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Bryan@Sequential : 2:10:59 AM
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28.7.05
Cartoonist Chit Swe Arrested in Burma
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Canadians respond to Arrest of Cartoonist Chit Swe in Burma
by Bryan Munn
July 28, 2005
When Burmese cartoonist Chit Swe was arrested by his government on July 12, the news spread rapidly around the world. Now Chit Swe's peers in Canada's cartoonist community voice their opposition.
Although the Burmese government has put on a less repressive face lately, releasing hundreds of political prisoners, freedom of expression and political dissent are still under attack in the country ruled by a military junta, known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Burma (also known as Myanmar) remains a police state. Burmese citizens are routinely picked up for listening to foreign radio broadcasts (like the BBC and Voice of America), writing about human rights, and attending meetings.
Chit Swe is a political cartoonist who is also the local vice-president of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in his home township of Rangoon Thanlyin (Syriam). In 1990, the NLD won the national election, winning 82 per cent of the government seats. The military junta invalidated the results and continues to detain the NLD's leader, the Nobel prize-winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and many others, despite international protests.
Held since last week in a local police station jail and forced to sleep on a concrete floor, the 65-year-old Chit Swe went before a judge on July 25 and plead not guilty to the charges against him, described as showing defiance to the authorities for not asking permission to attend a political meeting --something he has not required permission for in the past (the charges are based on a law ostenibly designed to curb the movement of actual, non-political criminals). The actual meeting was in Chit Swe's own house. Swe is now in Insein Jail, awaiting his next court appearance on August 3.
This situation does not sit well with Montreal cartoonist Terry Mosher (Aislin), one of Canada's most well-known newspaper caricaturists and a member of the Order of Canada.
"Given the regime in Burma, I can only say that I am saddened - but hardly surprised - by the actions against the cartoonist by the government there," says Mosher when reached for comment. "We are shocked by such actions as they seem a throwback given the new hard-earned freedoms that have been attained in Latin America, Eastern Europe and other regions of the world over the last twenty-five years."
According to David Cozac of PEN Canada, Chit Swe's situation is not unusual.
"Officially, PEN Canada opposes all detentions of writers and others who have expressed their views peacefully. This was the case of Chit Swe. Sadly, his arrest is the latest example of a pattern of repression by the ruling military junta, the State Peace and Development Council, to censor all opposition voices among the media and the opposition National League for Democracy."
PEN already has three Honorary Members from Burma, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and just last week sent a letter to the Burmese government demanding the release of writer Win Tin. PEN does not plan on commenting officially on the Chit Swe case, according to Cozac.
Canadian editorial cartoonists have other ideas, however.
"Cartoonists are journalists and should be treated as such. So it is appalling that this is happening right under the nose of the world community," adds Michael de Adder, a Halifax cartoonist and current head of the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists.
The Association met recently in Halifax and decided it should be involved more in international affairs:
"We are going to draft a letter in support of Chit Swe underlining his circumstances and our concerns about free expression, which we will send to government officials here and abroad. We will also work to contact Minister of Foreign Affairs Pierre Pettigrew and Minister of International Cooperation Aileen Carroll and try to get them to address this problem. Trade and globalization being what it is today, this is a concern for all of Canada."
Recent experiences make de Adder optimistic about the contributions Canadian cartoonists can make. He says, "We had just recently helped cartoonist Nikohang Kosar flee from Iran. He got arrested for cartoons he drew about Iranian officials. He is now working to get permanent residency."
When asked about the seeming growth of repression against cartoonists, de Adder adds, "I wouldn't call it a growing trend, I would call it something left over from days gone by. It ranges from Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan suing cartoonist Musa Kart to the imprisonment of Algerian cartoonist Ali Dilem for a published anti-government cartoon."
The situation in Canada is very different, according to de Adder.
"In Canada we are far less restricted. We worry less about imprisonment at the hands of government officials and more about censorship from our editors. Usually these occurrences have more to do with legal ramifications than they do about government policy. We in Canada have a harder time getting a cartoon printed about private corporations than we do about despotic regimes. And although we don't get imprisoned for our actions, the threat of legal action has the same result, the censorship of free expression."
To date, the Canadian government has not commented officially on the arrest of Chit Swe.
Read More:
Latest News: Democratic Voice of Burma
Eastern European Cartoonists Object to Chit Swe's Arrest
Reporters Without Borders Protest Arrest
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Bryan@Sequential : 12:18:00 AM
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27.7.05
Ryan Heshka Exhibit
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Vancouver Art Show Reviewed in Westender
"Comic books - love 'em or hate 'em - have come a long way, baby. The past 25 years have seen the rise of the graphic novel and, in turn, the legitimization of the comic as a reputable forum for social commentary. But that wasn't always the case. Derided in the first two-thirds of the20th century as time-wasting garbage or censure-worthy agitprop, cartoonists and comic artists have found remarkably crafty ways to document the culture and offer sly comment of the political landscape. "
Westender
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Bryan@Sequential : 11:11:53 PM
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26.7.05
Exquisite Corpse
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Sonia Sarfati covers the Comics Jam for La Presse
"L'idée est simple - et pas nouvelle..."
Link courtesy of Francis Hervieux at the Comics Journal boards.
La Presse
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Bryan@Sequential : 6:41:47 PM
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Toronto Comic Jam
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Documentary to be filmed at July 2005 comic jam
Tuesday, July 26
9 pm
Cameron House (Queen St West)
Dave Howard gives some advice:
"Sl'am productions are planning on coming by July's comic jam and doing some filming for their documentary about comics. They'll be interviewing people from the jam, so comb your hair and start rehearsing clever things to say."
Toronto Comic Jam Discussion Group
Jam Home
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Bryan@Sequential : 2:33:54 AM
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BD Montréal... my ass
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Another view by Isa Tousignant @ the Hour weekly
"Just For Laughs launches a new angle to the fest, and pretends to know what it's doing
My excitement was palpable as I ran to the press conference a couple months ago about BD Montréal, a promising - on paper - new angle to the Just For Laughs fest that would honour one of Montréal's richest resources: comix.
But then, I got there and listened to what they were organizing. "
Hour.ca
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Bryan@Sequential : 2:09:51 AM
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First BD Montreal Concludes
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Hervé St.Louis @ comicbookbin.com
A rare English-language overview of the corporately organized, family-friendly comics event from last week.
"Speaking of mix, the BD Montreal event only covered about half of what really goes on in Montreal. Montreal is one of the hot bed of English-speaking comic books in North America with talented works inspired by the locals. Moreover, most North American comic books are printed right in the city. An event showcasing the best from Montreal should always strive to promote the duality of the city’s cultural heritage."
Comic Book Bin
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Bryan@Sequential : 2:01:25 AM
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23.7.05
22.7.05
CBC.ca: Special Ed
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Brad Mackay on Chester Brown
"But there was a time, long before the mainstream pile-on, when Brown’s work was feared and excoriated by everyone from women’s rights groups to die-hard comic nerds. The indignation came courtesy of Ed The Happy Clown, his 1989 story about the problem-plagued life of an ill-fated children’s entertainer. "
CBC.ca - Arts
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Bryan@Sequential : 9:54:55 AM
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21.7.05
More @ BD Montréal
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Thursday Events
Last minute guests appearing at the various publishers areas, courtesy of Liste des BéDénautes:
Voici le programme de Jeudi
- ne pas manquer à 18hrs le lancement de l'album de Michel Falardeau, Mertownville, chez Paquet Éditeur. Ça promet! (Infos : Alain-Napoléon Moffat amoffat@flammarion.qc.ca)
Dédicaces et activités :
18h à 19h Daniel Zvatek La voix du tonnerre aux éditions 400 coups
18h à 19h Martin Villeneuve auteur La voix du tonnerre (BD science-fiction) aux éditions 400 coups
18h à 20h Michel Falardeau auteur/illustrateur Mertownville tome1: Lydia aux éditions Paquet
18h à 20h Julien Neel auteur/illustrateur Lou (BD jeunesse) aux éditions Glénat, et lauréat du Bédélys Jeunesse 2004 - Bibliothèque de Montréal.
18h à 20h Tébo auteur/illustrateur Samson et Néon et Captain Biceps (BD science-fiction) aux éditions Glénat
18h à 21h Michel Grant auteur/illustrateur Les aventures de Ti-Guy (BD aventure/humour) aux éditions Québédé
19h à 20h Bruno Laporte illustrateur Rupert K (BD humour) aux éditions 400 coups
19h à 21h François Miville-Deschênes illustrateur Millénaire (BD aventure) aux éditions Humanos
20h à 21h30 Jean-Paul Eid auteur/illlustrateur Le naufragé de Mémoria (BD science-fiction) aux éditions 400 coups
BD Montréal
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Bryan@Sequential : 6:36:48 AM
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20.7.05
Comix jam & BD Montreal
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Special Edition at Librairie Monet
For the BD Montreal festival, cameras will be on hand to record this special event.
7PM
Wednesday, July 20th
BEDE-KA! --See Map!
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Bryan@Sequential : 7:03:45 PM
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Selling Manga in Toronto
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Christopher Butcher on Why Things Sell
An analysis of the sales potential of books from every North American publisher of manga and anime-related books from the Beguiling's resident expert.
comics.212.net
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Bryan@Sequential : 6:52:29 PM
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19.7.05
1950s Comics Readership
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Local Store Profile
Today's news yields an interesting nugget of cultural-studies type lore, buried in an otherwise forgetable profile of a London, Ontario coin business:
"Andrew explains that his dad, who first came to London because his father, Ivan, was transferred by the military from his base in Halifax in 1952, had a knack for business from an early age.
'He used to take his little red wagon and load it up with comic books and go around his neighbourhood, door to door and ask the father of the house if he read comics. Most of the men at that time did read comics, and were happy to see Keith at their door.'"
London Free Press: Business Section - Coins all in the family
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Bryan@Sequential : 2:26:46 PM
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18.7.05
AFTER KING, A SCREAM QUEEN
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Leroy Douresseaux on Ho Che Anderson
"So I read a short graphic novel recently that made me reconsider for a short while how comics or comix work as a storytelling medium..."
ComicBookBin
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Bryan@Sequential : 12:33:21 AM
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17.7.05
Vera Brosgol Wins Lulu
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Friends of Lulu Awards
Vera Brosgol won the KIM YALE AWARD at the Friends of Lulu awards ceremony Friday, July 15 in San Diego. Brosgol, the Toronto comics creator who has contributed to the Flight Anthology & Hopeless Savages B-Sides, won the award given annually to the Best Emerging Talent/Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition. The award is named after Kim Yale, a founding member of the women-friendly Friends of Lulu organization, who passed away in 1997.
THE BEAT at COMICON.com | 2: Friends of Lulu Award Winners
Brosgol Homepage
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Bryan@Sequential : 2:19:54 AM
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The Eisner Awards
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Darwyn Cooke, Seth Among Winners
The winners of the 2005 Eisner Awards have been announced in a ceremony honouring the eponymous cartoonist Wil Eisner, who passed away in early 2005. The awards were handed out at the San Diego comics convention on Friday, July 15. Ironically, the man who has been chosen to helm DC comics revision of Eisner's Spirit property, Canada's Darwyn Cooke, won The Best Limited Series Eisner for DC: The New Frontier.
In other categories, the Fantagraphics reissue of the Complete Peanuts, designed by Seth, won 2 awards: Best Archival Collection/Project (Fantagraphics and editor Gary Groth) and Best Publication Design (Seth).
The Eisner Awards: News and Announcements
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Bryan@Sequential : 2:03:58 AM
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15.7.05
Darwyn Cooke to Helm Spirit Series
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Canadian Creator Takes over Legacy Project
The Spirit, created by Will Eisner, is now a DC licenced property:
While developing the ongoing series with DiDio and Kitchen, Cooke came up with two main goals for the project:
”One - preserve and if humanly possible, enrich the core essence of the Spirit. Give long-time readers a contemporary look at the magic that has held them for decades, and introduce a new generation to the irresistible pull of this rich human drama. Action, crime, romance, humor and pathos will all be generously employed in the ‘spirit’ of the original strip. There'll be no deconstruction and every issue will be a story unto itself, making every issue an ideal jumping on point. Every story will try to add and hopefully strengthen the essence of Eisner’s characters and vision.
”The second goal is to produce a work that reaffirms the Spirit as the strip for graphic innovation that enhances storytelling. This second mandate is, I believe, the one to be artistically important. While we cleave to Eisner’s vision and world-view for Central City, we should be equally mindful of his vision that contemporary storytelling techniques be continually introduced to engage the reader in fresh and appropriate ways. I believe that this would have been very important to Will, and I feel it is the key to avoiding a simple homage.”
NEWSARAMA.COM
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Bryan@Sequential : 6:55:13 AM
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Tom Spurgeon Previews Wimbledon Green
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Direct From the Floor @ San Diego
North America's most astute funnybook critic, The Comics Reporter's Tom Spurgeon provides a sneak peak at Seth's new graphic novel.
"Instead of going big and broad with the presentation, Seth is working very tightly here, covering every spare inch of the material and running the danger of repeating himself -- in fact, some of the more salient points about the book's subject are made through repetition. "
The Comics Reporter
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Bryan@Sequential : 3:22:16 AM
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14.7.05
Quebec BD Writer Wins Sci Fi Award
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Michèle Laframboise Wins 2 Auroras
(courtesy la Liste de BedeNautes
Comics writer Michèle Laframboise won two Aurora Awards, presented during an event at Westercon 58 "Due North" held July 1 to July 4 in Calgary. These science fiction fan awards, modeled after the Hugos, are presented for work in both English and French in ten categories.
Laframboise won for two works of fiction (not comics):
Best Long-Form Work in French
* Les Mémoires de l'Arc, Michèle Laframboise (Médiaspaul, 2004)
Best Short-Form Work in French
* "Ceux qui ne comptent pas", Michèle Laframboise (Solaris 149)
Prix AURORA Awards Home Page
Author's Homepage
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Bryan@Sequential : 8:27:27 PM
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Special Events
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More Festival details courtesy of la Liste des BéDénautes:
Soulignons la place faite aux artistes underground et de la relève car
le Comix Jam - habituellement campé à la Salla Rossa de la rue
St-Laurent, se tiendra exceptionnellement sous le grand chapiteau le
mercredi 20 juillet(19 heures). "Ce sera une occasion en or d'obtenir
un maximum de visibilité auprès du public et de démontrer aux éditeurs
locaux que nous aussi nous existons sur la scène bédé montréalaise. La
Librairie Monet est l'entreprise qui nous fournira gracieusement
l'espace pour /jammer/ et sera aussi responsable des vente des zines que
nous pourrons lui fournir. Donc si vous avez déjà imprimé un zine,
n'oubliez pas d'en apporter quelques exemplaires et si vous n'avez pas
encore de zine, vous pouvez emmener un portfolio contenant vos meilleurs
travaux." dit Jane Tremblay, Grande Prêtresse du Comix Jam.
Au delà des séances de dédicaces, soulignons plusieurs rencontres et
débats animés par Paul Toutant, journaliste à Radio-Canada, de même que
l'enregistrement de l'émission « Au Pays des bulles » de CINQ-FM - avec
Marc de Roussan et Robert Laplante - dimanche après-midi.
Nous reviendrons à la programmation. À court terme, signalons toutefois
(selon le communiqué de BDMontréal):
*Le jeudi 14 juillet*, la *soirée BD & Jazz* ouvre le bal. Stanley Péan,
auteur et animateur bien connu, sera le maître de cérémonie d'une soirée
d'impro pas comme les autres. Deux par deux, des artistes viendront
créer des planches en bande dessinée sur des thèmes bien précis. Le trio
du compositeur Anthony Rozankovic se lancera quant à lui dans des
improvisations musicales qui, en quelque sorte, planteront le décor et
l'ambiance. Les duos d'artistes en bande dessinée sont Jean-Paul Eid,
président d'honneur de BD Montréal, et Caroline Merola, Dominique
Desbiens et Eva Rollin ainsi que Michel Falardeau et VoRo. Les planches
seront ensuite exposées dans l'aire d'animation. Une initiative de la
Librairie Monet.
*Le samedi 16 juillet (le lendemain en cas de pluie)*, de 14h à 20h,
place à *Craie-Action*. Dans le cadre des activités Jeunes pour rire,
petits et grands sont invités à participer à la réalisation de la plus
grande fresque jamais dessinée à la craie dans le monde et à relever
ainsi le défi de battre l'actuel record Guinness ! Conçu à la manière
d'un grand parcours coloré, la fresque de Craie Action naîtra de
l'imaginaire du public circulant sur le boulevard de Maisonneuve, entre
la rue Sanguinet et le boulevard Saint-Laurent. Au gré de leur
imagination, les festivaliers dessineront les éléments d'une bande
dessinée géante intitulée BD Montréal. Des craies seront vendues pour la
somme symbolique de un dollar et tout l'argent ainsi recueilli sera
remis à la fondation OVUM, les Femmes & les ENfants d'Abord, qui le
redistribuera à son tour à des ONG et OSBL venant en aide aux enfants.
Joignez donc l'utile à l'agréable : mettez de la couleur dans la vie des
enfants en participant à Craie-Action.
Enfin, le *mercredi 20 juillet*, de 19 h à la fermeture, la Librairie
Monet présente le Comix Jam, un événement alliant l'art et la folie du
cadavre exquis à l'extraordinaire énergie des jam sessions. Ce soir là,
des auteurs amateurs et professionnels créeront la plus éclatée des
bandes dessinées. Le résultat promet d'être pour le moins surprenant !
On pourra suivre sur écran la naissance des images sorties tout droit de
l'imaginaire des artistes en bande dessinée. Rendez-vous sous le chapiteau.
The Monthly Montreal Comix Jam
BD Montreal
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Bryan@Sequential : 8:09:10 PM
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BD Montréal
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Full Program
Thursday 14 July:
17h Inauguration
17h15 BD & Jazz Hosted by Stanley Péan
Avec le trio Anthony Rozankovic Trio and: Jean-Paul Eid & Caroline Merola; Dominique Desbiens & Eva Rollin; Michel Falardeau & VoRo.
20h Album Launch: Une aventure de Simon Nian, by Yves Rodier @ Hachette.
Friday 15 July:
18h Projection de Mise au point
Documentaire by Patrick Marleau & Charles-Louis Thibault on les éditions mécanique générale & the state of comics/bande dessinee
18h Album Launch: Abinagouesh by Marc Tessier & Alexandre Lafleur @ Hachette.
19h Talk: Paul Toutant with Jean-Paul Eid, Honourary President
Saturday 16 July:
14h à 20h Fresque Craie-Action, collective creation
(les chapiteaux bdmontréal & Jeunes pour rire)
15h Round Table : La BD « Air du temps » hosted by Paul Toutant
"De plus en plus de BD du genre « Air du temps » sont publiées. Peut-on dire que cette mode est portée par la vague La
vie la vie, Rumeur ? Est-ce un genre qui peut attirer des lecteurs qui ne s’intéressent habituellement pas à la bd?"
o Michel Rabagliati ( La Pastèque )
o Line Gamache ( 400 coups )
o Jimmy Beaulieu ( mécanique générale )
15h Bd for 9-10 year olds. With Sergio Salma (@ Jeunes pour rire )
18h Interview by Paul Toutant with Michel Rabagliati (La Pastèque)
Sunday 17 July :
15h Bd for 9 – 10 year olds.
with Sergio Salma (@ Jeunes pour rire )
18h30 à 21h : Radio show: Au pays des bulles de radio CINQ fm, hosted by Marc de Roussan & Robert Laplante
18h30 Olivier Berlion
19h10 Pierre Fournier & Réal Godbout
19h50 Denis Falque
20h30 Julien Neel
Monday 18 July :
19h Round Table: La BD d’humour with Paul Toutant
"Quelles sont les difficultés de faire rire sur papier ? L’humour est fort au Québec, cet enthousiasme se communique-t-il à
la BD humoristique ? L’humour des Européens par rapport à l’humour québécois ?"
o Sergio Salma ( Casterman )
o Michel Grant ( Québédé )
o Lewis Trondheim ( Dargaud )
Tuesday 19 July:
19h15 Interview hosted by Paul Toutant with Pierre Fournier et Réal Godbout, authors of Michel Risque ( La Pastèque )
Wednesday 20 July :
19h Comix Jam presented by la Librairie Monet
Friday 22 July:
19h Bd et cinéma with Paul Toutant
"Bande dessinée et cinéma, amis ou ennemis ? Le 7e art et le 9e art sont-ils privilégiés de se cotoyer, que peuvent-ils s’apporter ?"
o Régis Loisel ( Vents d’Ouest )
o Martin Villeneuve ( 400 coups )
o Eric Summer ( Soleil )
21h Talk and presentation of albums by mécanique générale
Talk by Guillaume Girard on the work of Jimmy Beaulieu, Luc Giard, Phlpp Grrd, Benoît Joly, Leif Tande et Sébastien Trahan.
Saturday 23 July:
16h Round Table: la BD fantastique with Paul Toutant.
"Est-ce que les succès en littérature des Amos Daragon et au cinéma des Seigneurs des anneaux ont redonné un souffle à la BD fantastique ?"
o Jean-Paul Eid ( 400 coups )
o Thierry Labrosse ( Soleil )
o Alexandre Lafleur / Marc Tessier ( Delcourt )
Sunday 24 July:
14h30 How to get published in Europe interview by Antoine Tanguay with Michel Falardeau ( Flammarion )
Festival
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Bryan@Sequential : 7:54:30 PM
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13.7.05
Pyongyang and Others
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Drawn and Quarterly Releases: Fall 2005
ICv2.com reports on the highlights of D&Q's Autumn catalog, including Guy Delisle's Pyongyang, a 200-pg memoir of working in North Korea.
Other graphic novels and comic books include: BACTER-AREA by Keith Jones (part of the Petits-Livres series); Chester Brown's reissue of Ed the Happy Clown continues with issues 4, 5, & 6; CRICKETS by Sammy Harkham; BIG QUESTIONS by Anders Nilsen; Jason Lutes-BERLIN #11; Adrian Tomine-Optic Nerve #10; Seth-PALOOKAVILLE #18; Kevin Huizenga's OR ELSE #3!
ICv2 News
D&Q
Guy Delisle
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Bryan@Sequential : 6:58:00 PM
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12.7.05
Supermarket
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Fiona Smyth Art Show
Toronto cartoonist and painter Fiona Smyth shares an art show with Vesna Mostoviac and Bernice Lum: "Pickups Breakups Fuckups".
July 1-31
Supermarket
268 Augusta Ave
Toronto
Supermarket
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Bryan@Sequential : 1:48:39 PM
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Geneviève Castrée Postcard?
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c/o Christopher Butcher
"In preparing for San Diego, we (at The Beguiling) are making a more concerted effort to promote the wonderful artists we represent for original art sales. Part of this is a very lovely postcard, featuring art by Geneviève Castrée, a very talented Canadian artist who is making her 'English Language' debut in Drawn & Quarterly's Drawn & Quarterly Showcase Volume 3. "
comics.212.net
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Bryan@Sequential : 5:56:33 AM
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The O'Reilly factor
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Short Profile
"Sean O'Reilly loves comic books. But it hasn't exactly been a straight line from aspiring comic book creator to founder and C.E.O. of Arcana Studios, one of Canada's largest independent comic book publishers. "
24 Hours Vancouver - Entertainment
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Bryan@Sequential : 5:38:37 AM
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10.7.05
BD Montreal Releases
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3 Title to Debut at Festival
The new comics/bande dessinée festival beginning July 14th is the site of several book launches of several québécois cartoonists, according to the news website BDQuebec:
1. Le Savon Maléfique
The first volume of the collected Michel Risque by Réal Godbout and Pierre Fournier.
Launch:
Club Arthur
Centre de Design de l'UQAM,
1440 rue Sanguinet
July 19 --17h à 19h.
2. ABINAGOUESH
by Alexandre Lafleur & Marc Tessier
Launch:
July 18 --18h
Hachette booth
(chapiteau boul. Maisonneuve - à l'ouest de Sanguinet)
3. UNE AVENTURE DE SIMON NIAN T.1 : DECIME-MOI UN MATON.
by Yves Rodier
Launch:
14 July --20h
Hachette booth
BD Québec
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Bryan@Sequential : 10:21:42 PM
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9.7.05
A Novel Approach
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Graphic Novel Article @ Ottawa Sun
"Television's impact on reading is most obvious in the evolution of wildly popular graphic novels and Japanese manga, genres particularly popular with young boys.
At bookstores, these comic-book novels are featured in both the young adult and adult collections with subjects ranging from Frank Miller's dark, action-packed superheroics, such as in Sin City, favoured by boys, to Marjane Satrapi's stark and poignant autobiographical Persepolis trilogy (Pantheon, 2004), which traces her youth in revolutionary, then war-torn Iran.
'The minute they come, they go out,' says 'teen' librarian Andrea Cecchetto, at the Angus Glen Library in Markham. "
ottawasun.com
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Bryan@Sequential : 11:38:19 PM
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The Drama Magazine
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Castrée Cover/Interview
Doug Wright Award nominee Geneviève Castrée is the cover feature of the Summer /Fall 2005 issue of The Drama. Castrée talks about her comic book influences and alternate persona in an issue also featuring the alphabet illustrated by cartoonists and painters, including Marc Bell.
The Drama Magazine
Castree at D&Q
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Bryan@Sequential : 11:28:28 PM
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Fantagraphics' BÊTE NOIRE
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International Anthology, Canadian Editor
BÊTE NOIRE showcases a wide range of international artists from North American and abroad, including such European collectives as Cornelius, Les Requins Marteaux and Le Dernier Cri, as well as five of the very best art-manga creators in Japan today.
"Despite the international scope of the anthology, it is edited right here in
Montreal." --Chris Polkki, editor
Fantagraphics: New Comics
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Bryan@Sequential : 11:13:41 PM
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8.7.05
Author's Night
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At the old Beaverton town hall
The Beaverton-Thorah-Eldon Historical Society hosts an Author's Night:
"Dorothy Macpherson will present a remembrance of renowned Canadian cartoonist Duncan Macpherson. Regarded as having been one of Canada's top political cartoonists, Duncan Macpherson received the Order of Canada, the Royal Academy Medal, the Canada Council's Molson Prize, and six National Newspaper awards for his work at the Toronto Star."
Curl up with a good book this weekend
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Bryan@Sequential : 10:05:42 AM
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L'Île aux monstres
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Kids Comic Review
Caroline Merola's L'Île aux monstres gets the review treatment at Voir.ca:
"Une belle bande dessinée très amusante qui donne le goût aux enfants de lire"
VOIR.CA
Merola Bio
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Bryan@Sequential : 10:00:38 AM
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7.7.05
La Pastèque to Reissue Michel Risque
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Quebec Publishing News
La Pastèque, the French-language publisher of Michel Rabagliati, has announced the republication of Michel Risque, the adventure parody series created by cartoonists Real Godbout and Pierre Fournier in 1975. The series debuted in the seminal counter-culture magazine Mainmise. It continued in various other publications, including humour anthology Red Ketchup and Croc, as well as being reprinted in France in the Cahiers de la Bande Dessinee, and was eventually collected in 3 albums.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the character, a skewering of the James Bond myth, La Pastèque is issuing 5 books, two per year, collecting all aspects of the anti-hero's history. The new series will debut at the BD Montreal festival.
BD Montreal
Press Release --Adobe file
La Pasteque
Michel Risque History
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Bryan@Sequential : 8:51:00 AM
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6.7.05
Canada Customs, Comics, and My Job
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Christopher Butcher on the realities of censorship
A look behind the scenes at challenging the seizure of books imported to Canada
"At the comic book store I work for, located in scenic and sunny Toronto, Canada, we're in the unique position of firmly believing that there are comics for everyone, and it's our job to carry them (being a comic store). This means that we carry superhero comics and their half-cousins, but also artcomix, indies, zines, manga, bande desinee (French comics), and quite a few more categories of comic books besides. Including "adult" material. Which is to say, "erotica", "pornography", or as we like to call it, "smut"."
Read more:
comics.212.net
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Bryan@Sequential : 9:19:02 PM
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5.7.05
Humorist Ink
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Vancouver Comic Art Show
An exhibit of comic art featuring cartoonists David Boswell/Colin Upton/Julian Lawrence/Justin Hampton/Lester/Robert Dayton/The Boy/James Lloyd/Ted Dave/Roxanna Bikadoroff/Fiona Smyth/Robin Bougie/Tony Millionaire/Psychelicious & Junkman/Molly Kiely/Robin Konstabaris/Vern Marcus/Marc Bell/Rick Altergott/Andy Mori/Neil Westlake/Owen Plummer/Mike O./Ryan Mitchell-Morrison/Jason McLean
June 23-July 16
Tart Gallery
1869 4th Ave W, Vancouver
Tart Gallery-Humorist Ink
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Bryan@Sequential : 10:05:22 PM
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4.7.05
Dave Sim and TCAF
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Jamie Coville Files a Report
From Coville's note at the Comics Journal board:
"The Sim interview covers a variety of topics about his early years. Among the topics are his time in a psych ward, his mentor Gene Day and DC's attempt to buy Cerebus from him.
The TCAF report includes audio recordings of Dave Sim reading Cerebus, Jeff Smith presentation and the Doug Wright Awards. The MP3s are about an hour long, but only take up 12-15 megs of space."
Collector Times Online
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Bryan@Sequential : 5:55:54 PM
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Open Book Press: They May Publish Your Comic
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From a Press Release:
"The news comes after the fledgling company announced in little more than a month ago that it was offering free information packages to potential creators and writers interested in submitting work."
Open Book Press
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Bryan@Sequential : 2:17:50 AM
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Komikstok: Film Schedule
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Link courtesy of LIST des BéDénautes
As part of the annual Fantasia genre film festival in Montreal, festival organizers present a comics-related program of movies and presentations, including appearances by U.S. cartoonists Joe Coleman and Stephen R. Bissette. There is also a mini-convention of comics-related vendors.
July 17-19, 2005.
Komikstok
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Bryan@Sequential : 2:07:19 AM
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3.7.05
'I am really just a kid like you'
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Ottawa Kid Writes about Bullying & Superheroes
Globe profile by Caroline Alphonso:
"Superheroes Don't Have Dads, however, is a more personal story, some would say almost therapeutic for James. "I came home. I was brainstorming for ideas and I found one about my life, and I started writing it down.
"At that point in my life . . . I felt I was not accepted. I wanted to write a book that would sort of make me feel happy, even if it had a sad beginning. It was just like I wanted my life to have a happy ending.""
The Globe and Mail
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Bryan@Sequential : 9:33:59 AM
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1.7.05
Seth Opening
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Throwing Open the Doors
Cartoonists have an uneasy relationship with institutions. That's why the new Seth exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario, one of Canada's largest public galleries, is so interesting.
Organized by assistant-AGO curator Ben Portis, the room full of original finished pages from Seth's Clyde Fans graphic novel (mounted in sequence along the wall), sketchbook extracts, and the huge cityscape of Dominion, the fictional northern town of 36 structures (and counting) that Seth has been secretly constructing in his basement, presents an overwhelming front to the museum-goer. In the middle of a years-long renovation project and the addition of Frank Gehry's new design, the AGO has little space to spare and Seth's room has pride of place among the few extant exhibits, making this sudden intrusion of cartoon art into the gallery seem all the more important and timely.*
Much of the credit for the show's genesis and remarkable execution should go to Portis, the articulate young curator whose casual aquaintance with contemporary comics was galvanized into outright enthusiasm through recent media attention directed at Seth and his generation of artists, followed by a meeting with the cartoonist himself. His notes to the exhibit are among the most thoughtful critical appreciations of Seth's work and its relation to the Canadian art tradition to date.
After noting cartooning's special place in the arts and some of the influences on Seth's work, Portis explains that "one traverses the story world of Seth as through a slow, flickering dream. This passage follows more than a standard comic book recipe of panel-by-panel anxiety: the sequential fulfillment of destiny coupled with the deliberate simplification and omission of detail. By avoiding the pulp extremes, Seth gets at sensations that are subtle, elusive and perhaps unknowable..." (from "Shadow Lands", notes to the exhibit).
The exhibit runs from June 29-October 16.
Links:
National Post story
Preview Seth's new Graphic Novel, Wimbledon Green
MORE PHOTOS
Art Gallery of Ontario
*note: the AGO has several other cartoonists in its permanent collection, including Arthur Lismer and Walter Trier
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Bryan@Sequential : 7:40:00 AM
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Comic Chameleon
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The Panelist
Eye Magazine's Guy Leshinki profiles Marc Ngui and his new book, The Unexpurgated Tale of Lordie Jones.
"As I've come to learn, Ngui is a cartooning chameleon, flashing and fading with new styles at will. 'I'm wary of style,' he admits in his soft, filigreed voice. 'You can get trapped in a sense. It's more like I'm building up a catalogue, like an arsenal.' "
eye:
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Bryan@Sequential : 6:11:07 AM
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Theo Moudakis Profile
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Award Winner Speaks his Mind
By Bryan Munn
July 3, 2005
On June 4th, cartoonist Theo Moudakis won the National Newspaper Award, the most prestigious editorial cartooning award in Canada. Moudakis, the 40-year-old, Montreal-born, Toronto Star employee, has had quite a varied career, winning several awards for his work at the Halifax Daily News before moving to Toronto in 2000.
Moudakis sees the national award as having special significance, being his first win after three previous nominations.
"The award has little to do with job security (I have that) or peer recognition (I have that also). It's more of a personal milestone," he notes.
Indeed, with this win Moudakis joins a select group of cartoonists. Although the award has been given out every year for the last 55 years, there have only been 31 different winners, an indication that the award recognizes a certain level of achievement: some cartoonists with long, successful careers --like Duncan Macpherson and Terry Mosher (Aislin)-- have multiple wins to their names, while others manage only one or even none (like Doug Wright or Arch Dale, to name only two popular cartoonists who never won).
The National Newspaper Awards were founded by the Toronto Press Club in 1949, "to encourage excellence and reward achievement in newspaper work in this country," according to the the Awards website. Award categories recognize 20 different aspects of newspaper creation and have been administered by the Canadian Newspaper Association since 1989. The awards are run by a Board of Governors made up of editors, publishers, private citizens and members of the Toronto Press Club. The actual award is decided on by three judges, drawn from a pool of prominent media-types.
According to Moudakis, "Submission was a package of three cartoons of my own choosing, which makes the award more of a Cartoonist of the Year, rather than Cartoons of the Year. I wouldn't know which cartoons impressed the jury, but I made a strategic point of submitting an anti-U.S. cartoon, which was definitely not one of my favourites, but which I knew would go a long way with a Canadian jury. The strategy appeared to work."
Although he got his start in the shadow of Terry Mosher at the Montreal Gazette, Moudakis doesn't acknowledge any overt stylistic influences on his work.
"I've always hoped my work was rather non-traditional, which I suspect might have been a stumbling block to winning previously. Unlike most cartoonists I work in a number of styles, and took a gamble in submitting three very distinct styles. Previous winners seem to have won, among other factors, on the basis of their style-consistancy. I'm conscious of Canada's cartoon history, and of what the other cartoonists are doing, but, again, I tend to ignore that stuff and concentrate on doing what I want to do, regardless of tradition or what's always generally been expected of a cartoonist."
These expectations, along with the current state of newspaper cartooning, are something that he has definite opinions on. With a secure spot on staff at the Toronto Star and prominent space given to his work, he is optimistic about his own career and the health of the artform in general. However, Moudakis still has concerns about certain trends in the business.
"Cartoonists have been worried for years about the dismal state of cartooning, and how fewer newspapers have the desire for a staff cartoonist. I've always believed if you're good, you'll find work. I think the biggest problem in cartoondom today is the business of syndication. Syndicates can offer cartoons at a fraction of the price of hiring a full-time cartoonist, which itself is a problem, but the bigger problem is that cartoonists who work with syndicates often draw generic and unimaginative cartoons so that they can be quickly and easily sold. I think if anything this is what's really degenerating the craft as a whole."
With few exceptions, editorial cartoonists in Canada do not routinely suffer interference --governmental or editorial-- with their work. When asked about his own experiences, Moudakis has few complaints.
"I have a terrific relationship with my editor," he says. "He lets me do my thing, as long as it's within the taste-bounds of a family newspaper. So, no, I'm not concerned with censorship, and rarely get a 'no'."
As to his personal philosophy and political bent, Theo Moudakis doesn't confess any axes that need grinding. Although his work is critical of stupidity and hypocrisy in high places and he is known to draw cartoons that are ahead of the curve in terms of the sort of underdogs he champions, he maintains a cool, bemused demeanor:
"I don't take politics personally, I'm not on any crusade, I'm just in it to have fun. And given this past amazing year in politics, how can I not?"
The Canadian Cartoonists Club - Theo Moudakis's Portfolio
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Bryan@Sequential : 5:18:00 AM
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Owen McCarron 1929-2005
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Halifax Cartoonist and Publisher
Owen McCarron, Canadian cartoonist and publisher, died on June 27 in Halifax.
McCarron worked for decades as an artist and cartoonist for the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, creating advertising and editorial content that included cartoons and documentary comic strips about Nova Scotia and Canadian history.
He was also a publisher and freelance commercial artist, operating both McCarron Advertising and Comic Book World, a producer and packager of comic-book advertising giveaways, puzzle and activity books, and educational comics (perhaps the longest-lived Canadian comic book publishing company!). McCarron had long-term professional relationships with many government agencies as well as with the U.S. publisher Marvel Comics, for whom he created and packaged several projects, including Spidey Super-Storiesand Marvel Fun and Games, in the 1970s and 80s.
McCarron was a fixture in Nova Scotia culture. His humourous comic strip characters, Captain Canada and Sammy Seagull, and weekly feature, Owen McCarron's Fun and Games, were circulated throughout the province (and throughout Canada). As an historian, he illustrated many comics documenting the Halifax Explosion of 1917, including an annual newspaper tribute every December 6th.
McCarron is survived by his wife of 53 years, Dorothy, four sons, a stepdaughter, two sisters, 10 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.
Links:
Article by Phil Latter
--Latter interview at CBC
Halifax Explosion - Docu-Comic
Lambiek Comiclopedia Entry
Mark Evanier Obituary
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Bryan@Sequential : 4:49:00 AM
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