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Reviewing Comics With Comics – Mark Siegel on Scott Pilgrim

mark_siegel_scott_pilgrim_cut

The webcomic Unshelved is about life working in a library. It’s a huge hit online and in the library market, though relatively unknown in comic book stores. Well they’ve got this neat little feature called Unshelved Book Club (I believe it runs every Sunday), where they invite cartoonists to contribute guest comic strips in the form of book recommendations. Kind of like a book club!

The newest entry into the series? First Second Editor In Chief Mark Siegel recommends the hell out of Scott Pilgrim. 

I’m friends (or at least friendly) with all of the people involved in this strip, which makes the whole thing just that much more amazing… and from what I remember I think Gina told me that at least the first part of this strip Actually Happened. Hehe.

 Go check it out, it’s pretty darned neat. And browse the archives while you’re there.

– Chris

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TCAF Event Announcements…!

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We’ve just put up most of the TCAF Events that will be happening in Toronto surrounding the Festival. We’re nailing down the dates on others, but yeah, it’s pretty outstanding, if I do say so myself. You can check it all out at http://www.torontocomics.com/tcaf, or if you’re more of an RSS person, all future updates are going to also be made via the blog on the front-page of http://www.torontocomics.com.

I am pretty proud of all of this I gotta say.

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– Chris

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Hey, it’s webcomics in Toronto!

KTR: Graphically Speaking. (L to R) Christopher Butcher, Kate Beaton, Willow Dawson, Emily Horne, Ryan North, and Brian McLachlan

 

KTR: Graphically Speaking. (L to R) Christopher Butcher, Kate Beaton, Willow Dawson, Emily Horne, Ryan North, and Brian McLachlan

 

Last night was our event Graphically Speaking: Webcomics, as part of Toronto’s Keep Toronto Reading month! We had a great turnout, well over 100 people (and I only knew like 10 of them!) including journalist Matthew Braga from Blog.T.O., who just put up a short article on the event:

“While the evening was a superb way to learn more about the burgeoning community of webcomics, both in Toronto and on the web, it won’t be the only chance for fans to interact with some of their favourite online authors and artists. Both the Toronto Public Library and The Beguiling will also be hosting the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) this May, where most of Tuesday’s panelists should be in attendance.” –  BlogT.O.

A superb evening AND a TCAF plug. Hoo-ray!

– Christopher

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2009 Shuster Awards Nominees

Last week the nominees for the 2009 Shuster Awards were announced. The Shuster Awards started off as Canada’s fan-awards, with Canadian comics fans invited to vote on the nominees as selected by a committee. It looks like they’ve moved to a jurried award this year, I have no idea if that’s new or from previous years? I’m sure someone will be along momentarily to clarify.

At any rate, the Shusters tend to have a different focus than the recently-announced Doug Wright Awards, but I’ve been trying to figure out a way to delineate the differences between the two awards and their aims for the past 10 minutes, in a way that won’t offend one or both of the committees who put their respective awards together, and I can’t do it. I think the fact that none of the nominees on the Wright Awards list are on the Shuster List, or vice versa, except for Mariko Tamaki and Kate Beaton? That speaks for itself right there. Variety is the spice of life…

Anyway, congratulations to all of those nominated!

—

JOE SHUSTER AWARDS 2009 NOMINEES for Work Published in 2008

Artist/Dessinateur

* Marc Delafontaine – Les Nombrils, Tome 3 : Les liens de l’amitié (Dupuis)
* Dale Eaglesham – Justice Society of America #12, 14-15, 18-22 (DC Comics)
* David Finch – Ultimatum #1-2 (Marvel Comics)
* Karl Kerschl & Serge LaPointe – Teen Titans: Year One #1-6 (DC Comics)
* Jacques Lamontagne – Les Druides, Tome 4 : La Ronde des Géants (Soleil Productions)
* Steve McNiven – Amazing Spider-Man #546-548, Wolverine #66-70 (Marvel Comics)
* Steve Rolston – Emiko Superstar (DC/Minx), “Familiar” – House of Mystery #4 (DC/Vertigo), You Ain’t No Dancer #3 (New Reliable Press)
* Stephen Sadowski – Avengers/Invaders #1-7 (Marvel Comics/Dynamite Entertainment), Superpowers #0 (Dynamite Entertainment), Jack the Lantern: Ghosts #2 (Castle Rain Entertainment)

Cartoonist/Créateur

* Grégoire Bouchard – Vers les Mondes Lointains (Paquet)
* Darwyn Cooke – “Chapter X: The Greater Good” Justice League: The New Frontier Special #1, The Spirit #12 (DC Comics)
* Francis Descharnais – Burquette (Les 400 coups)
* Jean-Paul Eid – Des tondeuses et des hommes (La Pastèque)
* Michel Gagne – “The Saga of Rex” Chapter 4 – Flight Vol. 5 (Ballantyne Books)
* Faith Erin Hicks – The War at Ellsmere (Slave Labor Graphics)
* Jeff Lemire – Essex County Vol. 3: The Country Nurse (Top Shelf)
* Seth – “Thoreau MacDonald” Kramer’s Ergot 7 (Buenaventura Press)
* Dave Sim – Glamourpuss #1-4, Judenhaas (Aardvark-Vanaheim)

Colourist/Dessinateur Couleur

* Jean-Francois Beaulieu – G.I. Joe: America’s Elite 31-36, Voltron: A Legend Forged 1 (Devil’s Due), Marvel Zombies 3 #1-3, Wonderful Wizard of OZ #1, X-Men: Divided We Stand #1, X-Men Legacy #215 (Marvel Comics)
* Blond – Team 14 #1 (Digital Webbing), Freshman: Summer Vacation Special #1, Magdalena/Daredevil #1, True Blood: The Great Revelation NN, Witchblade: Takeru Manga #11-12 (image/Top Cow), Ultimate Fantastic Four #50-59 (Marvel Comics), Beyond Wonderland #4, Grimm Fairy Tales 2008 Annual (Zenoscope)
* Chris Chuckry – Brave and the Bold #17-18, Countdown to Mystery #4-8, Simon Dark #4-7, Two Face: Year One #1-2 (DC Comics), Air 1-5 (DC/Vertigo), G.I. Joe #0 (Devil’s Due), Comic Book Tattoo (image), Amazing Spider-Man #546, 565-567, newuniversal: Shockfront #1-2, The Twelve #1-8 (Marvel Comics)
* Maryse Dubuc – Les Nombrils, Tome 3 : Les liens de l’amitié (Dupuis)
* Nathan Fairbairn – Fear Agent 21 (Dark Horse), Pilot Season: The Core #1 (image/Top Cow), Civil War: House of M #3, Guardians of the Galaxy #1-3, Secret Invasion: Who Do You Trust? NN, Wolverine: Origins #31, X-Men: Divided We Stand #2, X-Men: Kingbreaker #1, X-Men Legacy #217, X-Men: Manifest Destiny #1, 3, Young Avengers Presents #1 (Marvel Comics), Stephen Colbert’s Tek Jansen #3 (Oni Press)
* Lovern Kindzierski – Sandman: The Dream Hunters #1-2 (DC Comics), The Worlds of Dungeons & Dragons #1-2Coraline (HarperCollins), Giant-Size Incredible Hulk #1 (Marvel Comics) (Devil’s Due),
* François Lapierre – “Gédéon et la bête du lac” Contes et légendes du Québec (Glénat Québec), Magasin général 4 (Casterman)
* Dave McCaig – Star Wars: Dark Times #11-12 (Dark Horse), Action Comics #861-863, Final Crisis: Rogue’s Revenge #1-3. Joker’s Asylum: The Penguin #1, JSA Classified #35-37 (DC Comics), Family Dynamic #1-2 House of Mystery #4, Northlanders #2-8, 11-2 (DC/Vertigo), Broken Trinity: Angelus #1, First Born: Aftermath #1, Pilot Season: The Core #1 (image/Top Cow), Fantastic Four Cosmic Size Special #1, Secret Invasion X-Men #1-4, Ultimate Iron Man II #3-5 (Marvel Comics), Stephen Colbert’s Tek Jansen #2 (Oni Press) (DC/Johnny DC),

Writer/Écrivain

* Ian Boothby – Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #14, Bongo Comics Free-For-All 2008, Futurama #35-39, Simpsons Comics #136, 141, 148, Simpsons Summer Shindig #1, Simpsons Super Spectacular #7 (Bongo Comics)
* Cecil Castellucci – Janes in Love (DC/Minx)
* Darwyn Cooke – “Dragster Riot starring Robin the Boy Wonder”, “Wonder Woman and Black Canary” Justice League: The New Frontier Special #1, Superman Confidential 11 (DC Comics)
* Maryse Dubuc – Les Nombrils, Tome 3 : Les liens de l’amitié (Dupuis)
* Ray Fawkes – The Apocalipstix (Oni Press)
* François Lapierre – “Gédéon et la bête du lac” Contes et légendes du Québec (Glénat Québec)
* Mariko Tamaki – Emiko Superstar (DC/Minx), Skim (Groundwood Books)
* J. Torres – The Family Dynamic #1-3, Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century #11, 13, 17-19, Teen Titans Go! #51-55 (DC/Johnny DC), Wonder Girl #5-6 (DC Comics)

Cover/Couverture

* Adrian Alphona – Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Season Two #1 Variant (Marvel Comics)
* Darwyn Cooke – The Spirit #12 (DC Comics)
* Marc Delafontaine – Les Nombrils, Tome 3 : Les liens de l’amitié (Dupuis)
* Dale Eaglesham – Justice Society of America #14 Variant (DC Comics)
* David Finch -Amazing Spider-Man #572 Variant (Marvel Comics)
* Philippe Girard – Les Ravins (Mécanique Générale)
* Niko Henrichon – Hostile Tome 1 (Dupuis)
* Steve McNiven – Kick-Ass #1 Variant (Marvel Comics)
* Dean Motter – Mister X: The Condemned #1 (Dark Horse)
* David Sim – Glamourpuss #4 Zombie Variant (Aardvark-Vanaheim)

Webcomics/Bandes Dessinées Web

* Kate Beaton – Hark! A Vagrant http://harkavagrant.com
* Michael Cho – Papercut http://www.transmission-x.com/_papercut
* Lar De Souza & Ryan Sohmer – Least I Could Do http://www.leasticoulddo.com / Looking for Grouphttp://www.lfgcomic.com/
* Kathryn & Stuart Immonen – Moving Pictures http://www.immonen.ca/comics
* Karl Kerschl – The Abominable Charles Christopher http://www.abominable.cc
* Gisele Lagace – Menage A 3 http://www.menagea3.net/
* Ramón K. Pérez– Kukuburi http://www.kukuburi.com / Butternut Squash (w/Robert Coughler) http://www.butternutsquash.net
* Cameron Stewart – Sin Titulo http://www.sintitulocomic.com/

Publisher/Éditeur

* Aardvark-Vanaheim
* Arcana Studio
* Conundrum Press
* Drawn & Quarterly
* La Pastèque
* Les 400 Coups/Mécanique Générale
* Red 5 Comics
* Udon Entertainment

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All of this information and much, much more available at http://joeshusterawards.com/.

– Christopher

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Great big TCAF Update

Hey! TCAF is going to be awesome! I just added 30+ new guests and a bunch of new publishers to the website. Here’s the bulk of the updates:

From Canada: Dave Lapp (Drop-In), Brian McLachlan (Princess Planet), Michael Noonan, Joe Ollman (Chewing on Tinfoil), Steve Rolston (Emiko Superstar) and Jim Zubkavich (UDON).

From England, and attending TCAF for the first time, is Jamie McKelvie, author of Suburban Glamour and artist of Phonogram, amongst other works.

From the U.S.A.: John Campbell (Pictures For Sad Children), Scott Campbell (Hickee), Becky Cloonan (Demo, Pixu), Kevin Colden (Fishtown), Joshua Cotter (Skyscrapers of the Midwest), Justin Hall (True Travel Tales), Dustin Harbin (Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find), Cheese Hasselberger and Dave McKenna and Brian Musikoff from House of 12, Chris Hastings (Dr. McNinja), Jeph Jacques (Questionable Content), Matt Kindt (Three Sisters), Joe Lambert (CCS Grad), Miss Lasko-Gross (Escape From Special), David Malki (Wondermark), Sean McCarthy (Partyka), Erika Moen (Dar), Tom Neely (The Blot), Lark Pien (Long-Tail Kitty), Jonathan Rosenberg (Goats), Jeffrey Rowland (Wigu, Overcompensating), and Jason Shiga (Bookhunter)!

We’ve also confirmed exhibition space by publishers Adhouse Books, Anteism Books, Buenaventura Press, Fantagraphics Books, Le Dernier Cri,  plus The Doug Wright Awards, Broken Pencil Magazine, and Taddle Creek Magazine.

—

Cool beans!

We do have a number of potential guests who are still firming up their schedule so there’ll likely be more additions in the weekend to come, though another 30 creator update is unlikely. 

– Chris

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2009 Doug Wright Awards Finalists

It’s time once again for The Doug Wright Awards for excellence in (English language) Canadian cartooning! “Founded in 2004 to recognize the best English-language graphic novels and comics, The Doug Wright Awards have grown into one of Canada’s premier cartooning events,” according to the press release.

The 2009 Finalists for Best Book are:

Burma Chronicles, by Guy Delisle (Drawn & Quarterly)
Drop-in, by Dave Lapp (Conundrum Press)
Paul Goes Fishing, by Michel Rabagliati (Drawn & Quarterly)
Skim, by Jillian & Mariko Tamaki (Groundwood Books)

The 2009 finalists for Best Emerging Talent are:

Kate Beaton (History Comics)
Caitlin Black (Maids in the Mist)
Jesse Jacobs (Blue Winter, Shapes in the Snow)
Jason Kieffer (Kieffer #2)
Nick Maandag (Jack & Mandy)

The finalists for non-traditional works (Pigskin Peters’ Award) are:

Hall of Best Knowledge Ray Fenwick (Fantagraphics)
Ojingogo Matthew Forsythe (Drawn & Quarterly)
All We Ever Do is Talk About Wood Tom Horacek (Drawn & Quarterly)
Small Victories Jesse Jacobs (self-published)

Further, this year the DWAs will induct cartoonist Jimmie Frise (d. 1948), creator of the popular strip ‘Birdseye Center’, into The Giants of the North, the Hall of Fame for Canadian cartooning.

The 2009 Doug Wright Awards will be handed out on Saturday, May 9th at 7pm, in a ceremony hosted by Canadian filmmaker Don McKellar and held at the recently renovated (and gorgeous) Art Gallery of Ontario. Just after the first day of TCAF, I might add, so another reason to come.

The DWAs are decided by a rotating jury, and this year the jury includes; Bob Rae (the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and 21st premier of Ontario), Andrew Coyne (national editor for Maclean’s and political panelist on CBC Television’s The National), Martin Levin (books editor for The Globe and Mail and contributor to What I Meant to Say), cartoonist Joe Ollmann (author of the 2007 DWA Best Book This Will All End in Tears) and cartoonist Diana Tamblyn, the Ignatz-nominated author of several mini-comics including The Rosie Stories and There You Were.

…I still think it’s strange that the nominating committee, who wasn’t named (and Christ do I hate that) didn’t opt to put Scott Pilgrim 4 on there, but it’s not like all four of those best books aren’t amazing, amazing work.

– Christopher

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Things To Do In Toronto This Week

Still mostly on radio-silence here because The Beguiling and The Toronto Comic Arts Festival are taking up almost every single bit of my time at the moment, but I did want to let folks in Toronto know about all of the great stuff happening this week (and next) in the T-dot. I admit I’m bragging a little but here too, but only a little. Toronto is awesome. 🙂

‘Stripmalling’ Book Launch Tonight

Launch party for ‘Stripmalling’
Presented by ECW Press and This Is Not A Reading Series
Monday, March 2nd, 7:30pm
The Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, 1214 Queen St. West
$5 Cover (Free with book purchase)
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=44003449363

Toronto author Jon Paul Fiorentino brought our good friend Evan Mundy on board to do extensive illustrations and comics sequences for his new novel, ‘Stripmalling!’ Then they made a short movie about how the book was made, “The Way of the Smock: The Making of Stripmalling”. Catch the trailer here:

This Monday, they’re launching the book, showing the film, doing a reading, an interview, and more. ‘Stripmalling’ looks great and Evan is a wonderful guy. See you at the Gladstone tonight!

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2. Seminar: Anime and Contemporary Japanese Society

Anime and Contemporary Japanese Society
Wednesday, March 4, 2009, 6pm-8:30pm (doors at 5:45) Ryerson University, 245 Church Street
George Vari Engineering & Computing Centre, ENG 103

Admission FREE – Reservation recommended for guaranteed seating RSVP at www.jftor.org/whatson/rsvp OR anime@jftor.org OR 416.966.1600 x600

Digital Value Lap Ryerson University, The Japan Foundation, and Consulate General of Japan in Toronto present two important lectures that will be of interest to Beguiling customers and friends, on Anime and Contemporary Japanese Society.

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POSTCRITICAL ANIME: OBSERVATIONS ON ITS ‘IDENTITY’ WITHIN CONTEMPORARY JAPAN
While anime is being watched on a global scale, there are significant differences in its contemporary reception. The gap between regular consumers and critical spectators, sometimes appearing in the form of Japanese audiences vs. foreign Japanologists, deserves special attention since it raises a number of questions, such as what sort of animated film is identified as ‘anime’; who relates anime to politics, history and society; what kind of meaning is at play in anime’s performative images, and to what extent one can read ‘Japanese society’, or even ‘culture’, out of anime. Comparing Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” (1954) and Gonzo’s “Samurai 7” (2004) as well as touching upon anime’s history, this lecture focuses on aesthetic and cultural identities ascribed to anime in modern Japan and their contemporary relevance.
Jaqueline Berndt is Associate Professor of Art and Media Studies, Yokohama National University. She specializes in aesthetics/art theory, anime, visual cultural and Japanese studies, aesthetics of comics, art in modern Japan and animation.

OTAKU CULTURE: PERSONALITY, SPACE & CITY OF ANIME FANS IN JAPAN
Optimism about an ever-progressing technological future ran out in the 1970’s. It was in the mid-1980’s that the term otaku was coined to signify a new personality that had emerged as a reaction to the loss of ’future’.The term evokes a stereotyped image of a geeky computer nerd, long past adolescence but still obsessed with games and anime. The presentation shall explore how this otaku personality became a geographical phenomenon in a district called Akihabara, together with its role in the development of Japanese anime.
Kaichiro Morikawa is Associate Professor of Contemporary Culture in the School of Global Japanese Studies at Meiji University. His research interests include design and architectural theory. Prof. Morikawa served as commissioner of the Japanese pavilion at the Venice Biennale 9th International Architecture Exhibition in 2004.

This sounds pretty amazing, and although this will be a VERY busy week, this will be one lecture series worth attending…!

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3. MARCH 6-12: FEAR(S) OF THE DARK – Film featuring Charles Burns

FEAR(S) OF THE DARK
March 6th-12th
at the Royal Cinema, 608 College Street
Directors Blutch, Charles Burns, Marie Caillou, Pierre Di Sciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, Richard McGuire; France, 2008

If you’ve been following The Comics Journal or Comic Art Magazine, you’re probably familiar with this striking new animated French film which features some of the most talented comics talents in the world. We’re really fortunate to get an extended screening of this in Toronto, and I hope everyone reading this gets a chance to check it out. Here’s the description:

“A wildly inventive and visually dazzling collection of fearful tales by six of the world’s most renowned comic and graphic artists – Blutch, Charles Burns, Marie Caillou, Pierre Di Sciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, and Richard McGuire. From a besotted student whose girlfriend is weirdly ardent in her affections, to a Japanese schoolgirl menaced by a long-dead samurai, and a pack of hounds on a bloodthirsty rampage, FEAR(S) has a story strand to trouble every sleep – not to mention a stunning range of animation styles. Shot in shimmering black and white, the six intertwined tales create an unprecedented epic where phobias and nightmares come to life and reveal Fear at its most naked and intense.”

Trailer: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809947440/trailer

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4. The (Edgar) Wright Stuff at the Bloor Cinema! Starts February 28th!

The lovely and talented Edgar Wright (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ) is in town to direct the big-screen adaptation of SCOTT PILGRIM, and we couldn’t be happier. Espescially because he’s going to be programming a full slate of his favourite films at The Bloor Cinema for the month of March! The first two screenings were this weekend, and they were great fun. The next few will no doubt be awesome as well… Check this out:

SUNDAY, MARCH 8
7:00 The Wanderers (Philip Kaufman, 1979)
9:30 The Warriors (Walter Hill, 1979)

SATURDAY, MARCH 14
9:45 Head (Bob Rafelson, 1968)

SUNDAY, MARCH 15
7:00 Dames (Ray Enright & Busby Berkeley, 1934)
9:00 Phantom of the Paradise (Brian De Palma, 1974)

SUNDAY, MARCH 22
5:00 Spaced Marathon (Edgar Wright, 1999-2001)

SUNDAY, APRIL 5
7:00 Kung Fu film TBA
9:30: Drunken Master 2 (Chia-Liang Liu, 1994)

SUNDAY, APRIL 12
7:00 The Brood (David Cronenberg, 1979)
9:00 Last Night (Don McKellar, 1998)

Single movie tickets are $8 for Bloor Cinema members and $11 for non-members. Double bills are $14 for members and $17 for non-members. (Non-member prices include a six-month Bloor membership.) A pass for all screenings is $90, or $75 if not including Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Complete Bloor Cinema info and schedule at its website: http://www.bloorcinema.com/

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– Chris @ The Beguiling

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Skim, Graphic Novels, and The Governor General’s Literary Awards

So this has been bubbling under for a little while. The Canadian graphic novel (and Doug Wright Special Award Winner) Skim has been nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Awards here in Canada, which is excellent. Unfortunately, however, only Mariko Tamaki has been nominated, as she is the book’s “author” whilst Jillian Tamaki has been ignored as the book’s “illustrator.” Anyone with a functioning understanding of the medium knows that, particularly outside of genre work, the distinction between “writer” and “illustrator” is not nearly so easy to make in the world of graphic novels… Graphic Novels are a medium where both the words and pictures are equally important, and frequently entirely indivisible.

And so two of Canada’s most prominent graphic novelists have written an open letter to the administrators of the Governor General’s Literary Awards, in the hope of getting co-creator Jillian Tamaki her due in the acclaim for this fine book. Take it away, Seth and Chester Brown:

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR GENERAL’S LITERARY AWARDS

November 12, 2008

As individuals involved in the art form of comics and graphic novels, we are glad to see that a graphic novel has made the short-list for this year’s Governor General’s Literary Awards.   SKIM (by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki)  is a wonderful book and deserves the attention.  But we’re troubled by the fact that only one of its co-creators is receiving credit for the creation of the book’s text.  We understand that an award-category exists for illustration, but to have nominated Jillian in that category would not have rectified the problem.  Indeed, that would have highlighted how our medium is misunderstood.

We’re guessing that the jury who read SKIM saw it as an illustrated novel.  It’s not;  it’s a graphic novel.  In illustrated novels, the words carry the burden of telling the story, and the illustrations serve as a form of visual reinforcement. But in graphic novels, the words and pictures BOTH tell the story, and there are often sequences (sometimes whole graphic novels) where the images alone convey the narrative.  The text of a graphic novel cannot be separated from its illustrations because the words and the pictures together ARE the text.  Try to imagine evaluating SKIM if you couldn’t see the drawings.  Jillian’s contribution to the book goes beyond mere illustration:  she was as responsible for telling the story as Mariko was.

In an October 21st article for the CBC website, one of your jurors, Teresa Toten, was interviewed:  “Toten praised SKIM for using the graphic novel format to tell a sophisticated story about what life is like for teenaged girls.  The work is remarkable in part because of how the words and pictures both contribute to the literary quality, she said.”  And that is the point of this letter.  “[T]he words and pictures both contribute to [SKIM’s] literary quality”.

A new category does not need to be created to properly address the graphic novel.  In fact, it is best to see graphic novels appear in literary awards only when they deserve to compete equally against prose on their literary merit alone.

In writing this letter, we don’t mean to slight Mariko.   One of the reasons this collaboration works so well is because she understood how to write for this medium.  But we feel that as things now stand, Jillian is being slighted. We want both of the enormously talented creators of this book to be honoured together for their achievement.

Yours,

Chester Brown (Author of Louis Riel)
Seth (Author of It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken)

NAMES IN SUPPORT OF THIS LETTER
Lynda Barry (Author of What It Is)
Peter Birkemoe (Owner of The Beguiling)
Dan Clowes (Author of Ghost World)
David Collier (Author of The Frank Ritza Papers)
Julie Doucet (Author of 365 Days)
Chris Oliveros (Publisher of Drawn and Quarterly)
Joe Ollmann (Author of This Will All End in Tears)
Bryan Lee O’Malley (author of Scott Pilgrim)
Michel Rabagliati (Author of Paul Moves Out)
Art Spiegelman (Pulitzer Prize winning author of Maus)
Adrian Tomine (Author of Shortcomings)
Chris Ware (Author of Jimmy Corrigan, Smartest Kid on Earth)

I imagine this will create something of a stir within staid Canadian literary circles.

– Christopher
Edit: I missed the ‘names in support’ somehow. Sorry!

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[PR] Apocalipstix Launch in Toronto August 6th

[Hey there! If you’re reading this could you please do me a favour and spread the word to anywhere that might be appropriate? I’d appreciate it a bunch. – Chris]

apocpartyposter-colour-560.jpg

THE APOCALIPSTIX: RAGNAROCK PARTY

The Official Launch for the new Graphic Novel

Wednesday, August 6th, 8PM
REVIVAL BAR, 738 College St., Toronto
ALL AGES + NO COVER

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=25642968337

TORONTO, Ontario –THE APOCALIPSTIX is the new graphic novel by Toronto authors Ray Fawkes and Cameron Stewart, and fresh from their sold out pre-release at the San Diego Comic Convention these two top graphic novelists return to “play” their hometown with a book launch party featuring bands, prizes, and more, Wednesday, August 6th, at Revival Bar, 783 College St.

“It’s like Josie and the Pussycats meets Mad Max!” enthused Christopher Butcher, manager of The Beguiling, Canada’s premier retailer of comics and graphic novels. “Ray Fawkes and Cameron Stewart are top comics talents and The Apocalipstix is their best work yet… We’re anticipating the folks who loved the indy graphic novel SCOTT PILGRIM really getting into this one. I mean, three girls in a band after the end of the world, what’s not to like?”

THE APOCALIPSTIX: RAGNAROCK PARTY will feature musical performances by Toronto surf-punk band Terror Lake and all girl teen punk band DAME, and there’ll be door prizes and giveaways! Creators Ray Fawkes and Cameron Stewart will be signing and sketching for all comers! The event is all ages and features no cover charge! Revival Bar is located at 783 College St. at Shaw. Doors for the event open at 8PM, with the bands going on starting at 9:30pm.

ABOUT

Book: THE APOCALIPSTIX is a brand new 200 page graphic novel published by Oni Press. You can find out more about the graphic novel online at http://apocalipstix.com. The Apocalipstix is currently in stock at The Beguiling (601 Markham Street, near Bathurst St. & Bloor St. W), and will be available at the event.

Authors: Ray Fawkes is the Shuster Award Nominated author of Mnemovore and numerous graphic novellas and short stories, and can be found online at http://rayfawkes.com. Cameron Stewart the award-winning artist of Seaguy and The Invisibles, and the author of the serialized graphic novel Sin Titulo, and can be found online at http://cameron-stewart.com and http://transmission-x.com/.

Bands: Terror Lake can be found online at http://www.terrorlake.ca/. DAME can be found online at http://www.myspace.com/dameband.

MEDIA QUERIES: Christopher Butcher, Manager of The Beguiling, 416-533-9168, or via e-mail at chris@beguiling.com.

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– Chris

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Omega The Unknown, Gay Batman + Robin, Jim Rugg’s Street Fighter

Three pieces of art that I think are pretty great:

560omega-premier.jpg

Marvel and Diamond released the final cover for the “premier” edition of the upcoming hardcover collection of Jonathan Lethem and Farel Dalrymple’s Omega The Unknown. This is one creepy cover, but I love it. Props to artist Farel Dalrymple and color artist Paul Hornschemier for turning out a Marvel book that looks nothing like a Marvel book–in the best possible way. The hardcover collection of Omega will be out September 10th and should retail for thirty bucks.

560gaybatman.jpg

With the next installment of the Batman film franchise set to open in theatres this weekend, newspapers everywhere are commissioning Batman pieces. Here in Toronto, The National Post is no different offering up an article by Jeet Heer answering the eternal question, Is Batman Really Gay or What? Of course, no article on gay Batman is complete without an fantastic illustration by Mr. Chip Zdarsky, who also offers the rebuttal that Batman Totally Isn’t Gay. For a bigger version of this art, visit Mr. Zdarsky’s blog.

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What you see there is Jim Rugg’s KICK-ASS art for the new Street Fighter: Tribute book that my friends at Udon are putting together. A limited edition hardcover of the book is dropping next week at The San Diego Comicon (and will be available from their website), and the softcover edition will see release this September in finer stores everywhere. When I was looking at the work that would be in this book, this illustration just totally, totally blew me away, as it’s a completely different interpretation of the comics/video games than we normally see, but just perfect, too. The rest of the book is pretty outstanding as well with lots of different artists contributing lots of different illustrations in lots of different styles–320 pages worth. Check out the Street Fighter Tribute Edition page for more info.

– Christopher