ANNOUNCE: Two TCAF Saturday Night After-Parties!

PLEASE INCLUDE IN YOUR LISTINGS

TCAF PARTY: SONGS & PICTURES
Featuring Kupek, Little Brown Bat, and Ragni
Saturday, August 18th, Doors Open at 9PM
Sneaky Dees, 431 College St. @ Bathurst
Second Floor
$5 Cover

What to do after TCAF? Why not head to Sneaky Dees (just 15 minutes walk from both The Beguiling and Victoria College) to hang out at the TCAF PARTY! Featuring plenty of cheap eats and drinks, the evening will feature performances by a number of talented Canadian comics creators who also play fantastic music as well!

Featuring (in order of appearance):

KUPEK: Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O’Malley’s one-man-band starts off the night with it’s acoustic guitar-pop tracks. Fun Fact: Scott Pilgrim 4 is set inside Sneaky Dees. Meta! Check out Kupek on MySpace.

LITTLE BROWN BAT: Violet Miranda: Girl Pirate creator Willow Dawson plays the saw and sings in this atmospheric alt/folk band out of Toronto. Check out Little Brown Bat on MySpace.

RAGNI: Brenden Fletcher and Jakub Zapotoczny create moody soundscapes that chill and delight, and their debut album RAGNI features a full graphic novel by Karl Karschel! Check out RAGNI on MySpace.

Cover is just $5 at the door, doors open at 9PM with the first act on at 9:30, or thereabouts.

Note: As with all musical performances at this venue, SONGS & PICTURES will take place in the concert space on the second floor, not in the first-floor restaurant.

TCAF AFTERPARTY: INDIANA JONES

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Indiana Jones: Rock Vs Comics
Saturday, August 18, 2007 at 10:00pm
@ UFO CLUB HALL
39 Lisgar St, Toronto, ON

Come to another Toronto Comic Arts Festival afterparty. It will be the awesomes. Hear music rock your socks off (and then back on again! and then off again!) Watch and participate in live art! Enjoy a beverage! Dance! Dance! Dance! Etc.

Two great tastes that go great together! When one of the clubs fills up (and it will!) you can go to the other! And vice versa!

– Christopher

What does Chris Butcher eat? BABIES!? Apparently not, as interview reveals…

Hey there. A fun little interview I did with Toronto Foodie Blog TasteTO just went online at http://www.tasteto.com/ (scroll down). They were nice enough to let me plug TCAF and all of my favourite neighborhood haunts:

[What’s] your favourite place to grab a couple of drinks and hang out where everybody knows your name?

Aw, man. I was on a first-name basis with the staff of both The Victory Cafe (595 Markham Street) and Clinton’s Tavern (693 Bloor St. West), but the summer-crunch (I’m one of the people running The Toronto Comic Arts Festival, August 18-19 2007) means that I’m barely there anymore, and have probably lost any status I once enjoyed. I’ll have to build that back up in September… with drinking.

Lots of TCAF press in the next little while, actually. Thanks to everyone who’s helped out by linking or running a press release, and to Sheryl at Taste T.O. for the interview!

– Christopher

CONTEST: Win 10 Comics/Books, Signed Posters, etc.

tcaf-poster-set.jpgWho doesn’t love a contest? As part of a promotion I set up with Toronto’s EYE WEEKLY Magazine, who is sponsoring The Toronto Comic Arts Festival this year, EYE is giving away a complete set of comics and graphic novels nominated for the 2007 Doug Wright Awards, as well as the three 2005 TCAF Posters signed by their respective artists, Marc Bell, James Jean, and Darwyn Cooke! It’s a little something for everyone. We’ll probably even throw in a copy of the 2003 poster, though it probably won’t be signed. And the books? You’ll get:

Shenzen: A Travelogue From China, Guy Delisle (Drawn and Quarterly)
This Will All End in Tears, Joe Ollman (Insomniac Press)
Scott Pilgrim and The Infinite Sadness, Bryan Lee O’Malley (ONI Press)
Gilded Lilies, Jillian Tamaki (Conundrum Press)
Nog-a-dod, Marc Bell ed. (Conundrum Press)
Gray Horses, Hope Larson (ONI Press)
House of Sugar, Rebecca Kraatz (Tulip Tree Press)
Was She Pretty?, Leanne Shapton (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux)
Bacter-area, Keith Jones (Drawn and Quarterly)
Mendacity, Tamara Faith Berger & Sophie Cossette (Kiss Machine Presents…)

You’re probably not familiar with all of those, but they’ve been nominated as some of the best or most promising books in Canada for this year, and so you SHOULD know all about them.

You can enter the contest at: http://eyeweekly.com/contests/comicarts/index.php.

It’s free, they won’t spam you or sell your info. There’s the extra added bonus of showing them that Comics Events are popular and interesting and they should sponsor more of them, hint-hint, so the wider this gets spread (and the more people that sign up) the happier I’ll be.

– Chris

 

San Diego Update 1: Photos!

chris-selfpic.jpgIt’s… so… bright! San Diego is brighter than Toronto… I don’t know what these people do with all of this sun. Anyway, my schedule at the show is considerably less busy than Heidi’s and Tom’s, apparently, as I’ve run into neither of them but I hear stories about both. I’ve been busy enough that I haven’t posted (sorry) but I’ve been doing interviews and stuff, and that’ll mean actual content in the next little while.

The show is… interesting this year. Almost everyone I talk to is having a fantastic time (despite the size of the show) and sales across the board seem to be up-up-up! It’s a very positive experience. I mean, it’s a positive experience punctuated with a lot of shit-talking about the industry, but I’m glad people seem to be having a good time. The Oni party last night was a blast, and I totally behaved myself around all of the famous people. Seth Rogan is adorable. Anyway, it’s all good. I even met a nice guy from Wizard and we chatted a bit: It’s the convention of brotherly love.

Anyway, I’m gonna cut this short as I’m very late for the show today (stupid open bar, stupid Chris) and just hit you with a bunch of photos from the show floor. Enjoy!

– Chris

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Miriam Katin, author of WE ARE ON OUR OWN signing at the D&Q booth.

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Bryan Talbot, author of ALICE IN SUNDERLAND and the new NAKED ARTIST at the NBM booth.

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Artist Chad Michael Ward at the NBM booth.

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I made Alvin Buenaventura pose, and then he made this face and now I feel bad about it. But doesn’t it make a great photo? Shown: COMIC ART MAGAZINE, KRAMERS ERGOT 6, a nifty print.

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Those new BLUE MONDAY covers are nice, aren’t they? At the Oni Press booth.

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This dude was rapping about tabletop gaming. I’m not sure how I feel about that.

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Webcomics… in print! The Dumbrella guys.

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Ryu works the Udon Comics booth. Udon was having a great weekend, selling out of their brand-new UDON’S ART OF CAPCOM very early in the show.

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Peter Birkemoe from The Beguiling and Tom Devlin from Drawn & Quarterly talking about one of D+Q’s 2008 releases that I’m not allowed to discuss, but it’s pretty awesome, manga-fans!

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Guy Delisle, signing his SHENZHEN and PYONGYANG at the Drawn and Quarterly booth.

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Josh Simmons (left) and Jordan Crane (right) talking about how disturbing Robin Bougie’s comics are at the Fantagraphics booth. Simmons’ HOUSE and Crane’s CLOUDS ABOVE are both very different, but enjoyable graphic novels.

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It’s POKETO! Makers of my last two kick-ass wallets. The new line are super-damage proof and awesome. Poketo also just released a series of designer artist plates, that I covet:

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This is a really great artist who I met in artist’s alley who goes by the name PCP. He was recently feature on the cover of Giant Robot, and he has some gorgeous prints and a really amazing interactive music project. Check him out: http://www.hypehopewonderland.com/top_e.html

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Mark Askwith of the SPACE channel in Canada, and colourist Jose Villarrubia at the CBLDF party.

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It’s a WHOLE BUNCH of Oni Boys. From Left to Right: Randy Jarrell (Editor), Antony Johnston (WASTELAND), Ian Shaughnessy (SHENNANIGANS), James Vining (FIRST IN SPACE), Scott Chantler (NORTHWEST PASSAGE) and Ande parks (CAPOTE IN KANSAS).

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Quiznos Cosplay.

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These bags are everywhere.

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The panty-lines really ruin spidey’s costume. Someone get that man a thong.

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Cammy and Chun-Li: Who is the strongest woman in the world?

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Half of the captions that I thought of for this are illegal.

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These dudes were cosplaying their online game characters. That dude on the left has a flatscreen tv coming out of his backpack, showing video footage of these guys killing things.

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It’s Jeff Smith, signing BONE!

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It’s the Comics Bakery! With Dave Roman (ASTRONAUT ELEMENTARY) and Raina Telegemeier (SMILE).

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As impressive as this Deadpool outfit is, the little Deadpool that was clearly visible in his outfit was moreso.

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Ghost Rider, Catwoman, and The Midnighter.

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See ya next time!

5 More Things To Look At In San Diego: 90 Degrees CW

Re: http://jchriscampbell.com/2007/07/23/10-things-to-buy-at-san-diego-comic-con/

cover-5-color02.jpg1. FIVE (5) / Cloonan, Moon, Ba, Grampa, Lolos / Self-Published (Image Comics Booth 2729)

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2. TOKYO IS MY GARDEN / Boilet & Peeters / Fanfare – Ponent-Mon (Davis Marketting Booth 719)
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3. MULTIPLE WARHEDZ / Brandon Graham / Oni Press (Booth 1834)

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4. AMERICA: GOD, GOLD, and GOLEMS / James Sturm / Drawn + Quarterly (Booth 1529)

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5. THB: COMICS FROM MARS / Paul Pope / AdHouse Comics (Booth 2104)

Three of these books will be in stores soon. THB and FIVE are limited to 2000 copies, debuting at San Diego. All of them are worth a look.

– Chris

Two New TCAF Postcards for San Diego

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Thanks to Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, and Bryan Lee O’Malley.

Oh, and since I’m posting TCAF stuff anyway? Here’s the current guestlist:

Kei Acedera – Atilla Adorjany – Adrian Alphona – Kalman Andrasofszky – Neelam Arora – Adam Aylard – T. Edward Bak – Andy Belanger – Roxanne Bielskis – Caitlin Black – Joe Bluhm – J Bone – Rupert Bottenberg – Vera Brosgol – Chester Brown – Jeffrey Brown – Sam Brown – Brendan Buford – Patrick R. Burger – C.B. Cebulski – Scott Chantler – Shawn Cheng – Brian Chippendale – Bobby Chiu – Svetlana Chmakova – Michael Cho – Jeff Clayton – Becky Cloonan – Joey Comeau – Michael Comeau – Darwyn Cooke – Danielle Corsetto – Nick Craine – James Davidge – Eleanor Davis – Willow Dawson – Arthur Dela Cruz – Evan Dorkin – Sarah Dyer – Sara Edward-Corbett – Matthew Ellis – Suley Fattah – Ray Fawkes – Tim Fish – Brendan Fletcher – Matthew Forsythe – Line Gamache – Shannon Gerard – Marcel Guldemond – Clayton Hanmer – Cheese Hasselberger – Scott Hepburn – Sam Hiti – Emily Holton – Mike Huddleston – Kevin Huizenga – Tom Humberstone – Kathryn Immonen – Stuart Immonen – Azad Injejikian – Damien Jay – James Jean – Tom K. – Karl Kerschl – Jason Kieffer – Eric Kim – Blair Kitchen – Mike Kitchen – Chris Kuzma – Michelle Laframboise – Dave Lapp – Hope Larson – Jeff Lemire – Stef Lenk – Jon Lewis – Melanie Lewis – Gareth Lind – Jason Loo – Steve MacIsaac – John Malloy – Steve Manale – Nick Maandag – Jason Marcy – Peter Maresca – John Martz – Joe Matt – Johane Matte – Billy Mavreas – Alana McCarthy – Sean McCarthy – Tyrone McCarthy – Brian McLachlan – Carla Speed McNeil – John Mejias – Rosemary Mosco – Evan Munday – Dan Nadel – Michael Noonan – Joe Ollman – Bryan O’Malley – Ramon Perez – Lorenz Peter – Rena Piccolo – Paul Pope – Nick Postic – Zen Rankin – MK Reed – Paul Rivoche – Dave Roman – Jim Rugg – Andy Runton – Frank Santoro – Vanessa Satone – Tom Scioli – Lianne Sentar – Seth – Ben Shannon – Marc Siegel – Dave Sim – Josh Simmons – Fiona Smyth – Karen Sneider – Kean Soo – Richard Stevens – Cameron Stewart – James Sturm – Craig Taillefer – Tara Tallan – Jillian Tamaki – Diana Tamblyn – Jamie Tanner – Raina Telgemeier – Jason Thompson – Peter Thompson – Matthew Thurber – J Torres – Gia-Bao Tran – Noel Tuazon – James Turner – Jose Villarubia – George A. Walker – Rob Walton – Drew Weing – Lauren Weinstein – Joey Weiser – Matt Wiegle – Steve Wilson – Zach Worton – David Yoder – Ryan Yount – Chip Zdarsky – Jim Zubkavich.

TCAF: AWESOMEZORZ

– Christopher

HAPPY GAY PRIDE WEEK

Happy Gay Pride Week - Tom Bouden

(Cartoon by Tom Bouden, excerpted from Stripped: The Illustrated Male, published by Bruno Gmünder.)

I almost typed “Happy Pride Week!” up top there, but I figured that too many people would confuse it for the nearly-naked-dudes-wrasslin’ league. Actually, your average Pride fight looks and sounds an awful lot like Mr. Bouden’s comic strip up there, doesn’t it? But I digress. Hopefully wherever you are you’re feeling proud and safe and happy this week, and every day of the year. Comic strips continue all week.

– Chris

No, Seriously, Why Do You Put Up With This Shit?

Sexy girl as rotting corpse: Did you ever see the movie about the blood diamonds? This is what you’re really paying for when you buy any Marvel comic.

Well, that's kind of sad.

So just to reitterate: Children’s character from book for children (the kid/teen girl-oriented Mary Jane #1) used as sex symbol? Check. Sex symbol met with incredible violence, still portrayed as sexy? Check. Deliberately done to provoke fan reaction? Check.

Congratulations! Up until yesterday I was kind of excited about World War Hulk, and was going to recommend it to my customers? Today: Not so much. I feel kind of… gross.. about recommending any Marvel titles at this point.

– Christopher
Edit: Just for those not as well-versed as me in the comics, this is the cover to the fifth printing of the Marvel Zombies HC, released today by Marvel, art by Arthur Suydam. It’s a take on a cover to a children’s series featuring Mary Jane from the Spider-Man books, in high school, at about 15 I think? The original art was by Takeshi Miyazawa and you can find it here.