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Chris @ San Diego Comic-Con 2018!

Hey folks! I’m headed off to San Diego for Comic-Con again next week, and I’m pretty stoked at being on a bunch of panels, I think a record of six panels? That’s pretty good.  🙂 I’ll be very busy, especially on Thursday! I’m not otherwise hanging out at like, a booth, or whatever, so if you wanna get a hold of me hit one of these panels up and we can hang out…as I run to the next panel. Or just drop me an email I guess? 🙂

Panels and descriptions!

Thurs July 19 @ 12pm: Comics, Start Here! Room 11.  It’s hard to believe, but comics used to be the black sheep of reading and were once synonymous with juvenile delinquency. Today, they’re at the center of pop culture! But just because graphic novels are popular, that doesn’t mean everyone knows how to use them in their library. Never fear, CBLDF is here! Panelists will help you make the most of this incredible creative medium for all of your patrons. Learn about CBLDF’s new research on cataloging comics and get helpful tips about collection development and defense that will help everyone in your library love comics. Featuring CBLDF board member Katherine Keller, librarian and advocate Amie Wright, researchers Staci Crouch, Hallie Clawson, and Allison Bailund, and ME!

Thurs July 19 @ 2pm: Queer Comics for Queer Kids. @ San Diego Central Library: Libraries are often safe spaces for teens who find it hard to fit in elsewhere, and this includes queer teens. It is important to keep collections that reflect these teens, both so that they can find themselves in fiction, just as we all should, and so that their peers can see them normalized. It’s also important to know how to market these items, they help no one if they simply gather dust on the shelf! Presenters will talk about queer comics and manga, how they’ve affected them personally, why they’re important to library collections, and some recommendations to start you off right. Speakers are Vincent Zalkind (North Hollywood Branch, Los Angeles Public Library), Kelly Quinn Chiu (Santa Clara City Library), Angela Ocana (Eugene Public Library), Steenz (Lion Forge Comics), and ME! Moderated by Kathryn Kania (Pelham Public Library, New Hampshire).

Thurs July 19 @ 5pm: Manga Publishing Industry Roundtable. Room 29AB. Manga in North America is enjoying a new Golden Age. More books are hitting the shelves in bookstores and comic shops, and more titles than ever are available in digital formats the same day/date as Japan. There’s more anime streaming on Netflix, Amazon, and Crunchyroll, and that’s driving interest in more manga and a more diverse range of titles than ever before. Get a taste of what’s hot, what’s not, and what’s next for manga from top publishing pros, including Ben Applegate (associate director, publisher services at Penguin Random House), David Brothers (editor, VIZ Media), Rachel Thorn (manga translator and associate professor in the faculty of manga, Kyoto Seika University), Erik Ko (chief of operations, Udon Entertainment), and Christopher Butcher (Toronto Comic Arts Festival, VIZ Media). Moderated by Deb Aoki (Publishers Weekly, Anime News Network).

Fri July 20 @ 4pm-5pm: LGBTQ Graphic Novels. @ San Diego Central Library: Today’s most dynamic creators are in kids’ comics and they’re portraying queer characters in fresh ways! Featuring Aminder Dhaliwal (Woman World), Molly Knox Ostertag (The Witch Boy), Ivy Noelle Weir (Archival Quality), ME!, and moderator Kate Monnin.

Fri July 20 @ 6pm-7pm: Best and Worst Manga of 2018. Room 4. There’s a lot of manga available in English now, but what’s really worth reading? A panel of opinionated manga bloggers and comics curmudgeons spotlight the best new manga that hit the shelves in the past year. In rapid-fire rounds, see them rave about their favorite continuing series! Watch them rant about the excruciatingly mediocre manga that they were forced to read (so you won’t have to)! Find out what Brigid Alverson (SmashPages, School Library Journal), Zac Bertschy (Anime News Network), Christopher Butcher (Toronto Comic Arts Festival), and Deb Aoki (Publishers Weekly) loved and loathed to read in the past year. Hear about their picks for the most anticipated upcoming releases for fall 2018 and beyond, and discover their favorite underappreciated manga gems that are worth picking up.

Sat July 21 @ 5pm-6pm: Manga: An intro for Comics Fans. Room 28DE. Are you a longtime comics fan who also has interest in anime and manga but don’t really know how to dive in? These panelists are here to help! ComiXologists Matt Kolowski and Kiersten Wing a ask a panel of comics luminaries and tastemakers (who are also secretly otaku) to recommend the best of manga past and present. Panelists include Chris Butcher (co-founder, TCAF; consulting editor, VIZ Media), Deb Aoki (Anime News Networks), Stephanie Borria (Media Do International), Kristian Donaldson (The Massive, DMZ), and Ivan Salazar (comiXology). Tell them your favorite comic, movie, or TV show, and they’ll give you a manga to match.

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Where’s Chris? June/July/August 2018

Hey folks,

Just a quick travel update. If you want to catch me this summer, I’ll be professionally participating in the following events:

  • Comic-Salon Erlangen, Germany, May 30-June 3
  • Canada Comics Event, Berlin, Germany, June 4
  • Lyon Comic Festival, June 7-10
  • ALA Annual Conference, New Orleans, USA, June 21-26
  • Comic-Con San Diego, July 17-23
  • San Francisco (VIZ), July 23-30
  • Tokyo, Japan, August 1-30 — SUMMER COMIKET!!

There we more but I canceled some. Anyway, drop me a line if you wanna grab a meal or something. 🙂

– Christopher

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It’s travel season! New York, England, Tokyo and more

Hey folks,

Just a quick update as I’m going to be traveling a bunch this autumn and hitting up some comics events! Very exciting! 😀

  • I’ll be at New York Comic Con from Friday-Sunday this year, October 6th to 8th, with my lovely and talented husband Andrew also joining me.  I don’t think I have any panels or things, I’m there to mostly network and talk to folks about my new gig. If you wanna grab a coffee hit me up.
  • Then the NEXT weekend, I’m leading a large contingent of Canadians (under the auspices of TCAF) to Merry Olde England to attend my 5th-straight Lakes International Comic Arts Festival, October 13th to 15th, in Kendal, England. I’ve written about the Festival before on this here website  and if you want to know more about the Festival, check out the official website.
  • Lastly, the TCAF train keeps rolling as we lead a different, large contingent of Canadians to Tokyo, Japan for a series of events! These will include Kaigai Manga Festa, Comic Art Tokyo, Brave and the Bold, and Tokyo Comic-Con, from November 22nd right through December 3rd-ish.

I’m gonna try real hard to do separate posts about the England and Tokyo trips (here and on the TCAF site) but I just wanted to have this info in one place in case you wanted to say hi. 🙂

Best,

  • Christopher
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Catch me in San Diego & San Francisco!

Hi folks!

So I haven’t posted about it here yet but I have a new job. After 14 years I’ve left the good folks at The Beguiling, and I’m now a Consulting Editor with VIZ Media. I’m psyched! It’s gonna be great! You can read the official announcement here:

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=1391

I’m still working with everyone on the TCAF team to put on The Toronto Comic Arts Festival every year, and I’m still helping out at Page & Panel: The TCAF Shop, our retail store opened two-and-a-half years ago. Everything’s copacetic with The Beguiling too, it was just a great opportunity with VIZ that I didn’t want to pass up.

So! That means I’m going into Comic-Con this week wearing a different hat than usual, AND it means that I’ll be heading down to the VIZ offices in San Francisco following Comic-Con for about a week. If you wanna catch me in either city, drop me a line! chris@comics212.net

Speaking of Comic-Con, I’ll be on three panels this year! They’re all pretty great too:

Thursday, July 20th

Editing Comics
What does an editor do? What goes into editing a book? This program is a discussion of how professional editors from the industry’s most prestigious publishers work with authors to make awesome comics and graphic novels as well as what else goes into an editor’s job. This program is for people interested in the behind the scenes of publishing as well as for aspiring and young writers and artists. With Robin Herrera (Oni Press), Cassandra Pelham (Scholastic), Mark Siegel (First Second Books), and Shannon Watters (BOOM! Studios). Moderated by Christopher Butcher (TCAF).
Thursday July 20, 2017 1:30pm – 2:30pm
Room 4

Publishers Weekly: Selling Comics to a Diverse Audience
It’s no secret that the audience for comics has become far more diverse over the last decade. As more children, women, people of color, and queer readers discover comics-and more work is created for these audiences-reaching out on a retail level is even more important. PW senior editor Calvin Reid talks with comics retailers and booksellers about expanding the readership and standing up for representation and what works and what doesn’t. With Christopher Butcher (The Beguiling), Terence Irvins (Kinokuniya), Jennifer Haines (The Dragon), and more.
Thursday July 20, 2017 7:00pm – 8:00pm
Room 23ABC

Friday, July 21

Manga Superheroes? Super Differences Between Japan and the US
From Astro Boy to Ultraman, Sailor Moon to One-Punch Man, the super-powered characters of manga, anime, and live-action tokusatsu TV shows wear costumes and fight bad guys, but how do they differ from their U.S. counterparts, and how do they reflect differences in U.S. and Japanese societies, values, and politics? Join Andy Nakatani (editor-in-chief, Weekly Shonen Jump), David Brothers (4thletter!, Comics Alliance), Chris Butcher (director, Toronto Comic Arts Festival), and Brigid Alverson (MangaBlog, Good Comics For Kids, Smash Pages) for this fun and super-charged discussion, moderated by Deb Aoki (Publishers Weekly, Anime News Network).
Friday July 21, 2017 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Room 4

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Alright! My plane is boarding. See you in San Diego!

  • Chris
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I’ll be at the Lakes International Comic Arts Festival 2016 this weekend!

Hey there folks! I’m just sitting in the airport getting ready for my flight to London, where upon landing I will hop on a train northward, past Manchester, to the beautiful town of Kendal, gateway to the Lakes District, and home of the Lakes International Comic Art Festival.

I’ve actually been fortunate enough to attend LICAF every year since its inception, and I’m really impressed with its growth and ambition as an event. As someone who puts on a Festival in the shadow of giant hulking comic book cities like Chicago and New York (Metropolis and Gotham, respectively) I know that it can be difficult to get people to make the extra trip Northward for a comics event, and for that reason, and many others it, has a place in my heart. Of course, they also work their butts off every year to have incredible comics guests, and this year’s first-time attendees include Edmond Baudoin (who attended the very first TCAF in 2003!), Jordi Bernet(!), Canadians Bryan Lee O’Malley and John Martz, Benoit Peeters, and more besides. Their programme is really something, I recommend checking it out.

Speaking of which, I’m kind of a guest of the Festival myself this year, and will be moderating a few events including an on-stage interview with my pal Bryan Lee O’Malley, and hosting a Ghibli-themed live-drawing event with O’Malley, Jonath Edwards (UK), Ken Niimura (Japan/Spain), Miki Yamamoto (Japan), and Emma Viceli (UK) which should be a lot of fun too.

Tickets for all events are available now at https://www.breweryarts.co.uk/events-and-festivals/category/the-lakes-international-comic-art-festival-2016

And if I don’t see you at the events, please do track me down at the pub, it’ll be great to say hello to some of the people I don’t get to see very often.

Cheers!

  • Christopher
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SEE YOU AT SPX THIS WEEKEND – SEP 19-20

Hey there! I’m happy to say that I’ll be headed to SPX this weekend in Bethesda, MD, for the second year in a row, repping TCAF and a selection of Canadian small presses. I’m at table L10, the same block as Koyama Press, Massive, Youth In Decline, and a whole bunch of awesome people.

The main thrust of the visit will be TCAF stuff, including comics, prints, posters, postcards, and books that we’ve produced over the years. We have some neat stuff! But I’m filling that out with a great selection of works from Canadian pubs like Coach House Books, Conundrum, and La Pastque, and small-run and self published works by a whole whack of Canadian TCAF exhibitors including Tin Can Forest, Michel Rabagliati, Steven GIlbert, John Martz, and more. I’ve also dug up a few real rarities from The Beguiling’s archives, the kind of one-of-a-kind stuff you would never actually be able to find in the store itself. 😉 I’ll instagram some of the rarest stuff on the torontocomics account, so keep an eye out there for it.

Please feel free to say hi if you see me–even if I’m “busy”. It’d be great to catch up.

Thanks to the SPX crew for having me at the show!

– Christopher

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Queer Alt Comix History

“When Maggie sees Hopey, I know exactly how she feels. This story I’m doing right now is Maggie trying to figure out what boundaries she has with Hopey now that they are both with different people, and she’s kind of like, ‘We used to play around, can we still play around? Are we not supposed to play around?’ … Maggie is getting frustrated, and I’m just learning all this stuff about what Maggie is thinking about their relationship while they are together.

– Jaime Hernandez, on his current Love & Rockets story

I was so happy to be able to host a panel on queer comics at San Diego Comic Con this year. When I first started going to Comic-Con, it was important to me to attend the annual Gays In Comics panel at the show. The larger queer fandom wasn’t really accessible to me at the time, either online or in person (though I had some wonderful friends I could talk comics with), and sitting in the big room full of other people ‘like me’ was exciting. I’d dreamed of being on that panel for years, until the interests of the folks running that panel and my own interests as a reader and critic diverged to the point that I stopped attending… which meant that hosting a smaller queer comix panel with four comics authors whom I respect immensely–Mariko Tamaki, Gilbert Hernandez, Jamie Hernandez, and Ed Luce–was pretty much that dream come true. Thanks to Julia from D&Q for thinking of me to moderate.

The wonderful Brigid Alverson has a thorough write-up of the panel over at ComicBookResources. I thought it went really well, and I was happy to see that on reading Brigid’s article my memory lived up to the actuality of it! There’s some great commentary there on the importance of queer comix, but also, queer comix as they exist within the continuum of ‘alternative’ comics. Alternative comics and the scene around them have a really checkered history when it comes to queer representation. I got into it a little at the beginning of the panel, but basically while the undergrounds and early alt comix were certainly transgressive, queer narratives tended to be pushed to the side. nostraightlinesThe excellent anthology and history book No Straight Lines, edited by Justin Hall, does a great job at drawing connections between important works and putting together an overview of the queer alt-comix scene in the 70s, 80s, and 90s for contemporary readers. I recommended it on panel, and I’ll recommend it again here. But yeah, it was awesome to have Jaime and Gilbert on the panel  just come right out and say “No one was doing this,” when talking about their roles as straight creators of queer characters in the alt comix scene. They added a lot of continuity to the discussion! Having two out-and-proud creators on panel was also wonderful, particularly as Ed and Mariko have entered the field relatively recently and later in their lives, and they brought some amazing insight to the panel. It was amazing, and I could’ve talked to all four of them for another hour at least.

So yeah, please go check out the article! And the work of all four wonderful creators!

My thanks to Brigid Alverson for transcribing so much of the panel and writing it up, and sharing it with the readership of CBR.

– Christopher

P.S.: I originally posted a draft of this, and then finished it about an hour later. It may still be the old version in the RSS feed, sorry about that!

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Podcasts is a weird word. Is it specifically tied to the iPod? Anyway.

ITEM! I just saw this tumblr post by Kelly Sue Deconnick, someone I’ve known a real long time now, imploring a fan to pre-order one of her upcoming books:

If you’re interested in picking [Pretty Deadly] up, PLEASE PRE-ORDER. After this long of a delay, I guarantee it’ll be under-ordered. That’s on me, but if you want it, I want you to be able to get your hands on it. Pre-order, pleeeeeaaase.  – Kelly Sue

Kelly Sue was right there at the ‘dawn’ of the pre-order movement on the Warren Ellis forum (referenced here), and she knows the importance of that sort of direct customer engagement. I think this is a great example of the importance of pre-ordering, because by all accounts Kelly Sue is a creator who’s “Made It”, who has a dedicated fan base, but is still encouraging fans to take an agressive, forward-looking position when it comes to getting her comics. If Kelly Sue thinks it’s important, then it’s important, and my advice to all creators is to start trying to really mobilize your fanbases.

Also of note? This very elaborate Greg Pak pre-order campaign for his upcoming series from Dark Horse, entitled Kingsway West.

272559-fist-of-the-north-star

ITEM! I was a guest on Robin McConnell’s INKSTUDS podcast alongside the talented David Brothers and Brandon Graham, and it just went live. We talk for nearly 2 hours on this one, and I actually listened to it and I think, you know, I think it’s pretty good. David’s an incredibly smart guy, and I think he’s one of the people that brings out the best in my own commentary on the comics industry; I was super-happy to spend an hour chatting with him (Robin and Brandon were great too, don’t get me wrong). We recorded this about a month ago, and it actually got me thinking, and thinking, and I’ve actually been writing here at the blog since then. Maybe I’ll keep it up? Anyway.

BestWorstMangaPanel_SDCC2015
LtoR: Eva Volin, Brigid Alverson, Chris Butcher, Deb Aoki, David Brothers.

ITEM! I just got back from San Diego and had a really good time. I was on a record six (6!) panels this year as a participant or moderator, and it looks like all of the info for one of the panels is now online. I got to join Deb Aoki, Brigid Alverson, David Brothers, and Eva Volin on The Best and Worst Manga 2015 for the fourth year running. I had a great time. 🙂

You can see all of our pics, slides, etc., at Deb Aoki’s Manga Comics Manga: http://mangacomicsmanga.com/sdcc-2015-best-and-worst-manga-of-2015/

…and Jamie Coville has the complete audio of the panel over at his website, TheComicBooks.com: http://www.thecomicbooks.com/audio.html#SanDiego2015

 

And that’s all the news that’s fit to print!

– Christopher

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Where’s Chris: Comic-Con Edition!

In case you forgot what I looked like.
In case you forgot what I looked like.

Hello! I am happy to say that I will once again be attending Comic-Con International: San Diego this year. I’ll mostly be stationed at the Drawn & Quarterly Booth, #1629, as the good folks there have given my erstwhile employer The Beguiling a small corner from which to sell a gorgeous array of original comics artwork. I’ll be helping Peter out there on and off through all five days of the show. If you want to say hello that’s not a bad place to look for me. You can also tweet me @comics212 to see what’s up.

I’m also happy to say that I have a very full panel and programming schedule this year, as I’ll be participating in or moderating 5 different programs at the big show. Every panel is very different from the other too, which is great. It’ll be a busy show. Here’s a quick run-down:

Friday, July 10th

Hopey, Julio, Skim, Oafs, and beyond,
Friday, 7/10/15, 1:00p.m. – 2:00p.m., Room: 28DE 

Emerging from the undergrounds and into the alt-comix of the 1980s, queer characters and voices have always been loud and proud in alternative and indie comics. Gilbert Hernandez and Jaime Hernandez were at the forefront of queer characters’ visibility with their groundbreaking and award-winning comic book series LOVE AND ROCKETS, featuring brilliant characters like Hopey, Maggie, Israel, and Julio. Contemporary authors Mariko Tamaki and Ed Luce have contributed new queer icons in their books SKIM and WUVABLE OAF. Join all four creators and moderator Christopher Butcher (Comics212.net, Toronto Comic Arts Festival) for a discussion of the history of queer character visibility in alt and indie comics.

How to Survive Conventions as an Indie Creator
Friday, 7/10/15, 8:30p.m. – 9:30p.m. Room: 8

Calling all artists, small presses, and makers: Are you interested in or currently touring comics and pop culture conventions? Christopher Butcher (Toronto Comic Arts Festival) moderates a panel of experienced exhibitors Daniel Davis (Steam Crow, Booth Bastards), Shing Yin Khor (Sawdust Press), Paul Roman Martinez (The 19XX), and Geoffrey Golden and Amanda Meadows (The Devastator) to discuss making a full convention calendar work alongside a heavy production calendar. They’ll also answer questions raised by the Comics Beat + The Devastator 2014 Convention Survey –– what should creators expect from conventions and how can we make the most of them?

Saturday, July 11th

Kids Comics Summit
Saturday, 7/11/15, 11:00am – 12:00pm. San Diego Central Public Library – Shelley Special Events Suite

What’s the state of the children’s comics industry?  Publishers talk about their publishing programs; discussing how kids comics have changed in the past decade and how they’ll change more in the decade to come. A conversation with Alex Segura (Archie Comics), Filip Sablik (Boom), Kuo-Yu Liang (Diamond), Gina Gagliano (First Second), Sven Larsen (Papercutz), and David Saylor (Scholastic). Moderated by Christopher Butcher (Toronto Comics Art Festival).

Best and Worst Manga of 2015
Saturday, 7/11/15, 7:00p.m. – 8:00p.m., Room: 23ABC

I don’t have the official description for this one, but myself, Brigid Alverson,  David Brothers, Eva Volin, and moderator Deb Aoki are once again participating in an hour of chaotic fun, as we run down our choices for some of the best and worst manga of the year. It’s gonna be fun, and it’s always a packed house!

Sunday, July 12th

Nickelodeon Returns to Comics!
Sunday, 7/12/15, 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Room 8

Eric Esquivel (writer, Sanjay & Craig), Sam Spina (artist, Sanjay & Craig) and Jim Salicrup (editor-in-chief of Papercutz) plus special guests give you an inside look at how Nickelodeon’s hit properties Sanjay & Craig, Breadwinners and Harvey Beaks are being turned into Papercutz Graphic Novels. Featuring the editors, writers and artists who make comics out of these awesome shows! Moderated by Christopher Butcher (The Beguiling, Toronto Comic Arts Festival).

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And that’s it for now… I think. I’m always terrified that I’ve agreed to be on a panel and then forgotten about it completely. Heh. Anyway, I really am looking forward to Comic-Con again this year, as even the years where I have a miserable time are also years where amazing things happen. It’s a neat show that way.

Cheers,

– Christopher

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I’ll be in Japan for Christmas

Hey there. I’ll be in Japan from November 18 through December 29. Andrew will be there with me for the latter half of that. We’re both very excited.

I’m very fortunate to have worked this out with my employer at The Beguiling at the beginning of this year, and while the timing is awful, it’s never not going to be awful and so I’m pressing on.

I know it seems overly audacious to assume anyone gives a whirl about my travel plans, but since I know a bunch of people almost entirely online, and since this is unprecedented, I thought I’d make a brief note. I’m hoping to get a chance to write some more, and to relax, and maybe improve my terrible Japanese language ability a little. I’ll still be answering e-mails, but I probably won’t make it to your Christmas party.

Don’t worry, I’ll take pictures.

Thanks for your understanding and for not hating me,

– Christopher