For this week’s interview, I chatted with Calgary artist G. Gerald Garcia in an attempt to pin down the elusive nature of the Artist Block Party.
Is it a book? Is it a collective? Is it a movement?
I had questions, and Gerald had answers.
This interview is especially significant for two reasons, the first being that The Fabler has collaborated with Mr. Garcia to release a print-on-demand book for the Artist Block Party. The book is titled ‘Illustrated Classics’, and it marks The Fabler’s first official foray into the wonderful world of print-on-demand.
It’s an interesting age we live in for creative types working in the North American comic book industry.
As Calgary Comic Expo spokesperson and co-organizer Steven Hodges points out, “The comic industry these days has made it so that you can pretty much live and work wherever you want to.”
He further goes on to say that, “It’s important to recognize those Canadian comic creators that choose to stay to work and live in Canada. From Fiona Staples, to Cary Nord, to Riley Rossmo, we have some fantastic talent that are making names for themselves in the industry and I’m very happy that they are still in our own backyard. When we found out that the Shuster’s were coming to the Calgary Expo we were very excited, because of that strong contingent of Canadian creator talent here in Western Canada.”
To bring you up to speed, The Joe Shuster Awards for Canadian Comic Book Creators just held their 7th annual awards ceremony here in Calgary at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo.
It’s been a big year for The Anthology Project.
Volume One of their comic book collection came out just over a year ago, and it was met with some of the highest praise I’ve seen for an anthology in a long while. In fact, it even earned them an Eisner nomination. Riding on this praise for Volume 1, Nick Thornborrow and co-editors Joy Ang and Sam Bradley set their sights on making a second Volume. While their first release was, at its core, a collaboration between a group of acquaintances and friends, Volume 2 would expand their circle of collaborators to include artists they follow and admire.
Last week I mentioned a groovy new webseries featuring artwork by Francis Manapul (The Flash, Superman Batman, Witchblade) that would be launching on June 7th. Which is yesterday, for the calendar deprived.
The webseries, titled Murdoch Mysteries: Curse of the Lost Pharaohs, struck me as an innovative blend of live action and a sort of animation that is very motion-comic-esque. I talked to Francis Manapul (The Flash, Superman Batman) about his experience making the Murdoch Mysteries webseries, how he ended up working as a ‘comic artist for TV shows’, and how he manages to juggle his time between this sort of thing and his work for DC Comics.
I honestly believe that there is a webcomic out there for everyone.
Whether you’re interested in buddy comedy action stories or anthropomorphic cats performing historical reenactments of the American revolution, there’s likely a webcomic creator out there doing something that speaks directly to you.
This week’s interview features Ontario-based artist Adriana Blake, who writes and draws a webcomic with its own unique niche market; Fall on Me, which she has been cartooning since February ‘09, explores the lighter side of day-to-day newlywed life.
Oni Press is billing it as ‘the most ambitious book (they) have ever published’.
It stands out as a fresh new example of the stylistic horizons that only a comic book could explore while, narratively, it presents a unique approach to exploring questions of meaning and existence
These are just a couple of the reasons why I was extremely excited to talk to Ray Fawkes about his new graphic novel, One Soul.
By Kevin
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Posted in Canadian Comics
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Also tagged 18 Lives, Artist Interview, Cameron Stewart, Canadian Comics, fabler, Junction True, One Soul, Oni Press, Possessions, Ray Fawkes, The Apocalipstix
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Take two socially and sexually awkward young men, give them a couple of backpacks and a few dollars to spare, then send them halfway around the world to a land as intimidating as it is exotic.
Now put that premise into the capable hands of Montreal-based artist Alex Fellows, a comic creator so talented he was nominated for a Doug Wright Award in the Best Emerging Artist category and then nominated again for that same award six years later.
Toss in a dash of surrealism alongside some genuinely interesting use of colour to convey tone and mood, and congratulations! You’ve successfully whipped up a steaming fresh batch of Spain & Morocco, the graphic novel currently being serialized online by Fellows over at www.spainandmorocco.com.
By Kevin
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Posted in Canadian Comics
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Also tagged Alex Fellows, Best Emerging Artist, Canadian Comics, Canvas, Cartoonist, Comic Artist, Comic Writer, Dought Wright Awards, fabler, Fantagraphics Books, Profile, Spain & Morocco, Webcomics
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December 29, 2010 – 6:30 am
We are here, it is upon us: the last interview of 2010.
For the subject of this interview, we chose an extremely talented, Montreal-based comic artist who has previously had an established degree of familiarity with The Fabler. The first 16 pages of his comic collaboration with John O’Brien, ‘The Rise and Fall of it All’ is currently among the roster of showcased comics on the main site.
I am speaking, of course, of Salgood Sam.
November 17, 2010 – 6:30 am
Scott Chantler is a busy man these days – the Ontario-based comic artist has been up to his elbows in publicity for his latest graphic novel, Two Generals. Two Generals presents a detailed depiction of the conditions for Canadian soldiers during the Second World War, and it also tells a story about the friendship between Scott’s Grandfather Law Chantler and his best friend Jack Chrysler. Fortunately for us, Scott wasn’t too busy to do a quick Q & A for The Fabler.
November 3, 2010 – 6:30 am
Derek McCulloch is an Eisner-nominated and Glyph-award-winning comic writer currently living in Oakland, California. After his Alberta-based indie comic publishing company Strawberry Jam Comics folded in 92′, Derek took a 14 year hiatus from comic books. When he returned, he wrote the critically-acclaimed book Stagger Lee, and continued to release another OGN, ‘Pug’, this past summer.
The Fabler had a nice, long chat with Derek about his career to date, Pug, Stagger Lee, and his upcoming work from Vertigo Comics ‘Gone to Amerikay’.
By Kevin
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Posted in Canadian Comics
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Also tagged Canadian Comics, Colleen Doran, Comic Writer, Derek McCulloch, Gone to Amerikay, Greg Espinoza, Image Comics, Pug, Shepherd Hendrix, Stagger Lee, Strawberry Jam Comics, Vertigo Comics
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