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.
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, Interview, Spain & Morocco, Webcomics
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December 22, 2010 – 6:30 am
Jason is a Toronto-based animator and illustrator who posts diary-style autobiographical comics online under the title Boredom Pays. He also publishes minicomics, several of which have been distributed at TCAF and Canzine. The Fabler chatted with him about his minicomics, future projects, and the universal appeal of the autobio comic strip.
December 15, 2010 – 6:30 am
Rhian Engel is a former comic shop owner living in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, who after closing the doors on his shop due to pressures from the recession, re-channeled his love for the medium into a webcomic strip. The comic strip, My Life as a Grum, follows a group of quirky, oddly-shaped creatures known as ‘Grums’ as they attempt to eke out halfway normal lives. Hijinks, as you could imagine, ensue. My Life as a Grum has also found syndication in local newspaper The Red Deer Advocate.
October 27, 2010 – 6:30 am
Sarah Leavitt, a Vancouver-based author, recently published a graphic memoir called Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer’s, My Mother And Me. The memoir, which relates the journey of Sarah and her family after her Mother is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, is a powerful read that has already earned her strong critical praise – as well as a shortlist for the Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize.
I caught up with Sarah at as she passed through town for a local launch of her book.
August 18, 2010 – 6:30 am
Have you ever felt that Coles Notes versions of classical literature weren’t quite ‘Coles Notes’ enough?
I mean, sure they managed (using black magic and wizardry) to congest Crime and Punishment down to a palatable 85 pages of overview, and yes, Jane Austen is a lot more sensible when you don’t have to muddle through hours of haughty Victorian prose.
Still, do you ever find yourself thinking that they really could have gotten where they were going a lot faster?
Enter Ontario-based comic artist Eric Kim, who answered a resounding ‘yes’ to the above question. To prove that any classical narrative could effectively be reduced to two-to-four panels of dialogue, Kim set about putting to shame one of literature’s greatest icons; the bard himself.
The past couple of weeks, the Fabler Blog featured interviews with Vancouver-based webcomickers Jonathon Dalton (www.jonathondalton.com) and Angela Melick (www.wastedtalent.ca).
In addition to their close proximity to Canada’s Western Coastline, they share something else in common; founding membership in a comic book collective by the name of Cloudscape Comics.
I was fortunate enough to recently connect with a few individuals involved with the group. My goal was to learn a little about what they do, what they stand for, and how local comic creators can benefit from collaborating through a collective like their own.
By Kevin
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Posted in Canadian Comics
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Also tagged Angela Melick, Anthology, Cloudscape Comics, Colin Upton, Colleen macIsaac, Comic Anthology, Comic Artists, Comic Collective, Exploded View, Jeff Ellis, Jonathon Dalton, Jordyn Bochon, Minicomics, Vancouver, Webcomics
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The premise of the action-adventure ‘buddy comedy’ is a simple one: take two wildly different personalities that would otherwise not get along, and put them in a situation where the plot forces them to. Hijinks, hilarity, and explosions ensue.
The 3 Second Rule, a webcomic by Jason Loo and Arthur Dela Cruz, is not your typical buddy comedy.
By Kevin
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Posted in Canadian Comics
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Also tagged Arthur Dela Cruz, Axel, buddy comedy, buddy fiction, Jason Loo, Kissing Chaos, Mexican Wrestling, Shane, The 3 Second Rule, Transmission X, TX Comics, Webcomics
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In a world… where only the 25 year olds have survived… Two men… unite against warring gangs to set things right. This is the premise behind Evan Munday’s self-published graphic novel, Quarter-Life Crisis (only without the cheese, and with good art). I chatted with him about his plans to turn QLC into an ongoing series, and we also happened to discuss an ongoing illustrative project he’s working on featuring super-villain erotica. That’s super-villain as in Dr. Doom & the Joker, not your standard Poison Ivy/Harley Quinn fare.
By Kevin
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Posted in Canadian Comics
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Also tagged Dead Kid Detective Agency, ECW Press, Evan Munday, Gene Day Award, Naked, Natalie Zina Walschots, post-apocalypse, Quarter-Life Crisis, Scott Pilgrim, Super Villain Erotica, The Joker
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Who would you have by your side in a Zombie Apocalypse? If I had a choice, I’d choose Jenny Romanchuk. And not just because she has a cool hat. Although she does have a cool hat.