some new links and quotes from the world of Canadian comics:

Kaare Andrews cover for Ultimates #1
Item The lead news over this past weekend was the Toronto Star interview with Marvel editor and talent scout C.B. Cebulski, I think in town way back last August for Fan Expo (the expanded interview transcription was later posted online on journalist Corey Mintz’s personal blog. Among the topics touched on were Marvel artist page rates (averaging $300 per page, according to Cebulski) and Cebulski’s claim that artists are frequently late because they spend more time per page these days because of the original art market, which he claims pays some creators over $1000 for those same pages. Marvel artist Kaare Andrews, after the seemingly requisite knock against Jack Kirby that is trendy among Marvel artists and fans these days, has disputed those assertions at Bleeding Cool, arguing “I have never, NEVER, spent a minute more on a page because I thought I could resell it for more money. The idea is just ridiculous to me. Many times I don’t even have original art to sell because I’ve chosen to paint completely digitally.”
(I’m also intrigued by Andrews’ view of the line between comics as “10 cent disposable newsprints” and comics as “a legitimate art form”. But he makes a good point about animation workers having a better standard of living. Say, do comics artists need a union or what?)
Item! TCAF has some new additions to announce. The big news is Konami Kanata, the bestselling manga creator of Chi’s Sweet Home. A huge name in Japanese comics and a major “get” for the festival. Elsewhere, dj and graphic novel creator Kid Koala will be returning to the festival and will be putting on a couple of live shows based around his comics, including the recently released Space Cadet.
Item! The National Cartoonist Society Divisional Awards have been announced. These are the awards sometimes referred to as “The Reubens” but only one of the awards is actually called that (the award for cartoonist of the year) and the rest are just called the NCS Awards. Anyway, Canadians Bruce McCall (magazine illustration), Darwyn Cooke (comic books), and Chester Brown (graphic novels) received nominations. The actual nominees for the coveted Reuben Award are U.S. cartoonists Brian Crane, Stephan Pastis, and Tom Richmond.
Item! A new French-language edition of Louis Riel comes out this week from Quebec’s La Pasteque.
Item! Every week or so some work of art or promotional product comes along that tempts me to drop my own personal Marvel Boycott. Usually it’s something that appeals to my sweater-wearing, senior citizen oldschool comics fan side. Ladies and gentlemen, isn’t this an interesting-looking, Steve Ditko style Dr. Strange syrocco figurine? Legitimate art, or what? (And it’s being offered by Dark Horse, not Marvel, for what it’s worth. I wonder if Steve Ditko gets royalties?)
Item! I don’t usually link to new webcomics on the C-List, partly because Max covers alot of that in his Hey Kids, Comix posts, and partly because I’m a senior citizen who can barely use the internet. However, I received an actual email alerting me to a new comic that combines several of my favourite things, including Golden Age comics, Marshal McLuhan, and detournement. The strip is Legacy System by Steve Wilcox, a Phd student in Waterloo, ON. It’s pretty smart stuff, sort of an academic take on internet censorship, video games, and the place where politics and new technology meet. Some times it makes me realize how many brain cells I’ve lost since university but mostly it’s just funny.
Item! At the Globe and Mail, cartoonist Lynn Johnston weighs in on the controversy that is shaking the nation. No, not robocalls, poutine, the NDP leadership campaign, Alberta oilsands, or Afganistan. Not even, “What makes Kaare Andrews such an expert on hacks?” No, the big issue of our day is the increase in size of the Tim Hortons coffee cups!
Item! Finally, Chris Dart and Dean Bradley report on last week’s grand opening of the Comic Book Lounge and Gallery for Torontoist. Great photos. (There is also a Facebook photoset from Guerilla Printing who share the same space and also had their grand opening as well.)

2 Comments

  1. C.B. was in town on the March 3rd weekend for an invite-only symposium in Toronto hosted by Autodesk to promote their Sketchbook Pro application and it featured a number of speakers from a variety of backgrounds on the nature of creating and the artistic process.

Comments are closed.