Item: This Ottawa Citizen/Canwest article from the Montreal Sci-Fi con probes the eternal question, “Is he a fan, or just a reader?”
Item: Yes, it started in Guelph, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying the world’s first graphic novel bike opera in your own town. That’s right, Dave Willekes “Le Cyc” multimedia performance rolled into Hogtown last week, and you could be next! (But only if you live in Ottawa, Hamilton, Brantford, London, or Montreal.)
Item: Sandra Bell-Lundy’s “Between Friends” syndicated comic strip will be the subject of an exhibit of original art at Brampton, Ont’s Artway Gallery from October 31 to November 27.
Item: Comics historian John Adcock examines the work of U.S. left-wing cartoonist Art Young.
Item: The blogosphere wants to know, is birthday-boy and Guelphite Seth’s George Sprott inferior to his It’s a Good Life?
Item: Continuing with the Guelph theme, J. Truong blogs the grand opening of The Dragon comic and games shop in Guelph last weekend.
Item: A new musical theatre production is underway in Quebec, featuring the bd character of Jerome Bigras, created by cartoonist Jean-Paul Eid.
Item: The 2010 Toronto Comic Art Festival is now accepting reservations.
Item: The big international legal news this week is the announcement that the heirs of cartoonist Jack Kirby will be pursuing their options to claim copyright on characters and stories their father created, including properties currently owned by Marvel/Disney like The Incredible Hilk, Fantastic Four, and The X-Men. Tom Spurgeon rounds up some responses.
(top image: Kirby portrait by Michael Cho. Cho has just done a new cover for Don Delillo’s awesome White Noise for Penguin.