This regular feature of the Sequential newsblog presents links and commentary to the latest news stories and events about Canadian comics creators and books. For more news and information about Canadian comic books, past and present, please feel free to explore the links on this site.
Item: Writer Al Kratina offers an overview of the Montreal comics scene in the Montreal Gazette, featuring interviews with many cartoonists and comic artists including Jaques Boivin, Valium, Rupert Bottenberg, Rick Gagnon, Sherwin Tija, Richard Serrao, Eric Theriault, Kelly Tindall, Michel Lacombe, Karl Kerschl, Cameron Stewart, Yanick Paquette, Christian Viel, Marc Shainblum, and Sequential’s own Max Douglas aka Salgood Sam. Looks kinda like a boys’ club, but still quite a diversity of styles and mediums there. Don’t think the scene has been approached in a similar way since the ill-fated Comics Journal article in 2006.
Item: Award-winning cartoonist Jillian Tamaki, whose latest book Indoor Voice has been well-received, is one of the contributors to U.S. publisher Marvel Comics’ anthology Strange Tales (due out next week). Tamaki provides a beautiful camp story starring the 70s-80s mutant disco superhero Dazzler!
Item: Journalist and comics historian Brad Mackay writes about the alumni of McGill University who went on to careers in comics, including two figures who were left out of the article when originally published, Mark Shainblum and Jordan Raphael (“the Mark Zuckerberg of alt-comics”).
Item: I can’t tell if this is a press release or simple hype, but there is a new graphic novel/web-comic/video project called You Are Awake being unveiled this weekend. The property is somehow related to the Zeroes2Heroes Media folks and is the creation of “very successful Canadian investment banker turned author, songwriter and radio host” Keith Turner and features art by Richard Pace.
Item: Happy Harbor Comics in Edmonton is having a 24-Hour Comics Day this weekend. I think this a week after everyone else? Not sure. Participants are challenged to draw a comic book in 24 hours and the results are published in a book to benefit a literacy charity. Facebook page.
Item: Stan Lee is involved in a project involving hockey superheroes, or something.
Item: Waterloo, Ontario cartoonist Scott Chantler talks to the London Free Press about his new graphic novel Two Generals, based on his grandfather’s World War II diaries.
Item: Susan Perren reviews the English translation of Harvey, the Governor General Award-winning graphic novel by Herve Bouchard and Janice Nadeau for the Globe.
Item: At the Shuster Awards blog, Jason Truong catches the news that Chad Solomon’s Rabbit and Bear Paws graphic novel series will be involved in the “One Laptop Per Child” program by licensing ebook versions of the comics to the effort in support of First Nations’ and international youth. The whole thing is somehow connected to millionairess politico Belinda Stronach.
Item: A number of Canadian comics professionals will be in New York City this weekend for the NY Comic Con. Included will be Jeff Lemire (that’s an image from his Sweet Tooth comic up top).