Item! This is for Robert Pincombe: New Zealand’s answer to Nelvana of the Northern Lights seems to be Snooper Girl, the creation of cartoonist Ross Gore. (link via Dylan Horrocks on facebook)
Item! Montreal bookstore Monet interviews cartoonist Luc Bossé, since 2010 the micro-publisher behind the dynamic Editions Pow Pow. Bossé talks about the transition from the zine world to books and the difficulties of editing your own comics. He also mentions the upcoming slate of 2013 graphic novels from Pow Pow’s already established stable of creators: Pierre Bouchard and Francis Desharnais are preparing the third volume of Motel Galactic for April’s Festival de bande dessinée francophone de Québec, Samuel Cantin is preparing Vil et misérable for June’s Festival BD de Montréal, Sophie Bédard will release the third volume of her Glorieux printemps for the end of Summer, Zviane will release Les deuxièmes alsdo for the end of Summer, and Michel Hellman’s Nunavik will appear in November. The publisher will also release its first full-colour work, by new-comer Jean-Claude Aumais, as well as a new volume chronicling the continuing adventures of Bossé’s and Alexandre Simard’s Yves character, Yves, fidèle à lui-même. Google translation.
Item! If you have ever wondered about the market for French-language comics in Quebec, Monet also has posted its bestsellers for 2012, with Guy Delisle’s Jerusalem travelogue placing quite high in both the overall and more-specific bd lists.
Item! According to Reuters, head of Disney/Marvel, CEO Robert Iger, got a 20% raise in 2012, earning $40.2 million. “Iger, who turns 62 in February, succeeded Michael Eisner as CEO in October 2005. His reign has seen acquisitions of filmmaker George Lucas’s Lucasfilm Ltd and its “Star Wars” franchise, “Toy Story” creator Pixar, and the comic book powerhouse Marvel. Disney’s stock has more than doubled since Iger took over at the helm. It jumped 33 percent in 2012 alone. The company earned $3.07 per share, excluding items, on revenue of $42.28 billion for its fiscal year ended September 2012.”
Item! Through a haze of nostalgia, National Post columnist Dave Bidini reflects on the new Black Canary cafe attached to Silver Snail comic shop (I always thought the Jet Fuel cafe was the city’s comics coffee shop): “the Canary as not only a true comics cafe, but a Yonge street portal, maybe the only place on the strip to sit and drink and watch Toronto; a new Toronto; new and fast and lively and busy.”
Item! The Inkstuds podcast has kicked off 2013 with three great interviews: Nate Bulmer, Chris Wright, and Nicole Georges. Robin is also posting crazy out-of-print weirdness, including some lost Marc Bell, on his Canadian Comics Archive tumblr.