By Will Wellington
Item! Metro News ran a profile of London, Ontario cartoonist Diana Tamblyn. Tamblyn recently received a Shuster Award nomination for her self-published From the Earth to Babylon: Gerald Bull and the Supergun.
Item! Rachel Richey’s Kickstarter campaign to finance the return of Johnny Canuck, Canada’s greatest comic book hero, continues to troop toward its goal with the indefatigable diligence of a true Canadian patriot. It has now reached the halfway point. Support the campaign here.
Item! Speaking of quintessentially Canadian heroes and the Kickstarters that fund them, Hope Nicholson’s campaign to reprint the complete adventures of “doctor, adventurer, and giant” Brok Windsor approaches its goal as well. Support here. Also check out this post by B.C. cartoonist and comics scholar Asher J. Klassen, which highlights a number of other Kickstarters worth watching.
Item! Conundrum announced the forthcoming publication of The Disappearance of Charley Butters, the new graphic novel from Zach Worton of The Klondike fame. The book will premiere at TCAF in May 2015. Check out some pages here.
Item! And speaking of TCAF, exhibitors can now apply to appear at this year’s festival. Details can be found here.
Item! The Beguiling is hosting about a bajillion great comics events in the coming months. August 13, Ray Fawkes launches The People Inside at the Lillian H. Smith Auditorium at a free event featuring a conversation with Jeff Lemire. August 25, Kazu Kibuishi launches Amulet Volume Six with a talk and technique demonstration at the Palmerston Branch of the Toronto Public Library followed by a signing at Little Island Comics. August 27, author Jim Zub launches Wayward, a new series with Yokohama-based artist Steven Cummings, at Guu Sakabar with cover artists Kalman Andrasofszky, Alina Urusov, Adam Warren, and newly-anointed Eisner-award-winner Chip Zdarsky in attendance. And September 3, Michael Cho launches SHOPLIFTER at The Central. Go, go, go!
Item! Toronto cartoonist Georgia Webber sat down for an interview with Robin McConnell for Inkstuds, listen to that here.
Item! Jeet Heer discussed Toronto cartoonist Nick Maandag’s new book, Facility Integrity, for The Comics Journal. Facility Integrity is out now from Pigeon Press.
Item! Drawn & Quarterly launched their new website last week. Tom Spurgeon spoke to D+Q’s Tracy Hurren about the new website and more. Read their conversation here.
Item! The Beat’s SDCC coverage included a number of chats with Canadian artists. Check out these conversations with Jeff Lemire, Michael Cho
, and Becky Cloonan.
Item! Becky Cloonan and Brenden Fletcher, two thirds of the team behind Gotham Academy (which, as Chris Butcher announced at the Bryan Lee O’Malley event last week, The Beguiling will launch in the fall), also spoke while at SDCC to Comics Alliance about the upcoming series.
Item! I’m sure that loads of Bryan Lee O’Malley coverage is floating around the net right now, but I thought I would share my beloved A.V. Club’s look at Seconds.
Item! Finally, a couple webcomics to check out: Ontley McNauth’s Bromelia and Alan Bunce’s Funny Forest, as well as the latest from Kate Beaton, who’s currently working on a second Hark! A Vagrant volume with D+Q.
When he’s not busy being Sequential’s Summer Intern, Will Wellington scoops ice cream, writes plays, and skulks around Guelph.