Les Prix Bedeis Causa will be presented on Thursday!
Le Festival de la bande dessinée francophone de Québec (FBDFQ) Avril 10-14
Reply
Category Archives: Conventions
Halloween ComicsFest, 2013 Awards and another change for Kevin
So we need to start planning for 2013 — interested parties should contact me at kevin@joeshusterawards.com with their ideas and suggestions for next year.
Some of the things that need to be discussed are: coordinators, location, categories and fundraising.
Possible locations: Fan Expo Vancouver, Calgary Comic & Toy Expo, Fan Expo Canada, Ottawa Comic Con, Montreal Comic Con. Generally we would like to continue moving around, and with recent ceremonies in Calgary and Montreal, we would like to consider a new location/event with which to coincide so Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto are all strong possibilities. Given the timing involved we are looking at 2-4 day comic book conventions scheduled between late April and September. Picking a location will allow us to establish a working timeline between now and then for coordinating.
Speaking of coordinating, we are currently looking for coordinators for the Gene Day Award and the Harry Kremer Retailer Award. If you are interested, please contact me as above.
****
Diamond has engineered a second free comic book day called HALLOWEEN COMICSFEST that is scheduled to coincide with Halloween. Instead of picking a day for everyone to hold it on, they are letting retailers pick which day on which to hold their Halloween ComicsFest activities, and so you should check with your local retailer to see what they have planned and on which day. Chances are it will be either on Saturday, October 27 or on Halloween itself, October 31st. There is a shop locator service on the ComicsFest website (click on the link above to visit).
****
About three weeks ago, upon completion of my 2011-12 contract, I decided not to pursue renewal of my position as a coordinator for Hobbystar Marketing, so I will no longer be involved in Fan Expo Canada/Fan Expo Vancouver/Toronto ComiCON on any kind of organizational level. I do plan to have my store The Comic Book Lounge exhibit at the Toronto events, but the combined workload of the store, a full time job in medical research, as well as other activities (such as the JSAs) requires me to unload some peripheral responsibilities, so this was one of those I’ve decided to cut.
This now ends a complete decade of coordinating aspects of Toronto scene comic book conventions. My first major multi-day convention was back in November 2003, although the first one day event was in March of that same year.
The 2012 Joe Shuster Award winners
Featured
Montreal, QC – In a ceremony presided by JASON ROCKMAN and CATHERINE SMITH-DESBIENS at the MONTREAL COMIC-CON, the 8th Annual Joe Shuster Awards for Canadian Comic Book Creators and Retailers were presented to an enthusiastic crowd of nominees, friends and fans of the medium. Continue reading
Back to school and work JSA update for Sept. 4
Welcome back! Hope your summer was as eventful as ours was.
We’re now a mere 11 days away from the presentation of the 8th annual Joe Shuster Awards and we’ll be posting some updates as we near the event.
JURY DECISIONS
The Art Jury (Artist, Cover Artist and Webcomics) have finished their selections, as have the ones selecting the Dragon Prize and the Gene Day Award for Self-Publishing. That leaves the Retailer Jury and the Story Jury (Cartoonist and Writer), and we hope to have those wrapped up later today or early tomorrow.
HARRY KREMER RETAILER AWARD FINALISTS
The 10 stores have been narrowed down to a final five – watch for a release here shortly.
POSTER
Our promotional image is ready, just waiting for some final approvals.
HALL OF FAME
Our Hall of Fame committee has opted to pass on inducting a new member in 2012.
FINAL AWARDS LIST FOR 2012 (8 awards to be given out in Montreal on September 15):
- Artist / Dessinateur
- Cartoonist / Créateur
- Writer / Écrivain
- Cover Artist / Dessinateur Couvertures
- Webcomics Creator / Créateur de Bandes Dessinées Web
- The Dragon Award (Comics for Kids) / Prix Dragon (Bandes Dessinées Jeunesse)
- Gene Day Award (Self-Publishers) / Prix Gene Day (Auto-éditeurs)
- Harry Kremer Award (Retailers) / Prix Harry Kremer (Détaillants)
Late July Update
Things may have slowed down considerably here on the site lately, as running a store as well as the awards, parts of the country’s largest comic-con and a day job have really taken a toll on my time. I had never expected to own a comic shop, but The Comic Book Lounge + Gallery has been growing steadily since we opened it back in February. Huge props go to manager Joe Kilmartin (formerly of the JSA Executive and former manager of Dragon Lady Comics), for handling the day to day aspects of running the Lounge.
If anyone has any interest in posting news items and articles here on the website, please contact me at kevin@joeshusterawards.com and we’ll get you hooked up.
It has been a very busy summer for everyone, with plenty of great news coming out of the San Diego con. A new series from Ed Brisson, Michael Walsh and Jordie Belaire called Comeback for Image. Also at Image, J. Bone will be doing a series called The Saviours with James Robinson, Darwyn Cooke will be doing at least two more Parker novels with The Hustle set for release in late 2013. Dale Keown will be joining Jeph Loeb for something called A Plus X.
Of course, the big news were the Eisner Awards, which have been summarized elsewhere on this site. Congratulations to the class of 2012! Darwyn and Ramon face off again in September in the Cartoonist category here for the Joe Shuster Awards.
The juries for 2012 have been selected and are beginning their review process. Thanks to the publishers who assisted us providing copies of nominated books for the jury to review. In this regard The Comic Book Lounge has become an official sponsor of the Joe Shuster Awards, providing some of the books not obtainable from the publisher directly.
It has been a big summer for books as well. Richard Stark’s Parker: The Score by Darwyn Cooke was released last week to great acclaim, the colourized Scott Pilgrim Volume 1 by Bryan Lee O’Malley and Nathan Fairbairn is set to arrive next week, as is Jeff Lemire’s The Underwater Welder.
Lots of stuff going on or just passed… Dubai, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and FCBD
Kill Shakespeare’s Anthony Del Col went to Dubai for it’s first Comic Con and wrote about the experience for the Beat.
Last weekend was the first Fan Expo Vancouver and the turnout was a lot better than anticipated. The rest of the crew is on vacation for a couple of days so I won’t know final attendance until they get back. We had a smaller staff but the show ran smoothly and the people in Vancouver were really great.
Of course, this weekend it’s the original C2E2… the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo at the BMO Round-Up Centre (Friday-Sunday). I wish I could have gone, but it would have been my 3rd convention weekend in a row. I had a blast there last year.
The following weekend it’s TCAF here in Toronto, at the Metro Toronto Reference Library. It’s a real shame that the organizers decided to schedule the show against Free Comic Book Day and one hopes that this will be the last time it happens. The Doug Wright Awards are being presented on May 5th at Jackman Hall at the Art Gallery of Ontario. There are plenty of side events scheduled, so check their site for information.
Friday, May 4th is the appropriate date for Star Wars Day Toronto at the Toronto Underground Cinema.
As I mentioned before, Saturday May 5th IS Free Comic Book Day, so make sure you go down to visit your local Canadian comics retailer and show them some love and get some free comics along the way. Many stores have scheduled signings and appearances by comic book creators as well as other activities like barbeques, sales, cosplay and more!
Friday the 13th Update
Sorry about the lack of updates this week, so much has been going on with… well, everything this week.
Between the announcement of the guest list for the March Toronto ComiCon, plans and coordination for Fan Expo Vancouver in April, the Dragon Lady closing and all of the related press coverage that has been getting, rumours of what is going to happen next with the Silver Snail, coordinating some shipments I have coming in and going out, and so on (not to mention my research work during the day) I haven’t had time to do much posting. Robert has been working on more regional retailer round-ups.
Next week:
- we’ll be posting the Eligible Creators List for 2011 that we’ll be looking for feedback on. 2012 Nominating committee will be finalized and we can get on with selecting the list for 2012. Andrew completed the updates to the Webcomics list last weekend so if you haven’t had time to check it out, please take a look and discover some great comics.
- on Wednesday night in Toronto it’s the Jim Henson’s A Tale of Sand Industry Night release party at the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop with Ramon Perez. It looks like we have copies of the book available for the event so come on down and check it out of you can.
- Finally, I’ve been working on something top secret that I hope to be able to share the news about with you as early as next Monday.
Fan Expo Vancouver™ to launch April 21-22, 2012 (updated)
For the first time ever, Fan Expo Canada™ is extending it’s show westward!
Fan Expo Vancouver™ is the city’s very first major comicon.
Highlighting celebrities, shopping, panels and workshops, you will be able to find the newest and hottest in Anime, Manga, Comics, Sci-Fi, Gaming and Horror.
April 21st-22nd 2012, come out and meet your favourite celebrity or creator and shop for the hottest or most rare in comic books, graphic novels, manga, toys, t-shirts and more!
Fan Expo Vancouver™ is brought to you by way of Hobby Star Marketing Inc. HSM was founded in 1992 as one of Canada’s premiere sports and entertainment marketing agencies. The company first staked its claim in 1995 with the successful launch of the Canadian National Comic Book Expo. It has since been re-branded as Fan Expo Canada featuring Comic, Anime, Science Fiction, Horror and Gaming. The event has evolved into a spectacular, annual, multi-media even with prestigious acclaim, becoming North America’s 3rd largest event of its kind.
********************
No guest announcements yet, but there will be postcard distribution to comic stores in BC, Alberta and Washington state on December 28, 2011. As far as I know I will be involved in the event coordinating the Canadian comic guests as well as running the comics programming, as I currently do these services for Fan Expo Canada and the Toronto ComiCONs.
While the announcement is very Hobbystar-centric, it should be noted that we are working with many members of the local comics community, including Vancouver Comicon promoter Leonard Wong, some of the folks involved in the Vancouver Comic Jams, and I’ve been in touch with the organizers of the Victoria Comic Con and VanCAF.
What’s also missing from that initial release is the involvement of the organizers of the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo who are part of this as well and will be helping to run the event, and we are also working closely with the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle.
The intention of the event is not to step on any toes or alienate anyone but to create a great event in a market that hasn’t had anything like it before.
