Category Archives: General News

Darwyn Cooke’s 12 Days of Christmas help the 2012 Joe Shuster Awards

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I was really surprised and honoured to see that Darwyn devoted yesterday’s Day 8 of his 12 days of Christmas auctions to assist us with our fund-raising goals for 2012.The funds from the other amazing auctions he’s prepared go to benefit the Hero Initiative, a great charity that assists veteran comics creators in need of financial assistance but these two Superman-centric auctions go towards helping us meet our fundraising goals for 2012. They include:

Darwyn Cooke's 12 Days of Christmas Day 8

DAY 8 Auction Link

1. Art by Darwyn Cooke 19 x 13, ink on Bristol.
This is a recreation of the most famous Shuster homage- the Neal Adams cover to Superman #233. This piece is blueline printed, roughly blue penciled and inked by Darwyn.

2. Art by Darwyn Cooke, 8/.5 x 11 blue pencil, pencil and ink on heavy bond paper
This is a design drawing of Superman from the Justice League: New Frontier animated movie

3. A copy of Superman: Kryptonite written by Darwyn Cooke and drawn by Tim Sale, signed by Darwyn.

Darwyn Cooke's 12 Days of Christmas Day 8.5

DAY 8.5 Auction Link

1. Full Color Superman portrait in the classic Shuster pose, drawn and painted by Darwyn Cooke, 16 x 12 on watercolour paper

2. Art by Darwyn Cooke, 8/.5 x 11 blue pencil, pencil and ink on bond paper
This is a design drawing of Superman from the Justice League: New Frontier animated movie

3. A copy DC:The New Frontier Volume 1 and Volume 2, signed by Darwyn

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We can’t thank Darwyn enough for his generosity in doing this, and huge thanks to the two lucky winners who win these amazing auctions!

Remembering Jerry by Tyrone Biljan

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Tyrone Biljan is one of the four founding members of the Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association and is also the man who does the design work for the awards ceremony presentations, as well as the poster, logo, presentation guides and award plaques.

In 2004, Tyrone was instrumental in contacting and establishing a relationship between Jerry Robinson and the Awards Association and he was directly responsibly for Jerry Robinson’s presence at the 2005 and 2007 Joe Shuster Awards ceremonies and the Paradise Toronto Comicons.

******

It‘s April 2005 and I’m worried for two friends in their 80s after a horrendous effort to help them get to the airport in time for a flight to New York from Toronto. I also see the lengthy line up to go through security ahead. They make it through okay, but past security I won’t know how they are until they land in New York.

A couple hours later I get a phone call:

“Tyrone.”

“Hey Jerry.”

“Listen. There’s a problem.”

“What is it?”

“We’re still in Toronto.”

“Oh no! You’re kidding.”

Long pause.

“I’m calling from home. We’re fine.”

I sigh and he laughs. I think I could hear his wife Gro laughing in the background.

In a nutshell: I got “punked” by Jerry Robinson.

I’m sure that I am not the only one!

I had the great pleasure through my association with the Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards to meet and become friends with Jerry Robinson and his wife Gro.

Jerry Robinson was the creator of The Joker and the co-creator of Robin the Boy Wonder from Batman’s universe. He also created the iconic Batman logo that made its debut on the Spring Issue of Batman No. 1. Not only was he a prolific comic book artist but also photographer, writer and as Denny O’Neil says in his Forward to Jerry’s recent book, “Jerry Robinson – Ambassador of Comics” – Jerry was a Good Samaritan. Jerry helped, along with Neal Adams, to get Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster their recognition and increased compensation for Superman.

Part of my role with the JSA’s was to discuss with Jerry what we wanted to do with the awards and the significance of naming them after one of Superman’s creators. He instantly embraced the concept and threw in his support to become our inaugural award ceremony keynote speaker.

In conversations later, he would speak to me with pride his association with the awards and that he helped to launch them. Truly, Jerry’s support gave us a lot of credibility within the industry.

I have a lot of great memories from that small room where we held our first awards ceremonies during the Paradise Toronto Comicon in April 2005.

Jerry had also said that it was his involvement with The JSA’s that inspired him to create the Bill Finger Awards for Excellence in Comic Book Writing that are presented annually at the Eisner Awards during the San Diego Comicon.

Gro and Jerry Robinson with Dragon Lady manager Joe Kilmartin.

After the 2005 JSA ceremony, I had dinner with the Robinsons and Joe Shuster’s sister, Jean Shuster-Peavy. At the end I mentioned to him, with all that he has done for creators all over the world, he will get the recognition and credit for creating The Joker and his part in developing Robin. With a twinkle in his eye and a smile he would say, “Well, as long as good people like you know, that’s all that matters.”

Most likely, that was his standard response. I shook my head and said “But you will.”

We were lucky to get Jerry up to Toronto in 2007 for the JSA awards once again as keynote speaker. It was another truly memorable event for Jerry but also for all involved with the awards that he was present.

Since then the awards have grown and evolved as they do over the years. I would see him, Gro and his son Jens, most often at the San Diego Comic Con. He would ask how the awards were doing. His concern was for our continued success and check in on what was going on in our lives. The Calgary ceremony this year didn’t work out but he was willing. The Montreal awards were on his horizon.

In the end, we still have the art from Jerry. For a person who fought hard for the creative rights of artists around the world. It’s time his accomplishments and creative contributions for two of the most memorable icons in pop culture be recognized by the industry as well.

Thanks Jerry.


Jerry Robinson (1922-2011) (Updated x2)

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Jerry Robinson was the keynote speaker at the first Joe Shuster Awards ceremony in 2005 (pictured above) and the third in 2007. Jerry was a key factor in the foundation of the Joe Shuster Awards and the recognition of the life and work of his friend Joe Shuster. Rest in Peace, Jerry.

Sad news coming from the U.S., as it seems that legendary American comic book creator Jerry Robinson passed away peacefully in his sleep last night.

We here at the Joe Shuster Awards owe a tremendous amount to Jerry, as he was a very keen supporter of the program from the onset and our condolences go out to his wife Gro and son Jens.

Co-Publishers Jim Lee and Dan Didio, Editor-In-Chief Bob Harras and Batman editor Mike Marts have issued a shared statement on behalf of DC Comics:

Jerry Robinson illustrated some of the defining images of pop culture’s greatest icons. As an artist myself, it’s impossible not to feel humbled by his body of work. Everyone who loves comics owes Jerry a debt of gratitude for the rich legacy that he leaves behind. (Jim Lee, DC Entertainment Co-Publisher and artist of BATMAN: HUSH)

 

Jerry Robinson was one of the greats. He continued to be a vibrant, creative force well into his nineties (Jerry Robinson would have been 90 years old on Jan.1, 2012), with ideas and thoughts that continue to inspire. Jerry was a great advocate for creators. It was my pleasure to meet and work with him. He will be missed.(Dan DiDio, Co-Publisher, DC Entertainment)

 

It’s impossible to work at DC Entertainment­ without feeling the impact of Jerry Robinson’s contributions to the industry. His influence continues to resonate today.(Bob Harras, DC Entertainment Editor-in-Chief)

 

Jerry Robinson was an innovator, a pioneer in storytelling. His artwork was always astonishing, but his contributions to the Dark Knight mythology go far beyond art. The streets of Gotham City are a little lonelier today…Jerry will truly be missed. (Mike Marts, Batman line editor)

Ty Templeton has done a more detailed write-up on his blog:

Jerry Robinson passed away yesterday, just a few weeks shy of his 90th birthday. He was the last surviving member of the group of four men who created the mythology of Batman : Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Dick Sprang and Jerry Robinson. Jerry was Bob Kane’s first ghost artist, and probably the most important of the Batman artists of the Golden Age.

Along with writing partner Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson created the Joker, Alfred the Butler, Robin, the Batcave and a host of other important parts of Gotham City while Bob Kane watched from across the room and pretended to be the one doing it. Though Kane spent his life lying about the huge contributions that his partners made, comics historians did eventually see through the nonsense, and Robinson lived long enough to get his due as one of the seminal creators of our industry. There was at least THAT justice.

Batman and Robin, keeping the cartoonists’ drawing table safe, thanks to Jerry Robinson!

I had the rare chance to meet him a couple of times over the years, at awards ceremonies and conventions, etc, and Jerry was delightful and awe-inspiring company whenever I was fortunate enough to be around him. I’ll never forget the first thing he said to me, though: When I told him I was a Batman creator, writing and drawing the characters he helped create, he reached out to shake my hand and said (with a twinkle in his eye) “Where’s my cheque?”

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jerry Robinson…my world would not be the same without having shared the planet with you for the last forty-eight years. You gave me a childhood filled with unbridled joy and fun and I cannot conceive of who I would have turned out to be if you’d never been there before me.

The 2011 Canadian Comics Wrap Survey

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Dear Canadian creators, retailers, publishers and other members of the Canadian comics community:

As we wind down the clock on 2011 and gear up for the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012, we thought we would ask Canadian comic book and graphic novel creators, publishers and retailers a few questions and get your thoughts about the last year, the scene in general, and what you have in store for 2012.

We’ll be running these on the joeshusterawards.com website as we get them. It is a great way to highlight what you did this year and give us a heads up on what is coming up for you next year.

Participation is completely optional, no worries if you can’t or don’t want to participate. Feel free to forward this to others who you feel may be interested in completing it.

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season on behalf of the Awards Association!

(Feel free to send your answers in French if you prefer!)

Thanks,
Kevin

The Survey:

1. Tell us about yourself – a brief bio/intro.

2. What was your involvement in comics in 2011?

3. What was the highlight of the year for you re:

(a)    comics publishing in general?

(b)   comics by Canadian creators?

4. Was 2011 a good year for you?

(Retailers only – what do you consider to be the most significant new releases by Canadian creators for your store?)

5. Was 2011 a good year for comics?

6. Part of being on the scene is exhibiting at public events. Which Canadian ones (if any) did you support in 2011 and how do you feel they went for you? (This could include conventions, public festivals and additionally — for creators: store signings, gallery shows). Did you exhibit at any American events?

7. What do you have coming up in 2012? (If you can’t say, then maybe hint at when we may find out)

8. Any final comments on 2011?

——

Please send your responses to kevin@joeshusterawards.com

Alvin Schwartz (1916-2011)

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We here at the CCBCAA are saddened to learn of the recent passing of writer Alvin Schwartz on October 28 from heart complications.

Schwartz, an American who moved to Canada after his contributions to comics is best known for writing Batman, Superman and other comic strips for DC Comics, and is credited as the creator of Bizarro. Schwartz has lived in Chesterville, ON for decades, working mostly with the National Film Board of Canada and writing reports for the Federal Government, as well as writing two final novels on metaphysics involving Superman and Batman.

Here’s his bio, as prepared for Alvin for his website, modified slightly for publication here with updated information.

Born in NYC in 1916, Alvin Schwartz wrote his first comics for Fairy Tale Parade in 1939, and wrote extensively for Shelley Mayer, then an editor at Max Gaines’ All-American Publications (later purchased by National/DC in 1944). He had also done a short stint at Fawcett on Captain Marvel. Schwartz wrote his first Batman story in 1942, and his first Batman newspaper strip in Aug 1944 (an assignment he continued on until 1958) and his first Superman newspaper strip in Oct 1944. He had a long association with Superman as the writer of both the Man of Steel’s newspaper strip and many of his comic book appearances, and one of his many enduring contributions to the Superman mythology was the creation of Bizarro, a character who became a part of popular culture, quite apart from comics. While writing most of DC’s newspaper strips between 1944 and 1952, he also went on to do stories for many of their comics magazines, working on characters such as Aquaman, Vigilante, Slam Bradley, Date With Judy, Buzzy, House of Mystery, Tomahawk, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Newsboy Legion and numerous others.

After his 1958 departure from comics, Schwartz took on a whole new role in the corporate world, using the knowledge of plotting gained in comics to open new directions in market research, developing the now well-known techniques of psycho-graphics, typological identification and others, until as Research Director for the famed think tank of Dr Ernst Dichter, The Institute for Motivational Research, he provided structural and marketing advice to some of America’s largest corporations ranging from General Motors to General Foods. He was subsequently appointed to an advisory committee of the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

Schwartz also authored three novels for Arco Press, one of which, Sword of Desire, a detective story, won praise for its successful takeoff on Reichian orgone therapy, a popular psychotherapeutic technique during the 40s and 50s. His Beat generation novel, The Blowtop was published by Dial in 1948. Under the title Le Cinglé, it became a best seller in France. He also wrote and lectured on superheroes at various universities and received a prestigious Canada Council Grant for a study on the religious symbolism in popular culture, using Superman as a springboard.

Also in Canada, he wrote feature films and did numerous docu-dramas for The National Film Board for nearly 20 years and did a number of economic and social studies for the Canadian government.

His last two books, written in his eighties, were: An Unlikely Prophet: Revelations on the Path Without Form (published in 1997) — a memoir dealing with some very off-the-wall experiences generated by his years doing Superman which led him to a unique understanding of Superman’s significance as well as some life-enriching possibilities available to every one of us, and the sequel A Gathering of Selves: The Spiritual Journey of the Legendary Writer of Superman and Batman (published in 2006).

Schwartz received the first Bill Finger Award for his contributions to comics via writing in 2006. The Finger Award was created by the legendary creator Jerry Robinson to honour his friend Bill Finger (the uncredited co-creator of Batman) and is given to comic book writers as part of the Will Eisner Comic Book Industry Awards in July of each year.

I exchanged emails with Schwartz a few times in the mid-2000′s when I had invited him to attend a Toronto Comicon, and he seemed excited by the fact that fans still remembered his comics work, but at the time he was not able to travel for health reasons. He did make an appearance at an Ottawa comic show in November 2009 (pictured above).

Our condolences to Mr. Schwartz’s family and friends.

A look at comic book conventions across Canada – links updated, list of larger events

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I recently made a series of updates to our Canadian Conventions Link Page – it’s by no means complete, but I’ve tried to include comic-centric (including Anime) events scheduled across the country.

Here are the big events scheduled for the remainder of this year and into 2012 – please visit the Con list (link above) for website links and information on other 1 day events).

5-Day events:
FBDFQ – FESTIVAL DE LA BANDE DESSINÉE FRANCOPHONE DE QUÉBEC (Quebec City) – April 11-15, 2012

4-Day events:
FAN EXPO CANADA (Toronto) – August 23-26, 2012

3-Day events:
ANIMARITIME (Moncton) – June 29-July 1, 2012
ANIME NORTH (Toronto) – May 25-27, 2012
CALGARY COMIC AND ENTERTAINMENT EXPO – April 27-29, 2012
C4 – CENTRAL CANADA COMIC CON (Winnipeg) – FALL 2012 TBA
MONTREAL COMIC-CON – September 14-16, 2012

2-Day events:
CONG-G (Guelph) – February 25-26, 2012
EXPOZINE (Montreal) – November 26-27, 2011 (2012 TBA)
HAL-CON (Halifax) – November 12-13, 2011 (2012 TBA)
TCAF – TORONTO COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL - May 5-6, 2012
TORONTO COMIC CON (WIZARD WORLD) – April 14-15, 2012
TORONTO COMICON – FAN APPRECIATION EVENT (HOBBYSTAR) – SPRING 2012 TBA
VanCAF – VANCOUVER COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL – May 26-27, 2012 (New in 2012)

 

2012 Categories update:

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Earlier this month we asked for feedback on our categories as we determine which will make up the list for the 2012 Awards. Based on your feedback and our internal debates this is the list as it stands:

2012 Categories:

* Outstanding Artist/Artist Team (no change)

* Outstanding Cartoonist (no change)

* Outstanding Cover Artist (no change)

* Outstanding Webcomics Creator/Creative Team (no change)

Note: after a lot of discussion and debate, the team has decided that we will leave webcomics as a unique category again. A line of distinction is being drawn between digital comics (online versions of concurrent with print edition comics or online previews of digital comics) which will not be eligible for the category. This remains for comics content created exclusively for the internet (later print editions are irrelevant and are considered reprints in the print categories), and one of the nominating and judging criteria will be usage of the online delivery system itself in the storytelling and presentation of these comics.

* Outstanding Writer (no change)

* Comics for Kids Award – Beginner Reader Level
* Comics for Kids Award – Intermediate Reader Level

Note: if there are enough books of each criteria to justify having two categories, the Comics for Kids Award will be split into two categories — Beginner, for younger readers, and Intermediate, for older children. For example, Binky the Space Cat might be considered a Beginner book, while Three Thieves: Tower of Treasure might be considered an intermediate level entry. The hope is to provide more information and recommendations to parents, teachers, librarians and of, course, young readers!

* Gene Day Award for Self-Publishing (no change)

* Harry Kremer Award for Comic Book Retailing (no change)

* Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame (1-2) (no change)

There is one additional category currently being reviewed by our group and is at the proposal stage.

* TENTATIVE: Outstanding Original Graphic Novel by Canadian Creator / Creative Team

The members feel that it should be specifically for original (i.e. new) graphic novels published in French or English during the previous calendar year. Unfortunately new collections of serialized comics that are later collected that same year are not going to be eligible for this award (if it happens). We are still VERY concerned about this being duplication of efforts as many of these books may be recognized in the Cartoonist, Writer and Artist categories. As it stands, we would like to follow the lead of Comics for Kids and have a similar nomination and judging process for this potential new category.

Unfortunately we’ll be placing two categories “on hiatus” for 2012: Outstanding Publisher and Outstanding Colourist.

2012 Joe Shuster Awards – Saturday, September 15, 2012 in Montreal, QC

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I’m happy to report on behalf of the Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Organization that we have agreed in principle with the organizers of the Montreal Comic Con and will be presenting the 8th Annual Joe Shuster Awards in conjunction with that event on the evening of Saturday, September 15, 2012.

In preparation for the ceremony, the CCBCAA will be working with members of the comics community to provide a fully bilingual awards ceremony, and we are all excited at the possibilities of providing better translation services on this site in order to help spread the word on comics and graphic novels by Canadians in both official languages.

The Montreal Comic Con will be held on the weekend of September 14-16, 2012. Due to unexpected demand, the MCC will be expanding to a full three days in 2012.

The MCC will also be changing facilities in 2012. It will no longer be held at Place Bonaventure but will be moving into the newer, larger and more colourful (!) convention facilities at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal, QC (pictured, right).

http://www.montrealcomiccon.com

This marks the second time that the Joe Shuster Awards will be presented outside of Toronto. Earlier this year we presented the 7th Annual Awards at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo. Plans are for the JSAs to be presented in conjunction with a different comic book convention in Canada each year.

Is Darwyn Cooke working on Watchmen prequels?

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That was the big rumour circulating late last week, as Bleeding Cool published some stories related to DC Comics’ rumoured revival of the Watchmen franchise with some prequel mini-series featuring the Watchmen characters such as Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan. Rich Johnston’s sources tell him Darwyn is tapped in a writing/coordinating capacity and will be doing some artwork. Whether or not this is true remains to be confirmed so we’ll have to wait for some kind of official announcement from DC and/or Darwyn.

If it is, it will certainly be a controversial announcement. Many people feel Moore and Gibbons’ Watchmen should be left alone, without any prequels or sequels. However, Watchmen is a huge commercial property and there’s enough of a backstory in the Watchmen graphic novel (some 50 years of alternate earth history) that could easily accommodate prequel stories featuring those characters, this could actually be a successful move creatively and commercially.

Deciding the 2012 Categories

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Here at the JSAs we’re fairly open to making changes to the existing award categories if a solid argument can be made for the alteration, or for adding new or retiring old categories. In recent years new awards have included The Comics for Kids Award, The Gene Day Award, as well as the Outstanding Cover Artist and Outstanding Colourist Awards. Retired Awards include Outstanding Achievement, Favourite French and Favourite English creator.

As we are beginning our work in compiling the eligible comics for the 2012 Awards, the discussion has begun on the subject of Award categories. I’ve nothing to announce at present, other than over the next couple of weeks we will be hopefully deciding which of our current categories will continue on into the next Awards season and which ones will be put “On Hiatus”.

2011 Categories included:

Outstanding Artist/Artist Team
Outstanding Cartoonist
Outstanding Colourist
Outstanding Cover Artist
Outstanding Publisher
Outstanding Webcomics Creator/Creative Team
Outstanding Writer
Comics for Kids Award for Material Aimed at Younger Readers
Gene Day Award for Self-Publishing
Harry Kremer Award for Comic Book Retailing
Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame

The Webcomics Award is something that is being discussed – should webcomics (one of the most popular and well regarded awards) be retired and incorporated into the other categories (which have been exclusively for printed, distributed works)? It’s something we are debating internally so we’d love to read your thoughts on the subject.

Generally we are looking to maintain the same number of awards in 2012 — 12.

If you have any suggestions, thoughts or recommendations, please reply to this post or email me at kevin@joeshusterawards.com

Alpha Flight now an ongoing series from Marvel Comics

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Announced this weekend, appropriately enough at Fan Expo Canada — Marvel Comics has decided to turn the 8-issue Alpha Flight mini-series into an ongoing series with the same creative team of Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente and Canada’s own DALE EAGLESHAM.

According to related news, Canadian superteam Alpha Flight will find out they are part of a commonwealth of superheroes…. this is not unlike the fact that most Canadians don’t really remember the fact that Canada itself is still a member of the Commonwealth of Nations (formerly known as the British Commonwealth) that includes the UK, Australia, India, Pakistan, South Africa and 48 other countries around the world.

Laird announces changes to the Xeric Grant

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Max Douglas covers the ending of the Xeric Grant in May 2012 over at Sequential. Many Canadian creators have received Xerics over the years, including Jeff Lemire, Nick Mandaag, Troy Little and Ethan Rilly. The announcement:

The Xeric Foundation’s upcoming 20th anniversary will bring
a changed focus in grant-giving.

“Roughly twenty years ago, I started something called the Xeric Foundation. It came about because, with the success of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” property that Kevin Eastman and I had created back in 1983, there were a lot of people asking for money. Many of these requests were legitimate and came from real need, and I wanted to find a way to deal with them in a fair and organized fashion.

I also wanted to help out struggling comic book creators. Having started TMNT with Kevin as a self-published venture, I knew very well how critical even a relatively small amount of money could be for success at that nascent stage.

The Xeric Foundation accomplished all that. The Foundation was able to give many grants to self-publishing comic book creators and local charitable organizations. To date, those grants have totaled more than $2,500,000, and those funds were split equally between the two aforementioned categories.

When I began the Xeric Foundation back in 1992, things were very different. The Internet — and web-based publishing — was in its infancy. This has changed, radically, and the Xeric Foundation needs to change accordingly.

The advent of essentially free web publishing has forever altered the way aspiring comic book creators can get their work out into the public eye. With this in mind, I have decided that it makes sense that the Xeric Foundation will no longer provide grants to self-publishing comic book creators, and instead devote all of its available grants funds to charitable organizations.

I’d like to thank all of the people who applied for (and sometimes received) those comic book grants, for their participation in an art form of great merit, as well as those who have applied for (and sometimes received) charitable grants. But I’d especially like to thank all the people who have served on the Xeric Grant committees, both those for the comic book grants and the charitable grants, who have worked without pay all these years, giving of their time and energy, reading and evaluating piles of grant applications. I would like to thank them by name, but — as it has been since the beginning of the Xeric Foundation — they prefer to remain anonymous. So… thank you all, from the bottom of my heart!”

–Peter Laird,   July 14, 2011

With this announcement, the foundation celebrates Peter Laird’s legacy and the many innovative comic books that were self-published with the support of Xeric grants.

There will be a final comic book review in May 2012.  Details can be found at the following link: FINAL GRANT APPLICATION. Please note that the November review is cancelled, allowing creators more time to prepare and present their best work.

Good luck to all of the dedicated self-publishers.  Get in there and show us what you’ve got during the last round of comic book grants!

Party!

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Last night we had the Toronto wrap party and celebration for the 7th Annual Joe Shuster Awards and I get the impression that it was a great success! The 587 College space was a great venue, very casual and we had a relaxed 20 or so minute ceremony where we were able to honour local winners Francis Manapul, John Martz, Planete BD (not local but drove in for the party!), Anne Koyama, Scott Chantler and Tin Can Forest.

Tyrone is currently traveling, but it was great to see the rest of the group out for the evening – Andrew, Allison, Jenn and Robert, Deb and I were all really happy with how well things worked out. It was also great to see a variety of Toronto’s creators come out to support their friends and associates! It was really a meeting of worlds and styles and from an organizing standpoint it’s always satisfying to see the various communities come together and learn from each other’s adventures in the world of comics. All of the various Mill Street beers that we provided were consumed as well (all gone when we wrapped) — the after party went on to about 11:30.

So thanks again to everyone that came out, congratulations to all of the winners and special thanks to the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop for allowing us to use their great space!

Also – one last note – I’d like to thank to Planete BD for coming to Toronto for this event – we hope you had a great time – and for being our Montreal ambassadors — they will be presenting Emilie Villeneuve and Julie Rocheleau with their awards at their store in the near future for La Fille Invisible.

Renegade Arts Entertainment, Ltd.

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Last year on my way down to San Diego, I had the pleasure of sitting beside Renegade Arts Entertainment founder- director, writer and editor Alexander Finbow.

Finbow, along with actor Doug Bradley (Hellraiser) and writer Alan Grant formed the publishing house in the UK, but the central offices are based out of Canmore, Alberta. http://www.renegadeartsentertainment.com

It was great to reconnect with Alex at the Calgary Expo and see and learn about the projects that they have been working on, and there are two that I think are of particular interest and connect with the Canadian creative scene that we are here to promote:

SHAME – CONCEPTION (1 of 3)

I can’t believe that this series is not getting more attention. Written by Canadian comics legend LOVERN KINDZIERSKI, with fully painted art by the astounding JOHN BOLTON and lettered by the esteemed TODD KLEIN.

Shame is a Dark Fantasy Graphic Novel, Suggested for Mature Readers. The concept: When the purest woman on earth allows herself one selfish wish, it is enough to conceive the most evil woman the world has ever known. Shame: Conception introduces a world much like our own but with magick and those with the power to control it, for good and for evil. In the first tale we meet Shame, discover the unique circumstances of her creation, and follow her choices as her true nature is revealed. It is difficult to say more without giving away too much of the story, and it is a story of such scope and imagination that it would be seriously remiss of us to lessen your reading experience with spoiler now.

To reserve a copy at your comic book store give them this code:

MAY111180

The first issue just went to print and debuted at the Calgary Expo but the series was made available for order through Diamond MAY111180 / ISBN: 978-1-908217-01-1 and should be shipping to stores who ordered it on JULY 13 (next week).

THE LOXLEYS AND THE WAR OF 1812

Writer Alan Grant’s epic adventure of a family caught up in the conflict that helped to define both Canada and America into the nations they would become. With the Bicentenary fast approaching Renegade will be publishing several books to commemorate the events.

The 102 page comic book is being drawn by Claude St. Aubin, coloured by Lovern Kindzerski and lettered by Todd Klein. It will also feature a 30 page summary of the war written by well known Canadian historical author Mark Zuehlke.

The Loxley’s left America after the American war of Independence to start a new life in the Niagara region of Canada, only to find themselves thrust back into the madness of war when America declared war against Britain and the Canadas.

Adapted from Aurora Loxley’s journals, the story follows the family members involvement in the war and their challenges at home dealing with the chaos and violence of the time.

The project will be accompanied by a number of interesting initiatives that we were given some information on but will share with you here on the blog when more information is made available. The project will premiere later this year and the preview art we were shown in Calgary looks fantastic!

Happy Canada Day! Plus… Fan Expo Canada tickets on sale.

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No work, no school… backyard barbeques and visits to the cottage… it’s July 1 and it’s time to celebrate being neutral and non-confrontational!

Earlier this morning FAN EXPO CANADA tickets went on sale for the August 25-28 event in Toronto. They were supposed to start selling at 12:01 but technical glitches caused by a sudden influx of people on the site caused the servers to crash for a while, and Rogers Wireless who were also selling tickets also had some initial glitches. By about 12:45 everything was working perfectly and it’s been fine since and the angry, frustrated e-Mob quickly dissipated.

Pictured below: the Amazing Spider-Man 666 Fan Expo Canada variant only available to the 1500 Premium pass holders. Artwork is by US artist and guest Steve Epting.