Category Archives: Happenings

Happenings: This Weekend #3 – The Doug Wright Awards Ceremony. May 11, 2013.

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More stuff happening in Toronto this weekend — although this is a TCAF event (and I don’t plan on highlighting any of the other many TCAF events here on the site — I recommend you visit the OFFICIAL TCAF SITE and look under events for that list) we have always highlighted the TCAF Awards – The Doug Wright Awards as a separate event to draw attention to them. This year the DWAs return for their 9th annual ceremony on Saturday night in Toronto.

They’ve also recently been posting “9 for 9″ interviews with the 2013 nominees on the website.

The details:

DWA2013Poster_Thumb

Official Website

What: The 2013 Doug Wright Awards ceremony
Where: Marriott Bloor Yorkville Hotel, 90 Bloor Street, Toronto, Ontario
When: Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.
Admission: FREE!
The Poster: This year’s poster was drawn by 2012 Doug Wright Spotlight Award winner Ethan Rilly. Copies of the poster will be available for sale during TCAF and at the ceremony.

Recap of the 2013 Nominees:

The nominees for the 2013 Doug Wright Award for Best Book are:

The nominees for the 2013 Doug Wright Spotlight Award (a.k.a. “The Nipper”) which recognizes Canadian cartooning talents worthy of wider recognition are:

And the nominees for the 2013 Pigskin Peters Award, which recognizes the best in experimental or avant-garde comics are:

  • Hamilton Illustrated by David Collier (Wolsak & Wynn)
  • Hellberta #2 and “Sir Softly” from š! #12, by Michael Comeau
  • Michael DeForge, Larry Eisenstein, Jesse Jacobs, Mark Laliberte (editor), Marc Ngui, Ethan Rilly, Tin Can Forest and Magda Trzaski for 4PANEL, a special comics features in Carousel Magazine #28 and #29
  • Ginette Lapalme for “So, what should we do with ourselves?…” from Wowee Zonk #4 and  “Little Stump” in š! #12

Also, ALBERT CHARTIER will be inducted into the Giants of the North (Canadian Cartooning Hall of Fame).

Happenings: This Weekend #2 – Ottawa Comic Con. May 10-12, 2013

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The other major event in Ontario this weekend: OTTAWA – The Ottawa Comic COn

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Official Website

The Ottawa Comiccon will take place at the Ernst & Young Centre from May 10-12, 2013.

It also has many comic creator guests attending on top of a gaggle of tv actors and celebrities – please visit the official website for the full list of those attending.

Happenings: This weekend #1 – Toronto Comic Arts Festival – May 11-12, 2013.

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Ontario has two major comics events happening this weekend:

First up: TORONTO — The Toronto Comic Arts Festival

TCAF-2013-poster

TCAF is The Toronto Comic Arts Festival. It is a week long celebration of comics and graphic novels and their creators, which culminates in a two-day exhibition and vendor fair featuring hundreds of comics creators from around the world. Other Festival events include readings, interviews, panels, workshops, gallery shows, art installations, and much more. TCAF is held at Toronto Reference Library in Toronto, Canada.

Official website

In past years, I’ve listed all of the guests — there are many — the full list can be found on the official website.

Happenings: Fan Expo Vancouver is this weekend: April 20-21

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Happening this weekend in Vancouver, the 2nd Fan Expo Vancouver brought to you by the people at Hobbystar Marketing. Comics people and celebrities abound. I had a good time at this event last year, let’s hope that things are just as good or even better this year. Make sure you say hello to Leonard Wong at the Comics Legends Legal Defense Fund booth.

Happenings: Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo April 26-28 has SOLD OUT

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calgary-expoCALGARY EXPO HAS SOLD OUT

From the website:

****IMPORTANT: THERE WILL BE NO ONSITE SALES FOR THIS EVENT. ALL TICKETS, INCLUDING CHILDREN’S PASSES, ARE BEING SOLD IN ADVANCE ONLY. If you arrive onto Stampede park without a valid ticket, you will be turned away.****

The Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo is the only festival in Calgary where you can get your sci-fi, film, television, fantasy, horror, comic book, gaming, and animation fix all in one incredible weekend. Join 60,000 other fans for this celebration of pop culture April 26-28, 2013 at the BMO Centre, Stampede Park.
This year the Calgary Expo will feature a variety of guests from different industries.  From film and television stars to make-up artists, to writers, to comic book creators, to cosplay specialists and so much more – the Calgary Expo covers every corner of pop culture imaginable! We’ve got over 600 exhibitors, artists, and special guests, all in one spot!

We have adopted a lot of the successful operational components from the Edmonton Expo into the 2013 plan for the Calgary show so as to ensure that crowds and lines will be more effectively managed.

  • If you have any concerns about how we’re going to manage 60,000+ people at the Stampede Grounds this year, please feel free to visit our FAQ for more information.
  • Tickets are now sold out online with the exception of children’s passes.  Please visit our Buy Tickets page for a list of retailers who are selling passes in their stores, as some of them still have passes available.  
  • Children’s passes (kids aged 3-12) must also be purchased in advance. To purchase your children’s passes for the Calgary Expo please click HERE.
  • To purchase tickets to the “Weird Al” Yankovic concert please click HERE.
  • For up to date information, announcements, and news, be sure to follow us on FACEBOOK and on TWITTER.

Happenings: 26e FESTIVAL DE LA BD FRANCOPHONE DE QUÉBEC, 10-14 Avril 2013

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26e FESTIVAL DE LA BD FRANCOPHONE DE QUÉBEC

Rendez-vous annuel des passionnés du 9e art, le Festival de la bande dessinée francophone de Québec (FBDFQ) offrira cette année encore un événement haut en couleur, du 10 au 14 avril prochain, à l’occasion de sa 26e présentation. L’événement, qui se déroule dans divers lieux culturels de la ville et notamment au Salon international du livre de Québec, présentera une programmation riche et diversifiée, sous le signe de la découverte. De nombreux auteurs seront présents pour rencontrer les lecteurs et permettre au public de se familiariser avec les différentes facettes de la bande dessinée.

L’affiche de cette 26e édition a été réalisée par l’auteur de Québec, Michel Falardeau, qui s’est démarqué lors du dernier Festival international d’Angoulême en se méritant le Coup de cœur du jury du prix ActuaBD/Conseil Général des Jeunes de Charente pour son album French Kiss 1986 (Glénat Québec).

Happenings: CAKE – Comic Arts for Kids Expo, Saturday March 23, 2013 in Toronto

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CAKE Image MainLillian H. Smith Library
230 College St.
Toronto, ON
M5T 1R5

Details

Want to meet leading graphic novelists and picture book creators? Or take part in a giant comic mural? Toronto’s future superheroes can do both at the Comic Arts for Kids Expo (CAKE), a daylong celebration of image-based storytelling for readers ages two to thirteen. This event is co-presented by Small Print Toronto, Little Island Comics and the Toronto Public Library.

Throughout the day, authors will sign and sketch in their books. Everyone who attends CAKE can contribute to a series of giant comic book panels. And the Little Island Comics team will be on hand to assist collectors of all ages.

The two to eight set can spend the morning exploring an ocean of activities in the DIY Comics Lab, featuring leading picture book artists Brothers Leung, J. Torres, J. Lum, Patricia Storms and Frank Viva.

The afternoon is filled with workshops for the eight to thirteen set, conducted by an all-star roster of graphic novelists — Claudia Davila, Steve Manale, Evan Munday and J. Torres, plus the creative team behind OWL Magazine‘s popular Max Finder Mystery series (Craig Battle, Natalia Diaz, Liam O’Donnell and Ramon Perez).

Admission is free but space is limited. For more information on the offered workshops and to sign up early, click here.

News from Koyama Press: TCAF, Distribution

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Koyama Press is excited to announce that cartoonists MICHAEL DEFORGE, JULIE DELPORTE, VICTOR KERLOW, NATHAN BULMER, DUSTIN HARBIN, and JANE MAI will join us for the 10th edition of the Toronto Comics Arts Festival taking place May 11-12 at Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street. Koyama Press will also be joined by JULIA WERTZ for a short time as she signs copies of her critically-acclaimed book, The Infinite Wait and Other Stories.

This year’s festival will see DeForge debut Very Casual a collection of stories culled from mini comics, online comics and anthology contributions; Delporte debut Journal her collection of diary comics that catalogues an emotional breakup, an artist’s residency at CCS and the anxieties and joys of everyday life between February 2011 and October 2012; and Kerlow debut Everything Takes Forever a collection of the cartoonist and illustrator’s ink-and-wash comics that blur the quotidian with the absurd. Other recent titles from Koyama Press will also be available.

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Koyama Press is pleased to announce that their titles are now being distributed internationally by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution. A noted advocate for independent, small press publishers, Consortium is home to comics publishers Nobrow Press and Uncivilized Books, as well as over 100 independent publishers from the United States, Canada, Europe, India, and Australia. They are excited to be in the good company of a diverse range of publishers and books that cover a myriad of subjects including fiction, poetry, gay and lesbian studies, politics, music, art, history, children’s books, and more. With this new partnership, Koyama Press titles will be made available to many markets and outlets for the first time.

Titles will be made available through Consortium beginning April 1. To find out more about Koyama Press please visit koyamapress.com, and to find out more about Consortium please visit cbsd.com.

 

Happenings: Expozine, Montreal Nov. 17-18, Launch Party Nov.16

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EXPOZINE 2012 – November 17 & 18

12pm – 6pm, 5035 St-Dominique
(Église Saint-Enfant Jésus, between St-Joseph & Laurier, near Laurier Métro)
Free admission.

Immerse yourself in the world of DIY publishing! The massive Expozine is a unique showcase of the best books and zines that today’s small presses and self-publishers have to offer! Literally thousands of different publications can be found at Expozine, and hundreds of authors and artists that make them, making this weekend one of the most impressive gatherings of local talent in Montreal.

EXPOZINE LAUNCH EVENT: CARTOON COLLEGE! Friday November 16 at the Drawn & Quarterly Bookstore, 211 Bernard W., 7 – 10p.m., free admission. Join us for a screening of select scenes from the brand new documentary, Cartoon College! Each fall The Center for Cartoon Studies in nearby Vermont invites 20 aspiring cartoonists and graphic novelists for a no-holds-barred education in comics. Several will be on hand to discuss their experiences: Jon Chad Dakota McFadzean Sophie Goldstein Julie Delporte Jai Granofsky

Happenings: Central Canada Comic Con November 2-4

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The 2012 Central Canada Comic Con gets underway in Winnipeg, MB today!

Convention hours are: Friday: 4 PM – 9 PM Saturday: 10 AM – 8 PM Sunday: 10 AM – 6PM

ARTIST GUESTS INCLUDE:
Allen Bellman
Dennis Calero
Primo Cardinalli
Tommy Castillo
Echo Chernik
Michael Golden
Greg Horn
Amul Kumar
Robert Luedke
Marvin Mariano
Ric Meyers
Rhiannon Paille
George Perez
Rodney Ramos
Nigel Sade
Arthur Suydam
Mark Texeira
Matt Triano
Jamie Tyndall
Renee Wittersaetter
Marc Wolfe
ARTIST ALLEY
A140 – Alchemical Press
A113- Alex Milne
A74 – Alpha Kosmic / Brenda Weeks
A126 – Aja”s Cat Ears
A10 – Alicia May
A132 – Alina Pete
A15 – Andrea Tamme / Winson (Drake) Tsui
A128 – Angela Sawatzky
A104 – Anonymi Press
1000 – Anthony Hary
A127 – Ariel Lazaro
A69 – A.P. Fuchs
A73 – Brianna Kennedy
A75 – Canaan Grall Occasional Comic
A115 – Ceceilia Katan / Pinz ‘n’ thingz
A74 – Chozen Studios / Hugh Rookwood
A77 – Chris Chuckry
A117 – Curtis Cumak
1007 – Curtis Saurette
A79 – Colton Bolske
A55 – Crowbar Benson
A70 – Crystal Tardiff
A118 – Cori Jaye
A94 – Daniel High
A119 – Darren Wilkins
A26 – Devon Francisco
A76 – Dan J. Gutwein
A66 – Donovan Klingel
A78 – Donovan Yaciuk
Don Hills
A29 – Down and Owte
A46 – Erika Wilson
A65 – Fay Shlanda
A28 – Fraiser
A63 – Frolic Media
A61 – Gilbert Trillana
A49 – Grumble Toy
A50 – Hugh Kha
A60 – Ingrid Glaw
A59 – Ian Sokoliwski
A57 – Jamie Isfeld
A25 – James Zintel
A64 – Jay Hansen
A129 – Jessyca Fan
A53 – Jessica Redekop
A123 – Jonas Van Niekerk
A122 – Justin Currie
A71 – Justin Shauf
K. Anthony Lawler
A32 – Kari Ann Anderson
A72 – Katrina Fuchs
A92 – Kathleen Norberg
A130 – Kenji Designs
A30 – Kim Brennan
A90 – Kristine De Leon
A88 – Laura Duggan
A52 – Lauralee Tedford
A86 – Lisa Jorgensen
A29 – Loose Union Comics
A101 – Lovern Kindzierski
1005 – Marvin Mariano
A84 – Matt Joudrey
A22 – Megan Brown
A82 – Matthew Welch
A83 – Michelle Rondeau
A14 – Natalie Thiessen
A62 – The Night Nurses
A58 – Periwinkle Designs
A23 – Phynix Caskey
A120 – Primo Cardinali
A43 – Rachel Terleski
A100 – Raging Ape
A41 – Reynando Paz
A33 – Reid Fisher
A101 – Renegade Arts Entertainment
A96 – Rhiannon Paille
A54 – Robert Pasturnak
A24 – Rod Salm
A31 – Ryan Smith
A116 – S.A. MCGowan
A46 – Samantha Christianson
A131 – Sam Logan
A35 – Scott Redding
A39 – Scott A. Ford
A34 – Stephanie Black
1016 – Steve Black
A37 – Tracee Melon
A38 – Trevor Waurechen
A56 – Will McMahon
A29 – Will O’Donnell
A40 – Winona Casavant
A29 – Yak and Shadow
A42 – Yan Wu

Happenings: Hal-Con in Halifax, NS on October 26-28

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Hal-Con is a sci-fi,fantasy & gaming convention run completely by volunteers. A board of ten members is supported by 25 staff on our organizing committee. They are community focused, participating in many events around the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia (such as other festivals, parades, and gaming events).

World Trade & Convention Centre
1800 Argyle Street, Halifax, NS B3J 2V9

COMICS

COMICS GUESTS INCLUDE:

GAIL SIMONE
STEVE MCNIVEN
NICK BRADSHAW
LARRY HAMA
RAMÓN PÉREZ
DARWYN COOKE
FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA
GEOF ISHERWOOD
CONOR MCCREERY
DAVID CULLEN
FAITH ERIN HICKS
MIKE HOLMES
TIM LARADE
ANDREW POWER
JOEL DUGGAN
J.R. FAULKNER
JAY PAULIN
HAL HILDEN
MARK OAKLEY

Looks like the comics side of this event has made a significant jump over the previous years and we hope everyone has a great time this weekend in Halifax!

Halloween ComicsFest, 2013 Awards and another change for Kevin

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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.

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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.

Happenings: Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo – October 20-21, 2012

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Whether you’re a connoisseur of sci-fi, horror, gaming, fantasy, animation, toys, and comic books, or you simply have a keen interest in pop culture, then this is the show for you.  The Edmonton Expo will feature vendors, exhibitors, celebrities, and artists, from every nook and cranny of the pop culture universe, not to mention the many hours of fantastic programming included with admission. The Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo.

EDMONTON EXPO CENTRE

7515 118 Ave NW
Edmonton, AB T5B 4X5, Canada

Comic guests include:

Laurie B! | Table: G 08

Robert Bailey | Table: G 11

Chris Claremont | Table: G 10

Camilla d’Errico | Table: G 06

James Davidge | Table: C 10

Mike Grell | Table: G 04

Zach Howard | Table: G 03

Tyler Jenkins | Table: C 07

Nat Jones | Table: G 17

Mark Meer | Table: 903

Jessica Nigri | Table: G 18

Bob Prodor | Table: C 09

Mike Sass | Table: G 01

William Stout | Table: G 02

DPI Studios | Table: G 07

Kurtis Wiebe | Table: C 08

Artist Alley Listing

Artist Booth Artist Booth Artist Booth
Ajax Graphics B 02 Hectic F 10 Ravencrow Ink C 06
Alexander Vincent E 08 Hero Vision D 03 Red Winter Studios E 01
Andrea Tamme D 02 Indy Lytle C 04 RepRap Machina D 04 – D 05
aunfin A 01 Jeff Martin D 06 Ron Guyatt Illustration C 04
Baconstation C 03 Johnny Luu B 01 Sabtastic E 05
Black Tea A 08 Jorden Oliwa aka the Gonzo Nation A 02 Sam Hester C 05
Brad Glenn D 06 Kenzie Browne B 03 Sebastien B 07
By Kaytlyne F 04-F 05 Koinou-Mitei C 01 SemajZ E 03
bzou arts A 03 Kyle Burles F 08 Shaun Hansen B 06
Chinook Crafts B 08 Lisa Redfern F 06 Shonna White F 09
Chozen Studios E 07 Mandi Chiem A 07 Smashed Head Studios D 07
Christina Windley C 02 Mangokappu E 04 Something Like That B 09-B 10
David Joyce E 06 Metl Attire B 09-B 10 Tempest Studios F 02
eECAFE+ A 09- A 10 Michael McAdam F 08 The Illustrative Takeover F 03
Elemental Illusions E 09-E 10 Mike Rieger F 07 Ven Seun E 02
Emily Blundell A 06 Pauline Chin F 01 Winson Tsui D 01
Emily McKelvey B 04 Pauline French A 05 Zearyu A 04
Funny Fuse Studios D 08 Pixelated Toaster D 09- D 10

Making a Graphic Novel? Get a Grant!

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Are you crafting your masterpiece? Have you made yours already, and are looking for some money to get you through your next? You should probably apply for a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. Here’s the program description from the site:

The Grants for Professional Writers program covers subsistence, project and travel expenses. The Creative Writing Grants component gives Canadian authors (emerging, mid-career and established) time to write new literary works, including novels, short stories, poetry, children’s and young adults’ literature, graphic novels, exploratory writing and literary non-fiction.

Exploratory writing is writing that uses technology to present literature in an innovative manner and (or) explores forms of literature outside the conventions of the novel, short story or poem.

Can’t hurt to apply! Grants range from $3,000 to $25,000. Deadline is coming up on October 1, so get your pens a-wagglin’. Head to the Canada Council for the Arts website for more info.

The 2012 Joe Shuster Award winners

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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 →

Fan Expo Canada 2012 has come and gone, Joe Shuster Awards update.

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Last weekend was Fan Expo Canada weekend here in Toronto, and I think everyone can take a collective sigh and a slump their shoulders a bit now that it’s over. Canada’s largest and most well attended comics event grew again this year, and experienced many of the same problems the show has continued to face over the years in areas such as communication and crowds.

I work for the show as the Canadian comics guest coordinator, and spent most of my time at the event working on problems related to guest passes, the pro guest area, comics programming and so on. I end up just being a floating problem solver, and I was pretty busy doing that… not that I’m complaining, it’s part of what I’m paid to do.

This was also my first Fan Expo since 2002 where I’ve had my own retail setup. In 2001-2 I had a small setup as part of the Paradise Comics area, but this time it was a little different as the Comic Book Lounge had it’s own booth – shared in a cramped area with the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop and Red Herring Burlesque. I’d have to say that I am very happy and pleased with the end results of this venture, and we’ll be back next year, but we won’t be sharing our space as we did this year – we need it! Big thanks to my manager Joe Kilmartin for running that side of the operation.

The Montreal Comic Con (September 14-16) is the next event on our collective radar, and it is coming up fast. It is also the 2012 home of the Joe Shuster Awards and we are busy working with our juries to finalize the categories. I’m hoping that this week we’ll have some news for you on the five retailer award finalists and what the status of the Hall of Fame this year. Gene Day Award and Dragon Award winners have been selected by their respective juries, so we are now waiting to wrap up Cover Artist, Artist, Cartoonist, Webcomics, Writer and the Harry Kremer Award winner.

Over the next week or so we’ll be unveiling our 2012 poster image and will have some more details related to the ceremony.

Stay tuned…

Happenings: Doug Sneyd art show and talk on August 18 in Toronto

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The Comic Book Lounge (which is in fact, my store – full disclosure!) and the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop are proud to welcome legendary Playboy cartoonist Doug Sneyd for an in-store event on the evening of Saturday, August 18th.

Doug will be displaying some original pieces and preliminary art, as well as have a selection of limited edition prints including some of the ones he will be premiering at Fan Expo Canada the following weekend.

The Comic Book Lounge and the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop are honoured to debut a unique BLACK CANARY print at this event, done for this event by Mr. Sneyd. It will be available exclusively in store starting that night, and at booth 614 at Fan Expo Canada on August 23-26. Other prints will be on sale at the event, and there will be door prizes to those who attend.

The evening will include a Q&A session with Mr. Sneyd, as he discusses his work and career as an illustrator.

This will be an adult event, alcoholic beverages will be served. Martinis will be prepared with Iceberg Vodka, the sponsor for these festivities. There will be finger foods and prepared hors d’oeuvres.

Admission is $10, but if you don’t already have THE ART OF DOUG SNEYD, anyone who purchases the book from the Comic Book Lounge gets in FREE.