Category Archives: Webcomic

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

Happenings: EXPOZINE 10 November 26-27 – Montreal, QC

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expozine -EXPOZINE 2011, Montreal’s 10th Annual Small Press, Comic & Zine Fair !

EXPOZINE, Saturday, November 26 and Sunday, November 27, 2011, from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 5035 St-Dominique (Église Saint-Enfant Jésus, Laurier Métro). Free admission.

10th ANNIVERSARY OF EXPOZINE special issue of Four Minutes to Midnight ZINE LAUNCH, featuring round-table discussion with Expozine founders, Friday November 25 at the Drawn & Quarterly bookstore, 211 Bernard W., 7 – 10p.m., free admission.

EXPOZINE 10th ANNIVERSARY PARTY, Saturday November 26, 8 p.m. – 3 a.m., Casa del Popolo, 4873 St. Laurent, free admission. Music by J.A.S.S. (Jazz Amnesty Sound System) !!!

ALSO, programming during Expozine will include:

Saturday, November 26, 3 p.m. in the Expozine reading room:
Greasy Goose Salon, Expozine Edition, theme : PAPER
with: Simon Reader, Sarah Pupo, Nic Boshart and Emily Raine. A co-production between Expozine and the Greasy Goose Salon.

Sunday, November 27, 3 p.m. in the Expozine reading room:
Du Zine à l’Institution: Les Sérigraphes Montréalaises, with: Andrée-Anne Dupuis-Bourret, Jacinthe Loranger, Chloe Lum, Leyla Majeri, Dominique Pétrin.
Une co-production d’Expozine et La Centrale Galérie Powerhouse.

Expozine is one of the largest small press fairs in North America, bringing together over 270 exhibitors showcasing all kinds of publications– from books to zines to graphic novels – in both English and French. The event attracts thousands of visitors as well as exhibitors from across Canada, the United States and even Europe! It’s a unique showcase of the best publications that today’s small publishers and self-publishing authors and artists have to offer. Literally thousands of different publications can be found at Expozine, it’s THE “salon du livre” for readers interested in today’s underground and alternative publications!

Expozine 2011 on Facebook!

EXPOZINE Facebook group!

Expozine’s sister project, the DISTROBOTO art vending machine network!

For more information, contact expozine@archivemontreal.org.

Expozine is organized by Arcmtl (Archive Montreal), a non-profit organization that both promotes and preserves independently produced culture in Montreal. Expozine is made possible in part through the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des Arts de Montréal.

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.

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

GPG launches The Black Diamond Effect HD App

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A Worlds First! A new Comic App. Buy Once, Update Forever! By George Peter Gatsis.

The Premise: At large group of misfits, brought together to take on missions too trivial for real space detectives. Among the group is Joe King, Cryplet, Ms. Take and Syntax E.R.R.O.R.

This is a BUY ONCE COMIC APP and the following issues will be updated on a monthly schedule for free. Making this is the worlds first Buy Once/Update Forever Comic Book App! Once you purchase the App, all the updates (or issues) will be free. Issue 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… etc… Every update will have more pages added to the Comic Book App…

Once you buy this Comic Book App… You never have to look at your iTunes account balance to see if you can afford to buy the next issue… ever again.

And for those people considering buying this App, after we have released many updates… Guess what, you get ALL the content as if you had been there at the beginning.

What are you waiting for? Buy the App and your eyes will ogle at the art and your mind will be challenged by the unique adventures (loud echoey voice) IN TIME & SPACE!

Here is the link : http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tbde-comics-hd/id458270202?ls=1&mt=8

About George Peter Gatsis:
George is a multi-talented artist, creating a wide range of print and video content from Toronto, Canada.
He has been publishing the FIRST Canadian Computer Generated Comic Book series called THE BLACK DIAMOND EFFECT since 1990.
George has assisted in the creation of various publications, most notably:
em>1) Dave Ross’s THRAX (lettering & pre-press production);
2) Dress for Success: The Dirty Baker’s Dozen (pre-press production);
3) my name is SMITH: An Autobiography on the father of Nelvana Animation founder Clive A. Smith.

7th Annual Joe Shuster Awards: Winners Announced

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The 7th Annual Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards were presented at a public ceremony held on Saturday, June 18, 2011 at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo with hosts Ajay Fry and Teddy Wilson. Joe Shuster Awards 2011 ceremony audio

THE RESULTS: Continue reading →

7th Annual Joe Shuster Awards – June 18, 2011 at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo

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NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2011 JOE SHUSTER AWARDS

LES NOMINÉS AUX PRIX JOE SHUSTER 2011

Ceremony Date: Saturday, June 18th, 2011 – 6-8 PM

Ceremony Hosts: AJAY FRY and TEDDY WILSON

Ceremony Location: Boyce Theatre, BMO Round-Up Centre, Calgary, AB

Host Event: THE CALGARY COMIC AND ENTERTAINMENT EXPO (June 17-19, 2011)

How Do I/How Did I Get Nominated for a Joe Shuster Award?

Whazamo! Ontario Graphic Novel Month at Open Book Toronto

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We’re only 19 days into May and there’s already a TON of stuff up for you to check out over at Whazamo! Below are links to everything posted so far:

WHAZAMO! Ontario Graphic Novel Month is an online comics celebration brought to you by Open Book: Toronto. Whazamo! showcases the talented graphic novelists and illustrators published by Ontario publishers and draws attention to the new stars of the Canadian graphic novel and comic book scene.

In its third year, Whazamo! features profiles of comic creators and graphic novel news, as well as a series of original literary comics by some of Canada’s finest cartoonists. The series is curated by Vepo Studios, who have also produced a short documentary for Open Book that follows the creative process of the cartoonists.

The Graphic-Novelist-in-Residence is Ian Daffern. You can find his page here.

Whazamo! is presented in collaboration with the Organization of Book Publishers of Ontario and it welcomes you.

PROFILES
TIN CAN FOREST
PHILIPPE GIRARD
FIONA SMYTH
AARON LEIGHTON
GEORGE A. WALKER
JO RIOUX
MARTA CHUDOLINSKA
STEFAN BERG
CRAIG BATTLE and LIAM O’DONNELL
VICKI NERINO
ANNIE KOYAMA
IAN DAFFERN

COMICS in which the artists profiled below select a literary work and pay homage to it in comics form:
MARIAN CHURCHLAND
KALMAN ANDRASOFSZKY
AGNES GARBOWSKA
CHARLENE CHUA
MICHAEL CHO

VIDEOS
COMICS: THE ART OF STORY

MAKING THE WEBCOMICS “A SOFTER WORLD”

DARK ADAPTATION & LORENZ PETER

VON ALLEN ON THE LIFE OF A GRAPHIC NOVELIST

BORIS AND THE OPEN HOUSE BY KATHARINE MILLER

BOOKENDS 5: LITERARY COMICS

THE NEXT DAY interview series
The Next Day is an innovative comics novella from POP SANDBOX, the folks that brought us 2010′s acclaimed KENK: A GRAPHIC PORTRAIT:
Part One: Alex Jansen
Part Two: Paul Peterson
Part Three: Jason Gilmore
On the release party and display at the NFB Mediatheque

40 Days left…

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It's CRUNCH time!

… and the four unique juries are all hard at work looking at all of the books and comics.

It’s hard to believe that we are a mere 40 days and forty nights away from the presentation of the 7th annual Joe Shuster Awards for Canadian Comic Book Creators on Saturday, June 18th, 2011 at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo.

As the only National comics award to embrace and include all types of comics and graphic novels produced by Canadians, we’re really quite stoked about being able to present the awards in Western Canada for the first time and the fine folks at the Calgary Expo have been great with helping us out and being our host con.

10 awards are being presented for Outstanding Canadian Comics & Graphic Novels:

- Artist
- Writer
- Cartoonist (Writer/Artist)
- Colourist
- Cover Artist
- Publisher

Note: For the 6 categories listed above, the comics the creators are being honoured for had to be published for the first time in either French or English during the 2010 calendar year. They also had to be professionally distributed through existing channels of distribution, such as Diamond Distributors, Inc.

Plus:

- Outstanding Webcomics Creator / Creative Team (for new content available online in 2010)

- The Harry Kremer Retailer Award

- The Gene Day Self-Publisher Award (for self-published, non-professionally distributed original content print comics first made available in 2010)

- The Comics for Kids Award (professionally distributed original books that debuted in 2010 and are aimed at readers 14 years of age and younger)

As well, two Hall of Fame induction presentations will take place – for CHESTER BROWN and TODD McFARLANE.

We’ve received confirmation that a number of nominees will be in attendance at the Calgary Expo this year, including Scott Chantler, Francis Manapul, Jeff Lemire, Stuart and Kathryn Immonen, J. Torres, Jim Zubkavich, Connor McCreery, Kate Beaton, Sylvain Lemay, Fiona Staples, Camilla D’Errico, and Connor Willumsen. Things are looking good for James Stokoe, Emily Carroll and Cameron Stewart to also be there for the event in June, and we’ll hopefully be confirming a few more creators will be present.

Over the next month as things get finalized we’ll be letting you know about our 2011 hosts and other significant details about the 2011 Joe Shuster Awards!

My TCAF Thoughts 2011: Day 2

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Unlike Day 1, I was able to spend much more time at TCAF on Sunday. I came down for open at 11 and stayed until about 3:30. Sunday was a much more reasonable day for the crowds, probably because it was also Mother’s Day. It was definitely busy but the lines were quite manageable and one could move around and see a lot of people.

I had some primary goals  for the day (1) to check in with Joe Shuster Award nominees and see who was coming to Calgary that hadn’t been announced, (2) invite a few people to Fan Expo and (3) look around and find some books that I’m interested in that were debuting at TCAF.

All three goals were met easily.

Day Two Purchases: Cat Rackham Loses It by Steve Wolfhard ($5), Centifolia II by Stuart Immonen ($20), Just the Usual Superpowers by Faith Erin Hicks ($12), Aurora Borealice by Joan Thornborrow Steacy ($15), Even the Giants by Jesse Jacobs plus a limited edition print $40, and finally That Night In June – mini-comics by Emily Carroll ($15). If I wasn’t broke from some art purchases the week before and May rent I would have bought more.

I felt that Sunday was a much more enjoyable day to attend this event because the crowds were a bit lighter and the space was more manageable. I still feel that the library is a tight fit and that if TCAF 2012 returns to this space that the library needs to retreat a lit further back. I don’t think there are enough washrooms in the facility in easily accessible locations, and the presence of the homeless who usually inhabit the library made for a few uncomfortable moments, especially in the washrooms.I did not attend any programming on Sunday.

Overall I felt that TCAF 2011 was a massive success and kudos should go to the organizers of the event and to the volunteer staff. Every creator and attendee I talked to was in a happy, exuberant mood – even when the show was at it’s most chaotic. The comics community, at least the creative (for the most part non-superhero comics) crowd, was having one giant group hug and I never felt there was any ill will towards anybody or anything at TCAF. There was just a lot of comics love.

As you know, I also work on Fan Expo in late August and I think the two events are a huge compliment to the city of Toronto for having such a large population of comics people. Plus they bookend the summer. Some observers think that these events are in some kind of popularity race, when I don’t think that is the case at all. They have different goals, different ambitions but cater to overlapping interests. You can love both for different reasons, or just go with the one that you feel is the right fit. Fan Expo isn’t free, sadly. It also isn’t subsidized by the government so your admission fees do go towards paying for the space and the guests we bring in.

I walked into TCAF tired and a little worn out from a week of announcing guests for Fan Expo and walked out energized and excited about the upcoming Calgary Expo in June and Fan Expo Canada in August. Now that TCAF and the Wright Awards are done with for 2011, I need to get down and finish my work for 2011 and I’m refreshed and ready to go!

My recommendations: Get the library to retreat further back and clear more space, or move to a different venue (which is not easy to do or find), please don’t book on Free Comic Book Day again (you are still part of a larger community and that community does rely on FCBD exposure), think about doing a weekend other than Mother’s Day (perhaps the second weekend in May instead of the first?), and find better locations for some of your more popular webcomics creators so that the lines don’t mingle or block other tables.

Winners of the 2011 Stumptown Comic Art Awards Announced

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Congratulations to all of the winners! Lots of Canadians won awards, including MICHAEL DEFORGE, EMILY CARROLL and BRYAN LEE O’MALLEY:

For Official Release – Sunday, April 17

The Stumptown Comic Art Awards 2011 were presented last night in Portland, OR. In a packed-room ceremony following a bustling first day at the Stumptown Comics Fest, host Bobby “Fatboy” Robertspresented the awards to the winners. Nominees in each category were chosen by a panel of judges consisting of comics industry professionals, journalists, and retailers, and then voted on by the comics-reading public. This year’s categories and winners are:

Best Artist
Emily Carroll, His Face All Red

Best Writer
Aaron Renier, The Unsinkable Walker Bean

Best Cartoonist
Bryan Lee O’Malley, Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour

Best Letterer
Johnny Ryan, Prison Pit #2

Best Colorist
Emily Carroll, His Face All Red

Best Publication Design
Michael DeForge, Spotting Deer

Best Anthology
Studygroup 12 #4, edited by Zack Soto

Best Small Press
“I Want You #2″ by Lisa Hanawalt

Best New Talent
Michael DeForge

Reader’s Choice
Pang, the Wandering Shaolin Monk by Ben Costa

Director’s Choice
The Sixth Gun, by Brian Hurtt and Cullen Bunn, published by Oni Press

The awards themselves were sculpted by Leslie Levings of Beastlies.com, with shelves provided by Lavrans Mathiesen, a Portland woodworker.

Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees of the inaugural Stumptown Comic Arts Awards!

The Bear Stories – The B.S. Strips webcomic launches today

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The B.S. Strips – Webcomic  launches today — February 23, 2011!

Prepare for shock, awe, and laughs in this glimpse into the life of a foul mouthed cartoon Bear, in an all too human urban environment. Based on the popular graphic novels “The Bear Stories”, this NEW web comic is a series of weekly stand alone strips involving the ever so lovable yet abrasive “Bear” character. Because of his personality he tends to get himself into trouble, not for the easily offended!

Visit www.thebearstories.com for a FREE webcomic posted every Wednesday.

About The Bear Stories.
Pushing the boundaries of taste, their first adventure with The Bear was in a self-published zine released in 1998. In May 2008 the first full length issue of The Bear Stories Volume One published by DMF Comics was released, selling out at conventions and gaining nearly instant cult status. With combined backgrounds in traditional illustration, graphic design and digital animation, the creators are dedicated to bringing their own brand of outlandish humour to as wide an audience as possible.

About DMF Comics, Inc.
“We are very excited about The Bear Stories web comic being released says Jason Park, publisher of DMF Comics. “George and Chris have outdone themselves with this new format – it’s funnier, has more characters with crazy situations that Bear gets into. Fans will be happy to read new material every week.”