Tell us about yourself – a brief bio/intro.

I am the co-creator and co-writer of IDW Publishing’s Kill Shakespeare, an adventure series that mashes up the Bard’s greatest heroes and villains. The Shuster- and Harvey Award nominated-series has received a great deal of critical acclaim and profiles in the New York Times, Washington Post, Colbert Report, CBC, BBC and Publisher’s Weekly. Prior to working on Kill Shakespeare I spent time in the music (as a manager for Nelly Furtado and other artists), television and film industries.

What was your involvement in comics in 2011?

Kill Shakespeare issues 9 – 12 were released as well as our second trade paperback.

What was the highlight of the year for you re:

(a) comics publishing in general?

It’s going to sound weird that the highlight comes from another media industry, but hear me out… I think that the highlight was the success of “The Walking Dead” television series. There are SO many people I talk to that tell me that after watching the show they are now reading the comics – and that it’s led them to read other comic titles as well. I think that the success of that property is continuing to get new fans for the comic medium.

(b) comics by Canadian creators?

Other than our own title, I loved seeing Kagan McLeod finally release his Infinite Kung Fu graphic novel. Kagan is one of the most talented guys I have ever met and this collection has been years in the making. I hope that he starts working on his next title soon – and that this time it doesn’t take almost ten years to be released!

Was 2011 a good year for you?

Of course! We continued to successfully release our series, travel to a lot of conventions (see below), make a lot of new fans/readers. A recent highlight for us for 2011 was two weeks ago when we, in conjunction with Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre, did a stage reading of Kill Shakespeare, which saw us blend the panel art of the series (by Andy Belanger) with a live performance component. We were able to bring our book to life!

Was 2011 a good year for comics?

I believe so. From mainstream attention (Marvel’s feature films, the mainstream attention to D.C.’s “relaunch”) to the growing success of indie artists like Kate Beaton (Hark, A Vagrant), it was a year that saw some great stories being told in the medium.

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?

It was a VERY busy travel year for us, seeing us take part in Toronto’s FanExpo (and related Fan Appreciation events), Wizard’s Toronto Comic-Con, Calgary Expo, Montreal Comic-Con and Hal-Con. These shows all went fantastically well for us, gaining new readers/fans and in most cases completely selling out at a lot of shows. We also attended a number of literary festivals such as Toronto’s Word on the Street and the Windsor Book Festival.

Did you exhibit at any American events?

We took part in a number of American shows as well, ranging from Boston Comic-Con, Heroes Con, New York Comic-Con, Miami Book Fair and signings in other cities such as LA and Salt Lake City.

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

We continue to work on Kill Shakespeare (film adaptation) and will hopefully continue the comic series later in the year. There are some other interesting projects in development but nothing official yet.

Any final comments on 2011?

To quote Frank Sinatra: “It was a very good year.” But I think that 2012 may be even better!