The preoccupations of life, mainly the arrival of my first child, resulted in a break from the day-to-day duties of running the Joe Shuster Awards (big thanks to Kevin for picking up the slack!).

But it’s now 2012 and time to start thinking about the Harry Kremer Award for Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Retailer, and begin the process of coming up with potential nominees. This award is open to input from all members of the general public, including retailers, so if you would like your shop of choice to be considered for the award, please send an email to retailers@joeshusterawards.com.

(Note: please see yesterday’s note re: eligibility)

We’ve updated with a few new stores, updated links, and added some twitter feeds.

Now, on with our show.

Newfoundland

Time Masters had a cute promotion called Show Us Your Geek where customers submitted photos of their geek rooms. In October there was a Customer Costume Contest.

Tally: 5 shops in Newfoundland

Opened in 2011 – 0

Closed in 2011 – 0

Nova Scotia

The Coast held their annual Best Of Halifax poll, and in the Best Comics Store category:
1st – Strange Adventures, Halifax
2nd – Quantum Frontier, Halifax
3rd – Giant Robot Comics, Dartmouth

Strange Adventures held a number of signings the last few months:

• In December it was Darwyn Cooke for the Martini Edition, with custom made martini glasses
• Kagan Mcleod appeared signing Infinite Kung-Fu graphic novel
• Kate Beaton had a big, busy, buzzy night for her new book Hark! A Vagrant!
• Rebecca Kraatz, in support of Snaps!, and Temple Bates, with Hermoddities, signed at the shop in August, both books published by Conundrum Press, located in Wolfville, NS.

Tally: 9 shops in Nova Scotia

Opened in 2011 – Giant Robot Comics

Closed in 2011 – Role Initiative, in Yarmouth, has been declared closed.

Prince Edward Island

No news to report the last 6 months.

Tally: 2 shops in PEI

Opened in 2011 – 0

Closed in 2011 – 0

New Brunswick

Mad City has a new website

Strange Adventures put out their own comic, available throughout the SA empire at a cost of FREE!

Enigma Comics and Games is closed. When I visited in March 2011, things were clearly on the way down. Telephone disconnected. Facebook page down. Sackville is a very small town, population 5,400. Mount Allison University is located there, but it’s a small school with a student base of 2,300. It was a risky experiment, to open a shop in such a small town.

Tally: 9 shops in New Brunswick

Opened in 2011 – 0

Closed in 2011 – Enigma Comics and Games