Notes on Guelph Comics History, Part Two: Tales of a Guelphite

Well, here's Tales of a Guelphite #1, which publisher David J Knight tells me he is planning to turn into a continuing comics anthology. The first issue has no comics but covers some aspects of comics culture in Guelph, and includes my article detailing the secret history of Tragedy Strikes Press. I'm happy that some of this history is now in print, and mostly in the words of some of my favourite cartoonists (thank you: Nick Craine, Jay Stephens, and Dylan Horrocks). It was quite a thrill to be a comic book nerd living in Guelph when these cool underground comics were being published here, and even more of a thrill to talk with the creators who published them, all these years later. A much longer version of this history may appear online in the future, as I had to do quite a bit of trimming to fit the wordcount, and several other interviews didn't make it into the article, but for now you can pick up a copy of the zine at Royal Cat Records.

Notes on Guelph Comics History, Part One

I'm starting to do a little bit of research into my hometown's hidden comics history as preparation for writing about our homegrown comic book company, the late, lamented, Tragedy Strikes Press.  Below we have two images from the Guelph Mercury newspaper archives, housed at the Guelph Public Library. The first is a gathering of kids trading (mostly coverless?) comics at the library in 1976. It looks like that may be a Superboy comic face up on the table, but I can't identify anything else. The second photo was taken at the first comic shop I remember going to in town, Card N Comics (located on the same street I have a business on today!), and one of the principles in Tragedy Strikes Press, co-owner Fiona Kenny. What a wonderful random sampling of the early-80s comics culture on display in that shop!

Caption: "Comic Swap Serious Business"
Notaton: "This photograph shows Sean McCarthy, Sean Hayes, Dafydd Waters, and Derek Booth taking part in a comic book trade at the Guelph Public Library."
Guelph Mercury, November 24, 1976

Caption: "Spidey, Old Buddy"
Notation: "This picture shows Fiona Kenny of Card N Comics, putting an affectionate arm around Spider Man."
Guelph Mercury, January 7, 1984.

Hardboiled Comics Critics

"Two privates appeared from nowhere, pale in their uniforms like young ghosts trapped by reality. I got out and followed them across Main and into a magazine shop near the corner. The unlit neon sign of Tom's Cafe was almost directly across the street. Beer on Tap. Steam Beer. Try Our Spaghetti Special. The soldiers were inspecting a rack of comic books with the air of connoisseurs. They selected half a dozen each, paid for them and left. 'Milk sops,' the clerk said. He was a gray-headed man with smeared spectacles. 'They draft them in didees these days. Cradle to grave in one jump. '" 
--Ross Macdonald, The Ivory Grin, 1952.