2009 Canadian Graphic Novels and Comics: The Long List 1.0

Just putting together my reference list of English-language Canadian comics published in 2009 in preparation for the upcoming Doug Wright Awards nomination meetings. The actual awards are scheduled for Saturday May 8 during TCAF at the Toronto Reference Library.

The list so far, based on the books I've read and/or spotted in the wild:

Angora Napkin, Troy Little (IDW)
Back and Forth, Marta Chudolinska (Porcupine's Quill)
Beast, Marian Churchland (Image)
Bebete by Simon Bosse
Binky the Space Cat, Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press)|
Claire and the Water Wish, Janice Poon (Kids Can Press)
The Delicious Bug, Janet Perlman (Kids Can)
Dirty Dishes, Amy Lockhart (D+Q)
George Sprott, Seth (D+Q)
The Hipless Boy, Sully (Conundrum)
Hot Potatoe, Marc Bell (D+Q)
I'm Crazy, Adam Bourret (self)
Jan's Atomic Heart, Simon Roy (New Reliable Press)
Jellaby: Monster in the City (Hyperion)
Kaspar, Diane Obomsawin (D+Q)
Lose, Michael Deforge (Koyama Press)
Mirror Mind by Tory Woollcott (self-published/Maybe Mumkin)
Nightschool: The Weirn Books, Volume 1, Svetlana Chmakova (Yen)
The Nobody, Jeff Lemire (DC/Vertigo)
Papercut Heart, Ian Sullivan Cant (Conundrum)
Parker: The Hunter, Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
Poof! by Line Gamache (Conundrum)
Pope Hats 1, Ethan Rilley (Adhouse)
Quarter-Life Crisis: Only the Good Die Yung, Evan Munday (self)
Red: A Haida Manga, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (Douglas and McIntyre)
Rex Libris, Vol 2, James Turner (SLG)
The Road to God Knows, Von Allan (self)
Scaredy Squirrel At Night, Melanie Watt (Kids Can Press)
Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe (Scott Pilgrim Vol 5), Bryan Lee O'Malley (Oni)
Sword Of My Mouth #1, Jim Munroe and Shannon Gerard, (IDW)
Spot 12: The Story of a Birth by Jenny Jaeckel (self/mini)
Taddle Creek Summer 2009 (anthology)
True Loves Vol. 2: Trouble in Paradise anthology, ed Jason Turner (New Reliable Press)
Tyranny, Lesley Fairfield (Tundra Books)
The Undertaking, Michael J.Hind (Conundrum Press)
A Very Kraftwerk Summer, Christopher Hutsul (Koyama Press)
Warlod of Io & Other Stories (One-Shot), James Turner (SLG)

For those rare serialized "floppy" comics by established creators, like Dave Sim's Glamourpuss which I'm quite enjoying, I'm "waiting for the book." I'd appreciate any suggestions for additions. The Wright Awards are mainly a book award, so suggestions for consideration should generally be in book form. We also consider comic books and mini-comics, especially for the Best Emerging Talent and Pigskin Peters prizes.

Most Expensive Comic Book Ever, Part Y: Action Comics #1

Sure, the Sequential list of Bestselling Canadian Comic Books can give you a taste of what comics are making money, but the CBC has the real lowdown on the high-flying comics nerds who spend the big bucks on comics. Last year they reported on the sale of Action Comics #1 for over $300,000. Now comes the news that a copy of the same issue has finally cracked the million dollar mark. Since it originally cost 10 cents, it doesn't really qualify as "most expensive comic ever" like giant editions of Crumb sex comics or the Gary Panter monograph, but still....

The buyer Monday was a New York-based collector, according to a ComicConnect.com spokesman.

"It's considered by most people as the most important book," said John Dolmayan, a comic book enthusiast and dealer. "It kind of ushered in the age of the superheroes."

This copy got a better price than earlier copies of the same comic at auction because it is in better condition, Dolmayan said.

Bestselling Comics in Canada?

Ever wonder what the bestselling graphic novels and manga in Canada are? The answer is in the Sequential Bestseller List, a semi-regular feature at the Sequential blog based on bookstore sales compiled by the Bookmanager software. I just posted the first list of 2010.

On to 2010...

Finally got around to slapping together my 2009 in review post for Sequential, summing up the major events and themes in the anglo side of Canadian comics over the past year. Rather than talk about the economy (boring!) as the major story, I decided to go with a look at Seth's success and how the reception of his books can be read as a positive story for our comix culture in general. I went with Seth even though other cartoonists seemed to get just as much attention for individual projects. The giant edition of Jeff Lemire's collected Essex County opus, his new Vertigo series, and the Nobody graphic novel were certainly big news and say quite a bit about comics publishing and the place of young cartoonists today. Ditto the hype around the latest Scott Pilgrim graphic novel and the upcoming film project starring Michael Cera. Bryan Lee O'Malley feels like the hot cartoonist of the moment, but I think his star will burn even brighter in 2010. Nope, for 2009 it was definitely our man in the chapeau and his bevy of books...

Comic Fan Project: 70s Shazam!

The latest entry in the Canadian Comic Fan Project comes from a 1970s issue of the Shazam! comic book. The letters page was called Shazamail. During the 70s, DC tried to revive the Marvel Family franchise, in tandem with a live-action tv series. The comics were written by Elliot S! Maggin and E. Nelson Bridwell, and they were even drawn by some of the original marvel Family artists like CC Beck and Kurt Schaffenberger. The stories were never quite as fun or original as those of the 40s and 50s, but they were great looking and generally well-crafted. Plus, there were lots of reprints of the old stories, many of which have not been reprinted. As in previous decades, fans were split over who they like better and the place of humour in superhero comics. Back in the day, Captain Marvel outsold Superman, but the owners of Superman eventually sued the owners of Cap for copyright infringement. The bonus was that both Schaffenberger and writer Otto Binder came to work for DC and ironically created some of the best Superman Family stories and characters. 1970s fans debated some of the same issues.

From Shazam! #13 (July-August 1974):

Dear Editor,
Captain Marvel is a totally irrelevant and unrealistic character and I love him. He possesses a certain charm, a charisma all his own that is totally different from the colossal, serious, world-saving Superman. Let Superman prevent the world from splitting in two. Captain Marvel will worry about a talking tiger or a pet monkey. Superman will keep us rooted in our seats, while Cap engagingly entertains us. Captain Marvel is a complete escape with down to earth dialogue and exquisitely simple artwork. Long stories would detract from the intent of the comic and the hero. The short stories fit in nicely with the overall character and all stories should be left that length.

As to the question of who will win the sales battle of the 70s, I think that Captain Marvel will, in a close fight. Having not previously seen a hero of Cap's calibre, today's generation will scramble to buy this comic. In their eyes --and I am speaking of young children-- a hero who humorously concerns himself with the fate of pets and young tykes will be their idol. Although it is we hard-bitten fans who critically analyze comix as art, it is the children who buy most of your comix and increase your sales. Trying to strike a happy medium between fandom and sales isn't always easy, but you usually pull it off.

I sincerely hope Captain Marvel achieves the popularity he deserves.
David Steele, Calgary, Alberta

Alas, Shazam! was soon canceled (whether through publisher antipathy, consumer ignorance, or the DC implosion, is unclear) and Superman continued as the flagship character, buttressed by multiple comics titles, toys, animated cartoons, and the 1970s Richard Donner movie. However, the critical consensus lately seems to be tilting towards the Captain Marvel end of the spectrum, with everyone from Jeet Heer to the Comics Comics gang to Ben Schwartz taking up the magic word and agreeing with Dave Steele of Calgary that Shazam! comic books are the best.

Obit Writing

So I posted an obit for Barry Blair over at Sequential. I didn't like his art. It was ugly and kind of creepy. He was a graphic novel creator, publisher, and pornographer, sure, but was he technically a producer of kiddie porn because he drew erotica about youths? Dave Cooper seems to have based a creepy molester character on him in his "Dan and Larry" graphic novel. Anyway, I tried to write an objective bio, but it's hard when your not into the subject.

3 More Days Until Beethoven's Birthday!

Feyer: The Comic Art of George Feyer

I thought it would be a good time to remind folks that there are still some copies left of the little George Feyer book I put together for Feyer's induction into the Canadian Cartoonists Hall of Fame a few years back. The book includes a small collection of cartoons from Feyer's magazine work as well as some book illos and gags. It's available for $6 (including postage):

Canadian Comic Art Centre
℅ Bryan Munn
2B Northumberland St.
Guelph, ON
Canada
N1H 3A5

Dive Into Our New Book!

The Canadian Comic Art Centre is pleased to announce "Feyer: The Comic Art of George Feyer".

This 24-page collection of cartoons by the late George Feyer coincides with Feyer's induction into Giants of the North: The Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame.

Learn how George Feyer eluded the Russian Bear and went on to live a full and happy life as one of Canada's greatest cartoonists!

George Tuska as Superman Family artist

Cartoonist and comic book artist George Tuska died last week. The long-time Marvel Comics freelancer also had a career with DC and is responisble for a handful of Superman-related comics in the Silver Age/Bronze Age.

"Brotherly Hate!" Script by E. Nelson Bridwell, art by George Tuska (Superboy #172, Mar 1971)

"War of the Wraith-Mates!" Script by Cary Bates, pencils by George Tuska, inks by Vince Colletta. Legion of Super-Heroes story. (Superboy #183, Mar 1972)

"The Baffling Block of Metropolis" Cary Bates script; George Tuska & Murphy Anderson, art. (Action Comics #409, Feb. 1972)

"The Reality War!" Gerry Conway, writer; Tuska/Colletta. (World's Finest Comics #250, Apr/May 1978)

"Superman's Time-Killing Trip!" Gerry Conway/Tuska/Colletta (Action Comics #486, Aug. 1978)

...and many more...

Tuska was also the main artist, with inker Vinnie Colletta, on the newspaper comic strip "The World's Greatest Superheroes Present Superman" which ran for 15 years aftet the success of the 1977 Superman movie. The strip was written by Paul Kupperberg, among others.

Links: My first Fanexpo round-up of 2009

all the links that're fit to blog

Top 10 Penis Names Based on Marvel Superheroes

All superheroes are phalluses, only some are more phallic than others. Some penises have names. Some don't. Regardless, it just so happens that many superhero names also make perfect penis names. Some names work differently than others (Invisible Girl, Puny Banner), others work eerily well. What follows is a scientific survey.

The Top Ten

10. Iron Man (alternate: Shellhead)
9. Vision
8. The Thing
7. The Human Torch
6. Mr. Fantastic (alternate: Stretcho)
5. General Thunderbolt Ross
4. Doc Samson
3. Mjolnir
2. Cyclops (alternate: Scott Summers)
1. Jarvis



This is just such a great cover, with the penis-like Jarvis brandishing a vacuum cleaner, Thor polishing his hammer, the red-faced and rock-hard Vision rears up above all, and The Beast crouching at crotch level with a knowing look in his eye: the cover fairly screams, "This comic is about penises!"

(Spider-Man villains also make great penis names, with The Vulture being a shoe-in for #1.)

Chat Noir Now Open

Update: Yes, my project for the last few months has been the opening of a new store in downtown Guelph. I am proud to say all the hard work has paid off and Chat Noir is now open. Located at 32A Wilson St, in Guelph, just around the corner from Meow!, Chat Noir is a vintage decor and antiques -slash- furniture and giftware store. Kara and I are very proud and quite enthused about the new endeavor. Perhaps the best thing, from a comics perspective, is that, as with Meow!, internationally-renowned cartoonist Seth designed our logo and sign. Thanks Seth!

Thanks to everyone for being patient. Hopefully, regular blogging will soon resume.

More on the Supergirl Underwear Controversy That is Shaking the Nation

This may finally establish who wears the pants in the Superman family.

Let There Be Bike Shorts: A Profile In Comics-Geek Courage

by Glen Weldon

Last week, we learned about a man possessed of a bold and praiseworthy vision. With a single editorial edict, this brave iconoclast dispensed with venerated tradition and blazed a new path, knowing only too well that his decision might unleash a frothing nerdstorm of outrage.

The man in question: DC Comics editor Matt Idelson. The pronouncement he issued was just eight words long, but such is its paradigm-shattering power that it will surely stand one day in the annals of comic book history, alongside "With great power comes great responsibility," "Truth, Justice and the American Way," and "Shazam!"

Thus spake Idelson:

"I never want to see Supergirl's panties again."

Most Expensive Comic Book Ever, Part III

Following hot on the heels of Taschen's massive Crumb Sex book, comes news (via Tom Spurgeon) of a signed, limited edition of Crumb's new Genesis book, available from his publisher WW Norton. The special edition retails for $390 Canadian. Even if the suggested retail price is $625, the book is still no match for the reigning champ, the $1000 slipcased Gary Panter book I wrote about earlier.

I read a preview of Crumb's Genesis in the New Yorker last week. His retelling of the Garden of Eden story was about what I expected: a gorgeous, meticulously-rendered and masterful word-for-word adaptation of the Bible story. The story has the standard Crumb sexiness (how could it not?) but doesn't seem to have that extra touch of depth that a less-literal version might have. Chester Brown's Gospel adaptations are a case in point. They are weird and off-model enough that they actually make you think about the intellectual content of the time-worn source material. Likewise, Basil Wolverton's illustrated Bible is so weird and passionate that it approaches from a distance a sort of Blakeian artistry. Of course, Genesis is a fucking weird, schizophrenic book to begin with, and Crumb's crystal translation only makes this more obvious. Crumb doesn't have to add anything. Plus, his Eve is hot.

The book comes out in October.

2009 Wright Award Winners

Winners of 5th annual Doug Wright Awards announced in Toronto ceremony


Toronto, ON, May 10, 2009 — The Doug Wright Awards are proud to announce their 2009 winners, which were handed out in a ceremony at the Art Gallery of Ontario last night:

Best Book: Skim, by Jillian & Mariko Tamaki (Published by Groundwood Books)

Best Emerging Talent: Kate Beaton (History Comics, katebeaton.com)

The Pigskin Peters Award: Ojingogo, Matthew Forsythe (Published by Drawn & Quarterly)

The annual Doug Wright Awards (DWAs) represent the best and brightest English-language comics and graphic novels, and are decided on by a five-member jury. The 2009 DWA jurists included Bob Rae, Andrew Coyne, Martin Levin, Joe Ollmann, and Diana Tamblyn.

This year's jury praised Best-Book winner Skim as "ravishingly beautiful," adding that:

"A jury far from being made up of teenage girls was won over by the elegance, sweep and detail of the art and by the unsentimental, often funny telling of this contemporary tale of young people trying to figure out who they are in a world that's often too exciting and too complex. Illustrations and story merge seamlessly as the mood and intensity of the black-and-white art vary according to the mood and intensity of the story. Unique and unforgettable."

Of Kate Beaton's work, the jury said:

"Beaton's superficially simple drawings can mask a considerable sophistication of line and expression. She also offers a very winning blend of historical literacy and range, from Diogenes to Diefenbaker, from Robin Hood to Riel; and all this in concert with a youthful insouciance, a skillful application of comic-book tropes such as superheroes to historical events and characters, and often laugh-out-loud funny dialogue.

For instance, her sketch of the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard has him obsessing over his characterization in the press as a hunchback. Or her heritage minute rewrite of Pierre Trudeau has him arguing with Margaret, who's wearing a dress with decollete a la Julie Couillard, about turning Canada from 'Boresville to Party Country.' Her work is assured, impressive, hilarious."


The DWA nominating committee, which chooses the annual Pigskin Peters Award, said of Ojingogo:

"With his lushly imagined book, Montrealer Matt Forsythe joins a distinguished tradition, that includes Winsor McCay and Art Spiegelman, of cartoonists exploring dream imagery. Like Oz or Wonderland, and equally populated with strange creatures and bizarre happenings, Forsythe's impressive debut puts forth a wonderfully imagined universe, rich with oddity and wonder. Forsythe excels in the difficult art of world-creation – creating here and imaginary landscape that is both dense with life and as unsettling as a dream."

The awards were handed out at the Art Gallery of Ontario on Saturday May 9, 2009, at a gala ceremony hosted by filmmaker Don McKellar.

The event also featured a moving tribute to cartoonist Jimmy Frise, who was posthumously inducted into the Giants of the North, the Canadian Cartoonist Hall of Fame, in a talk delivered by CBC Radio's Stuart McLean.

In addition, this year's event also served as the official launch of The Collected Doug Wright: Canada's Master Cartoonist, the first of two lavish books published by Drawn and Quarterly that will re-introduce Canadians to one of their country's greatest cartooning talents.

Founded in 2004 to recognize the best Canadian comics published in English, The Doug Wright Awards have grown to become one of Canada's most-anticipated comics events.

Saturday: The Doug Wright Awards!!!!!

Finally, after a long nomination process, jury selection, and tons of planning, the 2009 Wright Awards are here. They will be held at Jackman Hall at the AGO in Toronto, Saturday, May 9. 7pm to 9pm. Free Admission! Don McKellar is hosting and there will be lots of new stuff this year.

An all-star jury this year, including Joe Ollman and Diana Tamblyn (and some famous people who aren't cartoonists).

The nominees are stellar, too:

Best Book

Burma Chronicles Guy Delisle (Drawn & Quarterly)
Drop-in Dave Lapp (Conundrum Press)
Paul Goes Fishing Michel Rabagliati (Drawn & Quarterly)
Skim Jillian & Mariko Tamaki (Groundwood Books)

Best Emerging Talent

Kate Beaton (History Comics)
Caitlin Black (Maids of the Mist)
Jesse Jacobs (Blue Winter, Shapes in the Snow)
Jason Kieffer (Kieffer #2)
Nick Maandag (Jack & Mandy)

The Pigskin Peters Award

Hall of Best Knowledge Ray Fenwick (Fantagraphics)
Ojingogo Matthew Forsythe (Drawn & Quarterly)
All We Ever Do is Talk About Wood Tom Horacek (Drawn & Quarterly)
Small Victories Jesse Jacobs (self-published)

Google Street Car Spotted

I saw the Google Car at the corner of Wellington St. and Gordon St. in Guelph at 3:07 PM today. The car was going east along Wellington. I fished my camera out of my bag but was too late to get a shot and thought that it would be too ridiculous to chase it through traffic. But not too ridiculous to blog about!



No it wasn't being ticketed like this one. And it was a dark blue-grey colour.

Sequential Magazine

Sequential: the magazine!

I'm very pleased to report that the first issue of the print version of Sequential will be available for free at the Toronto Comics Art Festival this weekend.

Sequential is the daily newsblog about Canadian comics that I contribute to. It has been online since 2002 but for TCAF this year we decided to create a print edition that captures in physical, 3-dimensional form the essence of what we do on a daily basis with the blog. To this end, we enlisted the aid of several cartoonists and writers whose stories and art we have covered and linked to over the years, and the result is a 22-page magazine full of comics, reviews, interviews, and features about every aspect of comics and graphic novels in Canada.

The mag features a cover and a graphic-novel preview by Sequential editor/publisher Max Douglas (aka Salgood Sam), who also worked tirelessly recruiting and riding herd on talent, fielding story-pitches, selling advertising, dealing with the printer, writing, and laying the whole issue out solo. There are also articles by Robin Fisher, Jamie Coville, Jim Munroe, Brad Mackay, Robert Pincombe, and yours truly. As well, there are comics by John Martz, Fiona Smythe, Sean Ward, Dan Zabbal, Willow Dawson, and Mahendra Singh. We cover old strips, new strips, webcomics, bande-dessinee, and everything in-between. And I have to say, the thing looks pretty damn sharp.

Canadian comics is a dynamic culture of wonderful art, artists, writers, readers and publishers (not to mention all the various craftspeople, printers, cosplayers, retailers, and whatever-the-hell Herve St.-Louis is), and we like to think this new incarnation of Sequential captures just a little bit of that magic.

The magazine will be distributed for no charge at TCAF and hopefully will serve as something of a guide to some of the people and events of the weekend. Please drop by and check out the issue and maybe say hi to some of the contributors. I hope to see you there!

New Canadian Superhero: Polar Man

Polarman - Our Hero

Doug Wright is Punk Rock!

Thanks to SweetiePie Press, on sale at the upcoming Toronto Comic Art Festival.