Kate Beaton, Jonathan Dyck + more win at the 2023 Doug Wright Awards

Henriette Valium was inducted into the Giants of the North hall of fame.

The winners of the 2023 Doug Wright Awards were announced during the Toronto Comic Arts Festival last night, in an in-person ceremony that was also livestreamed from the Arts & Letters Club in Toronto.

In what could become a common refrain during this year’s award season, Kate Beaton’s Ducks took home the award for best book. The critically acclaimed graphic novel details Beaton’s time working in Fort McMurray during Alberta’s oil rush. Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth’s You Know, Sex from Triangle Press received multiple nominations, and took home the award for best kids’ book.

The Doug Wright Awards annually honor “the best work and most promising talent in Canadian comics.” Here’s the complete list of winners:

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Three Things | Keith Knight, TCAF panels, Joe Latham

Here are three things in comics to to buy, to listen to and to support today.

1. To Buy: Good On Both Sides by Keith Knight

Gentleman Cartoonist Keith Knight, creator of The K Chronicles and the inspiration for the Hulu series Woke, has a new collection of his (th)ink comic strip available through his Big Cartel shop. He’s offering both a standard edition and an artist’s edition (which is signed, numbered and includes a doodle) of Good on Both Sides. Both have fairly limited print runs, so buy early and often.

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Quick Hits | Remembering Tim Sale

Plus: News on Comixology, Mark Russell, Michael Allred, Tillie Walden, TCAF, Jerry Craft and Ric Flair!

Passings | Via Tim Sale’s Twitter account comes word that the 66-year-old artist died of kidney failure.

“He was sick for years and was even in the hospital since May 24. He was a private person and never wanted to worry all of you, but his death was neither preventable or unexpected. Tim was a wonderful man and simply didn’t want to cause any unnecessary stress to his friends and fans,” the statement says.

Many have posted remembrances of the Long Halloween artist since his death last week. At The Comics Journal, Joseph McCabe posts an in-depth obituary. Augie De Blieck looks back at several of Sale’s comics, including Batman: The Long Halloween. And artist Elsa Charretier shares a post on Substack titled “I wouldn’t be drawing comics if not for Tim Sale.”

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2022 Doug Wright Awards winners announced

Congratulations to this year’s winners.

The Doug Wright Awards, which honor “the best work and most promising talent in Canadian comics,” presented their 2022 awards over the weekend during the Toronto Comic Arts Festival.

This was their first in-person awards ceremony since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020. The event was hosted by film critic Richard Crouse, and featured appearances by Jenn Woodall, David Collier and Dustin Harbin. The outdoor event was also livestreamed, but unfortunately the wind makes the audio very difficult to hear.

Here are the winners:

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TCAF un-invites special guest Pink Cat after social media backlash

“We made a mistake.”

Three days after announcing “viral artist” Pink Cat would attend as a special guest, the Toronto Comic Arts Festival has “rescinding its invitation” to the Instagram cartoonist, citing code of conduct violations and “concerns expressed by the comics community.”

Those concerns were raised almost instantly when TCAF announced its second round of guests for their 2022 show, which is scheduled for June 17-19. Their tweet announcing Pink Cat received more than 460 responses, compared to the two or three their tweets about other guests received at the same time.

Much of the backlash centered on Pink Cat’s involvement with NFTs, while others pointed out transphobic and racist remarks made in the past. There were also allegations of plagiarism and tracing other people’s art.

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TCAF will return as an in-person event next June

The Toronto Comics Arts Festival will host both an in-person and virtual event June 17-19.

The Toronto Comics Arts Festival have announced their 2022 dates, as well as their intention to return as an in-person event. TCAF 2022 is planned for June 17-19, offering “a unique combination of both real-life and virtual events.”

Like most conventions, TCAF cancelled their live event in 2020 when the pandemic struck. Last year they held a completely virtual event.

“Following on the success of last year’s extensive range of virtual programming, TCAF will bring together the best of both worlds for 2022, offering one-of-a-kind virtual events alongside a new and improved online marketplace for global visitors, as well as the triumphant return of in-person programming, events and creator exhibition for local attendees,” their statement reads.

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Comics Lowdown | Geppi resumes duties as president of Diamond’s parent company

Plus: News on #BacktheComeback, TCAF, Heavy Metal, Thought Bubble and the first graphic novel to win the Wodehouse Prize and have a pig named after it.

Diamond Comics Distributor’s parent company has a new president, kind of. Stan Heidmann, the president/COO of Geppi Family Enterprises who took that role about a year ago, will depart the company as Steve Geppi resumes the role. Geppi has been serving as Chairman and CEO since Heidmann joined the company.

“Under my guidance, the executive leadership team will support a comprehensive strategic review to position the enterprise for future growth,” Geppi said in the message posted to the Diamond website. “I feel a tremendous responsibility to our employees and the industry, and I fully intend to set all Geppi Family Enterprise brands on a path for robust growth. I am confident we have the right leadership with talented teams in place and I see enormous opportunities for GFE.”

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Fund Me Monday | ‘The Bone Herder,’ TCAF Showcase and more

Check out projects by Simon Roy, Malachi Ward, Rich Tommaso, Kyle Starks and more.

Crowdfunding continues to serve as a viable method for creators to fund their creative endeavors, as comic-related projects flourish on sites like Kickstarter, Patreon and IndieGoGo. The internet also allows creators to sell their creations direct to fans, through sites like Gumroad, Etsy and of course their own websites. If you’re looking to buy something from or support a creator directly, you’ve come to the right place. And that’s a good thing to do, now more than ever.

Send any suggestions of your own to jkparkin@yahoo.com.

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2020 Doug Wright Awards winners announced

Nina Bunjevac, Sylvia Nickerson, Elise Gravel and Freddy Carrasco were announced as winners during the virtual presentation.

The Doug Wright Awards, which honor “the best work and most promising talent in Canadian comics,” presented their 2020 awards this past weekend during a livestream.

Nearly 200 people tuned in on YouTube and Facebook to watch the event, which normally would have taken place live during the Toronto Comic Arts Festival but was cancelled this year due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

Check out the winners below.

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Nominees announced for the 2019 Doug Wright Awards

Michael DeForge, Hartley Lin, John Martz and Fiona Smyth nominated for best book in the annual Canadian-focused awards program.

Nominees for the 15th annual Doug Wright Awards, which honor “the best work and most promising talent in Canadian comics,” were announced this morning. The list includes four nominees published by Koyama Press and two from Peow Studio.

You can find the complete list of nominees below.

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Koyama Press announces new project for this fall

Coming out of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival this past weekend, Koyama Press has announced seven new projects that will see publication in the fall. The line-up includes graphic novels from Michael DeForge, Keiler Roberts, Mickey Zacchilli, Patrick Kyle and Nathan Gelgud, as well as two all-ages titles by Britt Wilson and John Martz.

“Familiar and fresh faces fill out our Fall season, which is chockfull of the diverse selection of artists and stories you’ve come to expect from Koyama Press,” the publisher writes on their blog.

Here’s a rundown of what to expect …

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Doug Wright Awards honor Jesse Jacobs, Jenn Woodhall, Sami Alwani

Editorial cartoonist Duncan Macpherson was inducted into the Giants of the North Canadian cartoonist hall of fame during TCAF weekend.

A trio of first-time winners took home trophies from the Doug Wright Awards, presented yesterday during the Toronto Comics Arts Festival.

The Doug Wright Awards honor “the best work and most promising talent in Canadian comics.” Check out the winners below:

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