Canadian comic creator festival returns today with new vigor

Canadian-made comics are celebrated at the Panel One Comic Creator Festival.

In an era of Hollywood-infested comic cons, the Panel One Comic Creator Festival in Calgary, Alberta offers a show that puts all the attention on comic creators in Canada. I spoke with Joey Gruszecki, President of Panel One.

What is Panel One?

Panel One is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and advancement of Canadian comic book creators and artists at all stages of professional development, from hobbyists to professionals. In addition to our various programming and community building activities throughout the year, our primary focus is on the annual Panel One Comic Creator Festival. 

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Before Dracula, there was ‘Carmilla: The First Vampire’

Amy Chu and Soo Lee bring the original bloodsucker back at Dark Horse.

A 19th century queer feminist murder mystery sees the sunlight again in Carmilla: The First Vampire. This new contemporary retelling set in 1990s New York Chinatown is crafted by writer Amy Chu  (Red Sonja, Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death, Netflix’s DOTA: Dragon’s Blood) and illustrator Soo Lee  (Ash and ThornStillwater: The Escape, Vampirella Fairy Tales).

The trade paperback will be published by Dark Horse Comics’ Berger Books imprint and available in January 2023.

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LSH’s Polar Boy returns in a festive frozen feature

For the first time since the Bendis reboot, classic Legionnaire reappears in DC’s holiday anthology ‘Tis the Season to be Freezin’.

Polar Boy is getting his own solo adventure and an updated look in DC’s 2021 holiday special ‘Tis the Season to be Freezin’ in a story called “Snow Date.”

Writer Richard Bernatovech and penciller Travis Mercer took to social media this weekend to give readers a sneak peak into the new Polar Boy. Mercer said in a tweet that his redesign is based on the esthetics already laid out by Brian Michael Bendis and Ryan Sook, but also adding some Korean Pop fashion influences.

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Rest in peace, Joltin’ Joe Sinnott

The legendary Marvel inker/artist passes away at the age of 93.

Joe Sinnott, the inker whose work helped define much of Marvel’s line from the 1960s into the 1980s, passed away this week, as reported by his family on Facebook.

“It with great sorrow that we must announce the passing of Joltin’ Joe Sinnott on June 25th at 8:40am at the age of 93,” the Facebook post says. “He went peacefully with the knowledge that his family, friends, and fans adored him. He enjoyed life and was drawing up until the end. He always loved hearing from all of you and having your comments read to him. Each and every one of you were special to him.”

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MidBoss, IDW Publishing bring ‘Read Only Memories’ to comics December 2019

Nintendo Switch Limited Run 2064: Read Only Memories in Q4 2019

Press Release

Video game developer MidBoss has partnered with IDW Publishing to expand the Read Only Memories universe with an all-new cyberpunk comic book series, set to begin releasing in monthly installments starting December 2019. A Limited Run physical Nintendo Switch release of 2064: Read Only Memories will also release in Q4 2019.

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Mattel announces Storm, Dark Phoenix, and Mystique X-Men Barbie Dolls

We mutants can do anything, right Barbie?

During the first day of the San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel and Mattel announced a new line of X-Men Barbie dolls, which include Storm, Dark Phoenix and Mystique. The dolls are a part of the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Marvel Comics.

The dolls will be sold exclusively through GameStop, retailing for $54.99 USD each and are slated to be released in October. Preorders are open now. Here are the descriptions of each from their website:

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Pop glass artists’ merchandise stolen prior to SDCC

Reward offered for the recovery of Bling Squared’s sculpted creations

The adorable glass sculpture house Bling Squared traveled over 2,200 km from Canada to table at their third San Diego Comic-Con, but in a heartbreaking moment, their entire booth display and one of their cases containing half their inventory were stolen.

On their Instagram account, founders Neacol and Stanley Miler made a public appeal for the return of their lost merchandise.

Screengrab from @blingsquaredcuteglass on Instagram
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Bedside Press to launch mentorship and publishing programs for new comics creators

Innovative small press publisher Hope Nicholson is making big waves to shake up the Canadian comics industry

Bedside Press, the Winnipeg-based small publisher, made a big announcement in the Hollywood Reporter today introducing a collaborative project to boost books and comics that have strong potential but no current access to the market.

Publisher Hope Nicholson formed Bedside Press in 2014 and spent the last five years navigating the comics publishing world and beyond, using already established publishers, Canadian arts grants and internet crowdfunding sites to help bring her books to print. Bedside Press is responsible for many books coming to print, including Margaret Atwood’s Angel Catbird, The Secret Loves of Geek Girls, and two Eisner Award-nominated anthologies: Enough Space for Everyone Else and Trina Robbins’ A Bunch of Jews (and other stuff) with various artists.

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2019 Joe Shuster Award nominees announced

Awards recognize the best in Canadian comics and creators

To celebrate the 105th anniversary of the birth of Joe Shuster, the 2019 Joe Shuster Award nominations were announced on July 10.

The awards celebrate the Canadian comic industry and the creators who work in it. The nominees will be unveiled in two rounds. Later this month, the nominees for the Dragon (Comics for Kids) Prize, Hall of Fame, TM Maple, Webcomics, Cover Artist and the Harry Kremer Retailer will be announced

The date and location of the ceremony have not yet been announced; however, they are expected to be awarded in September 2019.

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MAD Magazine to stop newsstand distribution after 67 years

Mad will cease to be available on newsstands, with new material only available in the year-end specials.

After 67 years of publishing, MAD Magazine will cease to be available on newsstands, with new material only available in the year-end specials.

The last surviving title of the EC Comics line and the most culturally significant American satire magazine, MAD, will undergo a major transformation as newsstand distribution ceases. It will only be available to the direct market and subscribers, will reprint old content from their 67-year library and only create new material for the year-end specials.

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New ‘Rat Queens’ creative team announced as Wiebe, Gieni leave to form new studio

Ferrier, Petraites, and Lesko takes over the popular battle maidens-for-hire series

After five years at the helm, Rat Queens writer Kurtis Wiebe announced he will be officially stepping down from the series. Also departing is artist Owen Gieni.

The April 2019 Image solicitation for Rat Queens Special: Swamp Romp announced the new creative team with writer Ryan Ferrier and artist Priscilla Petraites. The solicitation revealed that the pair will be taking over the ongoing series as of issue #16.

Rat Queens Special: Swamp Romp

Any question of why Wiebe is leaving the series he had been on since its beginning was quickly addressed in his blog post:

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George Perez announces retirement from comics

The Eisner Hall of Fame member cites health reasons for his decision.

Over the weekend, Eisner Hall of Fame member George Perez formally announced on his Facebook page that he plans to retire “from the business of creating new comic stories.”

He cited his health as a driving factor in his decision, but also stressed to fans that they need not worry about him. Over the last few years, Perez has suffered from diabetes, heart ailments and vision problems with his left eye. He also noted that the retirement will mean the end to private commissions, while convention sketches will be very limited.

You can read his entire post after the jump:

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