Category: Events

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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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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Free Comic Book Day 2022 will include more than 45 titles

Bunny Mask, Donald Duck, Pokemon, Barbaric and more will see action on comics’ favorite holiday.

Following the announcement earlier this week of the 11 Gold Sponsor titles, Diamond Comics Distributors has announced the much longer list of Silver Sponsor titles, which brings the total number of free comics coming May 7 to 46.

The titles were chosen by a committee of comic shop retailers, and the new additions include titles from BOOM! Studios, ABLAZE, Titan Comics, AfterShock Comics, Fantagraphics, Vault, Mad Cave and more. They feature many well-known properties, from the Avengers and Donald Duck to The Walking Dead and Pokemon, as well as newer titles like Bunny Mask, Barbaric and Hollow, a new BOOM! Studios graphic novel that the company will preview on Free Comic Book Day.

Here’s a look at the 35 silver titles:

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Free Comic Book Day 2022 Gold titles revealed

Diamond Comics Distributors has revealed the 11 gold-tiered titles you can get for free next May.

Diamond Comics Distributors has revealed the 11 “gold sponsor” titles that retailers will have available on Free Comic Book Day 2022, which is scheduled for May 7.

“This year’s lineup of titles has something for every kind of comic fan,” said Ashton Greenwood, Free Comic Book Day spokesperson. “We’re excited for FCBD to return to the first Saturday in May, and we can’t wait to celebrate the day with another incredible line up of comic book titles. We hope fans will safely visit their local comic shops to celebrate and to pick up a few of the great titles available this year.”

Free Comic Book Day returns to its traditional May date next year after a couple of years where the pandemic caused a bit of a shuffle — but what’s new, right? This past year the event was held in August, while in 2020 the date went through several changes before ultimately being cancelled — but comics were still delivered to retailers for distribution as they saw fit during the summer.

Here’s a look at the Gold Sponsor titles; the Silver titles will likely be announced soon as well. Also, there are no DC titles on the list, since they no longer use Diamond, but it’s a safe bet they’ll have free comics available in May as well.

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Check out holiday shopping deals from comiXology, Scout, Z2 and more

Get Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals on comics and more.

Black Friday is here, bringing opportunities for comic fans to find that perfect gift or just a good deal. Here’s a rundown of some comic-related things to check out today, over the weekend and on Cyber Monday. I’ll add others as I see them, so be sure to check back often.

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Watch Wonder Woman’s induction into the Comic-Con Museum Character Hall of Fame

Marie Javins, Becky Cloonan, Liam Sharp and many other comics creators talk about Wonder Woman’s impact on pop culture and the world.

The Comic-Con Museum today inducted Wonder Woman into their Character Hall of Fame, following in the footsteps of Batman and Pac-Man.

The occasion was marked with a video on the Comic-Con Museum’s YouTube channel that featured appearances by Marie Javins, Liam Sharp, Nicola Scott, Trina Robbins, Phil Jimenez, Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, Gal Gadot, Helen Mirren, Lynda Carter, Patty Jenkins, the Teen Titans and many more.

You can watch it below:

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DC FanDome begins today at 10 a.m. Pacific

The event will stream live on DcFanDome.com and other WB social channels.

DC FanDome, the streaming event featuring all things DC superheroes that debuted in 2020, returns today with more teasers, previews, celebrities and more. You can watch it starting at 10 a.m. Pacific.

Last year’s event was very successful for Warner Bros., as they rolled out DC movie trailers, tidbits on TV shows and games, and some comics news. It came at just the right time, as the COVID pandemic continued to keep people from attending events and conventions.

While last year’s event occurred across two different days, this year’s event is slimmed down in comparison, with a single day of content — but it should still have plenty to offer. DC has trickled out a few announcements leading up to the event, and I’m sure you can expect to here more about the next Batman/Fortnite crossover, the Milestone Initiative and maybe something called Aquamen. Plus, the Rock!

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Walt Simonson, Jared Cullum win 2021 NCS Divisional Awards

French cartoonist Boulet received the Sergio Aragones International Award for Excellence in Comic Art.

This weekend is NCS Fest, the annual event hosted by the National Cartoonists Society that includes, among other activities, the NCS Divisional Awards and the annual presentation of the Reuben Award.

This year’s event is being streamed online, and the NCS has interspersed some of the awards presentations throughout the stream. Yesterday Hellboy artist Duncan Fegredo presented the award for best comic book, which went to Walt Simonson’s Ragnarok: The Breaking of Helheim. The comic is published by IDW, which also publishes the other two nominees in the category, Usagi Yojimbo and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Jennika.

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DC FanDome returns Oct. 16

The event will once again showcase DC’s comics, movies, TV series and more.

As announced back in May, DC FanDome will return on Oct. 16 with another day filled with movie trailers, TV previews, video game reveals, comic panels and more

Last year’s event was spread across two days, but this year so far DC has only announced content for Oct. 16. Last year’s event was also a lot of fun, bringing announcements and teasers about the Milestone relaunch, The Next Batman, the Rorschach series and more. This year’s agenda looks to be equally as packed.

On the comics side, DC will spotlight their plans for Wonder Woman, specifically the upcoming titles Wonder Woman Historia, Nubia and the Amazons and Wonderful Women of the World. They also will share more details on the Batman/Fortnite comic crossover sequel, and talk about the upcoming Batman: Fear State, Black Manta, the Milestone Universe and more.

Take a look below for the full line-up of what’s announced; no doubt there will be some surprises and breaking news as well:

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Fan Expo HQ acquires Wizard World’s six remaining events

Wizard gets out of the convention game as Fan Expo becomes ‘the largest producer of fan events in the world.’

Fan Expo HQ has announced they’ve acquired Wizard World’s six remaining conventions, including Chicago, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Portland, St. Louis and Cleveland, effectively taking Wizard out of the convention business and expanding Fan Expo’s portfolio to 17 conventions in North America.

The six shows will be rebranded in 2022 as Fan Expo events. The 2021 Chicago show, scheduled for Oct. 15-17, will continue on under the Wizard World brand.

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CXC plans some in-person events for 2021, announces the Tom Spurgeon Award

This year’s Cartoon Crossroads Columbus will be a hybrid event, with some events hosted online and some in-person.

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus has announced that this year they plan to return to hosting live crowds, as this year’s event, scheduled for Sept. 30-Oct. 3, will feature both in-person and online events.

Like most comics festivals and conventions, CXC went all virtual for its 2020 show due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CXC said some events this year will be online only, including the CXC Expo, and several of the in-person events will be broadcast online. They plan to follow the city of Columbus’s health guidelines and the recommendations of its programming sponsors when determining any necessary precautions. More details on programming and locations are forthcoming.

“Every Fall the art community in Columbus comes together for CXC, and once again we’ve put together an incredible guest list of creators,” said Bone creator Jeff Smith, CXC’s co-founder and artistic director. “Whether in person or online, we have events and activities planned for anyone who likes cartoons. Which is everyone!”

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