Word Vancouver is this week!

 in Events  tagged bevan thomas / Colin Upton / Jonathon Dalton / Katherine Collins / Miriam Libicki / Neil the Horse / Vancouver public library / Word Vancouver by

It’s Western Canada’s largest celebration of literacy and reading, and on Sunday there will be numerous comic-related events in the Alma VanDusen Room of the Vancouver Public Library, including:

  • Vancouver Comics History (2:40 PM): Cloudscape contributors Bevan Thomas, Colin Upton, and Jonathon Dalton will discuss the history of comics art in Vancouver, starting from local publishers in the 1940s to the indie comics scene and Vancouver comics as they are today.
  • Neil the Horse (3:50): Canadian cartoonist Katherine Collins discusses her award-winning comic Neil the Horse, the world’s only musical comic book. Neil the Horse appeared in Canadian newspapers from 1975-1982, and subsequently starred in fifteen comic books, from 1983–88. Katherine was inducted into the Giants of the North, Canadian Cartooning Hall of Fame at the 2017 Doug Wright Awards.
  •  Miriam Libicki (4:30): The first cartoonist to become the Vancouver Public Library’s writer-in-residence. Miriam discusses her work, including Toward a Hot Jew, which was named a top ten graphic novel of 2016 by Forbes magazine. Miriam’s comics are based on nonfiction and documentary techniques, such as interviews and photo reference, and also deal with themes of identity and culture clash.

For more information, check out Word Vancouver.

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“Cayrels Ring” signing at 8th Dimension Comics

 in Events  tagged 8th Dimension Comics / Aaron Petovello / Alchemichael / Cayrells Ring / Shannon Lentz / Simon Roy by

Cayrels Ring is a new science fiction comic by Shannon Lentz and with art by a wide variety of local comic creators. It follows many narratives, including that of Jamitch, a scientist trapped on a planet-sized supercomputer gone suicidal. Jamitch manages to escape the computer and goes searching for his unknown grandchild.

The creative team will be doing a signing at Vancouver’s 8th Dimension Comics (2418 Main St.) on September 30th from noon to 3:00. Along with the writer, there will also be the contributing artists Alchemichael, Simon Roy, and Aaron Petovello.

 

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“Comics in Transit” featured on IVOH

 in Cloudscape in News  tagged Comics in Transit / ivoh / Oliver McTavish-Wisden by

Oliver McTavish-Wisden at work on a comic.

An article on Comics in Transit, our big public art project, is featured on IVOH, and includes an interview with Comics in Transit creator and Cloudscape executive director Oliver McTavish-Wisden:

Founded in 2015, Comics in Transit creates original, poster-sized comics for display in bus shelters and transit stops around Vancouver and its surrounding cities. For its second series, the project is offering a glimpse into the lives of Canada’s refugees, as illustrated by local comic-book artists. Oliver McTavish-Wisden is one of those artists. Long before he started interviewing Jay, he was a loyal customer, frequenting the salon Jay owns in the Vancouver area. That’s how he started to hear bits and pieces of Jay’s story — about how Jay faced police intimidation for simply giving haircuts in his native Tehran.

“He was always happy to talk about that kind of thing with me. And I’ve always been curious,” Wisden said. So the two collaborated to tell Jay’s story in comic form, so that his experiences could help educate Canadian citizens about the ongoing refugee crisis, the largest the world has seen since World War II.

“Everybody knows there are a ton of refugees coming in because of the crisis. But do they know them? Absolutely not. They’re just numbers. They’re just a statistic,” McTavish-Wisden said. “One of our goals is to try and humanize the things people are reading about in the news.”

To read more of the article, visit Cloudscape Comics Depicts Refugee Stories in Vancouver.

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Cartoonist Kate Evans talks “Threads” on September 29th

 in Events  tagged Kate Evans / Threads / UBC by

For  the only proper response to the refugee crisis now facing Europe (and the rest of the world) is action. In her latest graphic novel, Threads: From the Refugee Crisis, British-based cartoonist, artist, activist, and author Kate Evans faces the refugee crisis head on; reporting accounts of those marginalized and unwelcome in today’s EU with heartbreaking clarity. The book’s compassionate and moving dispatches from the camps that Evans visited in Calais, France, combine reportage and art to bring attention to the squalid conditions faced by people in search of a place to belong.

On Friday, September 29th, at 7:30 in UBC’s Telus Studio Theatre, Evans will read excerpts from her graphic novel accompanied by projections of panels from the book, and atmospheric live music by percussionist Hamin Honari.

For more information, see Kate Evans: Threads.

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Word Vancouver: September 19 – 24

 in Events  tagged bevan thomas / Colin Upton / Jonathon Dalton / Katherine Collins / Miriam Libicki / Neil the Horse / Word Vancouver by

September 19-24 is Word Vancouver, Western Canada’s largest celebration of literacy and reading. Held at various venues throughout the city, this festival promotes books and authors with free exhibits, performances, and hands-on activities for a wide range of ages and interests. Along with numerous other creators and organizations, we at Cloudscape will be exhibiting for Word Vancouver. In addition, there will be various comic related-events on Sunday the 24th in the Alma VanDusen Room of the Vancouver Public Library, including:

  • Vancouver Comics History (2:40 PM): Cloudscape contributors Bevan Thomas, Colin Upton, and Jonathon Dalton will discuss the history of comics art in Vancouver, starting from local publishers in the 1940s to the indie comics scene and Vancouver comics as they are today.
  • Neil the Horse (3:50): Canadian cartoonist Katherine Collins discusses her award-winning comic Neil the Horse, the world’s only musical comic book. Neil the Horse appeared in Canadian newspapers from 1975-1982, and subsequently starred in fifteen comic books, from 1983–88. Katherine was inducted into the Giants of the North, Canadian Cartooning Hall of Fame at the 2017 Doug Wright Awards.
  •  Miriam Libicki (4:30): The first cartoonist to become the Vancouver Public Library’s writer-in-residence. Miriam discusses her work, including Toward a Hot Jew, which was named a top ten graphic novel of 2016 by Forbes magazine. Miriam’s comics are based on nonfiction and documentary techniques, such as interviews and photo reference, and also deal with themes of identity and culture clash.

For more information, check out Word Vancouver.

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D&D Bestiary Seeking Monsters

 in Call For Submissions  tagged Dungeons & Dragons / Faerie Fire / Shannon Campbell by

Shannon Campbell, creator of VanCAF and frequent contributor to Cloudscape Comics, is creating a bestiary for Dungeons & Dragons, and is seeking monster illustrations for it.

Faerie Fire is a collection of monsters, characters, and rare items from the wild and untamed faerie realm.  Artists can either pitch an original monster idea or sign-up to have a monster assigned to them. All the writing in the final book will be handled by Shannon and two game designers. The ascetic of the book is neon noir, check out the Faerie Fire Neon Noir page for examples of that style.

The book will pay $50 USD per monster, with more pay unlocked as Kickstarter stretch goals. The deadline for all pitches is September 28th, but art won’t be due until December. For more information, visit the Faerie Fire tumblr.
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This Week’s Cloud Shop: Lettering with Kathleen Jacques

 in Events  tagged Cloud Shops / Kathleen Jacques / lettering by

This week we are learning how to letter with Kathleen Jacques, cartoonist of prominent webcomic Band vs Band. No comic is complete without lettering. Learn how to make your text pop, your sound-effects carry weight, and your pages sparkle.

The event is at Cloudscape HQ (Memorial South Park, 5955 Ross Street, Vancouver) on Thursday, September 14, 7:30-8:30. To register for this free class, go to Lettering & Typography.  For more details on future workshops, visit Cloudscape Cloud Shops.

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VPL Cartoonist-in-Residence Launch on Thursday

 in Events  tagged Miriam Libicki / Vancouver public library by

As many of you know, Jewish-Canadian cartoonist Miriam Libicki is the Vancouver Public Library’s first cartoonist-in-residence. This Thursday from 7:00-8:30m, Miriam will be at the library’s central branch with a slideshow and interactive drawing night to launch her new residency. She’ll be talking about her career, her current project, and why she’s obsessed with exploring identity through comics. There will also be some comic jams and stereotype-threat self-portraits, and she’ll be selling her own graphic novels.

For more information, visit the VPL Cartoonist-in-Residence Launch Facebook event.

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