Category Archives: Alternative

Doug Wright Awards: Awards and Comics

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In 2011 American cartoonist Dustin Harbin created a short comic celebrating the Canadian Doug Wright Awards inspired by the event he initially attended in 2010. The awards ceremony was developed by Brad Mackay and Seth in 2005 and was created to promote Canadian comics culture and work.

The comic is an interesting perspective into the relatively new awards ceremony, which, considering the few that Canada boasts on the subject, is exclusively Canadian. After the 2011 ceremony, Harbin created his comic The Doug Wright Awards 2011: An Essay in Comics, by Some American which was featured on The Comics Journal website. This was Harbin’s contribution as diarist to the magazine as part their Cartoonist Diaries initiative. It was also later published in hardcopy and can be purchased on Harbin’s  site.

The comic is an excellent look at the Doug Wright Awards from an outside perspective, and was featured in the program of the 2012 DWAs as well, where Dustin Harbin was a guest and presenter.

To see more about Harbin’s opinions on award ceremonies including responses from both Brad Mackay and Kevin Boyd, go here.

Corbo

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“To my parents, for their patience, and to Will Eisner, for the dreamers in all of us.” Patrick R Hamou

This post is an extension of one of my previous posts on Roger Broughton and Charlton Media Group. Although the company produced a lot of reprint work, Corbo stands as some of the only known original material published by the company and was published by one of Roger Broughton’s many imprints Sword in Stone Productions.

The story takes place in 1936 and follows Jonathan Proud, “a freedom fighter, a mercenary or a terrorist, it depends what newspaper you read or what politician you listened to”. Fighting for social causes in other countries, Proud returns home to learn he is not only wanted but that his own country is in need of his attention and expertise. Hence, Corbo the vigilante is born.

Corbo Stats

Corbo stats at the back of the comic.

Corbo was published in February of 1987 out of Genevieve, Quebec at the height of the black and white comics boom. A full 32 pages it was written by Roger Broughton himself, with lettering was done by A. Kroy. The art was done by Patrick Hamou with assists by Errol Burke and Geof Isherwood with cover art by Mike Kaluta. Although the second comic was scheduled for May, it was never released along with a comic entitled Sun Warrior, also credited to Broughton.

Interesting to note, the dedication of the book, while thanking Isherwood and Burke for their work also especially spotlights Bernie Mireault. The comic hails Mireault’s work for its originality and encourages the reader to check out The Jam. It is also one of the many comics to thank Gene Day in memoriam.

An especially interesting comic for it’s position in Canadian comics history. There seems to be a lot of intrigue and mystery around Roger Broughton and the current status of his company. I definitely recommend picking one up if you have the opportunity.

Shane Simmons’ Money Talks

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The middle ages of zine culture produced some fantastic works out of Montreal. The most well known is probably Julie Doucet, but another great creator of comics and zines is Shane Simmons, a master of experimental comics. A writer of screenplays and TV scripts, his early career produced several short zines, including one major series entitled Angry Comics. This series ran until issue #12 before it was discontinued.

A real gem in Simmons’ career is his five part comic series Money Talks published by Slave Labor Graphics. The first issue came out in June of 1996 and the series was published bi-monthly until February 1997. This concluded the first volume of Money Talks, but sadly the series was not continued.

Simmons, an extremely skilled writer, paired his scripting with characters from American, Canadian and British monetary bills and notes. Although perhaps a little off-putting to begin with, the style becomes quite comical, especially when Simmons further experiments with how to impose facial gestures and action using only the bust of characters.

Albert, Ellie and Abe.

The story begins in Evansville with the death of Edward Warfield. It soon comes to light that Edward’s death was at the hands of his rival tycoon played by George Washington. The story follows the mob style activities of both of the rivals and related characters such as the Bowes family, a mother and her three daughters, all played by different versions of Queen Elizabeth. At the hands of Simmons, the comic has expert comedic timing and character dialogue.

Simmons can now be found at Eyestrain Productions where he and his other work is available to look at or order.

FIB Chronicle

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FIB Chronicle was created by writer and artist Nemo Balkanski of Vancouver, BC and formerly of Blegrade, Serbia. It was published by Vancouver based and recently launched multi-media publisher, The Publishing Eye, whose mission is to produce “visual culture for the conscious mind”.

This is certainly evident in FIB Chronicle which is a collection of comics featuring thinly veiled spoofs and criticisms of political and socially recognizable figures as well as the failings of society itself. Each comic features a distinctive character and is usually no longer than two or three pages. By the end of the book there is a large collection of heroes and anti-heroes. Mostly anti-heroes.

Although many adult comics have been described as gritty, Nemo’s writing style definitely creates a real friction. The yellow tape across the front cover repeats “This is not for children” and for good reason. Many of his most villainous characters are made up of distinctly human characteristics causing them to be all the more loathsome. The comics, meant to expose and to educate, incite feelings of sadness, irrationality, fear and dark humour that are common within the human psyche, and are therefore more effective in creating the dark and shocking tone Nemo is aiming for. For example, a man graciously holds the elevator for a woman with groceries. When they are inside he pulls out a knife an tells her about his unstable behaviour.

Despite the hard stories within the comics, it is hard not to be impressed by the breathtaking artwork which is mostly done in ink and water colour. Balkanski’s stylistic creativity is showcased throughout the book and his compositions complement his stories fantastically.

The book is also produced with very a high production quality which adds to the glamour but contributes to the shock of the offensive but excellent stories within. To get a sampling of the book, check out this trailer. But be careful, child or not, these stories will turn your head.

MAC TIN TAC

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MAC TIN TAC is the product of Marc Tessier and Stéphane Olivier. The series was written primarily by the two and is made up of many short stories about the main character Mac Tin Tac or the inhabitants of the strange Kuskus city in which they live. The comic was produced irregularly over five issues from 1990 until 1995, the last of which was published in Mirrors, by Gogo Guy Publications.

This cover won the Pixel D'Or for Best Book Cover

The story is largely existential and sociological and effectively applies satire on the way we perceive substance abuse, life, death, work, tradition and ceremony. This dystopian narrative is largely reflective in the artwork as well. Created in Montreal, Tessier and Olivier hired many burgeoning and underground artists to illustrate their ideas. Some of these artists included Olivier himself, Simon Bossé, Siris, Rupert Bottenberg, Jean-Pierre Chansigaud, Caro Caron, Richard Suicide, G.B. Edwin, Helge Reuman, Hélène Brosseau, Phil Angers, Jean-Claude Amyot and Alexandre Lafleur.

More than ten years after the first comic book was published, MAC TIN TAC was compiled by and reproduced as a graphic novel by Conundrum Press in 2004. Although this made the work more accessible to a new generation of readers, many of the short stories from the singles were lost including the entire contents of the first issue. Some artists that produced chapters in the comics didn’t make the cut for the book including Alain Gosselin, Mario Tremblay, Michel Rabagliati, Gilles Boulerice, Martin Lemm and Matthew Brown.

Conundrum cover by Chansigaud.

I do recommend the graphic novel. The book takes from the singles and makes a more linear story line which is easier to read. That, and the singles are harder to find. They also include side stories and more alternative art and storytelling methods which may be more difficult or more alienating to read. If that is your thing, some of the singles can be ordered online, but are still difficult to find. You can Mile High Comics which usually has a pretty good selection. To see more of Marc Tessier’s work in both his publishing company Gogo Guy Publications, you can go here. You can see a review done by Montreal Review of Books here.

Orb Magazine

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Orb #2 featuring Northern Light on the front cover.

In 1974, the honeymoon of the science fiction and comics marriage, James Waley published Orb Magazine from Toronto, Ontario. This is three years before Andromeda was published, and is very much Andromeda’s predecessor. Both lasted only six issues, featured many of the same artists and writers such as Don Marshall, John Allison, George Henderson, Gene Day, Peter Hsu and Jim Beveridge. They both focused on similar content, that is, science fiction genre common in the alternative comics scene of the 1970s with a touch of the adult themed including nudity and other mature content.

The comic has more to give in the way of just science fiction. This is the magazine that is known to produce one of the many Canadian national superheroes, Northern Light. Originally scripted by an American for an American audience, the character was adapted for the Canadian magazine. Later, James Waley resumed writing duties for the character, but, like his many brethren in red and white, the character was very short lived.

Norther Light wasn’t the only regular story line in the magazine. There was also the Electric Warrior, Kadaver and Dark Ninja. This magazine did also feature some coloured pages, mainly those given to Northern Light. Never fewer than 50 pages per issue, some contain more than 10 in colour. The series ran from July 1974 until April 1976.

Orb #1 Cover by John Allison

Orb 1 – 1974

  • The Ride: Stanley Berneche
  • The Astounding Origin of Kadaver: James Waley
  • Devil’s Triangle: John Allison
  • Belial: Paul McCusker
  • Meta-Morphosis: Alexander Emond
  • Whirls of a Numb-a; Matt Rust

Orb 2 – July 1974

  • Plague: Gene Day
  • Galactic Queen: Paul Savard and John Allison (Script) Paul Savard (Pencils) Gene Day (Inks)
  • Musical Roulette: Ronn Sutton
  • The Seeker: Matt Rust
  • The Guardian of Mars (Northern Light): T Casey Brennan (Script) John Allison (Art)
  • No-Man’s Land: Paul McCuscker
  • Salvation: James Waley
  • Reeve Perry: Bruce Bezaire
  • Small Talk:

Orb 3 – December 1974

  • Lepers: Paul McCuscker
  • Half-Life: John Allison
  • Cheezy-Nuggets: Alexander Emond
  • Super-Student: Ken Steacy
  • Northern Light: The Lone Guardian Strikes: T. Casey Brennan (Script) Jim Craig (Art) Matt Rust (Colours) and James Waley (Colours)
  • Escape the Truth: Richard Robertson
  • Karkass: Matt Rust
  • A Shroud of Tattered Grey!: Gene Day
  • The Rescue of Raniff The Fair: Ronn Sutton

Orb 4 – November December 1975

  • Electric Warrior: Ken Steacy (Art) Kerri Ellison (Script)
  • Encore: Matt Rust
  • Gothic Glitter: Peter Hsu (Art) George Henderson (Script)
  • Dark Ninja: Vincent Marchesano
  • The Horror of Harrow House: Gene Day
  • The Astounding Origin of Kadaver Continued: James Waley
  • Child Slayer-World Saver?: Art Cooper (Art) James Waley (Script) Matt Rust (Script)
  • The Origin of the Northern Light Part One: Jim Craig (Art) Jim Craig (Script) James Waley (Script) and George Henderson (Script)
  • Space Scouts: Matt Rust

Orb 5 – January February 1976

  • One Man’s Madness: Gene Day (Art) T. Casey Brennan (Script)
  • Dark Ninja: Harbinger of Doom: Vincent Marchesano (Pencils) Bill Payne (Embellishments) Russell Wallace (Script)
  • Retribution: Gene Day (Script and pencils) Peter Hsu (Inks and tones) Matt Rust (Tones)
  • Man O’ Dreams: Don Marshall (Art) George Henderson (Script)
  • The Origin of the Northern Light Part 2: Dénouement: Jim Craig (Art) James Waley (Script) Matt Rust (Script)
  • Kadaver: My Will Be Done!: Art Cooper (Layouts) Jim Craig (Finishing) Matt Rust (Tones) James Waley (Script) Matt Rust (Script)
  • Back Cover: Don Marshall

Orb 6 – March April 1976

  • Cosmic Dancer: Jim Craig (Art) Augustine Funnell (Script)
  • Woof! Woof!: Matt Rust (Art) George Henderson (Script)
  • Gyk the Barbarian in Escape: John Sech (Script) Paul McCuscker (Pencils) Jim Craig (inks) Gene Day (Colours);
  • Trojan Horse: Gene Day
  • Dark Ninja in Dawn of Darkness: John Sech (Script) Vincent Marchesano (Pencils) Gene Day (Inks);
  • Flame of El-Hamman: Bill Payne (Art and letters) George Henderson (Script)

Orb #6

You can check out more about these comics in either of the John Bell books, but also here and here for some basic information.

One Horse Leadworks

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The three issues of Headcheese.

So, one of the more prominent Canadian artists to date is Stuart Immonen who has worked for both DC and Marvel pencilling just about every prominent series within such as Superman, Hulk, Ultimate Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and X-Men. That said, it wasn’t until 1993 that he started working with bigger companies, so what did he do before hand?

Along with his then girlfriend and now wife Kathryn Immonen (née Kuder), they created the publishing house One Horse Leadworks in Toronto. Slightly higher quality than a fanzine, Immonen and Kuder orchestrated the production of alternative comic anthology Headcheese and then Playground, both of which spanned three issues. Headcheese was released in 1988 and the contributors are as follows:

Issue #1

  • The Eternity Bar – Ron Boyd
  • Shooting Gallery – Nick White
  • Mort & Shirley – Kathryn Kuder, Stuart Immonen
  • Pax Magoohan – Wayne Immonen
  • Peer Pleasure – Sheldon Inkol, Stuart Immonen
  • No. 1 – Kathryn Kuder
  • Agro – Nick White
  • Just Thinking – Ron Boyd
  • Passing Time – Stuart Immonen
Issue #2
  • Service With a Smile – Jerry Drozdowsky
  • The Insane Machine – X
  • Mort and Shirley Banks – Stuart Immonen, Kathryn Kuder
  • My Last Girlfriend – Sheldon Inkol, David Scott
  • Peer Pleasure – Sheldon Inkol, Stuart Immonen
  • She-Devil – Kathryn Kuder
  • Blood and Roses – Ron Boyd
  • The Shooting Gallery – Nick White
  • Art Gallery Stuff – Rob Alton
  • Penis Longspot – Stuart Immonen
Issue #3
  • Quantum Leap – Nick White
  • Love in a Calm – Andrew Clark, 1HLW
  • I Saw the Bloody Stump of God – Kathryn Kuder, Stuart Immonen
  • Chicken Gumbo – Stuart Immonen
  • Peer Pleasure – Sheldon Inkol, Stuart Immonen
  • Art Gallery Stuff - Robert Alton
  • The Garden - Jerry Drozdowsky, Ron Boyd
  • Oswald – Sheldon Inkoll, Jai Dixit
Definitely a great piece if you’re interested in his early work, although they might be a bit hard to find considering there were only 250 made of #2 and #3. Likewise, Playground was co-produced by Immonen and Kuder, and the fourth and final issue was published by Caliber Press in October of 1990.
The issues are subtitled as:
  • Prologue: The Vessel
  • Chapter One: The Wheel
  • Chapter Two: The Vessel
  • The Hundred Year’s Wake
Here is an interview with Immonen in which he references the early works, as well as here.

Don’t Touch Me Independent Comics

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The flyer for the launch of DTM #15.

Don’t Touch Me Comics is a comic anthology that was released in October of 1994. The comic was based out of Weston, Ontario but was mainly distributed in Toronto, and was founded by alternative artist Dave Howard. The comic was released irregularly as a small press publication in black and white until 2002. Until this time, the anthology regularly featured an interview with an artist or other comics professional like Joe Matt or Chris Oliveros.

In 2002, Dave Lapp, another local artist and comic creator, joined Howard and together they reformatted Don’t Touch Me, taking out the interview and publishing it in better quality. Since that time the anthology has been published regularly four times a year.

The flyer for the launch of issue 17.

Don’t Touch Me has featured such artists as Fiona Smyth, Joe Ollmann, Alan Bunce, Dave Lapp, Zach Worton, Greg McCann, Marc Bell, Matt Daley, James Waley and Ron Kasman among many others and is a great way to stay on top of local developing artists. Current and back issues can be purchased online here.

As further evidence of his determination to keep the alternative comics scene going, two years after creating Don’t Touch Me, Howard began the Toronto Comic Jam, fashioning it after Rupert Bottenburg’s Comix Jam in Montreal. In 2005 Howard retired from the Comics Jam, but it remains very successful, taking place at The Cameron on the last Tuesday of every month.

Lapp himself published his first collection in October of 2008 called Drop In by Conundrum Press. He has also produced several zines including The Hood and a regular strip for the Georgia Straight called Children of the Atom from 1996 to 2001.

You can find out more here on Howard’s art page, as well as more about Howard and his other work. To learn more about what Howard is still up to, check out his other blog which features a mixed bag of comic or music related stuff. Yeah, I said stuff. Things?

Aircel and Nightwynd

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This Logo for Aircel was established some time in 1986 and was used until about 1989.

For those those of you who are already familiar with Canadian comics, you’ll know all about Aircel. For those of you who don’t, it was one of the most successful and well known publishers of the Canada’s eighties alternative comics inside Canada. Hopefully this post will be informative either way.

Officially founded in September of 1985 by Barry Blair and Ken Campbell, the roots of Aircel had long since been established. Campbell, the owner of an insulation installation company (Aircel Insulation) had lost his contract with the government at which his enthused employee wasted no time in trying to persuade him to move in the direction of comics. It worked, and Aircel Insulation then became Aircel comics.

Samurai, officially their first title, had been in print long before Aircel was producing comics, as was Elflord and Dragonring. These were the house titles Blair published under Nightwynd productions which had been publishing since the beginning of the eighties. Interestingly, many of these featured the work of a very young artist by the name of Dave Cooper. Some of the other artists featured in Nightwynd at this time were Mike Burchill, Donald Lanouette, Ron Fortier, Tim McEown, and Guang Yap, the latter two which continued to work with Aircel for a very long time. The majority of these comics were black and white, oversized and were somewhere between a small press comic and a fanzine. The quality improved greatly when they were moved over to Aircel which made the comic in the traditional size with colour covers and newsprint interior.

The comics did very well. After a short first volume of black and white interiors they introduced the second volume in full colour. Blair, having grown up all over Asia, was very familiar with manga and applied this to his own style despite its absence in a predominantly North American style industry. He later became known for popularizing the manga style despite its weak North American market.

Aircel successfully produced comics until late 1988 when the company merged with Malibu comics in exchange for support through their financial difficulties. Because of this and other changes including staff, shortly after the merger Aircel ceased publishing its house titles. It was around this time that it began to publish erotic or sex themed comics, most notably Blair’s Leather and Lace, and change the Aircel logo. In 1990, Men in Black, which later became the hugely successful movie. Finally, in 1991 Aircel broke even, and Blair formally handed the company over to Malibu before moving on to other projects. Aircel continued under Malibu until 1994 when Marvel bought it, after which it ceased publishing.

Cerebus and Aardvark-Vanaheim: Origins

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Cerebus 1

Although much has been recorded on Cerebus the Aardvark, including a Cerebus wiki, a great fan site and Dave Sim’s own website, I’m going to cast my own post on the topic. Seeing as how you could just look up any questions you have regarding the “Earth pig born” on either of the above or more, I’m going to narrow down my post to include only the early history on the production of the comic, or, Cerebus Origins.

At the end of 1977, the first issue of Cerebus was released to the world on a bi-monthly basis from Kitchener, Ontario. Published by Denise “Deni” Loubert under Aardvark-Vanaheim productions, with Cerebus creator, writer and artist Dave Sim owning equal portions of the company. The couple set off publishing limited print runs of the 24 page comic. Based off the logo of the company coupled with Loubert’s misspelling of the mythological character Cerberus, the comic’s birth is a charming one.

As administrator and publisher of the comic, it was Loubert who wrote the editorials on the inside cover, and she who announced their marriage in the editorial of issue 7 of Cerebus. During the first few years of publishing, Deni orchestrated the production of much merchandise including a Cerebus plush toy, buttons, and T-shirts as well as starting the fan-club and organizing the distribution of subscriptions.

After two years, in March of 1980, the comic began to be published monthly. Shortly after, and because of the attention and success the comic was achieving, Deni and Dave began to include a line of short comics to the end of the Cerebus comic, and increasing its pages to 32. The line was called “A Unique Story” as a main header and featured several artists and their work which I will post a little later.

Unfortunately nothing lasts forever and Deni’s issue 55 editorial gave testimony to her and Dave’s separation. This separation did not reflect in the success of the business which was producing more merchandise and acquiring ever more subscriptions. The couple continued to attend many exhibitions and conventions throughout the year and readership only continued to grow.

Cerebus 70

Around 1984 the company began to publish some of the comics featured in the “Unique Story” section such as Neil the Horse by Arn Saba and Flaming Carrot by Bob Burden. Also, in August of 1984, Gerhard joined the team, producing magnificent backgrounds for Cerebus which was still the focal point of the company. Finally, in December of 1984, the company released AV in 3D, a 3D comic with Aardvark-Vanaheim favourites complete with 3D glasses.

Alas, shortly thereafter sadness again hits the editorial, this time in issue 70, as Deni announces her and Dave’s divorce and the break up of the company. She says:

There comes a time when you must admit that changes occur in people. That time has come for me. In April I will be starting my own company, Renegade Press. Since I know you will ask why, all I can say again is that people change. When once Dave and I agreed on many things, we no longer do. Cerebus will continue to be the focal point of Aardvark-Vanaheim, just as it should be. Neil the Horse, Normalman, Flaming Carrot and Ms. Tree will be coming to Renegade Press with me, when I start it up after my move to Los Angeles this spring.

By issue 72, Cerebus is very reminiscent of the original issues, no longer sporting “A Unique Story” and returning to 24 pages. That is as far as the similarities go though, as over the years not only has Cerebus’s visual appearance evolved, but Gerhard’s backgrounds give the comic more depth and solidity. Also, with Gerhard’s talent in painting, the covers of the comic went on to win several awards.

Despite the breakup, Cerebus remains strong with a circulation of about 22,000. By April 1 1985, Dave officially owns all shares in the company, and from there it continues as is. Obviously, there are more twists and turns down the line, but this is where the main frame and consistent style of the Cerebus comic and Aardvark-Vanaheim publishing history becomes more solidified.