Here’s the presentation of the ‘History of Canadian Comic Books’ panel with Ivan Kocmarek, Ron Kasman and Art Cooper at Tri-City Super Con 2. Podcast available on Apple Podcasts
Ivan Kocmarek, retired Hamilton teacher and comic book collector for over 50 years, edited Heroes of the Home Front with more than 300 pages of the history of Canadian comics in the World War II era from Bell Features artists and over 150 pages of original art. He currently writes historical features about Canadian comic books for Comic Book Daily.
Ron has been called the ‘unsung genius’ of Canadian comics. His comic book legacy can be seen in Captain Canuck, Negative Burn, and The Tower of the Comic Book Freaks series.
Art started in his teens creating art for the short-lived but still remembered ORB Magazine. Art was also the editor on the Heroes of the Home Front project with Ivan.
During their panel presentation, Ivan, Ron and Art spoke about the history of comic books in Canada including the Canadian Whites from World War II along with the first star-studded comic book convention in Canada and other historical tidbits.
You can discover more about Ivan’s work on comicbookdaily.com/author/ikocmarek/
You can discover more about Ron on Tumblr at ronkasman.tumblr.com
You can discover more about Art on Facebook at facebook.com/Art.Cooper.at.One.O.Clock/
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Here’s some of the current news about Canadian comic book creators and supporters.
Multiversity Comics interviewed Michael Walsh about his artwork for the Black Hammer/Justice League series. When asked about how he and Jeff Lemire worked to produce this series, Michael said: “When Jeff sends me a script, sometimes he has an idea visually how he would like to see something depicted, and if he does, he would delineate that in the script. He would say, ‘here’s what I’m thinking for this scene. But, if you have a better idea for it, if you want to depict in a specific way, I’m open to that as well. Let’s chat what we think would be the best way to do something.’ Because I think Jeff has a lot of trust in the people he collaborates with. He vets them hard and he looks at everybody’s work that he works with, and he knows what their strengths are, and what their weaknesses might be. So he’s a very good collaborator that way because you’re actually collaborating.”
You can read more at MultiversityComics.com
http://www.multiversitycomics.com/interviews/nycc-19-michael-walsh-on-bridging-the-worlds-of-black-hammer-and-justice-league/
CBR.com spoke with Jeff Lemire about his Joker: Killer Smile series. Jeff was asked what makes the character of the Joker so compelling to audiences, he said: “Well, I think visually he is an incredible looking character. So iconic. He mixes the familiar (clown) with the horrific. And psychologically, he represents what we could all become if we crossed a line, and that is scary as well. Like Batman he is not a superpowered, or supernatural threat. He is real. He is human. I think all of these things add up.”
You can read more at CBR.com
https://www.cbr.com/interview-jeff-lemire-joker-killer-smile/
Horror News Network caught up with the prolific Chip Zdarsky to ask a few questions about his Afterlift series for Comixology. Chip talked about his collaborators that make this project come to life. He was quoted as saying: “I reached out to Jason Loo, an amazing comic writer and artist, known for his book The Pitiful Human Lizard. I knew a project like this would really rely on inventiveness and excellent human reactions, which he excels at, so I was thrilled that he had the gap in his schedule to do this. He’s also the greatest guy I know. His editor on Human Lizard, Allison O’Toole, joined us as our editor and project manager, and she’s been amazing at keeping everything going smoothly.”
You can read more at HorrorNewsNetwork.com
https://www.horrornewsnetwork.net/afterlifts-chip-zdarsky-the-horror-news-network-interview/
ComicsBeat interviewed Jeff Lemire about his upcoming work on SKULLDIGGER + SKELETON BOY for Dark Horse Comics. Jeff was asked about the influences for this series including Batman: Year One and Daredevil. Jeff said: “I didn’t need much research, because that era of comics is ingrained in me so deeply. As a child of the ’80s, Frank Miller’s work was so formative for me, it is hard to separate it out from how and when I learned to start tell stories and draw comics. So those comics were really the guide post here, or at least our jumping off point for Skulldigger, but where we go from here will be pretty unique, I think.”
You can read more at Comicsbeat.com
https://www.comicsbeat.com/interview-jeff-lemire-and-tonci-zonjic-on-skulldigger/
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