Canadian comic book creator news for May 17, 2025

Here’s the latest news about Canadian comic book creators for Saturday, May 17, 2025

Canadians get nominations for Eisner Awards
Comic-Con announced the nominations for 2025 Will Eisner Comic Industry awards and Canadian creators are in the running. Nominees include:
– Adam de Souza for The Gulf (Tundra) in the Best Publication for Teens category
– Alison McCreesh for Degrees of Separation: A Decade North of 60 (Conundrum) in the Best Graphic Memoir category
– Allison O’Toole for Zdarsky Comics News (Chip Zdarsky) in the category of Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
– Boum for The Jellyfish (Pow Pow Press) translated by Robin Land and Helge Dascher in the Best U.S. Edition of International Material category
– David Lapp for The Field (Conundrum) in the Best Graphic Memoir category
– Elise Gravel for Club Microbe (Drawn & Quarterly) in the Best Publication for Early Readers category
– Jeff Lemire for Minor Arcana (BOOM! Studios) in the Best New Series category
– Mariko Tamaki for Zatanna: Bring Down the House (DC) in the Best Limited Series category
– Maurice Vellekoop for I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together (Pantheon) in the Best Graphic Memoir category
– Ryan North for Fantastic Four (Marvel) in the Best Continuing Series category
– Sarah Leavitt for Something, Not Nothing: A Story of Grief and Love (Arsenal Pulp Press) in the Best Graphic Memoir category
– Tony Cliff for Practical Defence Against Piracy in the Best Webcomic category
Awards will be announced and trophies will be presented at the San Diego Hilton Bayfront Hotel during Comic-Con on the evening of July 25. Congratulations to all the nominees! Read more here https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/

Dr. Comics rebuilds after historic Orillia fire
CTV News reported on Dr. Comics rebuilding at Orillia Square mall after a fire burned down the original location in a century-old building in Orillia. Owner Carmine De Santo appears in the interview to discuss what customers are expect in the new store. See the broadcast report here https://www.ctvnews.ca/barrie/video/2025/05/10/comic-book-shop-burned-in-historic-orillia-fire-gets-second-chance-at-life/

Online showcase of comics about Asian Communities
Alberta Foundation for the Arts announced an online art showcase entitled Asian Communities in Canada: Representations in Comics. Available from May 8 to June 15, the dedicated online platform features the work of Allan Matudio, Althea Balmes, Lorina Mapa, Naomi Fong, Stefano Jun, Vivian Zhou, and Xulin Wang. A free live artist Q&A takes place on Sunday May 18 from 4 pm to 5 pm EDT. Read more at https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/asian-communities-in-canada-representations-in-comics-is-now-live–830151455.html

Zac Thompson goes back to the cemetery
Bloody Disgusting wrote about a new horror comic book series Cemetery Kids Run Rapid starting August 13 from writer Zac Thompson. The article reveals that the new One Press series follows last year’s Cemetery Kids Don’t Die. Read more at https://bloody-disgusting.com/comics/3867714/cyberpunk-horror-comic-cemetery-kids-run-rabid-launches-in-august-exclusive/

Ryan North answers if Krypton is smart
Screen Rant spoke with Ryan North about his upcoming series Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton to answer the question about whether Superman’s dog is smart. The new series illustrated by Mike Norton and colored by Ian Herring hits stores on June 18. Read more at https://screenrant.com/how-smart-is-superman-dog-krypto-factoid/

Jillian Tamaki gets Honorary MFA
Alberta University of the Arts announced that Jillian Tamaki will be awarded an Honorary Master of Fine Arts at the convocation ceremony on May 28. The write up recognizes Jillian as an internationally recognized artist and author noted for works such as Roaming and This One Summer.Read more here https://www.auarts.ca/news/jillian-tamaki-announced-as-2025-honorary-mfa

Adam de Souza to self-publish new comic anthologies
Comics Beat reported that Adam de Souza plans to self-publish two collections of comics entitled Mutt Mag and Blind Alley vol. 3 in June. The article reveals Blind Alley vol. 3 is a modern take on the classic newspaper comic strip while Mutt Mag collects original stories plus previous work. Read more at https://www.comicsbeat.com/new-comics-adam-de-souza/

CanLIT announces 2025 Forest of Reading winners
On its blog, CanLit for Little Canadians announced the winners of the 2025 Forest of Reading as chosen by the Ontario Library Association. Winners include:
– Anoosha Syed for Lost Stick (PRHC Viking Books) – Blue Spruce
– Joel A. Sutherland, David Bishop, Jenn Woodall and others for Haunted Canada: Four Terrifying Tales (Scholastic Canada) – Yellow Cedar
Honourable mention goes to:
– Graham Annable for Eerie Tales from the School of Screams (First Second) – Silver Birch Fiction
Congratulations to all! Read more at https://canlitforlittlecanadians.blogspot.com/2025/05/2025-forest-of-reading-winners-announced.html

In case you missed it, check out these interviews:
– Dylan Moore talks about his ‘Combat Fairies’ graphic novel on Kickstarter
– Ned Wenlock chats with True North Country Comics Podcast about his graphic novel ‘Tsunami’ from Pow Pow Press.