News about Canadian comic books for Oct. 18, 2025

Here’s the latest news about Canadian comic book creators and supporters for Saturday, October 18, 2025

Chip talks about Cap
AIPT interviewed Chip Zdarsky about Captain American #4 and how it reflects on a nation at war. Chip addressed concerns about the structure of the story, working with artist Valerio Schiti, where he found inspiration for the story, what’s next for Cap and more.

Kate Beaton on tap for Vancouver Writers Fest
The Georgia Straight spoke with Kate Beaton in advance of her appearance at the Vancouver Writers Fest taking place October 20 to 21. During the chat, Kate referenced her home town of Mabou, how she’s treated there and her take about the comics profession.

John Byrne gets Harvey Hall of Fame Award
The Harvey Awards announced that John Byrne won the hall of fame award. John and other famous comic book creators were recognized in a ceremony held at the recent New York Comic Con.

Rob Norman announces writers list acceptance
In a Threads post, Rob Norman wrote that he’s been accepted into the 2025 Black List Writer’s Lab. The program offers writers creative mentorship and professional support to develop their project in a weekly workshop.

Jason Loo chats with Chip
In a Bluesky post, Jason Loo teased an interview with Chip Zdarsky in this month’s issue of Zdarsky Comic News (sadly ending soon). During their chat, Jason talks about Undead Iron First and how a certain ‘devil of a guest star’ will appear shortly.

Nominees announced for 2026 Forest of Reading program
CBC Books wrote about the nominees announced for the 2026 Forest of Reading program that encourages recreation reading for kids across Canada. Notable nominees include:
– Alina Tysoe for The Great Puptective 02 Purranormal Activity (Simon & Schuster Canada) in the Silver Birch Express Award category
– Sophie Escabasse for Taxi Ghost (Random House Graphic) in the Silver Birch Fiction Award category
– Natalie Schnitter with Leigh Joseph for The Lands Knows Me: A Nature Walk Exploring Indigenous Wisdom (MANDA) in the Yellow Cedar Award category
– Arden Taylor with Ann Richards for The True Story of Vanilla: How Edward Albius Made History (Orca Book Publishers) in the Yellow Cedar Award category
– Sabrina Gendron for Comme toi et moi (Druide) in the Prix Peuplier category
Congratulations to all the nominees.

Margaret Atwood wins award from Eleanor Roosevelt Center
People.com reported Margaret Atwood received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Eleanor Roosevelt Center and PEN America. The write up said Margaret was given the award at the Oct. 11 Literary awards for her writing of The Handmaid’s Tale and other works. Previously, Renee Nault spoke about her illustrative work for Margaret on The Handmaid’s Tale.

Jibola Fagbamiye chats up Fela: Music is the Weapon
NOW Toronto spoke with Jibola Fagbamiye who, along with Conor McCreery, created the graphic novel Fela: Music Is The Weapon. Jibola answered questions about the character of Fela, how his story relates to today’s issues, and more.

J. Torres on the record about Paisley & Peck: Jurassic Farm
Open Book chatted with J. Torres about his new graphic novel Paisley & Peck: Jurassic Farm for young readers illustrated by Mike Deas published by Owl Kids. During the conversation, answers were provided about the origin of the book, what message the story was designed to convey to readers, and various aspects of the book creation.

In case you missed it, check out this interview with Vivi Partridge about the new graphic novel Quiet Crossings from Conundrum Press.