A veteran activist was kind enough to speak with me the other day about antiracist work and we both agreed that we were dissatisfied with what we saw as an overemphasis on education and training. Personally, I have long thought this was not an effective strategy – only useful if augmenting more radical changes that … Continue reading
I just tabled for my third year at Canzine. Instead of doing a typical show recap, I thought I might reflect upon what I’ve learned about $$$ doing all these fairs. [Edit: You’ll notice an obvious omission below and that is compensation for labour. It’s because I don’t actually consider zine-making a business or a … Continue reading
We often read about how to best prepare for a show but I rarely come across tips for what to do when a show is over. Here are some of the things I try to do after a long tabling sesh. Please feel free to leave your own tips! Meeting people We meet so many … Continue reading
Neil Gaiman recently wrote about his uncertainty regarding a proposal to write a short story which would feature some kind of product placement. He has worked with corporations before on creative projects, he already enjoys the proposed product, and to boot, he has mentioned this product before in a previous work. Yet he writes, “Now … Continue reading
I just learned that another independent bookstore in the Annex, Book City, is closing shop although it will continue to operate at other locations in the city. There have been a number of closings in the Annex neighbourhood in the past few years, including the Toronto Women’s Bookstore, and a personal favourite, Atticus Books, which … Continue reading
The Toronto Comic Arts Festival is one of my favourite events in the city because it draws in people of all ages, groups and styles. If you want to see a real cross section of Toronto’s populace, TCAF is where it’s at. I love how this diverse city can have so many different, oft-hidden, interdependent … Continue reading
Last week, @Jimzub tweeted “98% of the articles/reviews written are by would-be comic writers sucking up or bitterly criticizing others.” Then, one of my favourite film critics died. And I began thinking more about arts criticism and the act of writing reviews. Zub’s tweet raises an important point because unlike films, concerts, literary works and … Continue reading
Having heard a number of cartoonists speak, one of the predominant themes that arises is the crushing social isolation the act of making comics entails. Even for the most die-hard introvert, this can be fairly dispiriting at times. I enjoy my solitude but I’ve put myself on a strict schedule to allow myself to actually … Continue reading
I recently attended The Beguiling’s 25th Anniversary launch in which Seth moderated a panel with Charles Burns, Adrian Tomine and Chris Ware. The men discussed the history of comics and quickly tread into the arena of high vs low art. Although this type of thing often veers toward subjective taste, this is more than just … Continue reading
Cute Juice 