Cartooning legends from around the world mingled with enthusiastic readers at the fourth Toronto Comic Arts Festival, held May 9-10 at the Toronto Reference Library. The biannual show drew crowds estimated to be in excess of the previous year’s 6,000 attendees, though official numbers will not be available until the end of the week. With an emphasis on literary comics and now webcomics, TCAF has become one of the most important shows of the year.
The library itself is a unique and fitting venue for the show, as it’s the location of a memorable fight scene from the action/romance/comedy series Scott Pilgrim. Fans geeked out while Brian Lee O’Malley signed books in a line that wound through the library. then ventured to the upper library tiers to gaze down on the weekend crowds. Michael Cera and other actors from the Edgar Wight directed adaptation of Scott Pilgrim were sighted by more than a few cartoonists, as the Toronto locals unhip to the world of comics confusedly wondered what movie was in production.
TCAF’s exhibitors are invited, so unlike MoCCA or SPX, there are no amateurs behind the tables, and the organizers curate from a variety of styles. Seasoned minicomics veterans like Jason Shiga and Matt Wiegle were flanked by small presses like Sparkplug and Buenaventura. Street Angelartist Jim Rugg faced indie darling Nate Powell and bonded over the new issue ofPapercutter. Web cartoonists were everywhere with analog copies of their work, and autobio comics proliferated like a new religion.
Among the many guests of honorwere cartoonists Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Scott McCloud, Tara MacPherson, YA author Cecil Castilucci, musician Kid Koala, and artist Paul Pope, who in one panel pontificated on the Shakespearean qualities of Batmite. New and notable books included Emmanuel Guibert’s The Photographer, Gene Yang and Derek Kirk Kim’s The Eternal Smile, Jason Turner’s new volume of True Loves, Brendan Buford’s Syncopated nonfiction anthology, and Kate Beaton’s Never Learn Anything From History, which quickly sold out on Saturday.
Drawn and Quarterly had a major presence at the show, with readings and signings from Tatsumi, Gabrielle Bell, Chester Brown, Adrian Tomine, and Seth, who garnered a two page article in The Globe And Mail, accompanied by photos of the artist in his studio and standing behind his spread in Kramer’s Ergot 7. D&Q premiered the first of two collections of cartoons by seminal Canadian cartoonist Doug Wright in conjunction with the awards that bear his name.
The awards were hosted by actor and filmmaker Don McKellar on Saturday night, and honored Canadian cartoonist writing in English. Matt Forsythe’s Oijingogo received the Pigskin Peters award for nontraditional comics, Jillian and Mariko Tamaki won Best Book for Skim, and Beaton took home the prize for Emerging New Talent. D&Q’s Chris Olivieros was honored for his company’s 20th anniversary, and Jimmy Frise was inducted into the Giants of the North Canadian Cartooning Hall of Fame.
Alternative Saturday events included the “Comics Are Totally Gay” reading at nearby bar Fire on the East Side, with performances by Liz Baillie, Erica Moen, Justin Hall, Tim Fish & Steve MacIssac. At the post-reading Q&A, participants reflected on the growing acceptance of gay comics within the industry, citing the success of Fun Home and the diversity of cartoonists within the catchall of “queer comics.”
Overall, business seemed on par with recent indie shows, and exhibitors praised the friendly and helpful TCAF volunteers. Organizer Chris Butcher said of the show: “In my mind I have the idea of the perfect comic book show, and with every TCAF that idea gets closer to reality.”
Top photo by MK Reed. Photos below taken by Mark Siegel.
Jillian Tamaki
Lark Pien
Paul Pope
Jason Shiga, Derek Kirk Kim and Lark Pien.
Paul Pope and Emmanuel Guibert
