Come one, come all to the 2018 Toronto Comic Arts Festival in beautiful Toronto, Ontario! Fantagraphics will be at the Toronto Public Library on May 12th and 13th to bring you new releases and an exciting lineup of special guests. Keep reading for the who, what, where, when of this year’s Festival.
Fantagraphics will be posted up at tables #148–#150 and we are very stoked to announce the artists who will be signing with us over the course of the weekend. Fanta-published featured guests this year include Inio Asano (Nijigahara Holograph), Ho Che Anderson (Godhead), Jaime Hernandez (Love and Rockets), and Georgia Webber (Dumb) all of whom will be signing with us!
Signing Schedule:
Programming Schedule:
21st Century Queer Romance: Pushing the Edges of Queer Love in Comics “
Saturday 11:00 AM Hinton Learning Theatre (3rd Floor, Library)
Tommi Parrish, Margins Publishing, Eleanor Crewes, Hazel Newlevant & Erica Friedman
No Love is Love, right? Sure. But in the mainstream, love still tends to look a certain kind of way. In this panel, cartoonists Tommy Parrish, Hazel Newlevant, Eleanor Crewes, and Zora Gilbert from Margins Publishing talk about creating comics that showcase the more personal and radical sides of queer romance. Moderated by Erica Friedman.
Celebrating 10 Years of TOON Books
Sunday 12:30 PM High Park Ballroom 2/3 (Marriott)
Françoise Mouly , Kevin McCloskey, Sergio García Sánchez, Jaime Hernandez & Brigid Alverson
Since 2008, TOON Books have been a leader in creating high-quality comics designed for children. Join TOON’s publisher, Editorial Director and Senior Designer Françoise Mouly in discussion with some of her All-Star illustrators (Jaime Hernandez, Sergio Garía Sánchez, Kevin McCloskey), as they talk about a decade of kids comics excellence. Moderated by Brigid Alverson.
Comic Book Confidential – 30th Anniversary Screening
Saturday 3:30 PM High Park Ballroom 2/3 (Marriott)
Jaime Hernandez, Françoise Mouly, Mark Askwith
No Comic Book Confidential is a landmark documentary, surveying the histories of mainstream, underground, and burgeoning alternative comics scenes. Join documentary subjects Françoise Mouly and Jaime Hernandez in conversation with Mark Askwith (one of the film’s producers) as they talk about the film’s impact, the past 30 years of comics, and what they see in store for the next 3 decades!
D-D-D-D-Drawing!
Sunday 10:30 AM Beeton Auditorium (1st Floor, Library)
Inio Asano Live Draw
Inio Asano No TCAF 2018 Featured Guest Inio Asano will create a brand new piece of art right before your eyes! Come and learn more about the drawing style and techniques of this modern manga master!
How To Read Nancy
Saturday 4:00 PM Learning Centre (1st Floor, Library)
Paul Karasik & Mark Newgarden
Everything that you need to know about reading, making, and understanding comics can be found in a single Nancy strip by Ernie Bushmiller from August 8, 1959. Mark Newgarden and Paul Karasik, authors of the groundbreaking How to Read Nancy (Fantagraphics Books) will submit their findings a fast-paced presentation.
Personal Boundaries: Changing Shape of Memoir
Sunday 12:00 PM Beeton Auditorium (1st Floor, Library)
David B, Georgia Webber, Marguerite Dabaie, Karl Stevens & Irene Velentzas
What is the power of personal narratives when tweets, instagram photos, and snapchats are increasingly changing the norms of sharing personal information? Does the longer narrative of memoir become more relevant,a break from the bombardment of social media? Or will it soon be dismissed by readers who want more immediacy from a glowing screen? Featuring memoirist David B, Georgia Webber, Marguerite Dabaie, and Karl Steven. Moderated by Irene Velentzas.
Practical & Personal: Communicating Health in Comics
Saturday 1:00 PM Beeton Auditorium (1st Floor, Library)
Georgia Webber, Kriota Willberg, Julie Rocheleau, Iasmin Omar Ata & Whit Taylor
Authors Georgia Webber, Kriota Willberg, Julie Rocheleau, and Iasmin Omar Ata all have different experiences of health and writting about it in their work. Through a mix of personal stories and professional experience in health care, and the powerful medium of comics, each artist sheds light on their health-focused practices, and how their health has shaped their creative lives. Moderated by Whit Taylor.
Spotlight: Hartley Lin x Georgia Webber
Saturday 2:45 PM High Park Ballroom 1 (Marriott)
Hartley Lin, Georgia Webber & Johanna Draper Carlson
After many years of serializing their respective series, TCAF Featured Guests Hartley Lin (Young Frances) and Georgia Webber (Dumb) are finally debuting their first major books! Check them out as they discuss grinding it out in the Canadian comics scene, hooking up with US publishers, and how they balance their comics careers with their non-comics lives. Moderated by Johanna Draper Carlson.
Spotlight: Ho Che Anderson “Ho Che Anderson
Sunday 1:30 PM Summerhill Ballroom (Marriott)
Ho Che Anderson & Aaron Broverman
Ho Che Anderson is a hard creator to pin down. His comics cover all kinds of genres, including ground-breaking biographies, pants-busting porn, b-movie revelry, and more! His latest book, Godhead, explores science, religion, and corporate greed. In conversation with Aaron Broverman, Anderson will talk about how he approaches his various projects, and what it takes for a story or genre to grab his attention.
Spotlight: Inio Asano
Saturday 1:30 PM Hinton Learning Theatre (3rd Floor, Library)
Inio Asano’s participation in TCAF 2018 marks his first-ever visit to North America, and we couldn’t be more excited! This on-stage interview will cover his varied and unique body of work, how he continues to change his voice with each project, and what to expect with his brand new book, Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction.
Spotlight: Jaime Hernandez
Sunday 4:00 PM Beeton Auditorium (1st Floor, Library)
Jaime Hernandez & Heidi MacDonald
Jaime Hernandez is indisputably one of the greatest comics illustrators of his generation. From the ground-breaking Love & Rockets to his new collection of Latin American folktales for kids, he has a distinct voice and depth to his story-telling that few others can match. In this panel, Jaime will talk about his long comics career, and what still inspires him today. Moderated by Heidi MacDonald
For more info on the festival including a full list of exhibitors and programming, head to the website here. See you there!