TCAF, the Toronto Comic Arts Festival will be held May 9-10th this year, with a whole week of events, art exhibits, screenings. Special programming events include the CSSC-SCEBD Academic Conference, Library & Educator Day, Word Balloon Academy, and Comics Vs. Games 4. IN other words, it jam packed with stuff to see and do. As for programming the first spotlight has been announced: Drawn & Quarterly’s 25th anniversary, which is certain to bring out some top notch sessions.
TCAF is a FREE two day event held at the Toronto Reference Library, and if you love comics or cartooning this is definitely one of the most comprehensive (and fun) events celebrating the artform in North America.
The first nine guests have been announced:
Charles Burns: Creator of Black Hole, one of the most important graphic novels of all time, Burns will be at TCAF to celebrate his recently completed new graphic novel series X’ed Out (Pantheon Books).
Eleanor Davis: An outstanding cartoonist and editorial illustrator (The New Yorker, New York Times), Davis’ recent graphic novel release How To Be Happy (Fantagraphics) is one of the best graphic novels of 2014, and TCAF is thrilled to welcome this cartoonist to Toronto.
Gurihiru: This dynamic cartooning duo hails from Tokyo, Japan, and is beloved in North America for their original graphic novels set in the universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender (Dark Horse).
Lucy Knisley: A long-time supporter of the Festival, Knisley’s memoirs and travelogues are well-loved across the continent. Knisley attends as a Featured Guest in 2015, in support of her new travelogue/graphic novel Displacement (Fantagraphics).
Scott McCloud: Creator of the essential comics text Understanding Comics, TCAF will welcome McCloud to Toronto in support of his acclaimed new graphic novel The Sculptor (First Second Books).
Barbara Stok: Hailing from The Netherlands, Stok has an impressive collection of graphic novels to her credit. TCAF is happy to welcome her as a Featured Guest of the Festival in 2015, in conjunction with her debut English-language graphic novel release Vincent (SelfMadeHero), an important and critically-praised biography of Vincent Van Gogh.
Jillian Tamaki: With her cousin Mariko Tamaki, Jillian Tamaki’s 2014 TCAF Debut This One Summer (Groundwood/First Second) took home a Governor General’s Award, a Caldecott Honor, and a Printz Honor. In 2015, Jillian Tamaki will release SuperMutantMagicAcademy (Drawn & Quarterly), her hilarious new graphic novel.
Chip Zdarsky: Hometown favourite and emerging international superstar Zdarsky (a.k.a. Steve Murray) is welcomed as a Featured Guest for 2015! Best-known for his ground-breaking comic series Sex Criminals (with writer Matt Fraction), spring 2015 will see the launch of his new series Kaptara (Image Comics) with fellow Toronto illustrator Kagan McLeod, and a relaunch of Marvel Comics’ Howard The Duck.
While these nine guests are a fine start, more will be announced, hailing from France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Canada and the US, with more than 300 cartoonist will be in attendance. Good times.
If you parlay BayDay, the Le Festival de la bade dessinée francophone de Québec (The Festival of Francophone comic Québec) is April 8-12 in Quebec City. It’s been running since 1988.
No guest info yet, but they do host many French creators.
(And on Sunday, February 22, there’s LiQIBD, an improv comics competition. http://liqibd.com/ )
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