World Comics

Awards season is really shifting into high gear. The Doug Wright awards, honoring the best in English-language comics (or translations of French) by Canadians living at home and abroad, will be presented May 7th at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. In addition to the three main prizes, David Boswell, creator of Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman, has been inducted into The Giants of the North, the Canadian Cartoonists Hall of Fame -- only recently we were discussing with someone far better informed than us how Boswell is a legend of the Canadian comics scene, so it's a fitting honor for him. The rest of the finalists reflect a strong slate that has been much honored in other recent awards -- the Canadian scene is kicking it!

The Eagle Awards, the long running British comics awards, have announced the 2011 nominees. Winners will be announced at the London MCM Expo in May. Online voting is now open at the above link.

Just to give you a laugh as you head out for the weekend, the trailer for THE SMURFS, which stars Neil Patrick Harris as the human who gets embarrassed and frazzled by dealing with his new friends, and Harvey Pekar Hank Azaria as Gargamel.

Darna is a popular Filipino superheroine created by Mars Ravelo and Nestor Redondo in 1950. Contemporary creators Gerry Alanguilan (story and art page 1) and Arnold Arre (letters and art pages 2-8) have created a 9 page tribute called DARNA LIVES! which is inspired by Alan Moore's Marvelman.

Chinese artist Xiao Bai was just presented with the Gold Award in the International Manga Awards. The prize, founded by Japan's former otaku-loving prime minister Taro Aso are presented to recognize international achievements in the manga style. Bai won for “So Far, So Close,” a time travel story about a woman who meets her own son.

What is the great Italian cartoonist up to?

Hiroko Tabuchi of the NY Times has alengthy piece Japan's recent legislation banning sales of adult material to minors. Along the way there's a lot of "Only in Japan!" stuff:

Humanoids and WE Prod. are teaming for a live-action Metal Hurlant TV show, Variety reports, based on the material best known here as HEAVY...

Several attendees of the Angoulême comics festival are still filing their reports. A must-read is this report on the Rights Panel, including such smart folks as Peggy Burns, Carol Burrell, and Calista Brill talking about publishing realities:

Nominations for the 2011 Joe Shuster Awards, honoring the best in Canadian comics, have just been announced. Winners will be announced at a public ceremony in Calgary, Alberta on the evening of Saturday, June 18th, 2011 at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo which takes place June 17-19, 2011 at the BMO Round-Up Centre. In addition to nominees for various categories, judges chose two cartoonists for induction into the Hall of Fame: Chester Brown and Todd McFarlane.

Art Spiegelman has won the Grand Prix at this year's Angouleme comics festival, meaning he will be the "marshal" for next year's festival, setting the pace for the whole show.

The annual Angoulême comics festival is taking place over in France, and folks are blogging it like crazy. Tom Devlin and Peggy Burns from D&Q are having the best time ever obviously. And for those -- like The Beat -- who bitch and moan about having to stay at a hotel in San Diego more than 7 blocks from the convention center, the Burns-Devlin contingent is staying at a hotel 30 kilometres from city center. It helps when the hotel is a remodeled centuries old farmhouse and not a Days Inn, however -- no complaints at all.