The Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2022

June 17-19,2022  #TCAF2022

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ANNOUNCING TCAF 2022!

We are celebrating our 20th anniversary with a return to in-person events!

TCAF is thrilled to announce that our festival is back from June 17-19, 2022 — and will feature a unique combination of both real-life and virtual events.

Welcome to the biggest, most comprehensive, and inclusive TCAF to date! Following on the success of last year’s extensive range of virtual programming, TCAF will bring together the best of both worlds for 2022, offering one-of-a-kind virtual events alongside a new and improved online marketplace for global visitors, as well as the triumphant return of in-person programming, events and creator exhibition for local attendees.

Based in the Toronto Public Library’s Reference Library at 789 Yonge Street, as well as neighbouring venues, TCAF 2022 will spotlight hundreds of creators, publishers, and comics organizations from around the world. Featured programming will include talks, panels, classic Q&As, workshops, kids-specific events, and so much more!

Applications to exhibit at TCAF 2022 are open until February 7, 2022. Exhibitors will choose a preference of exhibiting online or in-person, or both! International exhibitors are welcome. CLICK HERE TO APPLY.

TCAF welcomes those who have demonstrated a commitment to upholding the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including but not limited to, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour), persons with disabilities, and those who identify as women and/or 2SLGBTQ+. TCAF is committed to providing an event free of discrimination and harassment; a festival where all participants are treated with respect and dignity. More about this commitment can be found in our Conduct & Harassment Policy page.

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Announcing Kodansha x TCAF!

TCAF is excited to announce that we will be featuring an EXCLUSIVE online art show in partnership with mangaka Akane Shimizu and her publisher Kodansha. Get a peek behind the scenes of the hit series Cells at Work! this May!

Check out a sneak preview of the upcoming final volume (complete with a look at the virus that’s upended our lives), along with rough sketches from creator Akane Shimizu. Dive into the secret world of the human body manga-style!

We will also be hosting a panel to continue our highlight of Cells at Work!. Join us on Thursday, May 13th, at 3:00 PM EDT (link coming soon), as we examine the dynamic, entertaining, and educational world of the hit manga series. A science teacher, a doctor of medicine, and a manga writer band together to look at the series through their respective lenses, talk about the science behind the stories, and consider the intersection between science literacy and visual storytelling.

Thanks to support from publisher Kodansha, you’ll also get a sneak peek of the upcoming English release of Cells At Work! volume 6! Don’t miss it!

More about Akane Shimizu:

Akane Shimizu was born in 1994, Tokyo. After receiving The 27th Shonen Sirius Rookie Award Grand Prize in 2014, she began the Cells at Work! serialization in the March 2015 issue of Monthly Shonen Sirius. This series saw the end of its Japanese run in March 2021. The English-language editions of Cells at Work! volumes 1 through 5 are available from Kodansha, with the final volume 6 set to debut in June 2021.

More about our panelists:

Deb Aoki writes about manga for Publishers Weekly, and is a co-host on Mangasplaining, a weekly podcast introducing comics from Japan to people who don’t normally read a lot of manga. She’s also an illustrator and comics creator. You can see more of her work at debaoki.com, and find her on Twitter @debaoki.

Dr. Yi Ariel Liu (she/they) is a medical doctor who looks at cells under the microscope and diagnoses diseases. They were the co-editor and illustrator for ThinkSkin.ca, a blog dedicated to discussing common dermatology myths. As a surviving cancer patient, they strive to tell stories through comics to raise awareness in chronic illnesses and improve health literacy. Their work has been exhibited at the Canadian Conference on Medical Education, Vancouver Comic Arts Festival and other medical events. Find them on Twitter @YiArielLiuMD or at artofyaliu.com.

After receiving a Bachelor of Science with a major in microbiology and immunology from McGill, Wen Zhao went on to complete his degree in education with a semester abroad in Japan. For the past four years, he has taught math and science in both Alberta and British Columbia. As a fan of anime and manga, Wen has found both invaluable in fostering connections with his students, and a great way to pique interest in the sciences with educational series like Cells at Work!. He is currently a science teacher in Calgary and an aspiring lawyer who will begin law school at the University of Calgary this fall.

About Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC:

A subsidiary of Kodansha, Japan’s largest publisher, Kodansha USA Publishing is the English-language publisher of some of the world’s most recognizable manga properties, including Katsuhiro Otomo’s AKIRA and Naoko Takeuchi’s Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, along with a robust catalog of English-language Japanese novels, cookbooks, craft guides, historical and cultural literature, and more. Today, thanks to recent fan-favorite and critically acclaimed hits like Attack on Titan, Battle Angel Alita, Witch Hat Atelier, and the popular MONOGATARI novels, Kodansha USA Publishing is one of the best-selling manga publishers in the United States. Kodansha USA Publishing’s print offerings are distributed by Penguin Random House Publisher Services, and their digital manga and select digital books are available across a number of digital comics, manga, and book vendors. For more information, visit kodansha.us.

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Apply now for Blind Date 2021 — France / Canadian Edition / Postulez maintenant pour le Blind Date 2021 – France / Canada!

Applications Open! 

Les candidatures sont ouvertes!

We are delighted to host a fourth year of this initiative, and add the French Embassy in Canada as our second partner organization!

Le Toronto Comic Arts Festival (Toronto, Canada) et l’Ambassade de France au Canada ont le plaisir de vous inviter à participer la nouvelle édition de Blind Date 2021.

In 2018, TCAF and the Ministry of Culture of Colombia launched the Blind Date project (Cita a ciegas), which aimed to connect two comic artists from each country to collaborate digitally. In December 2020, we selected two more artists to continue this project. We are excited to show you the results very soon!

Initié en 2018 par le TCAF et le Ministère de la Culture de Colombie, le programme Blind Date (Cita a ciegas), invite un bédéiste Colombien et un bédéiste Canadien à collaborer numériquement. Deux nouveaux artistes ont été sélectionnés en 2020 dans le cadre de ce programme.

At this time, we’re asking Canadian artists to submit their interest in being considered for the first ever French/Canadian Blind Date project. The selected Canadian artist will receive $1500 CAD to support the creation of this work. The selected French artist will also receive $1500 CAD.

Pour la quatrième édition de Blind Date, en 2021, le programme s’étend en France! Auteurs français et canadiens: vous êtes invités à manifester votre intérêt pour participer au tout premier projet de Blind Date franco-canadien. Un artiste français et un artiste canadien seront sélectionnés: chacun recevra 1 500 dollars canadiens (environ 1000 euros).

The Canadian artist and French artist will jointly develop a comic art project around the theme of conversation with the expectation that they:

Deliver a total of 10-12 pages of comic, or the webcomic equivalent, to be hosted online and formatted for digital audiences.

Meet digitally at least once every two weeks (for example through Zoom, Skype, video calling, screenshare, etc.) with ongoing correspondence between meetings.

Create some official documentation of the artistic process that can be publicly shared.

Complete and submit the final project by May 5, 2021.

L’artiste canadien et l’artiste français développeront conjointement un projet de bande dessinée autour du thème de la conversation, et seront invités à :

Livrer un total de 10 à 12 pages de bande dessinée, ou l’équivalent en webcomics, qui seront hébergées en ligne et formatées pour une diffusion numérique.

Se rencontrer virtuellement au moins une fois toutes les deux semaines (par exemple via Zoom, Skype, appel vidéo, partage d’écran, etc.) et échanger régulièrement en dehors des rencontres.

Documenter le processus de création  artistique sous un format qui puisse être diffusé et partagé publiquement.

Terminer et soumettre le projet final avant le 5 mai 2021.

If you are interested in participating, please submit your application to [email protected] by April 11, 2021 at 11:59pm. We recognize the short turnaround for this deadline, so we are making the application process as straightforward as possible. Please send the following three parts to [email protected] with the subject heading “Blind Date 2021 Application”:

A selected artist’s CV or bio (no longer than 2pgs) with relevant experience

Digital portfolio of 5-7 works/images of comic art

A short statement of interest (max. 400 words) OR a 15 minute zoomcall (let us know if you’d like to take this option and we can schedule it)

Si vous souhaitez participer, merci de bien vouloir soumettre à [email protected] avant le 11 avril 2021 à 23h59. Nous sommes conscients du court délai, c’est pourquoi nous rendons le processus de candidature aussi simple que possible. Veuillez envoyer les trois éléments suivants à [email protected] avec pour objet “Blind Date 2021 Application”:

Un CV ou une biographie de l’artiste (pas plus de 2 pages) indiquant toute expérience pertinente

Un portfolio numérique de 5 à 7 œuvres/images de bande dessinée

Une courte lettre de motivation (400 mots maximum) OU un appel Zoom de 15 minutes avec nos équipes (faites-nous savoir si vous préférez cette option et nous pourrons la programmer)

Canadian creators interested in participating in the project do not have to be exhibitors at TCAF to apply.

Les créateurs canadiens intéressés à participer au projet ne doivent pas nécessairement être exposants au TCAF pour envoyer leur candidature.

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TCAF IS FOR EDUCATORS AND LIBRARY WORKERS!

Libraries & Education Day 2021 / Friday, May 14th / Free to Attend

What’s this all about?

TCAF Libraries & Education Day is a day of programming aimed at teachers, teacher-librarians, librarians,  library workers and collection managers who want to know more about incorporating comics and graphic novels into their collections and classrooms. Information-rich presentations and lectures, panel discussions, and workshops impart valuable information about building collections, improving circulation, targeting important demographics, and integrating comics into classroom use.This year’s event will be online and you’re welcome to attend all of the programming or tune in for only the sessions that most interest you. 

Registration is now open: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc-f0J45qPMpJ5gFZoKYCebVzfuo6cQA-KWUPdYEyTkY3j2tw/viewform?fbclid=IwAR0mWeRnfcOiAfHIqXVCpprzVd9MuL3mx8AuYZComv4nLO1Kg_9ReTyLTg8

Our 2021 keynote speaker will be Jeff Smith (Bone, Rasl, Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil). The rest of the 2021 program will be announced as it is confirmed (coming soon!). Our sessions will span a range of topics pertinent to comics librarianship and education. In past years we’ve run sessions such as: Indigenous-created Comics in the Classroom, Graphic Novels and the New Visual Literacy, Global Competencies, Comics in a Dangerous Time, Science Comics, and What’s the Deal with French Comics?

If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

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Very excited to reveal the official poster for #TCAF2021 by Cole Pauls! 

“Traditional indigenous storytelling can be expressed through song & dance. Transformation masks are regalia you’d wear performing sacred songs. This poster illustrates how comics can reveal a whole new world to the reader and how empowering it is to see authentic representation of your own culture on a page. Essentially, this is what it felt like to me the first time I read a Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas or Gord Hill book!!!”  — Cole Pauls

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Announcing TCAF 2021!

After a challenging year, we’re so excited to announce the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) is back — with a virtual twist! Free of the shackles of corporeal existence, TCAF’s marketplace will have more days than ever before, and include a week of on-demand programming. Comic and art lovers can visit TCAF 2021 online any time between May 8-15, 2021, to peruse and shop hundreds of exhibitors’ amazing works, sit in on classic Q&As, workshops, talks, and so much more!

Our new exhibition website is being made in partnership with Canzine (the festival of zines) and the Toronto Hand Eye Society. Zinesters and indie video game creators will be among our 600 virtual exhibitors in May.

If you want to exhibit at TCAF 2021, fill out this form by March 3, 2021:

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Applicants will have the choice to apply for TCAF, Canzine OR Comics x Games. Accepted exhibitors will have a customizable online shop page where they can upload up to 5 items for sale. After TCAF, exhibitors will send all sold items to a warehouse, where orders will be bundled and shipped off to shoppers. This process is to help save exhibitors and visitors excess transaction and shipping fees. There will be options to include additional products.

More details will come on Twitter @torontocomics, on our website at www.torontocomics.com, and at canzine.ca.

FAQ

❥ When and where is TCAF?

The Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2021 will take place virtually May 8-15, 2021.

❥ Do I need to live in Toronto to take part?

Nope. International exhibitors are welcome!

❥ So, how does this work for me?

If accepted, you will have an online profile store page along with hundreds of other cartoonists in a shared marketplace. After the exhibition is closed, we will send you a report of all the items you’ve sold and you will ship those items to a centralized location. From there, our third-party warehouse will ship compiled orders to our happy customers.

❥ Why the additional item fees?

The additional fees will cover the costs of shipping, handling, and transactions. To save costs for exhibitors and visitors, shipping will be handled by a third-party warehouse. After the event, exhibitors will send all of their sold items to the warehouse to mail out to shoppers. This will save exhibitors and visitors quite a bit on shipping costs; however, this service comes with associated costs, hence the fees for additional items.

❥ Why the different registration costs between TCAF and Canzine?

The different registration costs reflect the difference in products and audiences. TCAF exhibitors sell (relatively) higher-priced items that are heavier (e.g. books) and tend to sell at higher volumes. Canzine exhibitors sell low-cost items (e.g. 16-page zine) that are lighter and tend to sell at lower volumes.

❥ I was accepted to TCAF in 2020 but didn’t get to exhibit because of the pandemic. You said we’d be at the next TCAF? What’s the deal?

If you were accepted to TCAF in 2020, you can either defer to this year or defer to 2022. If you apply to TCAF 2021, we will assume that you are taking your deferral to this year. Please include that you were accepted into TCAF 2020 in the “Anything else we should know?” section.

❥ How do collectives and publishers apply?

Unlike past years, we are asking for a single application from collectives and publishers. If you’re a collective, please

include a list of all members of your application. If you’re a publisher, please include authors you are planning on featuring with your application.

If you have additional questions, please email [email protected].

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Regarding Conduct & Harassment in the Comics Industry

In light of the recent allegations made by women against various men in the comics industry, we at the Toronto Comics Arts Festival (TCAF) wish to make it unequivocally clear that all forms of harassment and predation, including subtler forms such as grooming, are not tolerated by the festival.

We recognize that TCAF plays an important role in the comics industry, that the festival is an active space for networking, and this tasks us with the responsibility of continually addressing and revisiting the challenges of maintaining a safe space for all attending and aspiring creators.

We are currently reviewing our existing Conduct & Harassment Policy, with the aim of explicitly addressing events we host or co-host with our cultural and business partners off the main exhibition sites of the festival where TCAF staff are harder to identify. We will announce revisions before our next live event.

In addition, we will be reviewing our past and current processes for inviting and handling reports of harassment and will provide updates as necessary.

— Christopher Butcher, Miles Baker + The TCAF Board (Coralie D’Souza, Gary Sherman, Kawai Shen, Khris Cuthbertson, Peter Birkemoe)

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TCAF’s Commitment to Ending Anti-Black & Anti-Indigenous Racism

“Stay safe.”  We say it so often and without thinking. It’s even starting to lose its meaning.

These words have a very different meaning to Black and Indigenous peoples, groups who are subject to greater precarity, particularly when intersecting with gender, class, and other forms of systemic discrimination.

In the wake of recent events, including the widespread outpourings of solidarity against anti-black racism in North America, and specifically in Canada, the killings of 8 indigenous persons by police since just this April — we are taking stock and acknowledge the systemic and institutional barriers we play a part in.

Simply put, the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF)—whose leadership currently lacks Black or Indigenous representation —can do better.

We exist to support creators of comic works in their broad and diverse voices in order to promote the medium of comics as a legitimate medium of literary and artistic worth. We believe we have a role to play in supporting diversity in our field and are making a commitment to do so, with intention.

We will begin with a commitment to learning by ensuring our staff and volunteers and the board receive resources and materials to help facilitate their understanding of issues raised by BIPOC communities, with attention to intersectional identities, including but not limited to QTBIPOC identified individuals. We are also exploring new ways of applying an anti-racist lens in building our community, including our staff and volunteers, with the understanding that accounting for anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism must be at the forefront.

We do not see this as a one-time project, but a life-long one that will inform the organization we aspire to be going forward. We look forward to working with the larger comics industry, and community to do so and will provide updates as we develop our plans.  

-- Christopher Butcher, Miles Baker + The TCAF Board (Coralie D’Souza, Gary Sherman, Kawai Shen, Khris Cuthbertson, Peter Birkemoe)

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TCAF 2020 Digital Showcase

Here's a sampling of what you can expect to find in the the TCAF 2020 Digital Showcase:

- Jon Allen (Image 1) - Alex Kostiw (Image 2) - Decur & Enchanted Lion Books (image 3) - Europe Comics (Image 4)

Download the Digital Showcase for Free: https://gumroad.com/torontocomics

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TCAF 2020 Digital Showcase

Here's another sampling of some great comics you can find in the TCAF 2020 Digital Showcase:

- Emily Benger (image 1) - Vera Greentea (image 2) - Hannah Templer (Image 3) - Hazel and Belle (image 4)

Download the showcase for free on Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/torontocomics

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TCAF 2020 Digital Showcase 

Some of the artists featured in the TCAF 2020 Digital showcase are: - Karen Shangguan and Laura Cañas (Images 1 and 2) - Amara Sherm (Image 3) - Anuj Shrestha (Image 4) 

See more of these creators' work, and other comic creators and publishers' work, the Showcase!

Download the Digital Showcase for FREE on Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/torontocomics

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TCAF 2020 Digital Showcase

Need a little pick me up on this Monday? Highly recommend checking out the TCAF2020 Digital Showcase! Free to download on Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/torontocomics

Images featured in this post are by Jean Wei. Check out her work in the showcase!

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TCAF 2020 Digital Showcase 

In case you missed it, we released a Digital Showcase of over 100 TCAF 2020 exhibitors yesterday! It's like walking through the exhibition! It's over 400 pages and is FREE on Gumroad! It has original comics, and includes links to the exhibitors for all to check out. https://gumroad.com/torontocomics

The Digital Showcase also includes an original (and beautiful) comic by Karen Shangguan & Laura Cañas. This comic was commissioned as part of the “Blind Date” initiative, our collaboration with the Entreviñetas Festival in Colombia. We hope you enjoy the showcase and support the exhibitors by clicking on the links provided on their pages.

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Page and Panel: The TCAF Shop Fundraiser 

THANK YOU!! Our GoFundMe for Page & Panel: The TCAF Shop was a SUCCESS! We can't thank you all enough for sharing, supporting and donating to our fundraiser. We know the last few months have been difficult for everyone, and this show of love and support will keep our vibrant community space going. Again, thank you!!

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Page and Panel: The TCAF Shop Fundraiser 

For this #flashbackfriday post, we’re looking back at some cool visitors who have come through the Page and Panel store. First pic: Rodney Barnes and Orlando Jones. Second pic: Colm Feore. Who knows who’ll walk through the doors next time!

Our GFM for the Page and Panel store is SUPER close to its goal. If you’re able to, pls consider donating. With the month ending, the funds will go toward paying rent. Thank you so much for supporting us! https://www.gofundme.com/f/page-and-panel

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TCAF 2020: Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Panel Interview

Woohoo! We’re so excited to share the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Panel Interview!! Join Ryan North, Erica Henderson, Derek Charm, & Wil Moss as they talk about the end of the series now that it’s wrapped up in this special #TCAF2020 online panel! https://youtu.be/EXVMBzw4Mhg

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TCAF2020 - Spark Comic Jam

Tonight! Check out the Spark Comic Jam online! Part of #TCAF2020 and #CanCAF programming

https://www.twitch.tv/supersparkplug