Monday, May 5, 2014

PARKER AND THE TORONTO COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL


Hey CanadAmerica; 

Darwyn here. I wanted to drop by and bring attention to our appearance at TCAF this coming weekend, which will see the launch of the Illustrated Parker novels as well as a host of other cool events.

Bringing the Parker novels back in a premium hardcover form with illustration plates is something I've dreamed of for years, and as the dream moved closer to a scheduled reality I realized I wanted the book launch to happen in my hometown of Toronto. That immediately made me think of TCAF and what a fitting show it would be for the launch.

For those who haven't attended TCAF, it isn't your typical North American comics show. More European in approach, it avoids the mainstream and focuses on the art of cartooning and creating comics. An International guest list unrivalled in North America. In depth workshops. An amazing emphasis on comics for Kids as well as the cognoscenti. Free admission to the show proper.The Doug Wright Awards. Panels in local bars. 


Need I say more?

Oh yeah, the location. The Toronto reference library is one of the coolest examples of seventies Toronto architecture. Built in '77, my father (a construction foreman) and some of my uncles installed all of the glass in the building. He took us there when it opened, and I can recall being dazzled by it's Logan's Run style moderne.

As a teen I remember pouring over their reference files for illustrations and comic projects. One day I discovered they had bound copies of old periodicals and ended up spending seven hours reading Esquire magazines from the sixties. Long Fall evenings feeding dimes into the old photocopier because you couldn't check out the materials. I bought my first used Parker paperback about a block north in a used bookstore about 30 years ago. So the juju is strong for me in that funky library.

I can't imagine a better time or place for the Parker Novel launch. Scott Dunbier and I will be there with Marsha, bearing a TCAF edition of The Hunter, a limited edition TCAF Parker print, and special editions of the Parker graphic novels.




Scott and I will also be at a spotlight panel on Saturday hosted by Tom Spurgeon at the Pilot tavern. Sunday Spurge has me on a design panel with hypertalents Mimi Pond, Ed Piskor and Kate Skelly. There is an amazing lineup of programming at TCAF. For the full list, follow the link;





For me, the event of the weekend will be teaming back up with my old partner in crime Ed Brubaker for a night at the Bloor Cinema. We're going to jaw about the crime and the noir, and then screen Kubrick's The Killing, one of the greatest caper movies ever made. Afterward, we'll be at the Beguiling for more chat and some signing.


This is going to be an amazing weekend for comics, Toronto. So drop by and see us at table 180 on the main floor, Saturday or Sunday.