canzine extravaganza! (tcj vol 19 iss 9)

What is a Comic Jam? One person draws a begin-ning panel, then a different person continues with a following panel, and so on until you have a finished comic page. From comic book professionals to oc-casional scratch pad doodlers, everyone is welcome. It’s a time when you can let loose with your imagi-nation and not worry if it’s perfect or not.

The Toronto Comic Jam runs the last Tuesday of every month except December.

[email protected]

Founder: Dave HowardOrganizer/Muse: Dalton SharpJr. Vice President: Zann PreneyJ.Jonah Jameson Analog: David BEditor: Shane SteponasConsultant: Leanne RWebmaster: Tom King

Logo Design: Robb Mirsky

ISSN: 1705-303X , Vol. 19, No. 9, August 25th, 2015. All contents © the authors and artist who participated at the Comic Jam. The TCJ re-serves the right to print or reprint all sub-missions in any future publication. No un-authorized reproduction except for brief excerpts for text or review purposes only.

Last month’s jam was epic. There were so many new faces and the Jam just keeps geting bigger and better. Some of the memories are hazy but that may have something to do with a healthy dose of drinking. By all accounts it went smashingly... a solid send off to the best Toronto summer in the past quarter century!

This month’s feature is Christina Poag and be sure to buy her stuff at Canzine this year. It’s in the AGO and the Comic Jam will have a table there too. That’s two chances to jam in October! Anddon’t forget to come out andcheer on TEAM JACOB Team Comic Jamas they compete in a ZineDrawing Challenge.

Finally, thanks to all the artistswho make the Toronto Comic Jamawesome!

Yours,The editing team

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Copies of the Toronto Comic Jam books are currently available at:

Dr. Comics44 Kensington Avenue,Toronto, ON M5T(416) 479-0920

The Beguiling601 Markham St,Toronto, ON M6G 2L7(416) 533-9168

The Hairy Tarantula354 Yonge StToronto, ON M5B 1S5(416) 596-8002

The Silver Snail329 Yonge St,Toronto, ON M5B 1R7(416) 593-0889

And now... the Artists’ NewstandChester Subway Station (1pm-7pm)

22 Chester Avenue, Toronto, [email protected] @ChesterNewsies

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Label your Comic Jam drawings at

TorComJam.com 9

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Like a benign invasive species, Christina Poag

has taken root here in To-ronto and isn’t letting go. In less than a year of arriv-ing in Canada and starting webcomics, she’s attracted hundreds of visitors to her site daily and will be de-buting at Canzine this year. Not only is Christina Poag fitting in to her new envi-ronment, she’s thriving.

“Oh my God, I love this city,” she exclaimed. “Don’t ever make me leave!” While fond of Canadian weather, what Poag can’t get enough of is the To-ronto art scene. It’s a far cry from Reseda, Los Angeles County where she grew up.

“Oh man, it was so dry,” she said referring to Reseda’s art scene. “There were no comics there! They’re more street art, which is really cool, but I don’t work on a giant scale, I work on digital and on paper.”

You can find some of her digital work on Social Hangover where Poag turns her personal ups and downs into a weekly webcomic. “At first I didn’t want to do it,” she ex-plained. “It was just in my sketch books at first. I was just trying to make myself feel better by making com-ics about (life).” After some encouragement from her husband, the online re-

sponse to her comics was immediate.

The comics are vibrant and accessible but it’s the personal connection that drives them. Many Comic Jammers can relate to Poag’s comic about her first time going to the Cameron House on the last Tuesday of the month. “It does seem like a lot of cartoonists have that whole anxiety and depres-sion thing,” she reflected. “

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The New Breed of Webcomic Artist

By David B

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It’s cool to know that I can connect with people on an anxiety level.”

Coming a long way from her first Comic Jam, Poag’s getting ready for her Can-zine debut of Press Start, a collection of comics inspired by people’s interactions with video games as well as her own experiences. “I got the idea ‘cause I was playing Super Mario 2 one day,” she re-called smiling. “I was just cursing at it and getting mad at the game and I turned to my husband and I said, ‘this is so much fun! I miss cursing like this!’”

At 30 years old, Poag look like she’s having the time of her life drawing so much. In addi-tion to the weekly

webcomic, she’s been editing and redraw-ing one of her previous works

Gardenia. That’s on top of crafting her next comic,

Ashes and Coffee Stains. Then there’s the Elements Anthology that she sub-mitted a pitch to. It’s hard to reconcile the image of this prolific artist with the anxiety prone person as

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depicted in her webcomic.

“I like to do a lot of things,” she explained without boasting. “I like to say that there’s not enough time in the day for all of the things that I want to get done. There’s no limit of ideas.” In one of Poag’s recent comics she elucidated that the anxiety is still there but she’s getting better at focusing on herself and trying to worry less about everyone else’s pace or their success.

But while the Poag is try-ing not to be distracted by others, artists can take a page from her book and start a Patreon. “I think it’s a great way to start,” Poag enthused. “I wish I had this when I first started making art because really it makes it that much easier.”

With Patreon, fans set an amount of money to give artists every time they make a work of art from which the company takes a 5%. Unlike crowd-

funding a specific project with large goals, it’s a like a monthly subscription that Poag says is helping her “continue to make comics as a day job.”

You’ll see the fruits of that day job when Canzine takes over the Art Gallery of Ontario on October 17th. Besides the afore-mentioned video game themed Press Start, Poag will also have copies of her “lesbian zombie romance comic” that’s set in 1946, Gardenia. But all of you loyal patrons of the To-ronto Comic Jam are being treated to a sneak peak right now.

Christina Poag continued

www.kittiecakes.netwww.socialhangover.netwww.patreon.com/kittiecakes

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Canzine is Toronto’s preemi-nent festival in celebration of self-published works and

underground arts culture. But on October 17th it will also become something else: A bloody battle-ground.

There will be a ”Zine Race” at this year’s Canzine from 5:00pm to 5:40pm, pitting two teams of artists in a brutal contest to see who can make a comic based on audience suggestions in just 30 minutes or less. The ravenous audience will be yelling out sug-gestions for each page that the artists must follow. Anything can

happen at this event, but only one team can emerge victorious.

Like a modern day Tina Turner in Thunderdome, Broken Pencil’s Alison Lang selected the teams. On one side is Team Gladhand consisting of Robb Mirsky, Jor-dan Bursach, (aka Jay Bee), and Dalton Sharp who have all cut their teeth in the harsh unfor-giving arena that is the Toronto Comic Jam. But team Gladhand’s opponents are no lightweights either. On the other side is Team Cheez made of such Toronto luminaries as Seth Scriver, Mark Connery and Fiona Smyth.

Team Gladhand leader Dalton “the Sharpener” Sharp isn’t ruffled about going up against such heavy hitters. “They’re a threat but I feel like we’ll be able to deal with it,” he explained insouciantly.

A Comic Jammer since the early 2000’s, Sharp is fast and furious with a brush pen. And while he says he and his team “were all drafted” for this event, he has every confidence in his comic jammers. “Yeah, it’s a great team. Especially since Jay’s here.”

Jordan, “the Brawler” Bursach may not have been to the Jam

Battle Royal!

Written by David B

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in a while, but he and Sharp have the advantage of having Jammed together on the side and know the other’s style. In 2012 they represented the TCJ at Nuit Blanche’s Zine Machine challenge to make and publish a zine in an hour. And both Bur-sach and Sharp have held their own in mini jams with the likes of Dave Lapp, Chester Brown and Nina Bunjevac. “It’s good experience,” the Daltonator beamed. “It just makes us more dangerous.”

Team member Robb “the Mauler” Mirsky expressed some doubts. His energetic drawing style is legendary at the Comic Jam but he can’t help but feel trepidation go-ing up against the celebrated Toronto artists. “I know that Mark Connery and Fiona Smyth are big names,” he confessed. “So I’m kind of intimidated.”

Mirsky been making a name for himself recently too. Designing band posters across town put him on Broken Pencil’s radar and they asked him to design this year’s Canzine poster. He didn’t back away when approached for the zine challenge. “I’m flattered and terrified,” expressed Mirsky. “But you don’t say no to those kind of things. I’m sure it will be fine and I am looking forward to it.”

The thing that has all of the artists worried is the unpredict-able, bloodthirsty audience. Over on Team Cheez, Seth “the

Screwdriver” Scriver concedes the audience is unknown factor. “I think it might be pretty fun,” Scriver enthused. “But I think it all depends on who’s in the audience yelling at me!”

The last time Scriver was in front of an audience was when he and friend Shayne Ehman were screening their film Asphalt Watches around the world after wining an award at TIFF 2013. “Just to point out, my movie did take 8 or 7 ½ years with my col-laborator Shane so, I’m not the

quickest!”

Despite having “doodled” with Mark “Ornery” Connery before, Scriver considers himself the “rookie” on team Cheez. But team captain, Fiona “I’m going to crush you into Smithereens” Smyth, believes in the draw-ing prowess of her teammates. Smyth used a term to describe the drawing styles of Team Cheez, and notes that cartoon-ist Marc Bell coined it. “We are all Guerrilla Psychedooolic folks and should meld well.”

The clear powerhouse of her team, Smyth has every reason to be confident going into the Oc-tober 17th match. Her art show on display at Weird Gallery (998 Bathurst St.) is appropriately

called Scenes from the Maul and this summer she launched the lauded Sex is a Funny Word with writer Cory Silverberg.

But most importantly, at this year’s Word on the Street Smyth and Connery won a Zine Race match against her “super tal-ented and worthy opponents Nina Bunjevac and Dave Lapp.” Smyth surmised, “I cannot pre-sume victory but my teams’ wild styles are known to bewilder, bedazzle, and knock out many a reader!!”

The Dalt however, remains confident in his Comic Jammers. “There aren’t many people who can jam like we can,” he said as insouciant as ever. As for his opponents he offered only this piece of advice, “They better have their pencil sharpener ready.”

CanzineOctober 17th 1pm-7pmThe Art Gallery Of OntarioZine Race 5pm-5:40pm

Dalton Sharp: “There aren’t manypeople who can jam like we can.”

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Tumblr: thetorontocomicjam.tumblr.com/Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @torontocomicjam

TorComJam.com

canzine extravaganza! (tcj vol 19 iss 9)

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