Comics Creator Residencies – The Canada Comics Open Library

Event recording for Working in Indigenous Comics and Literature

August 20, 2022

Apologies for this delay, but we are SO happy to share with you this wonderful discussion back from the end of April! CCOL Comics Creator in Residence for April, Rhael McGregor, facilitated a discussion about being Indigenous and working in comics and literature, with guests Alice RL & Sonya Ballantyne. You can view the event below, or directly visit our YouTube channel! This residency program is produced with the support of the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council

Notes for a Critique of the Political Economy of Alt-Comics – Sami Alwani’s Comic Book Creator Residency Blog Post

August 7, 2022

Sami Alwani

Comics Creator Residencies, Resource Guides

Notes for a Critique of the Political Economy of Alt-Comics In any industry, infrastructure has a tendency to stifle innovation. The more we invest in scaffolding a specific type of production, the more we are invested in continuing to produce a specific type of work. The film industry is a perfect example. Production budgets have skyrocketed in recent years and failure to secure a return on investment now constitutes a financial catastrophe. This has been hugely detrimental to indie film…

COMICS VERSES EVERYBODY – Gillian Blekkenhorst’s Comic Book Creator Residency Blog Post

July 28, 2022

Gillian Blekkenhorst

Comics Creator Residencies, Resource Guides

COMICS VERSES EVERYBODY I work in a lot of different media. Comics is one I’ve been working in the longest. Comics gives me something specific and vital that I can’t get from other media. I’m going to tell you about the things I’ve made in my life, and then I’m going to expand on why making comics is something that’s stuck with me through all of it. My earliest illustrated opuses were a book chronicling the somewhat dull adventures of…

Sami Alwani’s Book Shelf Curation for the Comic Book Creator Residency

July 15, 2022

Sami Alwani

Comic Review, Comics Creator Residencies, Resource Guides, Subject Displays

It was really a pleasure to get to curate a selection of my favorite comic books to disply in the CCOL lounge this summer. I could very easily write for hours about every one of these spectacular books, but since I’ve been asked to prepare only a blogpost and not a novel, I’ve decided to focus on just three. All of these books were released by small-press publishers with limited runs and smaller distribution networks than some of the more…

A Home for Comics

July 12, 2022

Lorena Torres Loaiza

Comics Creator Residencies

I’m not sure where the time goes. A month in residency at CCOL, prep time for TCAF, TCAF itself…all came and went, like a colourful stampede. It’s been a great time, but only now am I able to take a second to digest some of the experiences I had. Having had a chat with Jordan and in creating my comic for the residence, I was in love with this idea of “A home for comics”. In Toronto, there are a…

Making Choose Your Own Adventure Comics in Twine!

June 25, 2022

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Comics Creator Residencies, Events, Presentations, Resource Guides

We wanted to share an event happening this Monday June 27th at 6:30 pm Toronto (EDT) time! “Games and comics cross paths very often resulting in more often than not, strange and enjoyably fun experiences. Canada Comics Open Library with Gillian Blekkenhorst presents: Making Chose Your Own Adventure Comics in Twine!” Where?: Zoom, with info on how to join below. This event is free, with no need to register. Live captioning will be provided: Also, be sure to check out…

A photograph of Lorena’s event poster on a table top surrounded by comics pages beneath as well as a small black notebook, a small and large binder clip, grey Staedtler pen, and well worn pencil. The event poster says in spooky black and orange bold font: “WHY DO WE MAKE STUFF?” Below this heading, in black comics font with an orange shadow, the poster says: “Casual Comics Chat Tuesday May 31st 7-8:30ish (pajamas and snacks encouraged).” Below this the text continues in black: Come and hang out with comics making friends, and let’s discuss how we got into comics, and what we want out of them. No wrong answers, only hangouts. Hosted by Lorena Torres Loaiza at CCOL (over Zoom, link in bio!). Transparent orange, yellow and blue shapes softly overlay the image.

CCOL 2022 May residency event: Why do we make stuff? A casual comics chat on May 31st!

May 29, 2022

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Comics Creator Residencies, Events, Presentations, Resource Guides

We are thrilled to share this lovely event happening this Tuesday May 31st! This Tuesday, join Lorena Torres Loaiza for an informal conversation and hangout all about the reasons we make comics! Where?: Zoom, with info on how to join below. This event is free, with no need to register. Live captioning will be provided. Artist bio: Lorena Torres Loaiza was born in Bogota, Colombia, and grew up in Canada. She works in comics, illustration, theatre design, and fiction, sometimes…

April Residency Final Post – The Importance of Fancomics

May 9, 2022

Rhael Mcgregor

Comics Creator Residencies, Resource Guides

Hello Everyone! It’s Rhael! Thanks for being patient for my final post of my residency! When I started the residency I was picking out my recommended books when I realized a common theme in my zine collection- I own a lot of fan comics & fan zines. At first I set them all aside because I thought they wouldn’t be really appropriate to suggest since they contain characters from other works- but as I thought about it more, I couldn’t…

Lorena Comic Picks – May Residency – How do you create? Why do you create?

May 8, 2022

Lorena Torres Loaiza

Comic Review, Comics Creator Residencies, Resource Guides, Subject Displays

How do you create? Why do you create? So for my month at CCOL, I’m wondering about why we make comics. By that, I mean considering different priorities creators may have: artistry, originality, storytelling, honesty. Each of these could lead someone to very different types of work and career paths. This seems like an important question, because while there is no one right way to be a creator, there may be a right way for a specific person to do…

CCOL 2022 April residency event: Working in Indigenous Comics and Literature

April 23, 2022

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Comics Creator Residencies, Events, Presentations, Resource Guides, Update

We are so happy to share this event happening TOMORROW!! On Apr 23, 07:00 PM Eastern time, join CCOL Comics Creator in Residence for April, Rhael McGregor (@raysdrawlings) for a discussion about being Indigenous and working in comics and literature, with guests @alicerldeer & @sonya_ballantyne! Where?: Zoom, with info on how to join below. This event is free, with no need to register. Live captioning will be provided. Artist bio: Rhael McGregor is a Queer, TwoSpirit/NB artist of both Métis…