Shop Talk and Ringo! Awards

I woke yesterday morning to the news that I'd been nominated for Best Cartoonist in this year's Ringo! Awards for the new Papercutz editions of Three Thieves, which is a nice surprise. Getting nominated for something for work that's sixteen years old is...odd. But such is the world of professional comics.

The Ringo! Awards are fairly new-ish, and a mix of fan ballot, jury selection, and voting among industry pros. They're named for artist Mike Wieringo, who died suddenly in 2007 at age 44. I never met Mike in person, but interacted with him fairly regularly online at the old Warren Ellis Forum, where he would easily embarrass every other artist on the site (myself included) in drawing challenges. He seemed like a good guy, and his talent was visible from space, so his death was a real bummer. In any case, it's an honour to be nominated for an award in his name.

If you're a comics professional of any kind, you can vote for your favourites over at their website.

Shop Talk with Lex Fajardo

In other news, I recently sat down for a long chat with cartoonist Lex Fajardo as part of a series of "Shop Talk" videos he's been doing with other creators to promote the Kickstarter for his latest Kid Beowulf graphic novel. If you like long-form interviews that go deep into the nuts and bolts of visual storytelling, rather than just promotion, this one's for you. The Kickstarter will probably be over by the time you read this, but enjoy the conversation anyway:

https://youtu.be/t4ORPyZj-kI?si=Q0OEzcw6nkD-52BD

Upcoming Appearances

I'm still avoiding signing/speaking appearances in the U.S. for obvious reasons. But here in Canada you'll be able to catch me at two multi-day events in September:

September 18-20, I'll be back in Edmonton, Alberta for the first time in many years for the Edmonton Comics & Entertainment Expo. Looking forward to being back!

And the following weekend, much closer to home, I'll also be appearing at London Comic Con in London, Ontario. I grew up just south of London, and students in that area read Two Generals as part of the high school curriculum. So it's one place where I always know that just about everyone younger than about thirty is going to know my work. Should be fun. See you there?

Pirates of the Silver Coast Back in Stores

The fifth Three Thieves book, 2014's Pirates of the Silver Coast, landed back in stores last week, thanks to my pals at Papercutz.

After taking a darker turn in the previous book, the series returns to its swashbuckling roots with high-seas adventure, the reappearance of some familiar characters, a bit of cross dressing, a fateful tarot card reading, and a dude ripping a palm tree out of the ground with his bare hands. And it ends with the biggest twist of the entire series. Exciting stuff!

It also includes a new foreword by my old pal J. Torres (the writer with whom I collaborated on my first two graphic novels, Days Like This and Scandalous) and a fifth entry in the ongoing behind-the-scenes interview between me and comics editor/scholar/journalist Irene Velentzas. Woohoo!

SECRET PROJECT INKS: DONE!

In other news, I recently finished inking 149 pages for the first volume of one of my two unannounced Secret Projects. Though nearly every other stage of my work is done digitally now, inks are the one thing I still do traditionally, which means I get the satisfaction of watching the stack of board next to my desk grow as I work. It's a satisfaction you don't get from writing (unless you print your scripts out, and maybe you should).

So, here's a photo of the stack, in all its glory. Plus a gorilla. Hopefully, I should soon be able to tell you what it is (though if you follow my Instragram closely, you may have already guessed). But this is physical proof that I've been working on something big (and again, this is just the first half).

MUCH more to come...

TingFest 2026!

Finally dug out from under deadlines long enough to let you know that until June 6th, you can see some of the original art from my books on display at London, Ontario's TAP Centre for Creativity as part of the 10th Ting Comic & Graphic Arts Festival.

Created by my friend Diana Tamblyn in 2014, the month-long festival celebrates longtime London Free Press editorial cartoonist Merle "Ting" Tingley (1921-2017), as well as the many, many cartoonists -- from amateurs to industry veterans, indie and alternative artists to the most corporate pros -- who have lived or worked in the area. Though Diana is no longer involved, this tenth iteration of TingFest features a sort-of "best of" of artists hand-picked from previous years (Jeff Lemire! Derek Laufman! Jesse Jacobs! David Collier! Dave Lapp! Scott Brian Woods!) so it still feels very much like it's got her fingerprints on it.

Merle "Ting" Tingley. I need to start wearing a bow tie at the desk.

I was happy to be invited to participate for those reasons, and because, like everybody who grew up in the region for a few generations, Ting was one of my very earliest exposures to the world of cartooning. One my grade school art teachers often had us trace his work. It was his go-to assignment. Maybe a bit lazy, but I can't deny that I learned a lot about Ting's particular visual shorthand.

Being involved in a festival that bears his name just feels right, somehow.

I was at the opening event on May 9th, along with some of the other artists. Very cool to see everybody's work up close. You should definitely check it out if you're in the area between now and June 6th.

Some discerning people checking out the Scott Chantlers

They got Jeff Lemire in this thing!

The handsome hunks of Canadian comics. With artists Scott Brian Woods (left) and Chris Runciman (right)

THE EXCHANGE

But that's not all!

I'll be back at TingFest on May 26th for an event that'll sounds tailor-made for me: Brahm Wiseman, owner of London's Heroes Comics (a shop I frequented growing up, albeit in a different location with a different owner) and I will be listing our favourite comic books and graphic novels, with local craft beer enthusiast (who isn't?) Ben Johnson figuring out beer pairings for our choices. It's gonna be fun. Miss it to your everlasting shame.