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The Toronto Comic Arts Festival  takes place this weekend, but as regulars know, it’s really more of a whole week of comics related events and exhibits. While the TCAf site has a perfectly awesome site listing all the events, just in case you are too lazy to click on the link, I’ve presented a digest version below.

The programming for TCAF proper is now available on the Guidebook app, but I don’t have a copy to point you to. I can tell you I’ll be mad busy with four panels! And the entire slate is as star packed as you’d expect.

The weekend is also the anchor for a series of satellite events as follows:

Thursday May 7th-Friday May 8th:

• CSSC/SCEBD Academic Conference :Two full days of programs presented by the Canadian Society for the Study of Comics i

Friday May 8th:

• Librarian and Educator Day, a full day of three tracks of programming aimed at these markets.
• Word Balloon Academy a day or professional programming aimed at comics creators

Saturday May 9th-Sunday May 10th

• Comics vs Games, a parallel slate of exhibits focusing on indie games

As if that is not enough here’s a list of satellite events:

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

The Graphic Life Writing of Marta Chudolinska – An Exhibition

ERT ERT ERT! So awesome. In the spirit of his amazing Nitnit trilogy, Charles Burns sums up the joy of TCAF and comics with a creepy/fun image.

SO there.

TCAF, the Toronto Comic Arts Festival will be held May 9-10th this year, with a whole week of events, art exhibits, screenings. Special programming events include the CSSC-SCEBD Academic Conference, Library & Educator Day, Word Balloon Academy, and Comics Vs. Games 4. IN other words, it jam packed with stuff to see and do. As for programming the first spotlight has been announced: Drawn & Quarterly’s 25th anniversary, which is certain to bring out some top notch sessions.

TCAF is a FREE two day event held at the Toronto Reference Library, and if you love comics or cartooning this is definitely one of the most comprehensive (and fun) events celebrating the artform in North America.

The first nine guests have been announced:

Charles Burns: Creator of Black Hole, one of the most important graphic novels of all time, Burns will be at TCAF to celebrate his recently completed new graphic novel series X’ed Out (Pantheon Books).

Eleanor Davis: An outstanding cartoonist and editorial illustrator (The New Yorker, New York Times), Davis’ recent graphic novel release How To Be Happy (Fantagraphics) is one of the best graphic novels of 2014, and TCAF is thrilled to welcome this cartoonist to Toronto.

Gurihiru: This dynamic cartooning duo hails from Tokyo, Japan, and is beloved in North America for their original graphic novels set in the universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender (Dark Horse).

Lucy Knisley: A long-time supporter of the Festival, Knisley’s memoirs and travelogues are well-loved across the continent. Knisley attends as a Featured Guest in 2015, in support of her new travelogue/graphic novel Displacement (Fantagraphics).

Scott McCloud: Creator of the essential comics text Understanding Comics, TCAF will welcome McCloud to Toronto in support of his acclaimed new graphic novel The Sculptor (First Second Books).

Barbara Stok: Hailing from The Netherlands, Stok has an impressive collection of graphic novels to her credit. TCAF is happy to welcome her as a Featured Guest of the Festival in 2015, in conjunction with her debut English-language graphic novel release Vincent (SelfMadeHero), an important and critically-praised biography of Vincent Van Gogh.

Jillian Tamaki: With her cousin Mariko Tamaki, Jillian Tamaki’s 2014 TCAF Debut This One Summer (Groundwood/First Second) took home a Governor General’s Award, a Caldecott Honor, and a Printz Honor. In 2015, Jillian Tamaki will release SuperMutantMagicAcademy (Drawn & Quarterly), her hilarious new graphic novel.

Chip Zdarsky: Hometown favourite and emerging international superstar Zdarsky (a.k.a. Steve Murray) is welcomed as a Featured Guest for 2015! Best-known for his ground-breaking comic series Sex Criminals (with writer Matt Fraction), spring 2015 will see the launch of his new series Kaptara (Image Comics) with fellow Toronto illustrator Kagan McLeod, and a relaunch of Marvel Comics’ Howard The Duck.

While these nine guests are a fine start, more will be announced, hailing from France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Canada and the US, with more than 300 cartoonist will be in attendance. Good times.

TCAF—The Toronto Comic Arts Festival—is expanding with a holiday pop-up shop at the Toronto Reference Library, home of the yearly comic festival. The shop will kick off with an event for “Just The Tips” the Sex Criminals spin off book by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky this Wednesday, December 3rd at 6 pm. Home town hero Zdarsky will be present to sign.

The shop is described as a seasonal boutique selling comics and graphic novels by Canadian authors, with purchases benefitting the TCAF non-profit.

It’s a nice idea for the festival, an d a great expansion of the retail portion of the show. TCAF 2015 will be held May 8-10.

BTW: Zdarsky—the pen name of Steve Murray—was profiled in the Globe and Mail, whicvh chronicles his off-kilter career, which has just announced its latest triumph writing a Howard the Duck revival.

Last Friday, Marvel announced that Murray had inked a deal to resurrect Howard the Duck, the much-maligned mallard last seen sipping a martini in a postcredit sequence in the summer blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy. The first issue, illustrated by Joe Quinones, will be published next March. The news caps off a spectacularly successful year for Murray, who has emerged as one of Canada’s funniest – and weirdest – voices thanks to the combination ofSex Criminals (his breakout New York Times bestselling comic series), his irreverent and frequently profane Twitter persona, and an atypical résumé that includes a stint as an intentionally bad advice columnist, a requited Facebook love affair with Applebee’s and a quixotic Toronto mayoral campaign. But Howard the Duck presents an entirely new challenge: Can Murray add punch to a character who’s become a punchline?

Director Chris Butcher has a wrap-up post for the 2014 TCAF that has many thanks and observations. Also the news that next year’s fest will be May 8-10, basically the same weekend as this year. Also, applications open up on August 1st. Attendance for 2014 was 22,000, up from 18,000 in 2013. And next year will be more of the same wonderful.

The Toronto Comic Arts Festival is thrilled to announce that it will return to Toronto Reference Library and The Bram and Bluma Appel Salon for 2015. The dates are Friday May 8th (Professional Development), and Saturday May 9th & Sunday May 10th (Exhibition Dates). This continues the wonderful partnership between TCAF and its Presenting Sponsor Toronto Public Library, and secures a beautiful, large, and central location from which to continue building the Festival.

In addition, TCAF will continue to spread its programming and exhibitions through the surrounding neighbourhood and the city, by partnering with venues including The Marriott Bloor Yorkville, St. Paul’s on Bloor, The Pilot, The Japan Foundation, and more. TCAF will continue to grow through its programs and exhibitions, maintaining a strong mix of exhibiting and participating artists each with something unique to offer.