Free Comic Book Day 2024 is Saturday May 4th
Save the date and celebrate at L.A. Mood 100 Kellogg Lane, suite 5, London. We will be open 10 am till 6 pm. There will be free comics, sales, costumes, guest artist Eric Olcsvary, random draws (including an unopened copy of Deadpool The Adamantium Collection (MSRP $240)), enter Shaw's name that flavour contest for their newest ice cream creation, spend over $20 to get a special discount on Shaw's super hero sundae, enter our Deadpool selfie contest by taking a photo with Deadpool and using the hashtag #LAMoodDeadpool, and more! Come early as we will have limited comics available (while supplies last!). For more details please check out www.freecomicbookday.com. There is plenty of free parking at 100 Kellogg Lane. If you don't see an available spot across from the atrium there is plenty of parking north of Dundas St. behind the old Emco building. Don’t miss out! Book Saturday May 4th in your calendar now! L.A. Mood Comics and Games100 Kellogg LaneSuite 5London ON N5W0B4Canada
On Free Comic Book Day, Something For Everyone
I don’t know what kind of comics you like. But I can say this much with certainty: When you visit your favourite comic store on Free Comic Book Day (which lands on May 4) you will find a veritable horn o’plenty to pick from. That’s right. There’s something for everyone. It’s an old-fashioned cornucopia. Or maybe a comicopia? What I mean is, whatever publisher, fandom, character, creator, title you favour, you will find something to scratch that particular itch. I say this after getting a sneak peak of the bulk of the freebies that await you at stores like my preferred comics haunt, L.A. Mood Comics & Games. Fandoms like Star Wars, Stranger Things, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Planet of the Apes are represented by offerings from publishing houses such as Marvel, Dark Horse, Titan, Fantagraphics, and IDW. Here are a few highlights from my reading to help inform your FCBD excursion:*For a sentimental old fool like me, the title that jumps out is Snoopy: Beagle Scout Adventures, a sampler with strips pulled from the collection of the same name landing in bookstores at the end of April. What ‘s better than Snoopy and Woodstock camping in the woods? Snoopy and a whole troop of little Woodstocks camping in the woods! *Marvel is putting on a big push on a couple fronts. One is this year’s companywide crossover, called Blood Hunt. The premise is that perpetual night has fallen on the Marvel Universe, which means it’s feasting time for vampires, including the hungriest bloodsucker of them all, Dracula. The other front is Marvel’s Voices line, which features characters and creators aimed at the queer, Indigenous and Latino communities. *The best cover may be the one on Tons of Strange, a child-friendly homage to the EC horror titles of the 1950s. Inside, you’ll find Jawas playing dice in the sands of Tatooine! *Speaking of the 1950s, Stories from the Atlas Comics Library includes a Stan Lee-penned piece in which the then-unknown creator took aim at Fredric Wertham. He’s the crank psychiatrist who provided the anti-comics crowd with pseudo-scientific cover for their crusade to ban comics, which included comic burnings, back in the day! *Also in the running for best cover is the one for Conan: Battle of the Black Stone, which features everyone’s favourite barbarian hefting a bloody axe. It comes from Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics. Is there a comics company out there that hasn’t published his adventures? The difference this time is the current licence holders are trying to situate Conan within a larger Robert E. Howard universe of characters. *Perhaps the broadest sampler pamphlet is the one featuring Asterix and Obelix, which includes episodes culled from seemingly every one of their books. Oh those wacky Gauls! *The Kill Shakespeare universe makes a return with Romeo Vs. Juliet, which imagines the star-crossed lovers crossing swords! How is this possible? It turns out Juliet faked her own death. No word in this promo pamphlet on how Romeo managed to shuffle back onto this mortal coil. *The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle handout includes a slice-of-life tale in which Master Splinter has a rare evening of quiet away from his adopted mutant sons. All I will say is that the rodent sensei doesn’t spend all his free time meditating!*The Cursed Library Prelude takes place in the Archie Horror world, so for those who prefer the dark side of Riverdale, prepare to meet Jinx, the daughter of Satan himself! It also features a snippet of a ghost story starring Archie’s favourite blond, Betty Cooper! So if you’re a fan of Venom, Flash Gordon, Johnny Quest, ThunderCats, Hellboy, Frankenstein’s wife or Mei-Mei the red panda, there’s something for you this FCBD. And that’s just the free comics . . . I hope you’ve been saving your shekels because the annual event is also a great excuse for London’s comic retailers to offer customers some outrageous deals!I love FCBD, dubbed Geek Christmas by some, for the feeling that’s in the air around town. It’s kind of like a moving fan convention as Forest City comic enthusiasts, cosplayers and pop-culture followers travel around our community, checking in at all the different stores. There’s a rare convergence this time as FCBD and May the Fourth (the day unofficially set aside to celebrate all things Star Wars) coincide, so there’s bound to be the waft of bantha steaks in the air. Don’t miss it! Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 31 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
Meet Local Artist Eric Olcsvary at Free Comic Book Day
L.A. Mood is excited to announce local artist Eric Olcsvary will be doing a meet and greet on May 4th from 10 am to 3 at this year's Free Comic Book Day at L. A. Mood. Eric is a comic book creator working under his own label "Alls Cherry Comics". He is currently working on two series, "Wendy and the Sprite", and "Overflow", each with their own unique story about otherworldly characters on an adventure to uncover the secrets of an ancient land. “My stories and comic book label were created to bring a sense of wonder, and a crave for adventure to the reader, and to spread the love for comics/stories as an art form!”Don’t miss out! Save the date and celebrate with us.We will be open May 4th from 10 am to 6 pm.There will be sales, prizes, and more!Come early as we will have limited comics available (while supplies last) For more details please check out www.freecomicbookday.comP.S. Forest City ComiCon" Tickets are available now at www.forestcitycomicon.ca L.A. Mood Comics and Games100 Kellogg LaneSuite 5London ON N5W0B4Canada
This Tintin Adventure is Required Eclipse Reading
By Dan BrownOne more thing before we all move on from last week’s solar eclipse.Folks here in Southwestern Ontario can keep this in mind for the next time, decades hence, the sun is blotted out from the sky.I don’t know how you prepared for the momentous event, but yes, my wife and I got some ISO-approved shaded glasses to observe the afternoon show in the heavens. Maybe you did the same.But I also re-read a graphic novel from my youth a couple days prior to the celestial coincidence.It was the Tintin adventure Prisoners of the Sun.What does a European cartoon story that was originally published in serial form in the 1940s, then translated into English in 1962, have to tell us about eclipses now and in the future? I’ll explain.You no doubt noticed the media frenzy in the days leading up to the eclipse. (I especially appreciated those media outlets, like CBS News, who dubbed it a “total eclipse of the heartland,” in tribute to the Bonnie Tyler song.)A strange thought nagged at me as the day approached: Haven’t I seen this all before?It’s true I was alive during the eclipse visible from our region in 1979, but all I recall of that day was the collective freakout by grownups, which meant the heavy curtains in our classroom at Valleyview School were drawn to block the view. You could only watch it with some kind of gizmo fashioned out of a shoebox. I opted out.Then it clicked: Tintin, the boy reporter, he caused an eclipse!So I got the relevant collection off my shelf and checked to make sure my memories were accurate. In his time, Tintin has tracked the abominable snowman, plumbed shipwrecks in a mini-submarine, ventured to the moon, and been rescued by a flying saucer – as a fellow journalist, I am definitely jealous of his exploits!If you haven’t read it, Prisoners of the Sun is the second part of a story that begins in The Seven Crystal Balls. I would have read it in the late 1970s, early 1980s.The intrepid reporter, accompanied by his dog Snowy and the alcoholic sea dog Captain Haddock, travels to South America to rescue Professor Calculus, who has been kidnapped by unknown bad guys.Tintin is captured by a secret community of Incas who live in a hidden valley. For trespassing, he and his friends are sentenced to be burned to death but, in a display of mercy, the Inca prince allows Tintin to choose the timing of his bonfire execution in the coming days.Reading an old scrap of newspaper in his cell, Tintin has a brainwave. Although his companions are unaware of its implications, Tintin has an oddly specific time in mind.The day and hour he has specified comes around. Tintin, Haddock and Calculus are tied to three posts on top of a wooden platform. Using a magnifying glass to catch the sun’s rays, his captors set out to light up the logs beneath them.That’s when Tintin implores the heavens, “O magnificent Sun, if it is thy will that we should live, show us now a sign.” On cue, a blackness starts to slowly creep across the face of the sun: Tintin has tricked the Incas into believing he controls the sun itself, and he and his companions are spared!Now, I realize Tintin books have been criticized in recent years for their colonial mentality, and I get where those concerns come from.But going over Prisoners of the Sun to prep for the eclipse last week reminded me of all the reasons I fell in love with those books in the first place: They are imaginative adventure stories that offer lots of action and laughs, starring compelling characters.And here’s the really odd part: Even though the message of that particular graphic novel is that science beats primitive superstitions, in the closing pages of Prisoners of the Sun we discover magic – in the form of voodoo – is real. It actually works in Tintin’s world.So the message isn’t as simple as, the Incas are uncivilized because they don’t understand how the world works according to scientific principles. It’s more complex than that. Despite what you might think from the eclipse passage, Tintin author Herge affirms rationalism only to a point.Having just lived through another eclipse, I get it: Science may be the best method we have for understanding the universe around us, but there are some mysteries it has yet to unlock. I’m confident we’ll get there one day.Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 31 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
Return of Tingfest is a Sure Sign of Spring
By Dan BrownThe birds are chirping. The snow is gone. The grass is growing. And Tingfest is back.The festival, which celebrates work from Southwestern Ontario graphic artists, kicks off April 16 and runs to May 18. This spring marks the eighth time it has been staged. “I lost some years over the pandemic so it’s hard to keep track,” said Diana Tamblyn, the London graphic novelist who is the driving force behind Tingfest, which launched in 2014. Last spring marked the annual fixture’s return after COVID.Named after legendary London Free Press editorial cartoonist Merle Tingley, it brings together those who have followed in his footsteps and takes place at the Tap Centre for Creativity on Dundas Street.“I think Ting brings up real joy, warmth and goodwill in people,” Tamblyn said. “He grounds the festival and (that) is why we feature his work every year and a huge photo of him greets people as you walk through the door at TAP.”As always, pieces by the featured artists will line the space’s walls for public viewing. There will also be plenty of free programming for the whole family.“This year a theme seems to have emerged of art and music,” Tamblyn said. “In fact, this year features award-winning musicians Kevin Hearn (of Barenaked Ladies), Lido Pimienta (a Polaris Prize winner) and Owen MacKinder (of the Birthday Massacre band, who have charted four songs on the Billboard 200) – all of whom people might not know are talented artists, as well as musicians. On top of this list, Matt James – a Governor General’s Award-winning illustrator – is also a musician and plays regularly in a band.”“This is not to take away from the rest of our featured artists who themselves have diverse talents on top of their visual-artist skills,” she added. “Such as editorial cartooning (Frantisek Bidlo), video-game design (Chris Elliott), silk-screening and murals (soft flirt), educator, comics collector, and academic (Ivan Kocmarek), ceramicist (Julian Miholics), animation (Dax Gordine), and illustrator and graphic novelist (Alyssa Waterbury, who also designed this year’s festival poster).”I don’t know about you, but if I get the chance, I’ll be quizzing Hearn about his time as musical director for the late Lou Reed’s band. I am also especially excited about seeing Kocmarek, who is an expert on Second World War-era Canadian comic books.Among the many offerings Londoners will be able to check out during the festival’s run are the Ting zine expo, the small-press spotlight, and a maker station for kids. Tamblyn tells me the featured publishing house this time around will be RAID Press. “Because we have RAID, Ramon Perez will be making an appearance since it’s his imprint AND he is just starting a run on (DC’s) The Flash as the artist!,” she said.Yes, it’s that Ramon Perez – the one who illustrated the Jim Henson-inspired Tale of Sand! I hope I get the chance to meet him!Tamblyn reports it feels “a bit surreal” the festival has lasted this long: “The first year (in 2014), the festival seemed like a bold experiment that we weren’t sure would fly. We didn’t know if anyone would respond or show up. It was nerve-wracking! And then on opening night we had Merle Tingley himself appear . . . . So many people showed up for Ting – friends, colleagues, neighbours.”Tamblyn says Tingley’s visit “was like a rock star arrived” (the cartoonist passed in 2017 at the age of 95).“(After the first year) we weren’t sure if we could do it again! And we did. I have to say I was never worried that London and Southwestern Ontario had the talent to fill 10 featured artists spots at a festival year after year, but would people still come without Ting himself present? They have, and every year I’m grateful and overwhelmed all over again,” she said.Tambyn is aided every spring by TAP Centre executive director Sandra De Salvo and her team.With any luck, this will be the Tingfest that finally puts all those COVID memories to bed. “All I really know is I started the pandemic with black hair and came out of it with mostly grey hair!” Tamblyn said.Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 31 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
Jade Armstrong’s Food School is the Epitome of Panel Play
By Dan BrownIf you’re looking for panel play, you’ll find no better example than Food School by Montreal creator Jade Armstrong. The book is one of this month’s releases from East Coast publishing house Conundrum Press.If you’re wondering what panel play is, it’s something I’ve been thinking about as a comic fan for decades, even though it often escapes notice. I define it as the joy a creator takes in blowing up the comic page and the degree to which they resist static placement, imbuing the sequential art with a rhythm and logic all its own.I was only four or five pages into Food School before I realized: There’s something special going on here.Montreal’s Armstrong, like the book’s protagonist, is non-binary. One of their influences is manga, and the pages shimmer with that same kind of dynamic energy.There are double-page panels, single-page panels, circular panels, panels that look like the silhouette of a loonie. There are also wordless, 10-panel two-page spreads. There are pages with no discernible borders, as well as slanted panels of varying sizes, rectangles, you name it.Armstrong obviously put a lot of thought into designing each of this comic’s 79 pages. No two of them are the same. What I do when I come across superlative panel work is read the graphic novel once, then go through it again a second time – this time, with an eye on each panel. Food School rewards this kind of reading.Probably the master of panel play during my time as a comic lover is George Perez, whose work for DC in the 1980s on New Teen Titans, Wonder Woman, and Crisis on Infinite Earths still blows my mind.Paul Chadwick of Concrete fame took the same delight in defying comic conventions. And you can even trace panel play back to a foundational figure like Jack Kirby.Yes, Kirby did his share of pages with six square panels. He was also the creator who fashioned images that were so dynamic, so bold, so BIG, it took two whole pages to contain them. Armstrong, also known for YA work, says Food School was drawn in the style of a Josei, which are manga aimed at adult women. The book was originally done as a digital PDF.The tale follows 20something college dropout Olive as they enter a full-time program to treat their eating disorder.It’s a highly regimented existence. Olive must log their weight and each meal and snack consumed, as well as rate their thoughts and feelings every day. At one point in the narrative, Olive ranks their suicide drive as a five out of five.What creates a contrast with this lack of freedom is Armstrong’s panel play. Olive wants to quit the treatment every day they are in the program. When they inevitably fall off the wagon, bingeing handfuls of candy, then exercising (which is likewise verboten), the pages become a flurry of dark-tinged frames, reflecting this chaotic moment in their life.I could feel the story was moving toward an intentional conclusion as Olive stays in the program. I’m happy to report I thought I had guessed how things would change for the character at the end of the story, but I was wrong. Armstrong cheated my expectations in the best way, That’s masterful storytelling.This is the first thing I’ve read by Jade Armstrong, but you can rest assured I’m looking forward to following their career from now on. Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 31 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
