Veteran Reviewer and Unabashed Comics Lover Comes to L.A. Mood Comics & Games Website
By Dan Brown. You can call them cartoons or sequential art or graphic novels or comic books. Whatever term you prefer, I love ’em all. And I’ll be sharing my enthusiasm for this special art form on the website of L.A. Mood Comics & Games, the venerable London store that serves as the unofficial headquarters for London comic fans, every week via this column. I invite you to consider it your once-a-week chance to geek out with me. How did I get this assignment? As the tagline at the bottom of this column indicates, I’ve been covering pop culture as a journalist for the last 30 years. I’ve had staff positions at such news outlets as the National Post, CBC.ca, and the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. My freelance work has appeared in places like the Globe and Mail and on MSNBC.com. From 2012 to 2022 I wrote a graphic-novel column every Saturday as part of my work at the London Free Press, where I had also been a blogger, among many other duties. I have also, since 2009, been the moderator for L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel club. (Shameless plug: You should check it out.) But, most important of all, I’m a card-carrying comic lover. My starting point is the Marvel Comics of the 1970s and as far as superheroes go, my fave is likely the Thing, the self-loathing, orange-coloured pile of rocks who served as the ace pilot for the Fantastic Four. I would say I have a major in Marvel and a minor in DC. Even now, DC’s heroes still strike me as emotionally constipated; I was a sucker for the overemotional heroes Jack Kirby dreamed up in collaboration with Stan Lee. By the time I was a university student in the mid 1980s, the comics world had exploded. In fact, I’m so old, I remember when the idea of comics being used to tell stories with characters other than superheroes was a revolutionary one. I would love to go back in time to when I was nine years old and tell my younger self: One day, all those comics you love will be source material for movies and TV shows. There will be so many of them, you won’t have time to watch them all. So what excites me now? The work of Southwestern Ontario’s own Jeff Lemire. The parody stylings of Bob Burden, the mad genius behind Flaming Carrot. Mimi Pond. Lynda Barry. Jillian and Mariko Tamaki. And on and on . . . This column will aspire to cover local comics first, meaning those with a connection to Southwestern Ontario and London. Then the rest of Canada. Then the world beyond. Some future columns will be straightforward reviews, others will touch on issues raised by comics. And I am guessing superhero film/TV adaptations will be an unavoidable topic. I would also love to hear from you and get a dialogue going about the comics scene here in the Forest City. One promising sign we have put the pandemic behind us was the reappearance in April of Tingfest, the downtown graphic-art festival that celebrates local creators, so I am hoping the geek calendar of events can finally resume in earnest. (Shameless plug: Have you got your tickets for Forest City Comicon on June 24?) I also want to know what comics and characters are rocking your world. You can send me an email in care of info@lamoodcomics.ca. Let’s get this party started! Dan Brown has covered pop culture for 30 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
Meet Comic Artist Scott Brian Woods May 13th and 14th
Scott Brian Woods has been a working artist for over 20 years. He currently calls London, ON home with his wife and 2 daughters. During the pandemic, his daughters were the inspiration for his children’s book Anywhere Can be Everywhere, the story of two young girls who use their imagination to overcome a rainy day. Scott is currently illustrating the upcoming superhero title, Equilibrium, for Comic House. Set to debut in 2023 and written by Keith Champagne, it is a 5-issue series featuring Captain Canuck, Daredevil, Freelance, and many more proud-Canadian legacy characters spanning back to the 1940s. His most recent work, a long-time coming sci-fi series, Daring the Sun, premiered at TCAF 2023. It follows astronaut Crash Daring in the distant future, who finds himself far from Earth struggling to survive on a savage, alien world. Scott continues to self-publish his swords and sorcery epic, No Rask for the Wicked. Inspired by an ongoing Dungeons & Dragons campaign played with his long-time friends, it chronicles the exploits of an unscrupulous rogue, a befuddled wizard, and a mysterious ghost. Meet Scott Saturday May 13 and Sunday May 14 atL.A. Mood Comics and Games100 Kellogg LaneSuite 5London ON N5W0B4Canada(519) 432-3987 Check out Scott Brian Woods publications today!
Guest Artists Announced for Free Comic Book Day!
Meet Two Guest Artists Saturday May 6Meet Lynette RichardsLynette Richards has been cartooning her whole life. She chose stained glass as her professional medium because it was both a trade and an art. She was fully aware, too, that stained glass windows have used sequential narration for over 1000 years, and are essentially, early graphic novels! As a Craft Nova Scotia Master Artisan, Lynette is proud to have been selected to create large public art installations for the first Pride Library in Canada (UWO London ON), and the ArQuives (formerly the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives in Toronto). Lynette lives and works in Terence Bay Nova Scotia, where she owns and operates Rose Window StainedGlass and serves on the Board of Directors of the SS Atlantic Heritage Park and Society.In her debut graphic novel Call Me Bill, Richards shares the remarkable life story of a tenacious adventurer who took huge risks to live an authentic life that others would have had difficulty imagining. Set against the backdrop of the worst maritimedisaster before the Titanic, this story is an exploration of identity and radical imagination that echoes across generations. The story starts with the recovery of bodies from the wreck of the SS Atlantic, and one particular body, Bill, a sailor who turns out to the surprise of the survivors and shipmates, a woman. Over four years of heavy research, Richards gathered details of this story from a range of historic newspapers from all over the world, to map out and honour this life worth living.“Visually inventive and eloquently written, Call Me Bill is a dazzling story of a short life lived daringly.” —Emma Donoghue, author of Room and The Lotterys Plus One Meet local artist Eric OlcsvaryEric Olcsvary 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 10 am till 6 pm.There will be sales, two guest artists, prizes, and more!Come early as we will have limited comics available (while supplies last) For more details please check out www.freecomicbookday.com
Magic: The Gathering March of the Machine
Magic The Gathering March of the Machine is to be released Friday April 14th! Greetings Planeswalkers!The epic conclusion of Magic's greatest battle is upon us! Elesh Norn and her Phyrexian army have finally invaded the Multiverse, breaching countless planes. Can the remains of the Gatewatch turn the tide as the Phyrexian hordes threaten to assimilate or destroy everything in their path? The fate of all planes is at stake.It's time to join the rest of the Multiverse in this climactic battle touching every plane you've ever known and loved. Your first look at March of the Machine is here. March of the Machine is the culmination of more than a decade of Phyrexian machinations, all leading to a shift that will fundamentally change the Multiverse.
Free Comic Book Day Is Coming Soon!
Free Comic Book Day is Saturday May 6th.Save the date and celebrate atL.A. Mood100 Kellogg Lane, suite 5, London We will be open 10 am till 6 pm.
Upcoming Events and Sales
Magic The Gathering: March of the Machine to be released Friday April 14th! The epic conclusion of Magic's greatest battle is upon us! Elesh Norn and her Phyrexian army have finally invaded the Multiverse, breaching countless planes. Can the remains of the Gatewatch turn the tide as the Phyrexian hordes threaten to assimilate or destroy everything in their path? The fate of all planes is at stake.It's time to join the rest of the Multiverse in this climactic battle touching every plane you've ever known and loved. Your first look at March of the Machine is here.March of the Machine is the culmination of more than a decade of Phyrexian machinations, all leading to a shift that will fundamentally change the Multiverse. RPG Sale: April 15th - 22nd Save at least 20% off RPG books (online and in store) starting April 15th until April 22nd. Plus we will have other specials in store, specials that you will have to see to believe!In addition we will be furiously adding RPG books online for the sale. Some items are one of a kind, vintage, and out of print such as GURPS, Rifts and other Palladium RPG, 1st-5th edition Dungeons and Dragons books, and more. Open Gaming Join us at L.A. Mood for open gaming the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month from 12:30 till 4:30. Spring Market Returns to 100 Kellogg Lane It's time to bloom, London! 100 Kellogg Lane is excited to host their annual Spring Market starting April 27th and running for three consecutive weekends. Guests are invited to come out and support local makers, small businesses, and young entrepreneurs.The dates Spring Market are:April 27th-30th, 2023May 4th-7th, 2023May 11th-14th, 2023Over the three weekends, we will have over 100 unique vendors inside and outside. We are excited to showcase the vendors in our new event space on the third floor. This year, our outdoor village will turn into the Tasting Garden, where guests can sample wine, beer, spirits, non-alcoholic beverages, and food. Jigsaw Puzzle Sale Starting May 13 till May 20th all puzzles will be on sale. Save in store 10% if you buy one puzzle, 15% if you buy two puzzles, and 20% if you buy three or more puzzles. Online shoppers save 15%. Board Game Sale Starting June 17 till 24th all puzzles will be on sale. Save in store 10% if you buy one board game, 15% if you buy two board games, and 20% if you buy three or more board games. Online shoppers save 15%.
