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Tag: Ifoa

Kate Beaton Bonanza

by Dan
Graphica / November 01, 2011

Well, after much excitement IFOA 2011 came to close this weekend in Toronto. As a parent to a pair of little monkeys I didn't make it to a lot of events this year sadly, but I was fortunate enough to meet the brilliant Seth and Dan Clowes and then tag along with superstar cartoonist and all-around charmer Kate Beaton who was speaking at the festival this past weekend. 

Having already established a dedicated audience for her comics online and with the beautiful new hardcover book Hark! A Vagrant sitting pretty on the New York Times bestseller list for Graphic Books, Kate was very much in demand. 

Not only did The National Post and NOW magazine review the book, Kate also stopped by the CBC to chat with Jian Ghomeshi and the folks from The Hour. As you can see from the photos, we had a lot of fun — even if Kate was a little disappointed not to meet Canada's Official Boyfriend in person!   

It was all a bit of a whirlwind (especially as Kate was feeling a little under the weather on Saturday), but before she jetted off, Kate managed to fit in candid interview with the Toronto Star:

“I think that anybody who inadvertently starts a blog or a comic online will give a piece of themselves because they can’t believe someone’s reading it. There’s no institution, you are just yourself. You can’t help but be a personality. I had to learn over time how much of myself I wanted to give over and how much I wanted to hold onto. Like when I changed the name of the site from my name too Hark A Vagrant. It used to be katebeaton.com but I got rid of that because I didn’t want to be the focus of the comic. I wanted the comic to be.”

And Kate is still on the road for a few more days. Tonight, she is in Montreal at Librairie D+Q (the event starts at 7pm), and tomorrow, Kate will be at Strange Adventures in Halifax (also starting from 7pm). Catch her while you can! 

Dan Clowes and Seth on WNYC

by Dan
Graphica / October 19, 2011

Cartoonists Daniel Clowes and Seth talked to Leonard Lopate about comics and their new books, The Death-Ray and The Great Northern Brotherhood of Canadian Cartoonists, on WNYC yesterday:

If you are in Toronto this week, Seth and Dan are in conversation at the Harbourfront Centre on Friday as part of the International Festival of Authors:

Daniel Clowes in conversation with Seth
Friday, October 21, 8:00pm, 2011
Brigantine Room, The Harbourfront Centre