Lewis Trondheim, the French writer/illustrator of The Spiffy Adventures of McConey, is a guest at this year’s Vancouver Comic Arts Festival (May 19-20).
VanCAF, Vancouver’s annual celebration of small-press and independently-published comics and graphic novels, grows every year. With more people attending, there is also an ever-increasing number of creators taking part in panels, talks, and the exhibition halls. In fact, it can get kind of overwhelming.
Of the dozens of guests coming to this year’s two-day event (May 19-20 at the Roundhouse, 181 Roundhouse Mews, in Yaletown), we’ve selected a few to check out. But there are so many that we advise setting aside at least a couple of hours to see and chat with as many cartoonists, illustrators, and writers as possible. And don’t forget your wallet—there’ll be plenty of cool merchandise to pick up.
Johnnie Christmas (Saturday only)—The Vancouver artist is best-known as the illustrator of a series of graphic novels by Canadian author Margaret Atwood (Handmaid’s Tale) about a half-feline/half-bird superhero called Angel Catbird. He is also the creator of a graphic novel called Firebug.
Emily Carroll—The former Vancouverite is well-known for her vivid illustration style and fractured-fairy-tale worldview. The Eisner Award-winning artist makes her first appearance at VanCAF to promote her work, including the release of a recently published graphic novel adaptation of Speak, a popular 1999 YA novel about sexual assault.
Tony Cliff—The Vancouver writer/artist is the creator behind a series of graphic novels featuring the adventurer Delilah Dirk. In 2016, Disney acquired the feature film rights to the first in the series, Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant.
Lewis Trondheim—Along with Yvan Alagbé (Yellow Negroes and Other Stories) and Brigitte Findakly (Poppies of Iraq), Lewis Trondheim is one of three guests from France who will appear at the festival. Trondheim’s works include the scripts for a series of graphic novels starring a detective named Maggy Garrisson. He also writes and draws shorter pieces, autobiographical comics, and a series featuring animals as characters called The Spiffy Adventures of McConey (Les formidables aventures de Lapinot).
Craig Thompson—The Portland artist/writer is the creator of the graphic novels Good-bye, Chunky Rice and Habibi. His 2003 book Blankets won numerous industry awards and has been published in nearly 20 languages.
VanCAF (Vancouver Comic Arts Festival)
When: May 19-20, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Where: The Roundhouse, 181 Roundhouse Mews, in Yaletown
Tickets: Free
