Another new mini-comic for the upcoming (May 25th/26th) 2nd annual Vancaf Small Press Convention coming up at the Roundhouse (it’s also free to attend). In this issue I enter the hallowed halls of ART! This one was painted in black, white and grey gouache, a nice flat medium but difficult in that it drys a different tone than when applied wet.
Please note that this mini-comic and many others are available from Colin Upton Comics - colinupton@telus.net - both individually and in sets at reasonable prices.
Billing it as a “giant show” launching with a signing by all the involved creators, Cloudscape founder Jeff Ellis, reminds us of the origin of the retrospective: “I had a dream that I wanted to boost local comics in Vancouver, The next idea that came… [was] ‘we have all of these artists making comics – rather than spending money to do our own individual works, why don’t we work together and pool our resources to publish something?’”
Has anyone spotted it yet? Huh? Well, how much gas does a electric trolley bus carry? Ah-ha. I knew at the time I drew this it wasn’t accurate but I went ahead and did it, mostly beause I really wanted to draw a Brill bus. The Brills had been soldiering on for decades on the streets of Vancouver but they were being retired, probably sold off to Cuba or somewhere, and I wanted to commemorate them. I was on my way to a comic con that day.
Pigement marker on Letraset paper.
Please note that this mini-comic and many others are available from Colin Upton Comics - colinupton@telus.net - both individually and in sets at reasonable prices.
A map of Vancouver circa 1956, cartoonist unknown (or rather, indistinguishable - looks like Pecit?). This fold out cartoon appeared in a brochure from 1956 titled Vancouver, 971.133 V224co PAM in the VPL Special Collections. This brochure had it all; an essay about architecture by Arthur Erickson, an Art Gallery review by Doris Shadbolt, shopping with Pat Woodward. “Produced by the Community Arts Council of Vancouver for the enjoyment of discerning visitors.”
Branding for Java Club by Canterbury Coffee, a local firm founded in 1981 by Murray Dunlop. Thanks for the tip, Neil!
I’m very much looking forward to this forthcoming comic set in early Vancouver titled Waterlogged by Cloudscape Comic’s Jeff Ellis. Look closely and you’ll see the Union Steamship Empress of Japan in the first panel!
If you are anywhere near the Cloudscape HQ at 5955 Ross Street (a few blocks from Fraser & E 41st), you can NOW catch a live comic jam for the next 24 hours! Or see the finished 24 page comic Sunday, January 13th by noon!
Apparently, there are free comics during the afternoon courtesy of Metropolis Comics and Toys who will also be providing a prize for best costume (so come dressed up). Judging begins at 2pm…
In addition to celebrating the grand opening of our headquarters, we’re doing this to draw attention to our Independent Publishing Resource Centre fundraiser. If you want to help independent artists in Vancouver make their voices heard, consider giving us your support. This post lists the incentives we’re providing for different amounts of donations. You can also donate physical supplies such as paper, staplers, and paper cutters. See the link to our campaign for all the supplies we need. Finally, we wish to extend our thanks to member Angela Melick for generously donating some silkscreening equipment.
British Columbia 1871-1971, a centennial poster by Len Norris, sponsored by Home Oil Distributors Ltd, once a common brand name seen all around town. In fact, Home Gas were featured in the film screening from the Vancouver Archives recently in this silent short film from the 1930s. Austin Cotterell Taylor was an early president of the company, an avid horseman and multimillionaire, he purchased Rosemary, the Tulk House in Shaughnessy, then later upgraded to the most prestigious address in town, Benjamin T. Rogers’ home named Shannon at 57th Avenue and Granville.
According to this document, Home Oil was incorporated January 16, 1928 and it dissolved on July 16, 1978. Apparently in 1971 when it was sold to Consumer’s Gas, it was the largest Canadian oil producer in Canada.
Granted, this is illustrating the entire province and not just Vancouver, but it makes for a nice end of year post I think.
1924 UBC Yearbook Comic by Bain, McLean, Pollock, & Co., shown courtesy of Neil Whaley. This was my favourite comic from the early UBC yearbooks, and while at first I thought it was a playful gag to superimpose students into the construction of the Science Building, I’ve learned from the 1923 yearbook post that the students ACTUALLY DID assist with the construction of the university! So this drawing takes on a whole new historical significance! Can YOU spot your grandfather in this image?!
Bonus: Watch the story of BC Higher Education here.
As a followup to Tuesday’s post, here is another comic from page 42 of the 1923 UBC Yearbook. This one features an unknown downtown Vancouver intersection filled with Photoshopped students attached to cartoon bodies. Note the jokes about alcoholic beverages (BC had repealed prohibition in 1921); the bar at bottom left has been relabeled “Soft Drinks” and across the street, above the Police Station is a billboard for “Cascade Garters, Always Falling; the Gear without a Peer” (see a beer ad with similar slogan). The comic is by “Meadows” and dated 1924.
Also added for good measure, an ad for REO Motors from page 5 of the same yearbook.
A rendering of Vancouver—yesterday, today, and tomorrow—dated March 10, 1938, by artist and cartoonist Fraser Wilson, from the Charles Hou cartoon collection. Fraser Wilson wound up pursuing a career in cartooning as a result of a work-related injury in a shipyard. His career began when he sold his first cartoon to a national magazine at age 12 (circa 1917), but it ended when he spoke out against the Province newspaper during a strike in 1947.
He would focus on fine art and commercial advertising instead, including work for the Dayton Boot Company. More details from their website:
Shortly after the company was launched, in 1947 the highly regarded cartoonist of the Vancouver Sun, Fraser Wilson, then president of the newspaper guild (union) spoke out against the Province during a bitter marathon strike. He was fired and told to leave his office and job within the hour.
Sadly, Fraser Wilson never worked another day in the newspaper industry. With his primary source of income lost, Mr. Wilson turned to advertising and art as his primary means of support. Charlie Wohlford and Wayne Wohlford recognized his talent and engaged Fraser Wilson to create catalogues, advertising and cartoons to promote the Dayton Brand.
As far as his imagined Vancouver goes, the density of high rise towers was a pretty accurate prediction. In other news, I still need to visit the Maritime Labour Centre mural, which also happens to be painted by Fraser Wilson in 1947. I’m guessing he promptly started this mural either during the strike, or after he was fired from the paper. If anyone knows more details, please feel free to add a comment!
Bazooka Comics #1 - Various - 1979 or 1980?
Fairly new to Tumblr, the canadiancomicsarchive posted this rare Vancouver underground comic yesterday:
I don’t know much about this comics. It was printed by Dave Gregg, who was active in the Vancouver punk scene, printing gig posters under the moniker, Rebel Crime Press. Gregg was also a guitarist for seminal local punk band DOA. If anyone has any information, please let me know.
ps: canadiancomicsarchive: to learn more, you should talk to Bev Davies. You can contact her via flickrmail here. Or send me a way to get in touch with you. You currently don’t have any feedback mechanism, as I technically can’t currently send you questions, submissions, or fan mail aside from “reblogging”.
Monsters on Georgia; dragons on Robson!This illustration by Amancay Nahuelpan-Bustamante is a phenomenal sneak peak at what you’ll see inside Cloudscape Comics’ latest anthology The Giants of Main Street, a 150 page collection of fantasy stories set in an urban environment.
This project started out as an Indie-Go-Go campaign, and the Cloudscape crew has once again raised the funds needed to kickstart the production of this project. This is the sixth anthology Cloudscape has produced, having released one every year for the past five years; a seventh book is already in the planning stage.
Earlier this month, the first copies of the book were sent out to those who supported the Indie-Go-Go campaign. The rest of you may have to wait a bit longer, but soon this title will be available in ebook and printed book format from the Cloudcape Comics online store; a Vancouver book launch event is also scheduled for next month. To find out more about their book launch plans and future events, follow them on Facebook, Tumblr, & Twitter.
From the Vancouver Province Saturday, June 27, 1936, a special Dominion Day cover. This front page has been digitally enhanced, looking a bit surreal when enhanced to this degree. It’s hard to imagine newspapers were ever so colourful! For a more accurate view, here is the original scan of the newspaper.
News headlines of the day included “Canada Comes West”, “When Rowing was Sometimes a Hazardous Sport”, “Why Shouldn’t Germany Regain Her Lost Colonies? The Reasoning Behind Hitler’s Demands”, “That ‘Woman’s Place’ Question is Here Again”, and “Blame Your Grandpa if Your Hair is Non-Existent”. The artwork is uncredited, although the comic on the back page is signed Raymond Flanagan, so perhaps it’s the same artist utilized throughout the paper.
The flag draped across the illustration is the Canadian Red Ensign, and the Canadian shield (used on the flag from 1921–1957) appears alongside the British Columbia shield (which foreshadows BC’s own future provincial flag). Here’s an interesting side note about BC’s flag:
With the exception of Nova Scotia and Quebec, the widespread attitude was that provincial flags were irrelevant. In 1946, Mr. William MacAdam, B.C.’s long lasting Agent General in London, visited Premier John Hart in Victoria. He brought with him a sketch of the armorial banner and suggested that it would make a good provincial flag. Mr. Hart is reported to have turned it down with the remark, “Where and how would we use it?” The province, he felt was adequately equipped with the Canadian Red Ensign and the Union Flag.6
The source link above goes on to describe in detail how BC officially got it’s current provincial flag, which finally became official on June 27, 1960. It’s worth a read in its entirety. Happy Canada Day everyone!
An online project to document 1,000 works of art depicting Vancouver, British Columbia ~ past, present, and future. Curated by jmv on Twitter & flickr. Submissions welcomed.
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‘Stratus’ soon fellow cartoonists! Cloudscape’s biggest art show at the Ayden Gallery opens on May 3 at 7:00pm. If you haven’t signed up yet, do so here! https://www.facebook.com/events/148990701925781/
BK Munn writes about the upcoming show:
Billing it as a “giant show” launching with a signing by all the involved creators, Cloudscape founder Jeff Ellis, reminds us of the origin of the retrospective: “I had a dream that I wanted to boost local comics in Vancouver, The next idea that came… [was] ‘we have all of these artists making comics – rather than spending money to do our own individual works, why don’t we work together and pool our resources to publish something?’”](http://25.media.tumblr.com/8c79c6cea38c0d61eedf39aea3bcb8df/tumblr_mlyg23MhUz1qkwt8jo1_400.jpg)
