Articles

Harriet Tubman did something exceptionally courageous: She escaped slavery. Then she did something impossible: She went back. This riveting back-cover blurb sets the tone for Harriet Tubman: Toward Freedom. Whit Taylor and Kazimir Lee bring Harriet Tubman’s story to life, depicting her journey to rescue her brothers from slavery. The graphic novel takes care to illustrate the life and mind of Tubman with historical accuracy. The result is a fascinating picture of a woman who wanted to share her freedom ...

Through the Woods, by Emily Carroll, is an anthology of horror comics that walks the line between whimsical and deeply unsettling. This collection includes the story “His Face All Red” that is hosted on Emily Carroll’s website, plus four new original stories to enjoy. An introduction and a conclusion serve to round out the experience. Carroll is a master of page layouts and colour. Chaotic panels bring the horror to life while enhancing the reading experience. The colour punches the ...

Daniel: A Grave Tale of Horror is a completed horror webcomic created by Sarah Nelson. The story takes place in the 1930s and follows Christine and Daniel, two close friends living in small-town Illinois. The possibility for something more than friendship simmers below the surface, but tragedy strikes before the two can act on it. Soon, mysterious deaths start plaguing the town, and local law enforcement are woefully unprepared for what’s to come. The webcomic can be read in its ...

The Case Study of Vanitas is a manga series by Jun Mochizuki set in Paris, France, where humans and vampires live in an uneasy peace. An increasing number of feral vampires threatens to plunge both human and vampire worlds into chaos. With beautiful artwork, engaging characters, and a bombshell of a narrative promise at the end of the first chapter, Vanitas is shaping up to be an unforgettable adventure.  The story follows Noé Archiviste, a vampire on a quest to ...

Shades of Fear is a horror comic anthology that features ten stories told in vivid colour. Editors Ashanti Fortson and Allison O’Toole bring us riveting tales from a multitude of talented creators. Each comic uses a distinct colour palette, from soft, warm reds to blistering yellow. The book was successfully crowdfunded in September 2022, and you can pick up a digital copy here: https://balustradepress.gumroad.com/l/shades-digital Colour plays an important role in this anthology. Many stories pick a specific palette and stick ...

Pokémon Adventures is a manga series set in the Pokémon universe, with the story written by Hidenori Kusaka and the artwork by Mato. Those familiar with the Pokémon TV series will find the protagonist, Red, to be similar to Ash Ketchum, but Red has his own unique personality and Pokémon friends before he meets Pikachu. Throughout the story, the plot continues to diverge from the games and TV show. Red wants to catch every last one of the Pokémon that ...

Ann by the Bed is an original horror comic by Emily Carroll, published in Frontier #6. The story depicts the terrible tale of Ann Herron’s murder and the urban legends that sprang out of it in Ontario. Frontier #6 can be found on the Youth in Decline website here: http://www.youthindecline.com/product/frontier-6-emily-carroll The comic uses a disjointed narrative style to give the reader different perspectives on the story. It takes you through the multitde of ways people try to make sense of ...

BACK, by KC Green and Anthony Clark, is a webcomic that ran from 2014 to 2021, and has two released volumes, with the third final volume successfully crowdfunded in March 2022. The webcomic features a slew of colourful characters and follows Abigail, a cowgirl, and Daniel, a druid, on Abigail’s quest to end the world. The series is available to read here: https://www.backcomic.com/1 The comic thrives on wacky humour, both in clever writing and visual gags. And as the story ...

Almost American Girl is a memoir by Robin Ha. It tells the story of how, when she was fourteen, she went on vacation from Seoul, South Korea, to Alabama with her mother to visit a friend (Mr. Kim) and his family. Speaking Korean and only a little bit of English, she struggles to keep up with Mr. Kim’s children, who speak English fluently. The food and other cultural changes are also quite an intense experience. And on top of that, ...

Phantomarine is an ongoing webcomic by Claire K. Niebergall. It starts with a recently-deceased Princess Phaedra negotiating with a death god for her life. The death god is a shapeshifting being known as Cheth and can take on the form of any who have died in the sea. We also follow the story of Pavel, an adventurous and determined boy who was bitten by a sea ghost. I won’t spoil any of the story, but I will say that it’s ...

Showa is a four volume series around 2000 pages long, written and illustrated by Shigeru Mizuki. It doubles as a biography of the author and a history of Japan during the Showa period (1926–1989). Not only does it describe the various stages of Political turmoil, war, regrowth, and cultural developments of Japan throughout the 20th century, but it also tells of Mizuki’s childhood, growing up in the countryside, getting in childhood gang fights, fighting in the Pacific, facing the threat ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Hipira, written by Katsuhiro Otomo and illustrated by Shinji Kimura, is a charming children’s book about the adventures of a young vampire. Kimura's artwork is vividly colourful, rich and finely painted. It is also stylised in a fantastic, crooked sort of way, somewhat reminiscent of The Nightmare Before Christmas.  The book is short, but the stories are appealing and fun, and a lot is achieved. It’s good for adults who can appreciate the art, and also good ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen The Last Look Trilogy (X’ed Out, The Hive and Sugar Skull) by Charles Burns follows a series of events and thoughts in the life of a young and somewhat unconventional artist named Doug, including his memories, fears, and ambitions. It is a surreal story in which the reader is taken back and forth between various points of a timeline, and even an alternate dreamworld. Reality and dreams are shown one after the other, and in which ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Hostage  by Guy Delisle is a graphic novel telling the story of Christophe André’s kidnapping and time spent as a hostage in Chechnya. A young Frenchman working for Doctors Without Borders, André was taken from his office and driven away to remote unknown locations. Delisle provides a gripping story in capturing the immense expanses of time that André spends in solitude. As days and days go by, the reader is often left alone with André, his prison ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen A Chinese Life, written by Li Kunwu & P. Ôtié and illustrated by Li, is a very large autobiography telling the story of both Li and the People’s Republic of China in the post-war period and beyond. At nearly 700 pages in length, this book is an extensive tome that serves as a powerful and surprising testament to the endurance, struggles, achievements, and troubles of Li, his family, and his neighbours. In contrast to Shigeru Mizuki’s famous manga Showa, which tells ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Thoreau at Walden by John Porcellino is a short biography of the writer Henry David Thoreau and his time spent writing in a secluded countryside home at Walden Pond. With only a small vegetable patch for him to grow what he needed for food, Thoreau spent the rest of his time writing, thinking, and observing nature. Porcellino creates a calming, patient, and contemplative journey. His artwork, although very simplistic and stylized, works very well with the overall mood ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Mrs Weber's Omnibus is a collection of comics written by Posy Simmonds for the British newspaper The Guardian. The comics themselves were usually simply known as "Posy" in the paper, and have also been previously released as multiple other, smaller collections, but here they are all in one big omnibus. However, the collection does not include other work by Simmonds, such as Tamara Drewe and Gemma Bovery, which are separate graphic novels. The comics focus on a range ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen The Book of Hope by Tommi Musturi follows the life, thoughts, memories, and daydreams of a middle-aged Finnish couple living in the countryside. It focuses initially on the husband but later features the wife as well. The story feels slow but, at the same time, also like it’s happening over a long period of time. In a way, this does fit the mood of some people in the latter half or third of their lives spending time ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child by Keiko Tobe is a manga series about a mother, Sachiko, raising her autistic son, Hikaru, while also exploring the lives and challenges faced by the other family members and their friends. The story is what some would call "edutainment," a mix of entertainment and education; not enough of one to be purely informative but not enough of the other to be purely for show, a mix of practicality and ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Embroidered Cancer Comic by Sima Elizabeth Shefrin is a short comic  (graphic novella?) that's an autobiographical retelling of Elizabeth’s husband Bob being diagnosed with prostate cancer. The comic’s panels are entirely made up of embroidered line art illustrations, and whilst this artwork can appear somewhat unrefined, it still holds a charm and doesn't get in the way of the reader connecting with the short, heavy story. The scene where the doctor breaks the news still moves me upon ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Project X Challengers -- Seven Eleven: The Miraculous Success of Japan’s 7-Eleven Stores is a non-fiction manga written by Tadashi Ikuta and illustrated by Naomi Kimura that chronicles the the ambitious founding of the Japanese 7-Eleven store. One may assume that this story is merely about an American 7-Eleven trying to plant its roots in Japan, but it’s more about people who discovered the 7-Eleven business format and decided to manage their own 7-Eleven company with the same template ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley is an autobiographical journey of the author’s relationship with food. Knisley has enthusiastic high quality food lovers for parents and has spent a great deal of time and family connections working in or around the kitchen, and the author provides a wise and experienced account of her interactions. Knisley is able to deliver a powerful range of memories, including sight, taste, and smell -- very richly portraying food and ...

Red Handed: the Fine Art of Strange Crimes by Matt Kindt is a series of short stories, which all unite at the end, about various unusual crimes (such as serial chair theft, signage theft, etc) and the individuals behind them. Often the stories seem light, even comedic, though there is a degree of seriousness to them as well. What I liked about Red Handed are the crimes themselves, though some of the motivations of the crimianls I found less satisfactory. The ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen The original Moby Dick by Herman Melville is, in many ways, a very large book about a very long voyage. It is well known as a tale of grudges and the price of vengeance; the story of the Peequaad whaling ship, their intense captain Ahab, and the mysterious white whale Moby Dick, all seen through the eyes of our main character Ishmael. The cartoonist Chabouté has created a very loyal adaptation of this journey, abridging it ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Memories of Outer Space by French creator Enki Bilal is a series of short sci-fi themed stories. Each has its own sick little twist and turn which, coupled with Bilal’s detailed and brutal artwork, creates an often skin-twistingly strange feeling when read. Bilal’s approach at drawing people and characters is bold, prominent, and often proudly ugly. In other words, he is unafraid to show people's wrinkles, blemishes and all bodily faults -- in contrast to the ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Lucille and Renée by Ludovic Debeurme are two books are thick with pages and heavy with story. Debeurme’s artwork evolves from initially highly stylized and somewhat crude drawings to more uniformed and detailed illustrations as the story progresses. It's a good reminder to always give a book a couple of pages before giving up on it, as more often than not the artwork either changes and improves or you’ll find other things that make the book ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen  Journalism by Joe Sacco is another intense and shocking book by journalist-cartoonist Joe Sacco. It is a collection of true stories from around the world, including former Yugoslavia, Chechnya, Iraq, Malta, India and more. One or two stories are in colour but the rest is in Sacco’s stunning black and white. His illustrations rarely have gradients and are instead cross-hatched and shaded through line art. The flow of the speech bubbles telling detailed stories, with artwork equally ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Cook Korean is a graphic novel cook book by Robin Ha, an artist who mixes Korean and American cultural influences. Speaking as someone who hasn’t read a cook book before (I suppose I’m not too keen on how most mainstream cook books look inside), I can say that I found Cook Korean to be both visually appealing and easy to follow. Robin Ha not only provides recipes, but also autobiographical short stories and facts about Korean ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen California Dreamin’: Cass Elliot Before the Mamas & the Papas by Pénélope Bagieu is a compelling biography of singer/actress Cass Elliot drawn in energetic, honest and expressive pencils. This graphic novel details various key moments from the life of the famed performer who was once known as "Mama Cass." Bagieu does a great job capturing singing through her artwork and lettering, though to maximize the reading experience, it would help to be familiar with at least the song ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Asterix & Obelix, originally written by René Goscinny and drawn by Albert Uderzo is an iconic series of French comics about an indomitable Gaulish village at the edge of the Roman Empire in the year 50 BC. Despite Julius Caesar’s conquest of Gaul, one village remains free of Roman influence, and this village is able to keep all invasions at bay due to their druid’s magic potion, which grants them superstrength. The main characters are the intelligent and ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen 750 Years in Paris by Vincent Mahé is a unusual graphic novel:  a series of illustrations that depict a single point within the city of Paris that is shown again and again throughout different points in history. Starting from the 13th century, we are taken through medieval, imperial and eventually modern times. Among the scenes depicted are crusaders marching through the town, plague running rampant, conflict and war in the streets, and even events as recent as ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by Hayaeo Miyazaki present a world in which several centuries ago, great god-warriors roamed the world and engulfed everything in flames. When the flames faded, a vast poisonous forest appeared, guarded by enormous insects. Humanity’s numbers have dwindled severely, and most live beyond the poisonous forests - in the deserts and on the mountains. The Valley of the Wind is one such place. And it is here that the Valley’s ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Available as both two volumes or a complete edition, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's memoir of growing up in Iran before, during, and after the Iranian Islamic Revolution of the late 1970s. The book covers many years of Satrapi’s life, from her as a young child through to her early twenties. Throughout we also learn about Iran and how the nation, its people, and everyday life changed during the shift from the Shah’s rule to the Islamic Republic ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Larry Gonick has written numerous educational comic books, including The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry, The Cartoon Guide to Calculus, and even The Cartoon Guide to Sex. But this review focuses on his most famous work, the six-volume Cartoon History of the Universe. To give an idea of the scale we’re dealing with, here’s a list of all the books in the series:

• The Cartoon History of the United States (1987) - 400 pages
• The Cartoon History ...
  
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Review by Matthew Nielsen Maus by Art Spiegelman is among one of the most famous graphic novels of all time. Available in either two volumes (Maus I & Maus II) or as The Complete Maus, this book is truly something special. This autobiography has Art Spiegelman's father, Vladek, recounting the hardships he faced before and during the Holocaust of World War II. This is the central story, but what is also told is Spiegelman's relationship with his father as he tries ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style by Matt Madden is an exercise in taking a simple one-page comic and reinterpreting, reinventing, and even reincarnating it in many different ways. The template comic is 8 panels long. It depicts a man working at his desk, heading downstairs, answering a question from his girlfriend, and then opening his refrigerator. Pretty straightforward, right? However, the ways in which Madden adapts this template comic make each reiteration ...

Reviewed by Matthew Nielsen Palestine by Joe Sacco takes place in occupied Palestine and is set over the course of two and half months in the winter of 1991-1992 (around the end of the Second Intifada). This graphic novel is a fusion of journalism and comics that explores the country through a series of experiences, interviews, and slices of everyday life during the time Sacco stayed in Israel and Palestine. If you’re looking to hear a Palestinian side of the ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen This time we’ll take a quick look at the 24-page comic book Kicking at the Darkness by frequent Cloudscape contributor Colin Upton. It is a piece of nonfiction set on the European western front of World War II during 1944-1945, at the very end of the war. It primarily focuses on one of the earliest of the Canadian Army's encounters with victims and survivors of the Holocaust. Upton does an excellent job providing accurate details of ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier (writer/artist) and Braden Lamb (colorist) centers around Cat (Catrina), a preteen, moving with her family from sunny southern California to gloomier, rainier northern California. The move is due to Cat’s younger sister, Maya, having been born with cystic fibrosis; the climate is supposedly healthier for her. They soon find that the small but friendly town they move to has a strong connection with ghosts and the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen The Finnish characters the Moomins have been featured in numerous comics, novels, animated shows, and even theatrical performances. However, the book we’ll be looking at today is from the original newspaper comics by the Swedish-speaking Finlander Tove Jansson. Moomins are creatures that somewhat resemble hippopotamuses, and live in the surreal valley of Moominland, along with many other unique creatures and peoples, such as the very small young woman Little My, who is in fact not human ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*! by Art Spiegelman is a big book. It's about 36x26cm (roughly 10x14 inches), so when you open it, it’s going to be twice the width. However, the book's comics make full use of the pages. This book includes a brief biography of the artist, as well as examples of his early work. We even see the original short Maus comic that led to the world-famous graphic novel ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen From Hell, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Eddie Campbell, is one of the longest single-volume graphic novels I’ve read. With an average of 8-9 panels across 520 or so of those pages, the book features roughly 4400 illustrations, all meticulously researched with technical detail and history accuracy. This is the story of Jack the Ripper, one of the most infamous serial killers of all time. It is also a story of the victims of ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Mom's Cancer by Brian Fies is a very moving story of a mother in her sixties being diagnosed with cancer and how her three children do their best to help her. It is an autobiography told by Brian, the eldest of the mother’s children. Events start at the home – the first page showing the mother suffering some kind of stroke. It doesn’t leap to the hospital right away, but instead first shows how the family ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Based on the Joseph Conrad novella of the same name, the graphic novel Heart of Darkness (adapted by David Zane Mairowitz and illustrated by Catherine Anyango) is about a man's journey up the Congo River during the late 19th-century Belgian colonial period. The protagonist, Marlow, works for an ivory trading group, and has been given the task of meet with Kurtz, an exceptionally “efficient” obtainer of ivory. As the story progresses, the reader is introduced to more ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Black Hole by Charles Burns is a story of teenagers, drugs, and an STD called the “Bug,” which gives whoever has it a random physical mutation, anything from small growths on the back to antennae coming out of the forehead. Not your X-Men sort of deal; no superpowers, only deformities. The story follows a handful of characters who are doing their best to cope with the unforgiving life teenagers have to live. Needless to say, the ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Scott McCloud's trilogy of Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, and Making Comics are all excellent works. They are a great collection of essays entirely in the comics format, entirely about comics. The first book, Understanding Comics, published in 1994, focuses on the history, perception, and communication of comics, as well as a sophisticated interpretation of the medium as a whole. It is an amazing tool for both comic beginners and those more experienced with comics. If you ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen Tamara Drewe by Posy Simmonds is a story centred around a writer’s retreat in the English countryside. It starts off from the point of view of university professor Glen, and then moves on to the retreat’s de facto manager Beth. We also see things from other people’s points of view at various times throughout the story. This gives us a wonderful chance to know what everyone is thinking. When you open the book, you’ll find a ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen The Quest for the Big Woof, written by Lenny Henry and illustrated by Steve Parkhouse, is a British comedic graphic novel from 1991 about the life and mind of Lenny Henry. The story is pretty straightforward: Henry is in the process of writing gags for his upcoming stand-up tour, but he is hit with a severe case of writer’s block. So one day God shows up to help him. Not in a religious praise-Jesus kind-of-way, but ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less is an autobiographical graphic novel by Sarah Glidden that explores how she, an American with Jewish heritage, went on a birthright trip to Israel in March, 2007. The birthright trip is a charity-funded service that allows any Jewish person from anywhere in the world to receive a free trip to Israel, possibly in hopes that they may choose to move there. During the birthright tour, Glidden is ...

Review by Matthew Nielsen True Loves by Jason Turner and Manien Batoma is a romance comic set in Vancouver, Canada, that tells the story of True, the owner of a used clothes store, and Zander, a grocery clerk with a positive attitude. The story starts with True in a relationship with Dirk, a busy and well-to-do man, but the two aren't on the same wavelength. When Zander comes into play, True finds that he’s someone she can relate to more ...

by Oliver McTavish-Wisden Once in a while, a work of art comes along to remind me about the expressive storytelling elements that can only be found in the medium of graphic novels. In Cyril Pedrosa's graphic novel, Three Shadows, he explores the question “what price would you pay to save your child?” ...

by Bevan Thomas Darkness Calls by Steven Keewatin Sanderson is a powerful comic book that confronts psychological issues facing aboriginal youths today ...

In true collective fashion, we over at Cloudscape headquarters put our heads together this week to come up with a master list of what we consider to be the top ten comics produced in the 2000s. Five of us each came up with our own independent lists (which can be found on the forum) and then those lists were compiled together through a top secret mathematical formula. The results are here! ...

by Aliena Shoemaker July 20th, 2010 There was a time when the local Borders was the only store in my city that carried manga (Japanese comics) in the trade paper back format. The titles the store carried were limited to a grand total of about five. The titles included had either been readily available to the North American audience for multiple years via their on-screen adaptations (such as Dragonball Z) or they were the most popular titles in Japan at ...

by Bevan Thomas June 19th, 2011 The comic series The Boys, by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, brings us numerous superhero teams with strangely familiar names: Fantastico, G-Men, Payback, and above them all is the Seven orbiting in their satellite headquarters: Homelander, world’s greatest hero, Queen Maeve, mightiest of heroines, Black Noir, the dark detective, the Deep, lord of the watery depths, Jack from Jupiter, alienesque crime-fighter, A-Train, fastest man alive, and Lamplighter with his magic lamp. The champions ...

by Bevan Thomas September 24th, 2011 The Golden Age of superhero comics existed from the end of the 1930s to the beginning of the 1950s, with the bulk of it revolving around World War II. Superheroes have never been as popular since. There was something about the second War to End All Wars that made the general population respond to the superhero aesthetic in a way they haven’t done since. While now the superhero comic medium is defined by two ...

by Jonathon Dalton October 14th, 2011 If you spend as much time on the internet as I do, you’ve probably seen a lot of frustration lately on the subject of superheroes, particularly regarding DC Comics’ recent relaunch. Even when I was a regular superhero reader DC was never my thing, so I’ll leave it to others to respond to the New 52. But lately, a lot of the blogs I’ve been reading end with a question: “Why read superheroes at ...

Due to the concerns about the weather. Our in-person meeting is cancelled. Tomorrow's meeting will be online. To access the meeting you need to be an introduced member on our Discord. Discord access here: https://discord.gg/sJFC4DNU ...

We're absolutely thrilled to announce that three Cloudscape titles have been nominated for Gene Day Awards. Congratulations to all our fabulous artists, writers, and editors who put so much hard work into our books. Our anthologies The Witching Hours and Life Finds a Way are nominated in the "Anthology Collections" ...

The Life Finds A Way Kickstarter is LIVE! Click here or the link below to check out the campaign and grab yourself a copy of the book! Here we are once again! Another week, another Life Finds A Way creator interview! As of this posting, there are 17 days ...

The Life Finds A Way Kickstarter is LIVE! Click here or the link below to check out the campaign and grab yourself a copy of the book! Thursday has come around once again, and by now we're sure you know what that means: another Life Finds A Way creator ...

The Life Finds A Way Kickstarter is LIVE! Click here or the link below to check out the campaign and grab yourself a copy of the book! We hope you all enjoyed the sun over your Labor Day long weekend. As of this posting, the Life Finds A Way ...

Hey folks!
Cloudscape will be showcasing work from our membership at Canzine 2019. Happening September 21, 2019 11AM- 5PM Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch. Come on by and check out our member zines, as well as some of our new books like the Witching Hours and the Gene Day nominated Swan ...

Cloudscape member Kaili has been featured in the journalist blog The Narwhal for her participation in the non-fiction comic, Death By A Thousand Cuts. Written by Blueberry River First Nations with Christopher Pollon, Death By A Thousand Cuts is "a story of hope and resilience from the Dane-zaa people living ...

It's official: The Life Finds A Way Kickstarter is LIVE! Click here or the link below to check out the campaign and grab yourself a copy of the book! We're continuing to interview creative teams for the duration of the Kickstarter and so today we're chatting with Hobo and ...

August has officially arrived in Vancouver (and everywhere else) which means the end of summer is in sight. Grim news for those of us who enjoy the hot weather, but the looming threat of September won't stop us from posting another Life Finds A Way creator interview! Today, we're sitting ...

We're entering the final few days of July (summer is flying by!) which means we're approaching the end of the Life Finds A Way creator interview series. Don't worry though, there's still a few more to go! This week, we're talking "First Edition" with its writer Kevin Mahadeo. This post ...

We conclude this sunny Vancouver week, with the latest interview for the Life Finds A Way anthology! With us, is Shiraky and Daniel, sharing some background information about their story "Until It Ends". This post is a part of a series of articles about Cloudscape's Life Finds A Way anthology ...

Another day, another interview for the Life Finds A Way anthology! This time we sit down with Cloudscape's own K.C., AKA Kaili, to chat about her story "Ascend". This post is a part of a series of articles about Cloudscape's Life Finds A Way anthology. Visit the landing page for ...

This post is a part of a series of articles about Cloudscape's Life Finds A Way anthology. Visit the landing page for more information on the project. What’s your name? KC: I go by KC LK: Lynn Kremer, I also go by Darkthare on most social media platforms! What’s ...

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This post is a part of a series of articles about Cloudscape's Life Finds A Way anthology. Visit the landing page for more information on the project. What’s your name? DD: Drew Dillon. EH: Hey! I’m Emmett Helen, a cartoonist based in Atlanta, Georgia. What’s your artistic background? DD: ...

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This post is a part of a series of articles about Cloudscape's Life Finds A Way anthology. Visit the landing page for more information on the project. What’s your name? LW: Lisa Wolinsky, or The Alchemist on my limited social media. MM: Melissa McGee, or The Druid out here ...

This post is a part of a series of articles about Cloudscape's Life Finds A Way anthology. Visit the landing page for more information on the project. What’s your name? My name’s Can Richards! I’m 20 and I live in Cape Town! What’s your artistic background? I’ve been drawing ...

This post is a part of a series of articles about Cloudscape's Life Finds A Way anthology. Visit the landing page for more information on the project. What’s your name? A. Lee What’s your artistic background? I'm actually not really from an artistic background, I'm embarrassed to say! I ...

This post is a part of a series of articles about Cloudscape's Life Finds A Way anthology. Visit the landing page for more information on the project. What’s your name? Stephanie Cooke What’s your artistic background? I’m a writer who likes to dabble in art but mostly when it ...

Cloudscape Comics is featured in Langara College's newspaper, the Voice: "Cloudscape Comics Society has come a long way from its humble beginnings in the back room of a coffee shop, and is now a force to be reckoned with in Vancouver’s art scene....  A local comic artist who’s been with ...

Jeff Ellis is not only Cloudscape founder but also one of the main teachers at Langara College's Graphic Novel program. This week he was profiled on the Langara College's website: "Jeff has been drawing comics for as long as he can remember, but his interest intensified in high school, when ...

We are excited to announce that two Cloudscape graphic novels, Fir Valley by Jason Turner and Feast of Fields by Sean Karemaker, have been nominated for the Gene Day Award for best Canadian self-published comic at the 2018 Joe Shusters. Check them out as well as the other great Canadian comics ...

A documentary has been made of Cloudscape Comics by Anto Liang, Lucky Kim, and Natalie Cheng. Take a look, and then like and share it from https://vimeo.com/263598335 ...

The Vancouver Sun has published a great piece about the Mokhovikovas, a family of Russian refugees who were featured in "So We Ran," Anna Bons' contribution to our Comics in Transit series. "Vancouver artist Anna Bron, who coincidentally is also Jewish and was born in Russia, was thrilled to create the Mokhovikovas’ ...

Our executive director, Oliver McTavish-Wisden, was interviewed in the Vancouver Metro, where he talks about Cloudscape's history, our anthologies, Comics in Transit,  and Vancouver comics in general. "From a graphic novel that explores Vancouver’s dystopian future to a series of oversized comics that expose transit users to the complexities of life as ...

 Derek at Comics Alternative interviews Jeff and Oliver about Swan Song. Listen to Cloudscape's directors talk about all the marvelous elements of our music-themed anthology at Comics Alternative Kicktstarter: Swan Song ...

An article on Comics in Transit, our big public art project, is featured on IVOH, and includes an interview with Comics in Transit creator and Cloudscape executive director Oliver McTavish-Wisden: Founded in 2015, Comics in Transit creates original, poster-sized comics for display in bus shelters and transit stops around Vancouver and ...

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PBS Newshour interviews Mohammed Alsaleh, a Syrian refugee who is one of the many refugees having their story told in comic form through Cloudscape Comics' Comics in Transit. The news segment also features Jonathon Dalton, the Cloudscape artist who is helping to tell Mr. Alsaleh's story ...

Cloudscape will be on hand at Emerald City comicon at booth 1623 with members Hannah Meyers, Monica Disher, Jonathon Dalton and myself (Jeff Ellis). If you will be there then come on by and say hello! ...

Exciting news! Epic Canadiana #2, our second serving of exciting tales of Canadian superheroes, has won the Gene Day at the Joe Shuster Awards! The Joe Shusters honour excellence in Canadian comics throughout various genres, with the Gene Day specifically awarding a graphic novel that has been self-published outside of ...

The Joe Shuster Awards are a series of national awards that celebrate Canadians creating comics home and abroad. They have just posted the 2016 Shuster Nominations, which list the best Canadian creators and comics of 2015. The nominees for this year's Gene Day Award (which honours self-published Canadian comics) include: ...

Toronto's NOW magazine features a cover article about the new graphic novel collaboration between Canadian icon Margaret Atwood and Cloudscape artist Johnnie Christmas. "He's young, she’s not. She’s a cat lover, he’s a dog lover. He’s a modest, relatively unknown graphic novelist, she’s one of the world’s best-known writers and ...

Cloudscape’s “Comics in Transit” keeps on rolling! Comics have been popping-up in bus shelters all over Metro Vancouver,  one-page stories created by such prominent local creators as Nina Matsumoto, Johnnie Christmas, Steve Rolston, and many more. We’ve been getting a lot of attention, including more buzz in the Georgia Straight and an extensive ...

Cloudscape president Oliver McTavish-Wisden recently wrote an article showcasing comics in BC that was featured on the BC Tourism website: "Most visitors to BC come for the gorgeous natural scenery, renowned dining scene and local culture. But in addition to these iconic BC attractions, there are plenty of opportunities for ...

Cloudscape Comics is featured in the Province! The newspaper talked with Jeff Ellis and Oliver McTavish-Wisden about Cloudscape's goals, its involvement with the city, Mega Fauna, and, of course, VanCAF and our upcoming launch party. To read the article, visit "Cloudscape Comics Shows Its Silver Lining of Talent." ...

Cloudscape members Jeff Ellis, Bevan Thomas, and Kathleen Jacques are interviewed by Cheryl Minns about Mega Fauna and its launch for Douglas College’s Other Press. May 5, 2015. READ THE ARTICLE HERE. ...

Our founder and president, Jeff Ellis, is interviewed by Ian Boothby for his podcast Sneaky Dragon, discussing Cloudscape Comics, comics collectives in general, and Jeff’s own webcomic Teach English in Japan. June 28, 2014. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE. ...

Board member and author Bevan Thomas is interviewed by Sheryl McKay on CBC Radios’s North by Northwest, talking about Epic Canadiana and other Canadian superheroes. April 19, 2014. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE. ...

Cloudscape members Jeff Ellis and Mara Coman are interviewed by Myles Wirth about their contributions to Cloudscape and the various events our organization has become involved in. February 15, 2014. READ THE ARTICLE HERE. ...

Board members Jeff Ellis and Bevan Thomas are interviewed for Shaw TV’s Go! Vancouver about Cloudscape, Epic Canadiana, and the power of collaboration. February 5, 2014 ...

Bevan Thomas is interviewed by Cheryl Rossi about Cloudscape’s anthologies and what it provides to both its members and the community. October 24, 2013. READ THE ARTICLE HERE. ...

On August 31, our president Jeff Ellis was interviewed about Waterlogged on CBC Radio by Sheryl MacKay of North by Northwest. You can download the full interview at the North by Northwest podcast archives ...

Inside Vancouver featured an interesting article on the Vancouver field house residency program, the city making park field houses available for artist collectives, with a big focus on Cloudscape: "Did you know that you can learn about the basics of comics drawing or traditional Aboriginal weaving after, say, a game ...

Miranda Post discussed Vancouver’s artist field house initiative with a focus on Cloudscape. August 12, 2013. READ THE FULL ARTICLE. ...

Rodrigo Caballero, creator of Comics with a Cause, was recently interview in the Georgia Straight about Branded, the graphic novel he's creating (with Cloudscape artist Reetta Linjama) that addresses violence against women ...

4Geeks Media interviewed Comics With A Cause founder Rodrigo Caballero and Cloudscape artist Reetta Linjama at VanCAF about their upcoming Branded graphic novel, currently engaged in its IndieGogo fundraiser ...

Gregory Adams talked about Cloudscape’s history, the show at the Ayden Gallery, and our seventh anthology. May 16, 2013. READ THE FULL ARTICLE. ...

Gregory Adams of the Georgie Straight stopped by the launch party of our art show Stratus at the Ayden Gallery, where he studied our art and interviewed many Cloudscape members. Here's the article that resulted from it: "Since its inception, Cloudscape Comics Society has galvanized local cartoonists into creating ...

Jason Wilkins discusses Cloudscape on the comics website Broken Frontier: "Located in beautiful Vancouver, Canada, the Cloudscape Comics Society is doing comics right. A non-profit group dedicated to producing high quality, well-crafted, intelligent comics, the CCS provides a forum and an outlet for up-and-coming creators to hone their craft ...

Jason Wilkins discussed how Cloudscape developed and what the future holds. May 9, 2013. READ THE FULL ARTICLE. ...

The fundraiser for Cloudscape's latest book, Waterlogged, is discussed on two comics news sites: Broken Frontier and Shelf Abuse ...

4Geeks Media interviewed several Cloudscape members at their new HQ. January 10, 2013 ...

Recently, Cloudscape has been attracting people's attention, and has been featured in numerous forms of media. On Wednesday, our founder Jeff Ellis was interviewed by Stephen Quinn on CBC's The Early Edition radio show. Furthermore, our latest book, Giants of Main Street, was discussed by Ryan Ingram on The Snipe, ...

Alice Quinn interviewed Jeff Ellis at TCAF, the Toronto Comics Art Festival. May 23, 2012 ...

Cloudscape's most recent anthology, 21 Journeys, has been nominated as a finalist for the Gene Day Award! The Gene Day Award honours Canadian comic book creators who self-publish their books. Everyone over at Cloudscape HQ is really pleased. The only thing that could make this better is to find out ...

Will Ross of The Peak posted an article on Cloudscape Comics, including excerpts of an interview he did of Jeff Ellis and Jonathon Dalton. February 20, 2012. READ THE ARTICLE HERE. ...

by Bevan Thomas At one of Cloudscape Comics’ Wednesday meetings, I sat down to chat with Jeff Ellis, the organization’s founder, as around us numerous fellow cartoonists worked on their own projects. In many ways, Jeff’s appearance captures the archetype of the “geek” in the best possible way; a slim, ...

With the release of the 21 Journeys and Exploded View ebooks, the Fabler blog spent some time with President Jeff Ellis asking about the production of 21 Journeys. In particular there is a small discussion on using IndieGoGo as a fundraising platform and our experiences with the service. Kevin D:Do ...

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Lee Tockar interviewed Jeff Ellis as part of the Anime Evolution convention. July 11, 2010 ...

Mark Medley of the National Post interviewed Jeff Ellis about the Toronto Comic Art Festival. May 7, 2010. READ THE INTERVIEW HERE. ...

Cloudscape was one of the various groups interviewed by Jennifer Chan of SFStationTV at the 2009 Alternative Press Expo (APE) in San Francisco. October 28, 2009 ...

Jeff Ellis and Colin Upton were interviewed by Broadcast Comics for Shaw TV. June 15, 2008 ...

Jason Wilkins at the comic news website Broken Frontier reviews 21 Journeys: ...

In the Comix Cube, Kevin Czap reviews Cloudscape’s 21 Journeys ...

Fake Geek Girls is a podcast that explores pop culture from both a fan and critical perspective. Its "Children's Horror" installment looks at Coraline, The Graveyard Book, Over the Garden Wall... and Bones of the Coast! "If you like 'earthy' horror ...

Our horror anthology, Bones of the Coast, was reviewed by the blog "Marie Does Book Reviews": "Bones of the Coast is an awesome, scary, beautiful anthology and I have mixed feelings about it. Good mixed feelings! All of the stories contained inside are both ...

The blog Vancouver Is Awesome has posted a review of our latest anthology: Bones of the Coast. Reviewer Bob Kronbauer: "wound up being completely engaged from cover to cover, partly due to the great writing and eclectic styles of more than 20 artists, but ...

The comic book news website Broken Frontier has a short piece on Cloudscape's Canadian superhero anthology Epic Canadiana #1 ...

Derek Newman-Stille at Speculating Canada had much to say about Epic Canadiana #1.  ...

Jackson over at This Week in Webcomics reviewed Exploded View ...

Jean Matthew reviews Sean Karemaker's Feast of Fields in Broken Pencil #80: "Autobiographical comics have never looked quite like Sean Karemaker’s Feast of Fields. The comic features wide, hand-drawn and intensely detailed black-and-white illustrations. Karemaker shares stories from his childhood, his time ...

Jason Wilkins of Broken Frontier reviewed Cloudscape’s fantasy anthology Giants of Main Street. ...

At The Snipe, Ryan Ingram discussed Giants of Main Street. ...

Jason Wilkins of comic website Broken Frontier reviewed the anthology, Mega Fauna. ...

Ashley Park on the Arts Report (on CiTR-FM, UBC's radio station) talks about Swan Song, Cloudscape's music-themed anthology. She discusses the anthology's variety of topics, which stories stood out for her in particular, and each story approaches the themes differently. In particular, ...

In the Vancouver Sun, Stuart Derdeyn reviews Swan Song, our music-themed anthology: "The material is delightfully varied and explores music across all kinds of genres and touches on everything from science to cultural theory, sci-fi and fantasy and even some spores ...

XS Noize's Michael Barron gave a fantastic review of Cloudscape's Swan Song anthology: From its 12” by 12” size and with each story title contained inside a vinyl image; the connection to tangible and superb quality music is superb. Just ...

The Witching Hours, received a great review by the blog "Marie Does Book Reviews": "The artwork in this book is brilliant, which each of the comics featured using only black and green ink... I feel that every artist featured in ...

A wonderful review of The Witching Hours, was featured in issue 2 of Sequential Magazine. You can view a snippet of the review by Riley Hamilton below: From the Sequential Magazine website: The goal of this publication is to expand the ...

Jason Wilkins at the comic news website Broken Frontier reviews Steve LeCouilliard's Una the Blade: ...

Jason Wilkins of Broken Frontier delivers a review of Waterlogged and he's certainly impressed with what he sees ...

Allyce Amidon reviewed Waterlogged: Tales from the Seventh Sea for Foreword Reviews ...

Waterlogged, our seventh anthology, is reviewed Sheena McNeil of the prominent comics website Sequential Tart! ...

A Waterlogged review by Stephanie Scott, social media marketer and digital storyteller ...