What is Cloudscape?
The Cloudscape Comics Society is a graphic novel publisher centered in Metro Vancouver.
Since our founding in 2008, Cloudscape has published over 30 graphic novels and anthologies.
Cloudscape is also an artist collective, made up of over 100 members of the comics community within BC.
As a registered charity organization, profits from the sales of Cloudscape books go towards providing developing artists with free drawing classes, studio space, a lending library, and a small printing center, as well as delivering public events, talks, demonstrations and even public art, and of course, publishing more books!
Weekly Meetings
Cloudscape is dedicated to developing an inclusive community amongst all those who love to read and create comics. One of the main ways we maintain this community is through our weekly meetings, which occur every Wednesday at 7 PM.
At these meetings, aspiring and experienced comic artists can network, exchange ideas, and work on their projects in a supportive environment. Anyone with an interest in exploring the comics medium is welcome. We’d love to have you attend!
Meetings are currently alternating between online and in-person:
Online meetings are held via Zoom. To be notified of upcoming online meetings, please join our discord server.
In-person meetings are held in the arts and crafts room at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown. The address for the Roundhouse is 181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2W3. You can find the dates for in-person meetings in our event calendar.
Testimonials
What Our Members Say
“I would definitely not be making my webcomic if I hadn’t gained the discipline I did meeting my deadlines for Cloudscape. I also met my co-writer Jonathon Dalton through Cloudscape. It’s meant so much to me to see this group grow to the level it is at now, and it’s given me the drive to pursue my own artistic career.”
Jeff Ellis, Cloudscape founder, Teach English in Japan
“Before I moved to Vancouver and joined Cloudscape, the only other comickers I knew were on the Internet. Having this real life network of people has made such a difference in my life…. I won a Xeric award to help print my book Lords of Death and Life. I only applied for this grant because another member, Wei Li, was doing the same. Now we have three Xeric winners in the group. For an award given to only a handful of people in North America each year, there sure seem to be a lot of us in Vancouver!”
Jonathon Dalton, Lords of Death and Life, A Mad Tea-Party, Teach English in Japan
“We build each other up in Cloudscape, and we give each other the confidence to take on new challenges. I doubt the process of releasing my first book, We Are the Engineers, would have gone nearly as smoothly without the expertise of the other members of the group, or the experience of publishing our anthologies. In turn, I’m able to share my experience of promoting comics on the web.”
Angela Melick, Wasted Talent
“Vancouver has demonstrated time and time again that its many cartoonists have a voice–one that is unique from cartoonists elsewhere in Canada–and Cloudscape has given them the opportunity to showcase their talents in the best way possible…. [Cloudscape is] a success in bringing together the eclectic talents of Vancouver, offering direction, drive, and support to independent creators.”
Shannon Campbell, organizer of the Vancouver Comics Art Festival (VanCAF)
What Other People Say
“For the event, the society presented a drop-in workshop on all the different aspects of creating a comic. It was very well-organised into the separate processes, layout, dialogue, drawing figures, inking, colouring, etc. Different members lead each of the different areas and shared their own knowledge and techniques with the participants. It is always a great experience for our participants to work directly with artists. The families created really great comics, had fun and learned a lot from the workshop…. It would be a pleasure to work with them again sometime in the future.”
Laura Holland, Vancouver Art Gallery
“[Cloudscape] made me realize the importance of art within a comic book club. With their advice I have been able to purchase some of the best comic books/graphic novels for our [Youth Comic Book Club], as well as art supplies and workshops to help teach the club about drawing. Thus far, Cloudscape has been an absolute priceless support and resource for our department. I hope to keep in touch to hear about local art and comic events, as well as bring the youth on a tour of their fabulous space. Many hay cx qus to Cloudscape!!”
Jayne Simpson, Musqueam Reserve
“I personally have seen them in action at the Nikkei National Museum’s week-long kids day camp last July, where four diverse and fantastic teachers taught Manga – a Japanese comic genre – to our 9 to 12 year old camp participants…. We are now looking at ways to work with them more in the future. The Cloudscape Comic collective is a Vancouver gem, and we must foster their development as community-engaged artists.”
Naomi Horii, Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre