In 2007, the Vancouver artist Jeff Ellis decided to bring together several local indie comic book creators for a collective project. A year later, Robots, Pine Trees, & Broken Hearts was published, nine stories written by nine independent BC comic artists. This was soon followed a year later by Historyonics, an anthology of historical fiction. Since then, at least one comic anthology is produced by Cloudscape each year. Each anthology is centered around a unique theme that encourages all artists to push their ideas in new directions.
In 2012, the Vancouver Parks Board awarded Cloudscape Comics the Memorial South Park field house to use as its collective studio space through the Artist Studio Residency Program. Through this increased involvement with the city, Cloudscape has spearheaded comic making classes and discussion panels, comic jams, public art pieces, and numerous other activities that engage the people of Metro Vancouver with the fascinating world of comics. Some of the events that Cloudscape has been involved with include the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Family Fuse, Stanley Park 125, Culture Days, Langara College’s Graphic Novel & Comix Program, art classes at Sunset Community Centre, Creative Ink, and, of course, the Vancouver Comics Art Festival (VanCAF).
In 2015, with help from the BC Art Council, Cloudscape began publishing even more titles per year, including Epic Canadiana II, an anthology homage to 1940’s Canadian superhero comics, and two solo artist works: Una the Blade by Steve LeCouilliard (a swords & sorcery adventure starring a barbarian single mom) and the YA tale of high school monsters Last Night at Wyrmwood High by Kathleen Gros (a YA tale of high school monsters).
In 2019 (I can’t remember the date, do you?), Cloudscape began its partnership with the Literary Press Group of Canada, and is now distributing new titles worldwide, such as Fantastic Frights, Last Tide, and My Love in Stitches. As a fast-growing organization, Cloudscape is constantly exploring new projects and seeking new ways to expand the scope of its open membership. Through this dedication, The Cloudscape Comics Society hopes to be an integral part of the BC comic arts scene for years to come.