Jewish Side of TCAF 2012 - May 5th and 6th

This weekend, readers, writers, artists, publishers and fans of comix will converge at the Toronto Reference Library to take part in the the FREE Toronto Comic Arts Festival (which will, again, coincide with Free Comic Book Day on Saturday).

Among the talented people who will be at TCAF this year are a small number of comix professionals who have done comic art using Jewish characters or themes.

* Alison Bechdel (author-illustrator of the syndicated GBLT comic styrip Dykes to Watch Out For. Among the characters introduced in the strip were : Naomi, who came out as a bisexual Jew ; Thea, a Jewish lesbian with multiple sclerosis; and Stuart Goodman, a straight Jewish male who became involved with bisexual Sparrow Pidgeon and who had a child with her.)

* Willow Dawson (a talented Canadian artist, who has illustrated the anthology No Girls Allowed : Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom and Adventure, written by Susan Hughes and published by Kids Can Press. The anthology includes the story of Esther Brandeau, the first Jewish person to immigrate to Canada.)

* Guy Delisle (French-Canadian cartoonist, well known for his graphic travelogues. Delisle's most recent work is Chronicles : A Year In Jerusalem. On May 3rd, the Carlton Cinema will host an evening with Guy Delisle, featuring the official launch of his book, a rare live interview by Prof. Nick Mount, a screening of the short documentary The Guy Delisle Chronicles a Q-and-A, and author signing. For details about that event [including ticket info], please go to http://torontocomics.com/events/an-evening-with-guy-delisle/.)

* Tom Gauld (author-illustrator of the Biblical graphic book Goliath, described as "a traditional narrative reworked, remade, and revolutionized")

* Farley Katz - (author illustrator of the webcomic "Kids are Dumb", which has included a set of 3 mock Passover cards

* Diana Nock (cartoonist whose work includes "Bleeding Tree", a minicomic adaptation of a Jewish folk tale)

* Jim Ottaviani (author of Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow and the Science of Love and Fallout : J. Robert Oppenheimer, Leo Szilard, and the Political Science of the Atomic Bomb)

* Jon Rosenberg (author-illustrator of the webcomic Goats, which includes the Jewish character "Jon", as seen in the strip from Nov. 24, 2005)

* Editions Tchai (publisher of fictional and semi-autobiographical fiction featuring Israeli characters, such as Hungry Heart, Ah, Gilgamesh! or Swim on Your Own Risk and Rock Testament

* Li-or Zaltzman (cartoonist currently working on a 100+ page coming of age story that takes place in Tel Aviv ; Li-Or will be at Matt Madden's table)