The Jewish Side of TCAF 2017 - this weekend

On Saturday, May 13th & Sunday May 14th,, readers, writers, artists, publishers and fans of comix will converge at the Toronto Reference Library ( and nearby venues)  to take part in the the FREE Toronto Comic Arts Festival (aka TCAF).This year marks the 14th anniversary since the first TCAF was held (at a much smaller venue) in 2003.

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.

AH Comics Inc. (table 277) is the publisher of Jewish Comix Anthology, volume 1.

Julia Alekseyeva (table 307) is the author illustrator of the graphic memoir Soviet Daughter : A Graphic Revolution.

Hannah Blumenreich (table 278) is a freelancer who has done work for Marvel and Boom. One of her Tumblr illustrations titled "jew crew: ASSEMBLLLLEEE!!" shows a montage of 9 Jewish superheroes.

Chester Brown (signing 10-12 on Saturday)  is the author and illustrator of Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus : Prostitution and Religious Obedience in the Bible which includes adaptations of the stories of Cain and Abel, Job, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Basthsheba.

Barry Deutsch (table 202) is the 2011 Sydney Taylor Award winner for Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword.

Drawn  and Quarterly (tables 145, 148-150) is the publisher of The Property, Exit Wounds, Jamalti and Other Stories, The Golem’s Mighty Swing, Jerusalem : Chronicles from the Holy City, Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus, and Toward a Hot Jew. D+Q also published the story "The Peasant and the Snake" in one of its anthologies, which has been reprinted in Jewish Comix Anthology.

Fantagraphics Books (tables 132-134) is the publisher of Jewish Images in the Comics, Palestine, and Barracuda in the Attic.

First Second Books (tables 204-205) is the publisher of Klezmer : Tales of the Wild East, the Rabbi's Cat books, and the Resistance series.

Guy Delisle (signing 11:30-12:30, 1:30-2:30 & 2:30-3:30 on Saturday, 12:30-1:30, 4:00-5:00 on Sunday) is a French-Canadian cartoonist, well known for his graphic travelogues, including Chronicles : A Year In Jerusalem.

Sammy Harkham (table 129) is the author-illustrator of "Lubavitch, Ukraine 1876", which appeared in Kramer's Ergot #6.

Joe Infurnari (Masonic Temple) is the cartoonist who wrote and illustrated "Workin' Girl Golem", which is reprinted in The Jewish Comix Anthology (copies for sale at table 277).

Keren Katz (table 233) is the illustrator of the story "Solomon ibn Gabirol's Golem" in The Jewish Comix Anthology (copies for sale at table 277).

 Matt Lubchansky (tables 321-323) is a Jewish cartoonist who writes and illustrates the webcomic Please Listen to Me. His 3-ingredient Passover brisket recipe comic was published online at Saveur and his response to the use of Holocaust imagery in Trump's America was included in the piece "Never Again?" (The Nib).

NBM Graphic Novels (tables 250-251) is the publisher of the Jew in Communist Prague books, Brownsville, The Big Khan, and the Isaac the Pirate books.

Hope Nicholson (table 218) is the editor of the forthcoming A Minyan Yidn un Andere Zacken — A Bunch of Jews and Other Stuff. 

Jonathan Rotsztain (table Q12) is the author-illustrator of the self-published works Self-Loving Jew and Journey into Jonathan.

Koren Shadmi (signing 1-2 and 2-3 on Saturday and 1-2 on Sunday) is the illustrator of the graphic book Mike's Place: A True Story of Love, Blues, and Terror in Tel Aviv, "Snapshots from Israel" (for the New York Times) and "Childhood Heroes" (for Tablet Magazine).

Robert Sikoryak (table Q18) is a cartoonist who has adapted classic stories into comic-style retellings, including a Dagwood-style "Adam and Eve", which was reprinted in Masterpiece Comics.


Andy Stanleigh, who illustrated the story "Pillow of Feathers", is the owner of AH Comics (which published the 1st volume of Jewish Comix Anthology). He may be found at the AH Comics Inc. table (277) during TCAF.

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TCAF panels which may be of interest to those who study Jews and Comics.

Saturday May 13

Hinton Learning Theatre, Toronto Reference Library

• 01:30 PM – NBM Publishing 40th Anniversary Celebration! – For 40 years now, NBM Publishing has been at the forefront of publishing smart and sophisticated comics from North America and Europe. Join founder Terry Nantier as he talks about the company’s legacy and impact with Rick Geary (Treasury of 20th Century Murder), Metaphrog (The Little Mermaid), and Larry Hancock & Michael Cherkas (The Silent Invasion).

Forest Hill Ballroom, Marriott Bloor-Yorkville

• 01:30 PM – Spotlight: Guy Delisle – Guy Delisle has become one of the most well-known cartoonists in the world with his bestselling travelogues about everyday life in faraway and complex countries Pyongyang, Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City, and Burma Chronicles are defining works of graphic non-fiction. Now he returns with Hostage: many years in the making, it marks a new direction for Delisle. HOSTAGE tells the true story of the kidnapping of a Doctors Without Borders employee, who was held in captivity for over 100 days before escaping. Drawn from interviews with Andre himself, it’s a powerful account of life under an imprisonment that has no foreseeable end.

The Pilot, 22 Cumberland St.

• 04:00 PM – Comics Carousel – Back for another round! R. Sikoryak’s long running comics performance/reading series, returns to TCAF with shows and readings from a slew of the top talent at the festival this year! Featuring Eleanor Davis, Glynnis Fawkes, Keren Katz, and more!

Sunday May 14

Forest Hill Ballroom, Marriott Bloor-Yorkville

• 12:00 PM – Comics As Political Resistance – Comics are amazing tools for communicating. This is never more vital than when telling your stories involves speaking out against oppressive systems or political climates. Join Nate Powell (March), Ben Passmore (Your Black Friend), Julia Alekseyeva (Soviet Daughter), Matt Lubchansky (The Nib), and Krittika Ghosh, (Senior Coordinator, Violence against Women’s Program from the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants) as they talk about how creating and sharing comics can be an act of political resistance in these troubling times.

02:45 PM – Canada 150 – Canada at Home and Abroad – As the polarizing celebrations around Canada 150 continue across the country, we sit down with four cartoonists with compelling takes on our national identity. Whether they’re exploring our rural communities (Jeff Lemire), being our eyes abroad (Guy Delisle), interpreting one of our icons (Sandrine Revel), or telling stories that could only be told here (Gengoroh Tagame), one thing that brings these artists together is Canada.