Take a look at some more of our featured guests for this year’s TCAF! We can’t wait to see you all in a month!
Jun Mayuzuki made her debut in the world of manga by winning the 1st Golden Tiara Grand Prize sponsored by Shueisha. Since then, she has become widely celebrated as the creator of After the Rain, a coming-of-age romance that was adapted into an anime series and a live-action movie, and Sayonara Daisy, a collection of her short stories published throughout her career. Her latest series Kowloon Generic Romance, currently serialized in Weekly Young Jump Magazine, won third place in Takarajimasha’s This Manga is Awesome! ranking in 2021 and was also a prize winner of the Manga Taisho Award that same year. Through her works, awards, and accolades, Jun Mayuzuki is recognized as one of the most notable young talents in the industry. Her unique art and storytelling have been recognized worldwide, which led her to be a featured artist on promotional posters for the Angoulême International Manga Festival in 2022.
Mel Stringer is a Filipino-Australian illustrator and comic artist currently based in St Louis, Missouri. A lot of her work is autobiographical in one way or another, whether it's a direct diary entry or just inspired by her own experiences. Her debut comic Fart School is now available from Silver Sprocket.
David Marchetti was born in Pietrasanta (Italy) in 1992. He graduated in 2019 in the the course of illustration at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna. As a thesis work he created a book of about 400 pages entitled Uno (One). He started a collaboration with the Hollow Press publishing house, and they made his first work public in 2021. He is working on his second project l'Osservatore (the Observer).
Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet is a multidisciplinary artist practicing in amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton) on Treaty 6 Territory. Kiona grew up West of the city near the hamlet of Calahoo where she lived with her moshom and relatives on scrip land. Her family lines are Cree and Métis descending from Michel First Nation, as well as Dutch/ mixed European.
Kiona’s work draws from feelings of loss and enfranchisement but also from deep belly laughter and a gentle fondness for where the histories between herself and her family overlap and disperse. We Were Younger Once is her first book.
Barbara Brandon-Croft was born in Brooklyn and grew up on Long Island. After debuting her comic strip Where I’m Coming From in the Detroit Free Press in 1989, Brandon-Croft became the first Black woman cartoonist to be published nationally by a major syndicate. During its 15-year run, Where I’m Coming From appeared in over 65 newspapers across the USA and Canada, as well as Jamaica, South Africa, and Barbados. Her comics are in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress. Brandon-Croft lives in Queens.
Chris W. Kim is a cartoonist and illustrator from Toronto, Ontario. Influenced by comics and animation, he pursued his interest in drawing at OCAD University where he studied fine art before switching to illustration. He has worked for clients such as The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Popular Mechanics and Maisonneuve Magazine, among others. His first graphic novel, Herman by Trade (SelfMadeHero), was published in 2017, followed by Strays (SelfMadeHero) in 2021, and Adherent (Conundrum Press) in 2023.
Mario Brassard received a bachelor’s degree in French Studies from the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières. He has published four children’s novels in French, including La saison des pluie (2011), which was awarded the TD Prize for Canadian Literature for Children, nominated for the Governor General’s Award and selected for the IBBY 2012 Honor List and the White Ravens; Quand hurle la nuit (2015), a finalist for the Governor General’s Award, and Ferdinand F., 81 ans, chenille (2018), which won the Governor General’s Award. His first poetry collection, Choix d’apocalypses (2003), was also nominated for a Governor General’s Award.
Gérard DuBois studied graphic design at the École Supérieure des Arts Estienne in Paris before moving to Montreal in 1991. His 2015 children’s book Enfantillages received a Special Mention from the BolognaRagazzi. His illustration work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, TIME Magazine, GQ, Rolling Stone, the New Yorker, the Washington Post, Le Monde, The Guardian, Entertainment Weekly, Harper’s, The Atlantic and others, and he has received multiple awards from the Society of Illustrators. His art has been exhibited in galleries around the world. In 2018, Canada Post released a stamp with his art as part of the Great Canadian Illustrators series. He currently teaches at the University of Quebec.
The Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) celebrates the comics medium and advocates for their literary and artistic merit. We seek to center the creators of these works in their broad and diverse voices through our hybrid exhibition, programming, and other festival activities. This year, TCAF will take place at the Toronto Reference Library from April 28th - 30th. There will also be a digital marketplace and digital events from April 21st - May 7th. As always, tickets for TCAF and related TCAF events are FREE. Some pre-registration is required for online activities and will be announced beforehand.
If you want to be a part of the magic this year, consider volunteering for TCAF 2023! Sign up here: https://forms.gle/agiY1JLuzAJe4GYJ7