Cataclysmic Comics Backpack: Recent Episodes
Ivan Kocmarek
Each episode takes a personality from the comic collecting world and places them in an apocalyptic landscape with a knapsack into which they can place 5 comics and/or graphic novels to provide some relief on their desolate journey. Guests include individuals from the Canadian comic book culture community.
James Waley was in the first Canadian cartooning program at Sheridan College in the early 1970s. He went on to found ORB magazine in 1974 which featured The Northern Light. James also became involved in organizing Comic Cons in southern Ontario and a gallery show featuring comic book creators and their work beyond comics. James is currently working on a book on 'Captain George' Henderson and a handful of exciting new projects.
Mark Innes has been a seminal, one-man independent comic publishing engine in Hamilton for three decades. He is the man behind Blind Bat press and a central contributor to comics culture in the city and beyond.
Mark Shainblum’s career has been a weave of comics, science fiction, and journalism. He was inducted into the Shuster’s Hall of Fame in 2016 and has won the Aurora Award for Canadian science fiction. He is perhaps best known for being the creator of Northguard, Fleur de Lys, and Angloman.
Rob Walton is a Toronto comic book artist, animator, and storyboard artist whose work includes Pork Knight, Bloodlines, Grendel Tales, and the Eisner Award-winning Ragmop. He is currently dealing with a Hot Stuff fetish.
Ron Kasman has been part of putting together some of the first Canadian Comic Cons. He has worked in comics as a penciller, inker, writer, colourist, and as a letterer. Ron has also served as a secondary school art teacher for more than three decades before retiring. Since the turn of the century he has produced three well-received graphic novels and is currently working on his fourth. Find out what picks Ron puts into his backpack.
Dave Darrigo was the main force behind some of the first new fanzine and semi-pro type comics to be produced in Canada during the late 60's. In the late 70's he became the first manager of the Dragon Lady comics store in Toronto. With Rick Taylor he produced a 12-issue run of comics under the title of Wordsmith through Renegade Press. In the 90's Dave produced comics out of Special Studio Press in Brantford Ontario.
In this episode, storyboard artist, cartoonist, and comic collector Ron Hobbs picks his five comics for the Apocalypse.
In this episode Kitchener’s literate and loveable comic book curmudgeon, Mel Taylor, makes his five selections. Mel has been a fixture in the Tri-City comic book scene since the times of Harry Kremer. Mel has written a number of comic book stories and published his own mini-comics. Mel also has the best copy of that much sought-after Nelvana of the Northern Lights compendium that I’ve come across.
"Comics for the Apocalypse" asks individuals from the comics community to pick five comics and/or graphic novels that they could put in a knapsack to keep their comic spirits up during a journey through an apocalyptic landscape. Our first guest is Walter Durajlija owner of Big-B Comics in Hamilton, Ontario and main force behind the Comic Book Daily website.