Yes! In Canada, we had our own comic books during World War II and they were filled with a glorious constellation of our home-grown heroes grappling with the Axis at home and abroad. Learn more about Nelvana, Freelance, Thunderfist, Johnny Canuck, Speed Savage, The Penguin, Brok Windsor, Canada Jack, and Commander Steel from Ivan Kocmarek, Ho Che Anderson and Ramón K Pérez as they go into conversation with panel host Josh Lambier, founder and artistic director of Words Festival.

About Ivan Kocmarek

Ivan Kocmarek will be sharing selected works from his vast collection that highlight the talents of Canada's comic artists including Doris Slater, Win Mortimer, Fred Kelly and Ho Che Anderson.

In 1989 Ivan obtained a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Toronto and spent 23 years as an inner-city educator in Hamilton. He also taught evening qualification courses for the Education Department at Brock University from 1997-2007 to secondary teachers involving summer practicums in China. Upon retirement in 2012, he used his research skills to begin championing the wider knowledge of the undeservedly forgotten Canadian comic books of the Second World War. He began a well-received online column on these comic books that still runs today.

Ivan began giving presentations at comic book conventions, libraries, museums, and galleries in 2014 and has continues to do so. He has published two books on the topic: Heroes of the Home Front (North End Books 2018) and The WECA Comic Book Price Guide (North End Books 2019) on the subject. In 2022 he published a tribute comic to the Canadian comic book artists of World War II titled Trailblazers. He has curated exhibitions related to Canadian World War II comic creators at the Carnegie Gallery in Dundas and at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in 2022. He is currently working on a 2nd edition of Heroes of the Home Front and an, as yet untitled, coffee table-sized book reproducing the covers of the Canadian war time comic books.

About Ho Che Anderson

Born in London, England, Ho Che Anderson was named after the Vietnamese and Cuban revolutionaries Ho Chi Minh and Che Guevara. Anderson began his career as the author of numerous graphic novels, including King, a biography of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., the horror thriller, Sand & Fury, and the science-fiction action-adventure, Godhead. After a two-year stint as a Toronto Star reporter, Anderson embraced a lifelong fascination with filmmaking and studied film production at the Toronto Film School and Sheridan College, during which he was involved in the production of more than 40 shorts as either DP, camera operator, editor, writer, or director. Following film school he joined IATSE Local 667 where he worked for several years as a camera assistant on numerous shows including Reign, Taken, and Designated Survivor. Anderson wrote and directed his first feature in 2018, the supernatural heist thriller, Le Corbeau, for Canada’s Telefilm, joined the Director's guild of Canada, and is currently in development on a second feature, Scream Queen, with Antigravity Entertainment. He also recently directed his first animated short, Governance, for the National Film Board of Canada. Recent projects include Stone and Rizzo for NeoText, a run on Captain Canuck for Chapterhouse Comics, and Luke Cage for Marvel Comics. Next up is the supernatural graphic novel, The Resurrectionists, for Abrams Books imprint, Megascope, Godhead, Vol.2 for Fantagraphics Books, and several projects for Marvel Comics.

About Ramón K Pérez

Ramón K Pérez is an established cartoonist, illustrator, and designer with over two decades experience in the creative field. He is a multiple Eisner and Harvey award winning artist and has additionally garnered such accolades as TheThe Honour Book and Official Selection 2008 Silver Birch Non-Fiction Awards, ForeWord Reviews' 2010 Book of the Year Award, and The Shuster Award for best graphic novel 2012, amongst numerous nominations, for his collaborative works in children’s literature, digital media, and comics.

Ramon is also the CEO of the prominent Royal Academy of Illustration & Design (RAID) a powerhouse creative agency and comic arts studio. Their repertoire of clients include Archaia, Marvel, DC, Dark Horse Comics, Owl Kids, Scholastic Canada, McClelland & Stewart, Lucasarts, Epitome Pictures, Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast, Clorox, The Cartoon Network, Fox media, CBC, amongst many more.

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Thursday May 9, 7:00 p.m. Free Event.

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