 The Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) is a comics, manga, and graphic novels event held every two years in the city of Toronto.
TCAF is comprised of a number of events held around the city of Toronto, with the centrepiece of the event being a two-day exhibition and artist showcase. Here, hundreds of artists from Canada and around the world exhibit their comics and art and meet with fans and readers face-to-face. Some artists will spend the entire weekend with fans, whilst others will choose to spend a set amount of time signing or sketching, a couple of hours each day. It is up to each artist or author to choose their level of involvement.
In addition to our two-day exhibition, there are numerous art gallery showings of work, book launches and premieres, and symposiums and speaking engagements, all held around the city in the week leading up to the event.
In August of 2007 we held our third festival. It was extremely successful, with more than 250 graphic novel authors and artists from across North America and Europe and more than 6,500 attendees over two days on the University of Toronto campus at Victoria College.
TCAF exists to promote the breadth and diversity of comics and graphic novels as a legitimate medium of literary and artistic worth. We seek to promote the creators of these works in their broad and diverse voices, for the betterment of the medium of comics and to reach as wide an audience as possible for them.
Best of all, The Toronto Comic Arts Festival is an event that is completely free to attend! We interact with a much wider range of the community and are successful at growing the audiences and appreciation for all participating authors because of this, and it is one of the hallmarks of our Festival.
TORONTO COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL 2007
SHOW REPORT
TCAF 2007
Saturday August 18th
and Sunday August 19th, 2007
Victoria University @ UofT, St. Charles & University
Overall Attendance: 6500
Demographics: From checking crowd photos of the event, we surmised that attendance was
roughly 60% male, 40% female, with roughly 50% of attendees conforming to the 18-34
demographic.
Web Hits:
June: Pages Served: 14,994, 8050 Unique Visitors
July: Pages Served: 19,402. Unique Visitors: 11,670
August: Pages Served: 62,468. Unique Visitors: 35,402
September: Pages Served: 8,779. Unique Visitors: 14,768
Panel Discussions (Avg Att: 200):
Classic Comics Reprint Projects, Tribute to Canadian
Cartoonist Rand Holmes, 100 Manga Magazines in 60 Minutes, Make Mine Manga, Webcomics
Production and Distribution, Toronto Webcomics Launch Panel, Comic Books in The Library,
Queer Voices in Comics, Comics Academia Panel, Mainstream Publishing Panel. Several Guest
of Honor tribute panels.
Workshops (avg. att: 60 (full)):
Storytelling
Workshop, by Mark Siegel. Digital Comics and Illustration Workshop. Storytelling Workshop, by Darwyn Cooke.
For Kids (Avg att: 10):
How to Draw Comics,
How to Create Comics, How to Draw The
Incredibles, How to Draw the Babysitter’s Club,
How to Draw Caricatures
Launch Event:
The TCAF 2007 Launch
Event featured the third annual Doug Wright
Awards, and an on-stage reunion of friends Seth,
Chester Brown, and Joe Matt. Attendance was
more than 250 and was held at Innis Town Hall.
Saturday Evening Event:
The Saturday evening
event featured visual performances by various
creators, as well as musical performances, at
a local bar. Attendence was completely sold out.
Synopsis:
An unqualified success in almost every
regard.
TORONTO COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL: MEDIA COVERAGE
Print News Stories and Columns
CBC On Doug Wright Awards
Editor & Publisher Magazine
National Post
The Toronto Star
Publisher's Weekly
Eye Weekly Cover and Article
Television Coverage
SPACE Television Online Coverage
Torontoist
BlogTO
Daily Cartoonist
Drawn!
Spilt Ink
Publisher/Cartoonist Reaction
Drawn and Quarterly
Evan Dorkin
First Second Books
Photos
TCAF Photo Pool on Flickr
The Beat
Jamie Coville
TCAF: PAST GUESTS OF HONOUR
 Edmond Baudoin (France)
 Chester Brown (Canada)
 Darwyn Cooke (Canada)
 Evan Dorkin (USA)
 Eiland (Holland)
 Phoebe Gloeckner (USA)
 Paul Gravett (England)
 James Jean (USA)
 Kid Koala (Canada)
 Jason Lutes (USA)
 David Mack (USA)
 Joe Matt (USA)
 Tony Millionaire (USA)
 Gary Panter (USA)
 Paul Pope (USA)
 Michel Rabagliati (Canada)
 Seth (Canada)
 Jeff Smith (USA)
More biographical information, including website info and artwork, is available at the main Toronto Comic Arts Festival website:
http://www.torontocomics.com/tcaf
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Preview: The 2009 Toronto Comic Arts Festival
 The Toronto Reference Library: Our Venue for the 2009 Toronto Comic Arts Festival
The 2009 Toronto Comic Arts Festival will be held Saturday May 9th and Sunday May 10th, 2009. The two day exhibition will be the culmination of a larger arts festival that will incorporate film screenings, art gallery presentations, book launches, and panel discussions, that will run from the end of April through to the end of May.
 Exterior of the Toronto Reference Library
Venue and Attendance
Our venue for the 2009 Toronto Comic Arts Festival is the Toronto Reference Library, the flagship of the 100-library Toronto Public Library system. Featuring 5 floors, a beautiful atrium, and capacity for more than 5,000, we are projecting an attendance of more than 10,000 people for all TCAF-branded events in April and May.
In addition, we will be making use of surrounding structures of note including theatre spaces and galleries for various aspects of festival programming.
 Eye Weekly - Front page coverage for TCAF, featuring Guest of Honour Paul Pope
Media Coverage
With over 20 years in business, TCAF sponsors The Beguiling have developed a significant number of unique contacts in the media friendly towards comics and graphic novels, and we will continue to put those contacts to use to generate coverage and content.
In 2007, we generated print coverage in The National Post, Toronto Star, The Globe & Mail, Toronto Life Magazine, Xtra, Now, Eye, Annex Gleaner, SNAP! Toronto, and Editor and Publisher Magazine. Television coverage included CityTV/Space and Independent Film Channel Canada.
Our best and broadest coverage was on the internet, with major coverage by The CBC, Torontist, and BlogTO, as well as online versions of most of our print coverage. In addition, we received coverage from every major comics website, several podcasts, and more than 100 independent blogs.
 In 2005, TCAF partner Harbourfront sponsored a presentation featuring TCAF Guest of Honour Gary Panter, creator of Jimbo.
Partnerships and Promotional Opportunities
In addition to our partnership with the Toronto Public Library system, we are also partnering with numerous literary and arts organizations in Canada to make the show a success. As TCAF 2009 is in its early planning stages, all of the following partnerships are still in development, but we are working in good faith with all organizations.
The International Festival of Authors (IFOA), Readings, and Harbourfront
The IFOA at Harbourfront brings together over 100 participants from 20 countries for 11 days of readings, talks, interviews, discussions, and award presentations. Over the past 33 years, over 4,500 authors -- including 15 Nobel Laureates -- have appeared at IFOA. In 2007, guests of honour included HARRY POTTER author J.K. Rowling, SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS author ‘Lemony Snicket’a.k.a. Daniel Handler, and HANDMAID’S TALE author Margaret Attwood, amongst many more.
The IFOA is traditionally held in October of each year, and the IFOA and Harboufront also hold a prestigious READINGS series in the spring. We are currently working with IFOA to place several of our authors as part of the READINGS series, and to use their gallery space in May for an exhibition of comics and graphic novel art.
The Japan Foundation, Toronto
Located in the heart of Toronto’s Yorkville fashion district, The Japan Foundation is the official Japanese cultural envoy to the world, offering numerous events related to Japanese art and culture. The Japan Foundation is a wonderful organizational and promotional force, featuring a large Japanese-language library with a focus on manga and contemporary culture. It also features a very larger gallery, exhibition, and presentation space within their office, capable of accommodating medium-sized installations and crowds of 200+ for a reception. We are working with them to produce a gallery event and reception featuring noted Japanese artists and mangaka.
The French Consulate and Alliance Française
These two organizations have worked with TCAF organizers in the past to present top-notch book launches and gallery exhibitions featuring some of the most respected French graphic novelists in the world. Their on-site space features a large gallery, and their tireless efforts to promote the work of French artists will dovetail nicely with TCAF 2009’s mission to promote graphic novelists from around the world. We are currently working with these organizations to produce a gallery showing and reception featuring noted French authors.
In addition, we are working with other local consulates for European nations to bring a host of top-tier cartoonists from around the world to this event.
Magic Pony
Magic Pony is a gallery, studio and retail space dedicated to expanding the traditional notions of fine art and design by presenting work that blurs the boundaries between art, commerce and creative living. A passionate voice for contemporary arts culture, Magic Pony will be working with TCAF to present a fabulous gallery retrospective during the festival period.
The Beguiling
The Beguiling is Toronto’s premiere retailer of comics, graphic novels, manga, and art books. Celebrating its 22nd anniversary in 2009, The Beguiling has held literally hundreds of author and artist related events in its history, stocks tens of thousands of comics and books, and its owner and staff are the Festival Directors for TCAF 2009. The Beguiling will be promoting act as a nerve-centre for promotions for TCAF 2009.
TCAF Posters and Artwork
The Toronto Comic Arts Festival has worked with many of its presenting artists to help "brand" the festival and promote it to the masses. Because comics as a medium embraces many styles and forms, our artwork reflects the diversity of the medium. We are excited to work with artists in our 2009 year to similarly create beautiful and challenging artworks for the public.
Below is a gallery of artwork that has been created for the festival.
 2003 TCAF Poster by Seth (Canada)
 2005 TCAF Poster 1 by Darwyn Cooke (Canada)
 2005 TCAF Poster 2 by James Jean (USA)
 2005 TCAF Poster 3 by Marc Bell (Canada)
 2007 TCAF Poster by Darwyn Cooke
 2007 TCAF Postcard Art by Evan Dorkin (USA)
 2007 TCAF Promotional Comic Cover Art by Bryan Lee O'Malley (Canada)
 In addition to our TCAF art, the 20th anniversary of TCAF sponsor retailer The Beguiling fell during the period of the 2007 Festival, and so we comissioned James Jean to create a limited edition art print commemorating the event.
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