Here’s my chat with Bill Slavin about his latest graphic novel Mordecai Crow: Blood and Fire from Renegade Arts Entertainment.

Please like and subscribe to this website by hitting the subscribe button. You’ll be notified about new podcast interviews and article posts.

Hailing from Belleville, Ontario, Bill Slavin studied Cartooning and Graphic Story Illustration at Sheridan College. His illustration work includes Paulette Bourgeois’ book, Too Many Chickens! as well as a number of other children’s books. With his wife, Esperança Melo, he was a member of the Millbrook Gallery, a gallery collective of nineteen local artists in Millbrook, Ontario. Recently, he has returned to his childhood love of comics and graphic novels, writing and illustrating the graphic novel trilogy for kids, Elephants Never Forget, as well as the Mordecai Crow trilogy. Mordecai Crow: Blood and Fire is his third book with Renegade Arts Entertainment.

Readers of Mordecai Crow: Blood and Fire are taken back in time to see “Crow’s ravaged world through the eyes of his mother, Raven. Snatching up the threads from the first two books, Raven’s story weaves a tale of blood and fire that leads to an action-packed climax played out on the embattled ramparts of Ironcast, throne of the merciless ruler of the Luddites, Lord Pyke. Why has the crazed bandit chieftain Zeya delivered Crow into the hands of the Luddites? Will stalwart Podd, with the help of the Baker’s Dozen crew of misfits, succeed in finding his friend once again? And most importantly, will our hero Mordecai Crow finally unravel the secrets of his lost past?”

You can discover more about Bill Slavin online at https://www.billslavin.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/billslavin6/

Listen to a previous interview with Bill about Mordecai Crow here

+++++++

Please subscribe to and like this podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube Podcasts.

Please check out the TrueNorthCountryComics.com website. 

Follow along on most social media platforms @TrueNorthCountryComics

Please send your feedback to [email protected]

The post Bill Slavin brings ‘Mordecai Crow’ to a close appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Wordburglar about his unique musical graphic novel Wordburglar Rhymes With Comics on Kickstarter.

Please like and subscribe to this website by hitting the subscribe button. You’ll be notified about new podcast interviews and article posts.

Toronto-based and Halifax native Canadian comic book creator Wordburglar is a rapper, voice actor for ‘Transformers: Botbots’ on Netflix and last, but no means least, a comic book creator. His humorous comic book The Last Paper Route was inspired by his teenage career as a Chronicle Herald newspaper carrier. His newest project is Wordburglar Rhymes With Comics on Kickstarter.

The Wordburglar Rhymes With Comics graphic novel features 15 artists illustrating the songs as comics. Wordburglar has scripted and narrated the song lyrics so readers can listen and rhyme along to the inspired artistry. The graphic novel features a cavalcade of creative talent including Jason Loo, Troy Little, Kelly Tindall, Dave Howlett, Mike Holmes, Brenda Hickey, Kalman Andrasofsky and an amazing cover supplied by Steve McNiven, Dave Howlette and James White.

You can discover more about Wordburglar on LinkTree at https://linktr.ee/thewordburglar and on instagram at instagram.com/thewordburglar

Check out the project on Kickstarter here http://bit.ly/wordburglar

Check out this previous interview with WordBurglar about Artsy Fartsy Con.

+++++++

Please subscribe to and like this podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube Podcasts.

Please check out the TrueNorthCountryComics.com website. 

Follow along on most social media platforms @TrueNorthCountryComics

Please send your feedback to [email protected]

The post Wordburglar reveals musical graphic novel appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Brandon Mitchell about Sheila Shares Her Gift, attending various festivals and educating the next generation of artists.

Please like and subscribe to this website by hitting the subscribe button. You’ll be notified about new podcast interviews and article posts.

Brandon Mitchell is Mi’gmaq and currently resides in the unceded Wolastoqiyik, Peace and Friendship Treaty territory of Fredericton, New Brunswick. He carries a Diploma in Animation and Design from the New Brunswick Community College of Miramichi and holds a master’s degree in Education from the University of New Brunswick. He is the founder of Birch Bark Comics and creator of the Sacred Circles comic series, which explored his Mi’kmaq heritage through a contemporary lens. Brandon has authored six stories for Indigenous Story Studio: Lost Innocence, Drawing Hope, River Run, Making it Right, Emily’s Choice and Tomorrow’s Hope. He contributed to This Place: 150 years retold from High Water Press. Brandon is also the creator and author of a new young readers series Giju’s Gift, also published by Highwater Press. He participated in the TO Comix Press anthology The City We Chose with the story ‘Enmiaq’. With illustrator Jessica Jerome, his latest book is Sheila Shares Her Gift from Friesen Press

The story of Sheila Shares Her Gift goes like this: “The Turtle Island friends are at soccer practice when they meet a new kid named Sheila. When Sheila the fox uses sign language to communicate, the team is confused at first and makes Sheila feel shy. Wendell the owl, Sheila’s friend, shares that he is different, too. Through Wendell and Sheila, the group learns that we are all different and all have special gifts. The team welcomes their new friend, and she doesn’t feel nervous anymore.”

You can discover more about Brandon on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/writerbrandonmitchell/

You can pre-order The Search for Gluscap from Highwater Press at the Portage & Main Press website

+++++++

Please subscribe to and like this podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube Podcasts.

Please check out the TrueNorthCountryComics.com website. 

Follow along on most social media platforms @TrueNorthCountryComics

Please send your feedback to [email protected]

The post Brandon Mitchell discusses ‘Sheila Shares Her Gift’ and more appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Conor McCreery about his new comic book The Last Witch: Blood & Betrayal, plus more.

Please like and subscribe to this website by hitting the subscribe button. You’ll be notified about new podcast interviews and article posts.

Conor McCreery, based in Toronto, Ontario, is a former journalist turned comics scribe. He claims that after receiving ‘one’ too many death threats, he decided to move into the world of comics – and has worked for many of the industry’s top publishers including DC, IDW, BOOM!, Titan, and Dark Horse. He writes about sensitive boys and kick-ass girls, although not always in that order. His recent work, The Last Witch from BOOM!, received critical and popular acclaim. Now Conor has reteamed with artist V.V. Glass to continue the story in The Last Witch: Blood & Betrayal.

The story of The Last Witch: Blood & Betrayal goes like this: “The one thing Saoirse has always known: witches are evil. But now she is one, and she has to contend with what that means for herself and her brother Brahm. All the while, Nicneven has plans that can mean the end of Ireland as they know it. Saoirse must learn to control her magic–and temper–if they want any chance of defeating her. Are her own prejudices against witches creating more of a barrier between herself, her powers, and her family?”

You can discover more about Conor on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/therealconor/

Listen to a previous conversation with Conor here

+++++++

Please subscribe to and like this podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube Podcasts.

Please check out the TrueNorthCountryComics.com website. 

Follow along on most social media platforms @TrueNorthCountryComics

Please send your feedback to [email protected]

True North Country Comics Podcast is Copyright True North Country Comics. Copyright 2025

The post Conor McCreery reveals more of ‘The Last Witch’ appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Salgood Sam about his new graphic novel Mind Engine and his plans for Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2025.

Please like and subscribe to this website by hitting the subscribe button. You’ll be notified about new podcast interviews and article posts.

Salgood Sam, aka Max Douglas, grew up in Toronto, but now resides in Montreal. He’s been a freelance artist for nearly three decades, working mainly in comics, animation and illustration, with a side order of graphic design, concept art and mural painting. For the last five years, he’s been a part time art teacher. He starting publishing comics in zines in the late 80s, and started making comics professionally in the early 90s. His work has been published notably by Image, IDW/NMK, Marvel and DC, and outside of comics his clients have included The Criterion Collection, Bravo TV, Nokia, Nelvana Studios, and Fox among many others. His newest project is Mind Engine. 

Mind Engine: Ignition Sequence is a personal comic anthology. According to Salgood, ‘The project gets its name from growing up in the ’70s; being the son of an artist and a poet mechanic; his personal creative process; all things brain/cognition and more.’ The comics are described as ‘political and social commentary in nature, addressing a range of issues that he cares about personally.’

You can discover more about Salgood Sam online at https://salgoodsam.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/salgoodsam/

+++++++

Please subscribe to and like this podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube Podcasts.

Please check out the TrueNorthCountryComics.com website. 

Follow along on most social media platforms @TrueNorthCountryComics

Please send your feedback to [email protected]

True North Country Comics Podcast is Copyright True North Country Comics. Copyright 2025

The post Salgood Sam promotes ‘Mind Engine’ at TCAF 2025 appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Jordana Globerman about her new graphic novel Soul Machine from Annick Press.

Please like and subscribe to this website by hitting the subscribe button. You’ll be notified about new podcast interviews and article posts.

Currently based in Ottawa, Ontario, Jordana Globerman has been making comics since she was ten, when her father gave her a stack of vintage Superman single issues. Jordana’s comics have been published internationally, applauded by Dazed magazine and Haunted Phonograph in the UK. She holds a master’s degree in visual arts from Camberwell College, part of University of the Arts London in London, England, where she majored in drawing anthropomorphic bears and drinking tea the proper way. Soul Machine is her debut novel.

The story of Soul Machine goes like this “Chloe, 14, and her 16-year-old sister, Lacey, make souls by hand in an empty old house in the countryside. When their supply of breth—the raw material needed to make souls—runs dry, the evil MCorp tries to force them to franchise and make synthetic souls instead. Chloe sets out to the big city in hopes of finding a new source. And maybe a way to modernize their business that Lacey is so determined to keep in the past. On a journey to find a real breth crop, untouched by MCorp’s greedy hands, Chloe uncovers long-buried family secrets—and starts to question whom to trust and what reality even is.”

Discover more about Jordana Globerman online at https://www.jordanagloberman.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jordanacomics/

Listen to a previous conversation with Jordana here

+++++++

Please subscribe to and like this podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube Podcasts.

Please check out the TrueNorthCountryComics.com website. 

Follow along on most social media platforms @TrueNorthCountryComics

Please send your feedback to [email protected]

True North Country Comics Podcast is Copyright True North Country Comics. Copyright 2025

The post Jordana Globerman reveals ‘Soul Machine’ appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Ivan Kocmarek about The Cartoon Foundry 2025, his talk planned for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival and more.

Please like and subscribe to this website by hitting the subscribe button. You’ll be notified about new podcast interviews and article posts.

Ivan is a retired Hamilton, Ontario teacher and comic book collector for over 50 years. He edited Heroes of the Home Front with more 300 pages of the history of Canadian comics in the World War II era from Bell Features artists and over 150 pages of original art. Ivan has been instrumental in many exhibits promoting Canadian wartime comic books including World War II Comics In Canada exhibit held at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Mount Hope, Ontario. One of his recent projects was curating a book entitled Trailblazers – A Tribute To Canada’s WWII Comic Creators.

The Cartoon Foundry is a not-for-profit, art-focused event that promotes and celebrates the art of cartooning in Hamilton. The aim is to create a vibrant and inclusive community for cartoonists of all levels and backgrounds, while fostering appreciation and understanding of the medium and its rich history in Hamilton. There’s something for everyone at Cartoon Foundry. From informative and engaging panel presentations featuring area artists and more; screening of movies with panel discussion afterwards; an Artists Alley featuring local and regional artists displaying and selling their work as well as signing and ready to do commissions or simply engage with attendees. In addition to the creators attending, James Waley publisher of the 1970s Canadian magazine ORB is relaunching his central character The Northern Light at the event. This superhero predates Captain Canuck and it will be great to have him back in the public eye again. 

You can discover more about Cartoon Foundry 2025 at https://cartoonfoundry.ca/

You can listen to a previous chat with Ivan here

+++++++

Please subscribe to and like this podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube Podcasts.

Please check out the TrueNorthCountryComics.com website. 

Follow along on most social media platforms @TrueNorthCountryComics

Please send your feedback to [email protected]

True North Country Comics Podcast is Copyright True North Country Comics. Copyright 2025

The post Ivan Kocmarek promotes The Cartoon Foundry 2025 appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Kathleen Gros about her new graphic novels Carousel Summer and I Hated You In High School plus her plans for Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2025.

Please like and subscribe to this website by hitting the subscribe button. You’ll be notified about new podcast interviews and article posts.

Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Kathleen Gros is a cartoonist having graduated with a BFA in Illustration from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 2015. She taught in the Graphic Novels and Comix program at Langara College until its closure in 2023. She currently teaches students of all ages at Place des Arts in Coquitlam, and teen students at Emily Carr University of Art and Design.Her works include Anne: An Adaptation of Anne of Green Gables (Sort Of) (HarperCollins 2022), Jo: An Adaptation of Little Women (Sort Of) (HarperCollins 2020), Last Night at Wyrmwood High (Cloudscape Comics, 2015), and the webcomic Lunar Maladies (lunarmaladies.com, 2016-2020). She has contributed stories to several Cloudscape anthologies including Fantastic Frights, The Witching Hours, and Waterlogged: Tales of the Seventh Sea. Her 2025 releases are Carousel Summer, a middle grade graphic novel from HarperCollins, and I Hated You in High School, a graphic novel for adults from Andrews McMeel Publishing.

The story of Carousel Summer goes like this: “With her best friend away at camp, tons of chores to do, and her dad always on her case for being such a tomboy, Lucy is dreading summer. That is, until Milforth’s plan to revive an old carousel for the town’s 150th anniversary brings artist Ray and her daughter, Anaïs, to town. Anaïs is smart, funny, and easy to talk to, and Lucy—who’s used to being judged for her looks and interests—finally feels at ease in her own skin. And she thinks she may feel something for Anaïs, too. Leading up to Milforth’s big birthday, tensions begin rising with locals, thanks to a shifty development company trying to overrun the town. Things also come to a breaking point at home, when Lucy butts heads with her dad over how she wants to express herself as a girl. Can Lucy find the courage to be true to who she is? She’s got the whole summer to find out…”

I Hated You in High School is an enemies-to-lovers story inspired by classic romantic movies—with a queer twist. The story goes like this: “Struggling 20-something Tessa has a dead-end job as a barista and the dream of a creative career that never quite seems to take off. When the coffee shop where she works goes out of business, she’s able to visit her parents for the first time in years. Arriving at her family home, she discovers that her parents have rented out the basement apartment to her high school nemesis, Olive Virtue. Old wounds resurface during Tessa’s stay, but an accident that traps them in the attic forces them to face their past and think about their future.”

You can discover more about Kathleen online at https://www.kagcomix.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kagcomix/

You can listen to a previous conversation wth Kathleen here

+++++++

Please subscribe to and like this podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube Podcasts.

Please check out the TrueNorthCountryComics.com website. 

Follow along on most social media platforms @TrueNorthCountryComics

Please send your feedback to [email protected]

True North Country Comics Podcast is Copyright True North Country Comics. Copyright 2025

The post Kathleen Gros reveals her new graphic novels and plans for TCAF appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with executive director Amie Wright about the 2025 Toronto Comic Arts Festival.

Please like and subscribe to this website by hitting the subscribe button. You’ll be notified about new podcast interviews and article posts.

Amie Wright is a comics librarian and public historian based in Ontario who has been organizing comics programming in Canada and the United States since 2013. Amie has created in-person and virtual programming for New York Comic Con, San Diego Comic Con, the American and Ontario Library Associations, and TCAF.  Amie is the former Manager of School Outreach / MyLibraryNYC at the New York Public Library (NYPL) and the former inaugural President of the Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table (GNCRT) of the American Library Association (ALA). A current Public History PhD Candidate at Carleton University (Ottawa) researching the history of comics censorship in Canada, Amie also teaches a comics course in the Department of History at Carleton. Amie is the executive director of the 2025 Toronto Comic Arts Festival (also known as TCAF).

Considered to be amongst the premier comic arts festivals in the world, TCAF is an annual two day festival in downtown Toronto. Held since 2003, TCAF is unique for its scale and scope welcoming 28,000+ local and international visitors and over 315+ artists, and its continued focus on independent arts culture and accessibility remaining a free public and non-commercial arts and cultural festival. TCAF 2025 is being will be held from June 7 to 8 at the new location Toronto Metropolitan University’s Mattamy Athletic Centre, with additional programming in the surrounding neighbourhood. Libraries and Education Day and Word Balloon Academy are scheduled for Friday June 6. 

Discover more about the Toronto Comic Arts at @torontocomics on all social media channels or at www.torontocomics.com 

+++++++

Please subscribe to and like this podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube Podcasts.

Please check out the TrueNorthCountryComics.com website. 

Follow along on most social media platforms @TrueNorthCountryComics

Please send your feedback to [email protected]

True North Country Comics Podcast is Copyright True North Country Comics. Copyright 2025

The post Amie Wright talks about TCAF 2025 appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Ann Pirvu and Christopher Giroux about their new comic book Doctor Awesome Woman from Vortex Comics.

Please like and subscribe to this website by hitting the subscribe button. You’ll be notified about new podcast interviews and article posts.

Ann Pirvu is an actress and filmmaker known for her work in ‘Little Girl in the Windows’, ‘Learning to Love Again’ and ‘Poly is the New Monogamy’. Incidentally, Ann received a 2025 Canadian Screen Awards nomination for ‘Poly is the New Monogamy’. Christopher Giroux’s career spans a multitude of productions, genres and over 50+ feature films. A 2009 Sheridan graduate in the Advanced TV and Film program, Christopher moved quickly up the industry ladder, producing 10 back-to-back high concept genre features with Black Fawn Films and Breakthrough Entertainment. In the fall of 2018, Christopher joined Vortex Media, and is currently the SVP of Production. In addition to Christopher’s production work, he is also a member of The Producer’s Roundtable of Ontario. He was awarded a Certified Fresh Trophy from Rotten Tomatoes for producing ‘Anything For Jackson’ (2020), and has received two Canadian Screen Award nominations, for his work on ‘Christmas Island’ (2023) and ‘Take Me Back For Christmas’ (2023). Together he and his wife Ann created Doctor Awesome Woman.

The story of Doctor Awesome Woman starts with A Hero’s Journey in issue #1. Dark forces crave the light, but Celine and her mighty team of Galactic Ranger are on a mission that will push her healing abilities to the limit in their attempt to save her home planet. The world needs more healers.

Discover more about Ann Pirvu at and on Instagram at at https://www.instagram.com/annpirvu/

Discover more about Christopher Giroux on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/christopher_giroux/

Discover more about Doctor Awesome Woman at Vortex Comics and purchase the comic book at the Vortex Comics store

+++++++

Please subscribe to and like this podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube Podcasts.

Please check out the TrueNorthCountryComics.com website. 

Follow along on most social media platforms @TrueNorthCountryComics

Please send your feedback to [email protected]

True North Country Comics Podcast is Copyright True North Country Comics. Copyright 2025

The post Ann Pirvu and Christopher Giroux discuss the ‘Doctor Awesome Woman’ comic book appeared first on True North Country Comics.