Here’s my chat with Cecil Castellucci about writing, comic books and plans for Toronto Comicon 2025.

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

Now based in Montreal, Quebec, Cecil Castellucci is the award winning and New York Times Bestselling author of books and graphic novels for young adults including Shade, The Changing Girl, Boy Proof, The Plain Janes, Soupy Leaves Home, The Year of the Beasts, Tin Star, Female Furies and Odd Duck. Cecil has also written Batgirl for DC Comics with short stories and short comics published in Strange Horizons, Tor.com, and many other anthologies plus Shifting Earth the graphic novel published by Berger Books. Cecil’s current effort is I Am The Comic Book. Cecil also wrote a story for EC Comic’s Cruel Universe #4 from Oni Press.

EC Comics’ Cruel Universe ponders “Only human arrogance would lead us to believe that we are alone in this vast universe. The real question is, who will find us first? Allies to help us grow and flourish as members of larger cosmic society? Or others who would use up the earth for its resources, enslave the human race, and destroy everything we know and love? Do we live in a limitless realm of possibilities, or a deep dark Cruel Universe? Cozy thoughts, aren’t they?”. Issue #4 features a “Peer Review” by Cecil Castellucci and Andrew Mutti a story about two scientists who have discovered life on a frozen moon in our solar system. Soon, they’re whisked off to an alien get-together, and things get stranger after that. 

You can discover more about Cecil Castellucci on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/cecilseaskull/ and online at CecilCastellucci.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 Cecil Castellucci talks about plans for Toronto Comicon appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Dax Gordine about his comic book projects and his exhibit plans for Toronto Comicon 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 Ontario, Dax Gordine is a professional artist with jobs ranging from illustrating web comics and graphic novels to classical film animation (including ‘Osmosis Jones’, ‘Eight Crazy Nights’ and ‘Looney Tunes: Back in Action’) and computer animation for video games (including ‘Namco High’). This range of experience in both digital and traditional mediums has made Dax a versatile and dynamic artist whose work is continually in demand by peers and fans alike. His comic book work includes Giant-Size Little Marvels, Untold Tales of I Hate Fairyland and Marvel Age Fantastic Four. He’s also the creator of the ongoing weekly webcomic Forest Folk.

Described as the ‘Sunday funnies crashing headlong into Looney Tunes’, the story of Forest Folk features Filburt the Fox, a jokester and a know-it-all with a knack for finding trouble and his best friend Thomas, a happy-go-lucky elf, whose magic drawing quill can conjure the solution to any of their woes. Most of the time. Follow the shenanigans of Filburt and Thomas, and meet the quirky friends they make along the way, Including no-nonsense Barry the Bearista, Grumpy Cat Gus, and nerdy Benni the Bunny. Watch as they deal with playful misunderstandings and wacky hijinks during spirited adventures in the forest they all call home. Forest Folk is available in stand-alone collections of the much-beloved all-ages comic strip.

You can discover more about Dax online at https://daxgordine.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/d__gee

You can listen to a previous discussion with Dax 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 Dax Gordine gets ready for Toronto Comicon 2025 appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Shawn Daley about the comic books and art planned for his exhibit at Toronto Comicon.

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

Residing in Toronto, Ontario, Shawn Daley is a two time Ringo Award nominated cartoonist. Shawn is also obsessed with cereal and monster-catching video games. His comic book work includes Better Place (IDW / Top Shelf), Canto (IDW), Arn Anderson: My Life as The Enforcer (Source Point Press), TerraQuill, Lost Souls, The Bridgebuilder’s Creed, OGRE,Shiner’s War, and other comics. Most recently Shawn got the opportunity to illustrate his favourite characters in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers / Usagi Yojimbo #1. One of his current projects, with co-creator Eastin DeVerna, is Samurai Grandpa and the Eight-Branched Tree. 

Samurai Grandpa and the Eight-Branched Tree is a magical story of family, love, loss, and soul-searching, wrapped in a celebration of old-school samurai drama. The story goes like this: “At the end of his accomplished life, this samurai has one last tale to tell. Before Ojichan’s soul can find peace, he’ll need to recount a tale of old to the ancient god of judgement: the Gravekami of Scales. For some, death is only the beginning—but what does fate hold for the fading soul of this broken old samurai? Ojichan must now tell a tale of what mattered most over his long life.”

You can discover more about Shawn Daley online at https://shawndaley.ca/ and on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/shawndaley.bsky.social

You can listen to a previous chat with Shawn Daley 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 Shawn Daley preps his art for sale at Toronto Comicon appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Jim Zub about Skullkickers, Conan and more leading up to his exhibit at Toronto Comicon.

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

Jim Zub is a writer, artist and art instructor based in Toronto, Ontario. Over the past twenty years he’s worked for a diverse array of publishing, movie and video game clients including Marvel, DC Comics, Disney, Capcom, Hasbro, Cartoon Network, and Bandai-Namco. As a comic writer, Jim has written for many titles including: Glitterbomb, Stone Star, Wayward, Avengers, Champions, Dungeons & Dragons, Moon Knight, Pathfinder, Red Sonja, Samurai Jack, Thunderbolts, and many more. His current comic projects include acting as the flagship writer for Conan the Barbarian, the monthly adventures of Robert E. Howard’s legendary sword & sorcery hero. One of Jim’s latest projects is a new printing of his Skullkickers series.

Skullkickers is an action-comedy sword & sorcery comic series that ran for 34 issues from 2010-2015, building a loyal audience for its uproarious take on the genre and comics as a whole. Skullkickers is Deadpool by way of Dungeons & Dragons – irreverent, ridiculous, and frantically fourth wall breaking. Over the past 9 years, the six trade paperbacks and three hardcover collections of Skullkickers have become harder to track down while, at the same time, writer Jim Zub’s fantasy bonafides have grown with work on seminal fantasy titles that include Dungeons & Dragons, Conan the Barbarian, Pathfinder, Samurai Jack, and Red Sonja. Thousands of fantasy fans have enjoyed Jim’s writing on commercial titles, but haven’t dug into the original sword & sorcery series that put him on the map. 

You can discover more about Jim online at https://www.jimzub.com/ and on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/jimzub.bsky.social

You can check out Skullkickers; The Digest Edition online at https://zoop.gg/c/skullkickers

+++++++

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 Jim Zub talks up ‘Skullkickers’ for Toronto Comicon appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Paris Alleyne as he prepares to exhibit his art at Toronto Comicon 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 Toronto, Ontario, Paris Alleyne is an Eisner-award and Shuster-award winning illustrator. His work includes titles such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ghostbusters, Black Panther, Spider-Man, GI Joe, Captain Canuck, and many more. His art has appeared in Black Comix Returns and his own independent Haven comics. Paris is the illustrator of the graphic novel Static: Up All Night with author Lamar Giles.

Published in 2023, Static Up All Night was selected by TeachingBooks in the category for Great Graphic Novels for Teens. Publisher DC Comics posted a blog about the book featuring the cover artwork, selections of pages from the graphic novel, plus critical comments including: “Alleyne’s art is just as electric as Static’s powers.”

You can discover more about Paris on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/parisalleyne/ and on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/parisalleyne.bsky.social

You can find out more about Paris on his Linktree account at https://linktr.ee/parisalleyne

+++++++

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 Paris Alleyne gets ready for Toronto Comicon appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Michael Cherkas in preparation to exhibit his books at Toronto Comicon.

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

Ukrainian-Canadian author Michael Cherkas was born in Oshawa, Ontario. He has worked for over 30 years as a graphic designer, art director, cartoonist and illustrator. He still enjoys using non-repro blue pencils, brush, India ink and paper when making comics. His comics include The Silent Invasion (with Larry Hancock), Suburban Nightmares (with Larry Hancock and John van Bruggen), The Purple Ray (with Larry Hancock) and The New Frontier (with John Sabli´c). His latest graphic novel is Red Harvest from NBM Publishing.

In 2024, Michael Cherkas with Larry Hancock were nominated for an Eisner Award in the category of Best Short Story for “Talking to a Hill”. Although they didn’t win that award, the anthology, Comics for Ukraine, in which the short story was published, did win the 2024 Eisner Award for Best Anthology. Edited by Scott Dunbier, the Comics for Ukraine anthology featured more than three dozen comic-book writers, artists, colorists, letterers, designers, and editors, including Michael Cherkas, with a collection of all-new comic-book stories to raise money to aid refugees in Ukraine. 

Discover more about Michael Cherkas online with Silent Invasion on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/The.Silent.Invasion/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/silentinvasioncomics/

You can listen to a previous discussion with Michael Cherkas about his graphic novel Red Harvest 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 Michael Cherkas talks about plans for Toronto Comicon appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Rostyk Wynnyckyj, from LAVA Computer, about battery care advice for your laptops, tablets, cellphones 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.

Rostyk Wynnyckyj is an executive from LAVA Computer based in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1984, LAVA Computer first started in the computer industry by offering custom serial and parallel port products. LAVA was known for launching the industry’s first PCI-based enhanced parallel port. Today, LAVA products are widely used in digital tablet kiosk commercial applications in a wide variety of industries such as: retail, hospitality, transportation, healthcare, telecom, government and entertainment. Lithium-IQ is one of LAVA’s latest products.

Designed for USB C laptops, Lithium-IQ is a dongle that’s engineered to combat premature battery degradation and extend your laptop battery’s total lifespan. Lithium-IQ acts as a shield, employing predictive battery modulation technology to protect your battery from charging related degradation. With the Lithium-IQ, users can work, play, and create without the fear of destroying, degrading or diminishing battery life. Whether you’re a creative professional on-the-go or a student with demanding study sessions, this dongle helps ensure your battery can keep up with you, exactly when you need it most. Plus, its sleek and compact design makes it effortlessly portable, seamlessly fitting into your busy lifestyle.

Discover more about LAVA Computer at https://lavalink.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lavacomputer/

+++++++

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 Rostyk Wynnyckyj shares tips for device battery care appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Shane Connery Volk about his new mini-series Prairie Gods from Mad Cave Studios.

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, Shane Connery Volk, for the past 20 year, has been and continues to be the lead singer and songwriter for Canadian rock band One Bad Son. Shane recently released his first solo track called “Shiver”. But by embracing the full spectrum of his art, Shane has embarked on a career as a professional comic book artist with his first series the medieval noir Nottingham with Florida publisher Mad Cave Studios. The five-issue series has become a surprise hit, shattering all of the company’s previous sales records, with each book receiving multiple printings. With the success of Nottingham, Shane continued his relationship with Mad Cave Studios to publish his first creator-owned series Prairie Gods. In addition to art, Shane has written and coloured all five issues. The first issue, Prairie Gods: Race the Devil, was released across North America last September, with the collected edition trade paperback being released this May.

Prairie Gods has been compared to the intersection where The Twilight Zone meets Sin City. Each self-contained issue centers on supernatural events and characters in and around the small prairie town of Broadacres. The series will resonate with fans of Hellboy, while the shifting genres and themes will appeal to fans of westerns, crime, racecar movies, lost treasure serials, and war stories—with a dose of action throughout. The first issue features Freddy Davis, a champion race car driver, who has returned home to Broadacres. He buys the abandoned speedway intending to race against its only undefeated driver: the Devil himself.

You can discover more about Shane Connery Volk online at https://www.shaneconneryvolk.com/ and on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/shaneconneryvolk.bsky.social

+++++++

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 Shane Connery Volk scares up ‘Prairie Gods’ appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Emilia Strilchuk who discusses her new Kickstarter comic book series Oriana: The Forgotten Deities.

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

Emilia Strilchuk is a comic artist and writer, born and raised in Ukraine, and migrated to Canada about 10 years ago. She currently resides in Ontario with her partner and two cats. Emilia takes inspiration from her personal experiences and from the world around her to create artworks that can be relatable and can bring people some joy and comfort. She’s created a zine called Gently — a sketch collection and gentle tips for artists and creators. Last year, Emilia published her autobio graphic novel Be Yourself! Oh, not like that…. Her latest project is a comic book series on Kickstarter entitled Oriana: The Forgotten Deities.

The story of Oriana: The Forgotten Deities goes like this:  “In a world abandoned by the Gods ages ago, their absence robbed humanity of their powers, resulting in devastation and natural calamities, leaving only myths behind. Enter Karolina, a young girl who stumbles upon an ancient secret. Will the delicate balance between the human realm and the realm of magic be restored, just as it existed thousands of years ago? Embarking on a journey of discovery, Karolina finds herself confronted with unforeseen: not all is as it seems.”

You can discover more about Emilia online at https://www.emiliastrilchuk.com/ and on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/theartofemilia.bsky.social 

Discover more about Oriana: The Forgotten Deities on Kickstarter

+++++++

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 Emilia Strilchuk reveals new Kickstarter comic book appeared first on True North Country Comics.

Here’s my chat with Scott Chantler about bringing his Three Thieves series back to print thanks to PaperKutz.

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

Scott Chantler, based in Stratford, Ontario, is the creator of the critically-acclaimed graphic novels Squire & Knight, Bix, and Two Generals, which was nominated for two Eisner Awards, selected for Best American Comics 2012, and voted by CBC’s Canada Reads as one of the 40 best Canadian non-fiction books. His other work includes Northwest Passage (nominated for Eisner and Harvey Awards) and the Three Thieves series (winner of the Joe Shuster Award for Best Comic for Kids and listed by YALSA as a Great Graphic Novel for Teens). In 2015, he served as Cartoonist-in-Residence at the University of Windsor, the first cartoonist to be appointed so by a Canadian university.

The story of Three Thieves – Tower of Treasure goes like this: “As an acrobat in a traveling circus, 14-year-old orphan Dessa Redd flies through the air with ease. Still, she is weighed down by troubling memories. But when her ragtag circus troupe pulls into the city of Kingsbridge, Dessa feels a tickle of hope. Maybe here in the royal city she will finally find her twin brother — or the mysterious man who snatched him away when they were just children. Meanwhile, Topper, the circus juggler, recruits Dessa and the circus strongman, Fisk, for the job of robbing the royal treasury. Hungry and desperate, both agree, setting off a series of adventures that will take the three thieves from one end of the world to the other in search of Dessa’s long-lost brother.”

Discover more about Scott Chantler at https://www.scottchantler.com/ and on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/scottchantler.bsky.social

+++++++

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 Scott Chantler returns with adventure in the ‘Three Thieves’ series appeared first on True North Country Comics.