The Joe Shuster Awards...the Canadian comic book creator awards. Every year, several artists are asked to contribute to a jam illustration which shows the year’s honorees for the Hall of Fame. In 2009, they were (from left to right) Real Godbout (represented by his character Red Ketchup); Diana Shultz (shown as her own real-live self); George Menendez Rae (represented by his character Canada Jack; and Ken Steacey (represented by Tempus Fugitive).
I’ll have to check through my notes to remember the names of all the artists…to the best of my current recollection, Robert J. Lewis did the background, background characters and Red Ketchup. Sam Agro drew and inked Canada Jack. Ken Steacey did Tempus Fugitive…and I’ll hunt for the name of the artist who drew Diana.
(Click on the pic twice to get a full-screen version)
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The Gene Day Award for Self-Publishing was first given out in 2009. The organizer for the awards, James Waley, obtained a pen and marker portrait which Dave Sim had drawn of Gene Day, who had died in 1982. Gene was a much beloved member of the Canadian comics’ scene. My assignment was to figure out how to colour this quick little portrait so that it could go on the plaque to be given to the lucky recipient of the award. Part of the fun was that the resultant portrait would end up being a square more or less 3cm x 3cm!! There was some discussion as to whether it really mattered if one could see red at the end of Gene’s cigarette–but the editor wanted it so I put it in.
(I was kind of curious as to what Dave Sim would have thought of having this portrait coloured digitally–many, many years ago, at some long ago convention, Ty got into a discussion with Dave where Dave insisted he never ever would use computers for his comics work. Ty insisted that the day would come where he would. I believe Dave was briefly on a computer for as long as it took to write a blog…but not for long. Ty has always insisted that he won the bet, but I’m pretty sure Dave would say the same.)
KEIREN SMITH 