I will be a featured guest at this year’s Toronto Comic Art Festival (TCAF) on April 29-30. This will be the debut of my book The Man in the McIntosh Suit. I haven’t been to TCAF in over 10 years when I repped for Sparkplug Books and got to meet for the first time the one and only Annie Koyama, who runs Koyama Press, the groundbreaking comics publishing company based in Toronto. So it will be extra special to be there again. I’ll be participating in 2 panels at the festival. Hope to see you there too!
Saturday, April 29, 3 pm
Workshop/Presentation: The Man In the McIntosh Suit
Award-winning multidisciplinary visual storyteller & community artist-educator Althea Balmes in conversation with featured guest and celebrated cartoonist Rina Ayuyang (The Man In the McIntosh Suit) about her new book and the representation of the lives of Filipino migrant workers in California. They will discuss the importance of sharing histories and truths through storytelling, especially through the effectiveness of the accessible medium of comics. (seating available for approximately 25 people)
Sunday, April 30, 11 am
Binky Brown Meets The World-The Legacy of Autobiographic Cartoonists – Part Two
Moderator and cartoonist Shira Spector (Red Rock Baby Candy) discusses all things autobio with Maureen Burdock (Queen Of Snails), Natalie Norris (Dear Mini: A Graphic Memoir, Book One) and featured guests Rina Ayuyang (The Man In The McIntosh Suit), Natalie Norris (Dear Mini: A Graphic Memoir, Book One),and Nick Maandag (Harvey Knight’s Odyssey). The influence of autobiographic comic pioneers Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Diane Noomin and Justin Green is undeniable. What is the legacy they have left to cartoonists today, as well as other pioneers of the genre? How do these panelists approach this genre in their own comics and who were their inspirations?
Rina Ayuyang 