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VORTEX COMICS INC.   

VORTEX COMICS INC.                                                                                                      Location: Sumach Street, Toronto.                                                                                      Owner/Publisher: William Marks.

Contributors:                                                                                                                  Chester Brown, Dan Day, Gene Day, Gregory Gallant (Seth), Steve Gilbert, Joe Haidar, Peter Hsu, Don Marshall, Paul McCusker, Dene Motter,  Tom Nesbitt, Nick Poliwko, Paul Rivoche. Dave Ross, Ken Steacy, Ron Sutton, Ty Templeton, Anthony van Bruggen, John van Bruggen, Maurice Vellecoup, James Waley, Rob Walton.

This was a publishing company organized by William Marks.

An interesting serial in Vortex is Jeff Morgan’s “Studio” in which he uses his friends and associates as models for the serials characters.

PRODUCT: 

PERIODICAL GRAPHIC: 

Bloodlines …: “…”. Car., Rob Walton:…  Colour cover. Black & white content.
4, 1987: “First Movement Dreaming Innocence Pt. 1”: 1-24. Cover illus., Rob Walton

5, 1987: “First Movement Dreaming Innocence Pt. 2”: 1-24. Cover illus., Rob Walton

6, 1988: “First Movement Dreaming Innocence Pt. 3”: 1-24. Cover illus., Rob Walton

7, 1988: “First Movement Dreaming Innocence Pt. 4”: 1-22. Cover illus., Rob Walton & Rick Taylor.
Kevin Mace, …: …. Colour cover. Issue 1-1, Black & white content. Issue 1-2, Colour content.
…, 1-1, 1985: “Kevin Mace”. Plot, Klaus Schönefeld & Ty Templeton. Script Ty. Illus., Klaus.                               “Lenny’s Casino Grill”. Writ., Ty Templeton. Illus., Mike Dringenberg.

…, 1-2, February 1986: “Kevin Mace”. Car., Klaus Schönefeld. Let., Deborah Glencross. Col., Caroline Lowe.
Stig’s Inferno …: Car., Ty Templeton. Colour cover. Black & white content. Issue 1-1 cover by Paul Rivoche. All other covers by Ty Templeton.
…, 1-1, 1984. …, 1-2, 1984. …, 1-3, 1985. …, 1-4, 1985. …, 1-5, 1986.*

*Issues 6, January 1987 & 7, March 1987 published by Eclipse Comics.

 

PERIODICAL GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY: 

Vortex, …: Authors, Various. Colour cover. Black & white content.
…, 1-1, November 1982.

…, 1-2, March 1983.

…, 1-3, May 1983.

 …, 1-4, July 1983.

…, 1-5, September 1983.

…, 1-6, 1984.

 …, 1-7, March 1984.

…, 1-8, April 1984.

…, 1-9, May 1984.

 …, 1-10, Sept. 1984.

…, 1-11, January 1985.

…, 1-12, 1986.

…, 1-13, 1987.

SOURCE:

Article newspaper:

Toronto Sun, 11 Jan.1987:  “Fab Funnies.” Writ., Dan Proudfoot: C8.

Toronto Star, 27 Feb.1987: “Here’s your guide to superheroes of Canadian comics”: D6.

GALLERY:

A cartoon of a person and a robot AI-generated content may be incorrect. Vortex 1-13, 1987: Front cover, illustrator Maurice Vellekoop.

VIVA Frank

VIVA Frank

A Toronto cartoonist, illustrator and designer he sits on 2 college boards and is a cover artist for The New Yorker magazine. His first book Along a Long Road was chosen by the New York Times as one of the Ten Best Illustrated Books of 2011. A Trip to the Bottom of the World was based on his experiences aboard a Russian research vessel during a trip to the Antarctic Peninsula.

WORK:

CARTOONIST:

BOOK GRAPHIC:

Content story & Cover book front & back:

A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse. Toon Books/Candlewick Press, 2012.

ILLUSTRATOR:

PERIODICAL TEXT & GRAPHIC:

Cover front:

Taddle Creek, XVII-3, 33, Summer 2014: “Under The Influence”.

SOURCE:

Article book:

A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse. F. Viva. Toon Books/Candlewick Press, 2012: “About the Author.”

GALLERY:

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE BY CARTOONIST\V\VIVA Frank, Taddle Creek, 33 Summer 2014, fc-Cover.jpgTaddle Creek, 33, Summer 2014: “Under The Influence”: Front cover.

VITALIS PUBLISHING   

VITALIS PUBLISHING                                                                                                      Location: Toronto, Ontario                                                                                                Owner/Publisher: Conan Tobias

In 1997, 21 contributors combined to create Taddle Creek. It began as a local periodical and expanded to a national scope. It expanded into graphic stories quite early in issue IV-1 Christmas 2000 with a story by Michael Cho. In issue VII-2 (12) Summer 2004, Dave Lapp’s “People Around Here series began. The first illustrated cover appeared on XI-1, (19) Christmas 2007. It was done by Ian Phillips. It introduced “Tad” a creation of Ian and Conan, who became the iconic reader of Taddle Creek. From this point on all Taddle Creek periodicals had illustrated rather than photographic covers.

PRODUCT:

PERIODICAL TEXT & GRAPHIC:

Taddle Creek. Ed., Conan Tobias.
I-1, Christmas 1997.

II-1, Christmas 1998.

III-1, Christmas 1999.

IV-1, Christmas 2000.

IV-2, Summer 2001.

IV-3, Fall 2001.

V-1, Christmas 2001.

V-2, Summer 2002.

VI-1 (9), Christmas 2002.

VI-2 (10) Summer 2002.

VII-1 (11) Christmas 2003.

VII-2 (12) Summer 2004.

VIII-1 (13) Christmas 2004.

VIII-2 (14) Summer 2005.

IX-1 (15) Christmas 2005.

IX-2 (16) Summer 2006.

X-1 (17) Christmas 2006.

X-2 (18) Summer 2007. Summer Fiction & Poetry

XI-1 (19) Christmas 2007.

XI-2 (20) Summer 2008

XII-1 (21) Halloween 2008.

XII-2 (22) Summer 2009 Graphic Issue.

XIII-1 (23) Summer 2009.

XIII-2 (24) Summer 2010.

25 (XIV-1)) Christmas 2010.

26 (XIV- 2) Summer 2011.

27 (XV-1) Christmas 2011.

 

 

 28 (XV-2)Summer 2012.

29 (XIV-1) Fifteenth Anniversary Number

30 (XVI-2) Summer 2013.

31 (XVII-1)Winter 2013/2014

32 (XVII-2) Winter 2013/2014, Tabloid.

33 (XVII-3)Summer 2014, Kid’s issue

34 (XVIII-1) Winter 2014/2015. Child issue.

35 (XVIII-2) Summer 2015.

36 (XIX-1) Winter 2015/2016. Graphic

37 (XIX-2)Summer 2016.

38 (XX-1)Winter 2016/2017.

39 (XX-2) Sum. 2017. Canada issue.

40 (XXI-1)Winter 2017/2018

41 (XXI-2) Summer 2018.

42 (XXII-1) Winter 2018/2019.

43 (XXII-2) Summer 2019. Pulp Issue.

44 (XXX-1) Winter 2019/2020.

45 (XXIII-2) Summer 2020 (Tabloid)

46 (XXIV-1) Winter 2020/2021

47A (XXIV-2A) Summer 2021

47B (XXIV-2B) Halloween 2021

47C (XXIV-2C) Holiday 2021

48 (XXV Section A) Spring 2022 Tabloid Format

48 (XXV Section B) Spring 2022 Tabloid Format

49 Summer 2022.

50 Fall 2022 The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Final Number

SOURCE:

Periodical Text & Graphic:

“Twenty.” Taddle Creek. 39, Summer 2017: 3.

GALLERY:

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE COVER PERIODICAL\TADDLE CREEK 38, wINTER 2016,17, fc.jpg Illus., Matthew Daley. Taddle Creek, 38, Winter 2016/17: Front cover.

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE COVER PERIODICAL\TADDLE CREEK, 39, Summer 2017, fc.jpg  Illus., Michel Rabagliati. Taddle Creek, 39, Summer 2017: Front cover.

THE MANY FACES OF “TAD”

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE BY CARTOONIST\P\PHILLIPS IAN, Taddle Creek, 19, fc.jpg Illus., Ian Phillips. Taddle Creek, 19: Front cover.

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE COVER PERIODICAL\TADDLE CREEK, 40, Winter 2017,18, fc.jpg Illus., Ethan Rilley. Taddle Creek, 40, Winter 2017/18: Front cover.

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE CARTOON\IMAGE CARTOON T\TAD, Taddle Creek Newsletter, 12 Aug 2020.jpg Clay model by Nathan Campagnaro, Taddle Creek Newsletter, 12 August 2020.

 

 

 

VIRGO PRESS

VIRGO PRESS                                                                                                                   Location: 103 Church Street, Toronto.

It may have had an association with the Toronto Sun.

Active circa 1979/1980.

PRODUCT:

BOOK GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:

The Art of Political Cartooning in Canada/1980. Ed., Steve Bradley. Oct. 1980.

BOOK GRAPHIC COLLECTION:

Donato’s Collection of Political Cartoons. Car., Andy Donato. Virgo Press in co-operation with theToronto Sun., 1979.

 

VIA DI MALCONTENTI

VIA DI MALCONTENTI                                                                                                      Location: Toronto.                                                                                                            Owner: Steven Leblanc.                                                                                                      Contributor: Steven LeBlanc.                                                                                              Characters: Honey, Jaz, Pearl.

A company was organized by Steven LeBlanc to publish his work. The name which literally means “because of discontent” comes from an actual street in Florence Italy. In early days prisoners were taken here to be executed. For Steven the significance comes from his own early days when he was a painter and residing in Florence (1992-1995).  He used the letters VdM under his signature. Malcontent is a person who is not satisfied with current circumstances which as Steven has said rather accurately represented his feelings at the time. (Email 8 Jan. 2019).

BOOK GRAPHIC:

The Lost Island of Dreams. June 2013.

PERIODICAL GRAPHIC:

Hogtown Jaz: “The Perfect Fall Guy.” Editor, Dave Darrigo. Cartoonist, S. LeBlanc..
1 of 4, May 2005. 2 of 4, Jan. 2006: 3 of 4, Feb. 2006. 4 of 4, Mar. 2006.
Drama Drama. Cartoonist, S. LeBlanc.
1, 2008. 2, Oct. 2009. 3, Apr. 2011. 4, Feb. 2012. 5, Sept. 2014 6, Oct. 2015.

Turista Menu, Cartoonist & Illustrator, S. LeBlanc. Jan. 2007.

 

VEZINA Emile

VEZINA Emile

A contemporary of Joseph Charlebois, Alonzo Ryan and George Brodeur, this illustrator and caricaturist worked for several Montréal publications during the early 1900’s. His style lent itself more to illustrating social situations.

SOURCE:

Article book:

The Hecklers. Writ. & Ed.., Peter Desbarates & Terry Mosher. McClelland & Stewart Ltd.,1979: 252.

 

VERRALL Robert

VERRALL Robert

Born 1928 in Toronto.

He studied at the Ontario College of Art and worked with Arthur Lismer’s Children’s Art Centre.

In 1945, he became one of the original members of the National Film Board animation unit organized by Norman McLaren in 1942. Before making his first animated film in 1947, Breaking Bread In The Middle Ages, he collaborated on three films, Three Blind Mice 1945 with George Dunning, Family Tree and Team Work Past and Present. In 1953, with Wolf Koening and Colin Low, he made The Romance of Transportation In Canada. Later he made A Is For Architecture, Energy and Matter, The Great Toy Robbery and What On Earth.

He became director of English animation in 1967 and director of English production in 1972.

WORK:

ANIMATOR:

FILM ANIMATION:

Breaking Bread In The Middle Ages, 1947.

Age of the Beaver, 1952.

CO-ANIMATOR:

FILM ANIMATION:

Colour of Life, 1955.

Hors d’oeuvre, 1960, with Gerald Potterton.

Three Blind Mice, 1945, with George Dunning.

Romance of Transportation In Canada, 1953, with Wolf Koening & Colin Low, Palm d’or Cannes. Part of Canada Carries On Series.

SOURCE:

Article book:

a handbook of Canadian film. Writ., Eleanor Beattie. Peter Martin Associates Ltd/Take One, 1973: “Robert  Verrall”: 172.

Take One’s Essential Guide to Canadian Film. Ed., Wyndham Wise. University of  Toronto Press 2001: “Verrall Robert”: 212.

 

 

VELLEKOOP Maurice

VELLEKOOP Maurice

Maurice Vellekoop | Penguin Random House                            penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/180776/maurice-vellekoop

I don’t think of it [his work] as trying to be politically correct. I just think it reflects  reality, especially in Canada where people seem so integrated.”              Toronto Star, 15 August 1998, K3.

Born 1964 in the Greater Toronto Area and raised in Etobicoke. In 1998 he was living on the Toronto Islands.

Inspired by his sister Ingrid, he became interested in commercial art, eventually attending the Ontario College of Art from 1982 to 1986.

He joined Reactor Art and Design a multidiscipline art agency and studio based in York Ontario, and has illustrated for magazine, book publishers and agencies.

In addition to Canadian publications like Descant, Maclean’s, Radio Guide, Saturday Night, Taddle Creek and Toronto Life, his illustrations turn up regularly in U.S. magazines such as Entertainment Weekly, Glamour, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Out, Premier, Rolling Stone, Spy, Vogue, and in the United Kingdom, Wallpaper. He was part of a group of young Toronto graphic artists in the late 1980’s, which included Jamie Bennett, Blair Drawson, Jeff Jackson, Anita Kunz and Rene Zamic whose work spread throughout both the North American and European markets. . “I was in New York at a symposium a couple of weeks ago and everyone was talking about what a hotbed of talent Toronto has become.” Said Kunz, “Art directors now seem to be on the look out for people from Toronto.”

He became fascinated by the potential of the comic book and so cartooned and illustrated for Vortex and Mr. X. Unfortunately, the company ceased operations before this avenue could be pursued further. However, he, Fiona Smyth and Gregory Gallant (Seth) collaborated on a mini comic called Fabulous Babes.

He bases his illustrations on graphic art and movies of the 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s, but he denies his work is locked in the past. “In the early 1980’s there was a big interest in nostalgia in fine art as well as illustration. Now it’s starting to die out. Even though my work looks nostalgic, I deal with contemporary themes and issues.” [Toronto Star 20 Nov. 1988: G1]

WORK:

CARTOONIST, ILLUSTRATOR & WRITER:

BOOK GRAPHIC COLLECTION:

Content panel & commentary & Cover book front:

Maurice Vellekoop’s ABC Book. Gates of Heck Inc., 1997.

Content panel & commentary & Cover dust jacket wrap around:

A Nut At The Opera. Drawn & Quarterly, April 2006.

Content panel & strip & Cover book front:

Vellevision: A Cocktail of Comics & Pictures. Drawn & Quarterly, December 1997.

Content strip & Cover book front & back :

The World of Gloria Badcock. Koyama Press, 2011.

BOOK TEXT & GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:

Content story graphic:

Drawn and Quarterly: Twenty-Five Years …. Drawn & Quarterly, May 2015: “Side Door Lover.” 174-177. Also appeared in periodical Drawn & Quarterly 2-3, 1995 and in Vellevision.

PERIODICAL TEXT & GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:

Content  memoir graphic:

Descant, 164, Spring 2014: “The Best of Everything My New York Romance”: 20-30.

Story graphic:

Taddle Creek, XVII-2, 32, Spring 2014: “Sleeping Giant”: 5.

Taddle Creek, 36, Winter 2015-2016 “Sexperience.”

ILLUSTRATOR:

PERIODICAL GRAPHIC:

Content story & Cover front:

Vortex, 1-13, 1987: “Guilt Comics”: 1-4.

Cover front:

Mister X, 1-11, Nov.1987.

PERIODICAL TEXT:

Content advertisement:

Toronto Life, January 1981: “our streets are hot with summer cool”: 43.

Content essay:

Radio Guide, 7-4, April 1987: “Preview – The Graduates”. Writ., unidentified: 9.

Radio Guide, 7-6, June 1987: : “Jury Duty” & “Vintage Years”. No writers identified: 5.

Maclean’s …
… 5 May 2003: Title unknown. Writ., Suneel Khanna: 41.

… 19 May 2003: Mail. Writ., Various: 6. Illustration repeated.

… 23 June 2003: Title unknown. Writ., Unknown: 43.

… 14 July 2003: Mail. Writ., Various: 8. Illustration repeated.

… 22 September 2003: “City Slickness”. Writ., Shanda Deziel: 50-51.

… 24 November 2003: “It’s All In The Details”. Writ., John Intini : 37.

… 5 April 2004: “rude awakening” Writ., Charlie Gillis: 29, 31.
Saturday Night …: “flavour of the month”. Writ., various: …
… 111-2, March 1996: “…” …: 78, 79, 80.

… 111-3, April 1996: “…” …: 102, 103, 104.

 … 111-4, May 1996: “…” …: 90, 91, 92.

… 111-5, June 1996: “…” …: 86,87

Content essay & Cover front:

Saturday Night, June 1995: “Grandpa! Back To Work!”: 19, 20.

PERIODICAL TEXT & GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:

Cover front

Taddle Creek, XXIV-1, 46, Winter 2020/21: “The New Normal.”

Cover wraparound:

Taddle Creek, XIII-1, 23, Christmas 2009: “Somebody Always Dies at Christmas”..

SOURCE:

Article periodical:

Descant, 164, Spring 2014: 255-56.

Vortex, 1-13, 1987: “Editorial”. Ed., Deborah Marks: Inside front cover.

Article newspaper:

The Toronto Star, 20 Nov.1988: “Vital Designs.” Writ., Christopher Hume: G1.

The Toronto Star, 15 August 1998: “Drawn to past …and future”. Writ., Mitchel Raphael: K3.

GALLERY:

A group of people in a street Description automatically generatedToronto Life, January 1981: 43.

A cover of a magazine Description automatically generatedMister X, 1-11, November 1987: Front cover.

A cover of a magazine Description automatically generatedSaturday Night, June 1995: Front cover.

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE BY CARTOONIST\V\VELLECOUP Maurice, Vellevision, 1997, fc.jpgVellevision, Drawn & Quarterly, December 1997: Front cover.

C:\Users\Robert\Documents\CARTOONING ILLUSTRATION ANIMATION\IMAGE BY CARTOONIST\V\VELLEKOOP Maurice, Taddle Creek, 46, fc.jpgTaddle Creek, XXIV-1, 46, Winter 2020/21: “The New Normal.”

 

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