Posted in: Comics | Tagged: bitch planet, erik larsen, freemasonry, image, jonathan hickman, lizard people, Mark Millar, tcaf, toronto comic arts festival

Image To Throw Mysterious Party At Freemason Temple During Toronto Comic Arts Festival

Like one of those people who declare that the entire week surrounding their birthday is part of a prolonged birthday celebration, publisher Image Comics is planning yet another celebration of the 25th anniversary of their founding in 1992. This time, the party will take place in Toronto at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, which envelops not only the Toronto Reference Library, but also the entire surrounding neighborhood. Image will be setting up shop in the Toronto Masonic Temple on Saturday and Sunday during the festival.

The Freemasons are a secret society who are credited by conspiracy theorists as one of the groups most likely people to be secretly controlling the entire planet. It's unknown what connection Image have with the mysterious Freemasons – are they longtime accomplices in a secret plot to support the new world order, or simply renting the lodge for the weekend? We don't know the answer, but it's worth noting that the Image Comics ongoing book scheduling process is nearly as arcane and secretive as a Masonic initiation, with hours required deciphering codes hidden in Jonathan Hickman comics to figure out when the hell the next issue of Bitch Planet will come out. In any case, Bleeding Cool cannot say for certain which is the case, though we would like to offer an alternate theory, which is that Image Comics is actually run by the lizard people, and oh god, now they're working together with the Freemasons… they'll be unstoppable.

Admittedly, this is an outlandish theory for which we have absolutely zero evidence, but it would certainly explain what Erik Larsen has been up to for all these years:

By going deep undercover and risking our lives to bring you, the readers, the comics news you need to know, Bleeding Cool has infiltrated the ranks of these secret societies and obtained a list of events that will be occurring at the festival, as well as a list of all the members that will be in attendance. Guard this list with your life, and head to Toronto on May 13th at your own peril.

SATURDAY, MAY 13th
TIME: 11 a.m.
LOCATION: Forest Hill Ballroom, Marriott Bloor-Yorkville
Image 25th: THE WALKING DEAD artist Charlie Adlard and KILL OR BE KILLED artist Sean Phillips in Conversation
Charlie Adlard (THE WALKING DEAD) and Sean Phillips (KILL OR BE KILLED) are giants of not only Image Comics, but also of the great wide world of British comics! Come and see these two titans in conversation, as Sean interviews Charlie about his career, being part of such a huge cultural phenomenon, and his new role as the UK's Comics Laureate.

TIME: 1:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Masonic Temple, 888 Yonge St
Image 25th: Drawing Action
Lights? No. Camera? No. Action? Yes! Action! Comics are full of them! But how do you draw something with enough POW that it jumps off the page? Join Brandon Graham, Emma Ríos, Adam Warren, Jason Latour, and Cameron Stewart as they discuss everything from fight choreography to epic chase sequences and beyond.

TIME: 2:45 p.m.
LOCATION: Masonic Temple, 888 Yonge St
Image 25th: Designing New Worlds
Magical Monsters! Terrific Technologies! Alien Alternatives! When the real world isn't big enough for your ideas, sometimes you've got to build your own! Join Jamie McKelvie, Sloane Leong, Simon Roy, and Andrew MacLean as they discuss what it takes to design a whole new world to contain your stories.

TIME: 4 p.m.
LOCATION: Masonic Temple, 888 Yonge St
Image 25th: Glitterbomb vs. Monstress—Terrifically Terrifying Comics
Few things are as horrific as real horror! Few things are as felt as true feelings! So how do you convey both of those things in comics? Join the teams behind the terrific and terrifying MONSTRESS (Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda) and GLITTERBOMB (Jim Zub and Djibril Morrissette-Phan) on how they go about imbuing their stories and characters with real emotion, while also scaring your pants off.

SUNDAY, MAY 14th
TIME: 1:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Forest Hill Ballroom, Marriott Bloor-Yorkville
Image 25th: SNOTGIRL vs. KAPTARA—they're funny, off-the-wall, and always enGROSSing
Snotgirl. Gross. KAPTARA. Also gross. But these books are also both very funny and very stylish! Come hang out with Bryan Lee O'Malley and Leslie Hung as they talk with hometown heroes Chip Zdarsky and Kagan McLeod about comics, collaboration, and jokes.

TIME: 12 p.m.
LOCATION: Masonic Temple, 888 Yonge St
Image 25th: Finding a Balance
Day jobs. Everybody's got one. But how do you go about paying the bills while creating hit creator-owned comics? How do you make sure you have enough creative energy for both? Marjorie Liu, Jim Zub, Ivan Brandon, and Jason Latour are no strangers to balancing projects they do for others and projects the do for themselves. Come and hear how they try to make it work.

TIME: 1:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Masonic Temple, 888 Yonge St
Image 25th: From MOTOR CRUSH to ISOLA, Fletcher, Stewart, Tarr, and Kerschl talk collaboration of the years
The teams behind MOTOR CRUSH and the upcoming Isola have been working together for quite a while. Come and hear Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, Babs Tarr, and Karl Kerschl talk about their comic book making pasts, jumping to creator-owned comics as a team, and if there's any friendly competition when both of their books are on the racks.

TIME: 2:45 p.m.
LOCATION: Masonic Temple, 888 Yonge St
Image 25th: Cartooning On The Edges of Reality
Drawing things you can see is hard enough. But how do you go about drawing things that aren't what they seem? How do you draw the surreal and the supernatural? Join masters of the unreal Farel Dalrymple, Vanesa Del Rey, Wes Craig, and Ray Fawkes as they talk about creating visuals for the unknown.

TIME: 4 p.m.
LOCATION: Masonic Temple, 888 Yonge St
Image 25th: Island: Experimental Storytelling and Beyond
Island was an exciting experiment in creating a Heavy Metal-style anthology for North America. Having recently wrapped with issue #15, come and join series editors Emma Ríos and Brandon Graham, along with contributors Simon Roy and Farel Dalrymple, as they discuss the goals and achievements of Island, and what's coming next for North American sci-fi.

SECRET SOCIETY MEMBERS ATTENDING:

Charlie Adlard (THE WALKING DEAD)
Ivan Brandon (BLACK CLOUD)
Wes Craig (DEADLY CLASS)
Farel Dalrymple (POP GUN WAR)
Valentine de Landro (BITCH PLANET)
Brenden Fletcher (MOTOR CRUSH)
Brandon Graham (ISLAND)
Meredith Gran (OCTOPUS PIE)
Leslie Hung (SNOTGIRL)
Karl Kerschl (ISOLA)
Jason Latour (LOOSE ENDS, SOUTHERN BASTARDS)
Bryan Lee O'Malley (SNOTGIRL)
Jeff Lemire (ROYAL CITY, AD: AFTER DEATH, DESCENDER, PLUTONA)
Sloane Leong (FROM UNDER MOUNTAINS)
Marjorie Liu (MONSTRESS)
Andrew MacLean (HEADLOPPER) (Andrew MacLean will be exhibiting in Toronto Reference Library.)
Jamie McKelvie (THE WICKED + THE DIVINE)
Kagan McLeod (KAPTARA)
Djibril Morrissette-Phan (GLITTERBOMB
Sean Phillips (KILL OR BE KILLED)
Emma Ríos (ISLAND, PRETTY DEADLY)
Simon Roy (ISLAND)
Cameron Stewart (MOTOR CRUSH, THE OTHER SIDE)
Sana Takeda (MONSTRESS)
Babs Tarr (MOTOR CRUSH)
Chip Zdarsky (KAPTARA)
Jim Zub (GLITTERBOMB, WAYWARD)

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