Zine Review: The Toronto Comic Jam

ZINES_Toronto-Comic-JamComic, [email protected], TorComicJam.com, $3

Curated by Toronto artist Dalton Sharp and featuring a wide range of weirdness from in and around the GTA, the To­ronto Comic Jam is a fine-looking collec­tion of hand-drawn offerings. The TCJ is a monthly event where local artists can swing by and work on interconnected stories or solo works over an evening, and this zine is a really great result of their efforts. Sharp contributes his own comics to this zine, and they deal, in part, with gore and some bodily harm. Other contributions feature a jacked-up Drac­ula, ballet and a toast/toaster role reversal.

There’s a nice continuity in this com­pilation and, although it’s made up of artists far and wide, Sharp and his col­laborators have created a singular work that seems impressively intact. Also, it’s a weird thing to pick up on but a few lo­cal comic and art/book stores advertise in these pages. It makes this collection seem even more legitimate and as a To­ronto native, I felt this really furthered the authentic vibe that Sharp and com­pany seem to be going for. Worth track­ing down. (Cam Gordon)