This spring’s Xeric Grant winners have been announced. Founded by Peter Laird, the Xeric is presented to worthy cartoonists to provide them with funds to print their projects. A total of $31,158 was awarded for seven comic book projects. The Foundation has awarded in excess of $2.4 million to comic book creators and nonprofit organizations since its first grant cycle in September 1992.
The spring crop:
Brendan Leach—The Pterodactyl Hunters (in the Guilded City)
Steve LeCouilliard—Much the Miller’s Son
The next deadline and review dates for comic book grants are March 31, 2011 and May 1, 2011, respectively. The charitable organization grants are decided annually in March and announced separately.
Special note to Xeric winners: The Beat offers special advertising rates for you. Shoot us a line.
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I remember first seeing Much the Miller’s Son being linked and posted in the Flight forums a few years back. From what I’ve read online already its a great, fun comic and the cartooning is sooo well done. Glad to see it’s a winner, and congrats to the others as well!
I like seeing John Martz’s work. It’s quite unique, yet for some reason makes me think of the work of Sempe, the French cartoonist.
This is cool. Congrats to all these folks. I don’t know any of them but want to look into them more.
I’m not saying this as a criticism at all, but do folks agree with me: a lot of these books have a very, very similar aesthetic. Don’t you think? The Leach and LeCouilliard ones veer away, but the rest look very visually complementary.
I mean, they all look great, but they do seem pretty similar in drawing style.
Am I way off?
Brady — I noticed this too! It’s kind of an indie/New Yorker style. For some reason it feels really…Canadian to me.
It would be interetsing to see where recent Xeric winners went to school — SVA, CCS, SCAD — and see if there are any “stylistic schools.”
Didn’t they announce these people back in November?
5 out of the 7 selected creators are Canadian: Mandaag (Toronto), Martz (Toronto), Mutch (Winnipeg now in NYC by way of Victoria BC), LeCouilliard (Vancouver) and Rivers (Toronto).
@TheBeat – Glad I’m not alone.
I would love it if folks started to identify more “schools” in comics. Like, The Fort Thunder style, for example.
I think artists hate those categories, but I think it’s really groovy. It’s like… being in the inner circle of early Punk. Like you’re on this team of like minded visionaris. I dig it.