Dividing cels

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This article was published 23/03/2024 (902 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Matthew Dyck and Hely Schumann have always been drawn to one another.

They met at Steinbach Regional Secondary School, where they established a kinship — not something Schumann took for granted.

“We had one class together,” she says, laughing, “and you were the only person I liked.”

After high school, they moved in the same orbit, both graduating from Red River College Polytechnic in 2016. Schumann studied graphic design, while Dyck plied his skills in creative communications.

But when it came time for both students to complete their final projects, neither hesitated to choose their preferred format: the graphic novel.

Earlier this month, Schumann and Dyck, each 35, reconvened at their former downtown campus to discuss their newest project, an ongoing anthology of Winnipeg comics entitled Comrad, now seven issues into what they hope to be a long, fruitful publishing run.

Comrad emerged in 2019, when Schumann and Dyck sat next to one another in the Millennium Library’s Carol Shields Auditorium for the Prairie Comics Festival.

“We looked at one another and said, ‘Hey, we went to high school together. You made a book, I made a book,’” recalls Dyck, the associate creative director at UpHouse, a Winnipeg marketing and PR agency.

Soon, the two were tabling together, recognizing they were amid a burgeoning community of independent artists looking to collaborate and discover new audiences.

Inspired by The Twilight Zone, Dark Horse comics, Black Mask Studios and the American fantasy comics magazine Heavy Metal, Dyck had the seed of the idea, but pairing up with Schumann and attending the comics festival inspired the anthology’s collaborative spirit.

The name Comrad came naturally.

“It kind of popped into my head one day,” says Dyck. “The more I thought it over, it made sense. Comrad. Community. Comics. Rad. It just really succinctly described exactly what we were doing, which was creating connections with people locally who were doing cool (stuff).”

They reached out to local comics artists, including Scott Henderson, Scott Ford and GMB Chomichuk, who were generous with time and encouragement of the project, as was Samantha Beiko, the artistic director of the Prairie Comics Festival.

“Publishers running anthology projects are few and far between; it really takes a lot of passion to manage those projects and find the talent, and help them to grow,” says Beiko, an artist and author of several fantasy books and comics under the name S.M. Beiko.

“They feature a lot of artists and writers who otherwise would not be in an anthology at all. They allow you in one sitting to discover so many creators.”

The first issue, nicknamed Pink Lemonade, featured only Schumann, Dyck and Matt Yathon (@matthew_jethon on Instagram). In the subsequent six editions, nearly 30 comics creators have made their way into Comrad’s colourful pages, which display a dazzling array of approaches to short-form storytelling, experimenting with narrative structure, international styles of illustration, and emotional tone. Meanwhile, Comrad’s contributor base is increasingly diverse, featuring the work of racialized, LGBTTQ+ and neurodivergent artists.

For the fourth issue, entitled Sweet & Sour, the team at anti-establishment art collective Strike Poster chose to submit a 50-year-old found comic from the now-defunct Winnipeg People’s Co-Op, a segment which sheds light on Comrad’s vision of inclusionary and equity-based publishing.

After Midnight, the sixth issue, is a standout, opening with a skeletal horror-comedy from Eric Hetherington (@mcduck.illustration); an excursion into queer nightlife by Elis Wautier (@zaggydrawin); a seafaring parable by Poppa Jan (@hellopoppajan); and a neo-noir from the pen of Nyco Rudolph (@nycorudolph).

The most recent issue, Below Zero, featured seven contributors and, after a brief pandemic hiatus, there was enough interest from the comics community that Schumann and Dyck already have enough material to fill three future Comrad editions.

Some interested parties have come from expected channels, such as the Comrad mailing list. Others? Not so much.

“There’s a guy who works the bar at my curling rink. I didn’t know he was an artist, but I found that out through Comrad,” says Dyck.

Aside from an abundance of submissions, another key to Comrad’s sustainability is its financial model. Schumann and Dyck manage the project on a volunteer basis, and all their internal book sales are cycled back toward printing future issues.

Contributors have the option to purchase books for resale for cents above printing cost, but that isn’t mandatory. “That means artists can be published with no financial risk and the option to make money for their work,” says Dyck.

“Unlike self-publishing, it’s low cost, and unlike traditional publishers, we don’t act as editors,” he says. “We’re more of a platform for creative expression.”

Retailers include Bear Face General Store (539 Osborne St.) and Fantasy Club Books, located inside Riley Grae (701 Corydon Ave.). Each artist is also guaranteed one free issue.

“The reason we do what we do is to lower the barrier to entry for getting into comics,” says Schumann, who is a graphic designer and project specialist at Direct Focus, an Exchange District marketing firm.

“Comrad is a way that people can start getting their work in a printed book, and I feel like that really opens the door for them to move on to the next step.

“We are anti-capitalist, and we’re for the community, and I feel like that’s something people can really get behind.”

Comrad Comics can be found on Instagram @comradcomics

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com