Political Graphic Novel

From the war in Iraq to the life of Che Guevara, the medium of graphic novels becomes political in this evening of literature, illustration and discussion.

As a medium in which to discuss serious political and historical issues, the graphic novel came of age with Art Spiegelman's Maus and Marjane Satrapi's super-hit Persepolis. Join Luminato and host Peter Birkemoe, owner of The Beguiling, Toronto's top graphic novel and comics bookstore, for an evening with award-winning Canadian author and illustrator Bernice Eisenstein (I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors), who joins underground comics sensation Spain Rodriguez to launch his new book, Che: A Graphic Biography, and Anthony Lappé and Dan Goldman for the Canadian premiere of Shooting War, an exploration of the war in Iraq and the influence of alternative news media.

*Tickets are available at Ticketmaster outlets and at TO TIX in Yonge-Dundas Square. Additional fees apply to internet and telephone bookings.

*Please note that on June 8, 2008, there will be road closures on Bloor Street due to the annual Festival on Bloor (between Bathurst and Spadina). This includes the intersection where the Al Green Theatre is located. We recommend that you allow additional travel time to the theatre.

WITH SUPPORT FROM:

Spain Rodriguez is the author of several graphic novels including My True Story, Trashman Lives! and the highly acclaimed Nightmare Alley. He has also contributed to anthologies including Skull, Zero Zero and The Comics Journal Special Edition and continues to provide autobiographical stories for every new issue of BLAB! an annual comic anthology. Spain currently lives in San Francisco, California.

Bernice Eisenstein was born in Toronto in 1949. She is an artist whose drawings and illustrations have appeared in a variety of Canadian magazines and periodicals. I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors was the winner of the Canadian Jewish Book Award for Memoir, was a finalist for the Trillium Award, the Borders Original Voices Award, and was a Toronto Star Best Book of the Year.

Anthony Lappé is a feature writer, blogger, television producer and radio personality. He is the co-author of the critically acclaimed book True Lies (Penguin-Plume) and the producer of the award-winning Showtime documentary about Iraq, BattleGround: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge. He is a regular on Air America radio and a blogger on the Huffington Post. He is a graduate of NYU and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He currently teaches documentary video at NYU.

Dan Goldman is a writer, illustrator and designer. Miami-brewed and Brooklynblessed, he is a founding member of the daily comics anthology ACT-I-VATE (www.community.livejournal.com/act_i_vate) where he writes/draws the psychedelic Craigslist roommate thriller "Kelly" (www.dangoldman.net/kelly). He lives in New York City.