The Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) is a comic book festival held annually in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. Founded in 2003, TCAF has grown to become one of the world’s largest festivals dedicated to the promotion and appreciation of comic arts.

Programming

TCAF focuses on

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

and

independent comics Alternative comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream superhero comics which ...

, but includes other creative arts besides comics. Unlike traditional

comic book convention A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at co ...

s, TCAF is modeled off of independent comic festivals and art book fairs such as the

Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (french: Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after ...

and

Small Press Expo The Small Press Expo (SPX) is an American alternative comics convention. A registered 501(c)(3) that was created in 1994, every year since its inception, SPX has put on a festival, known as The Expo, that provides a forum for artists, writers an ...

. TCAF is a free-admission event.

Page & Panel: The TCAF Shop

"Page & Panel: The TCAF Shop" is a non-profit store located in the

Toronto Reference Library The Toronto Reference Library is a public reference library in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The library is located on the corner of Yonge Street and Asquith Avenue, within the Yorkville neighbourhood of downtown Toronto. The Toronto Reference Library ...

. Opened in May 2015, the shop sells books and merchandise that fund the festival and related activities.

History

TCAF was founded by Peter Birkemoe and Chris Butcher of The Beguiling in 2003. The festival was held biennially until 2009, when in partnership with the

Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) (french: Bibliothèque publique de Toronto) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2008 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other pub ...

it became an annual event. Starting that year, the festival took place at the

Event history

References

External links

TCAF official website
Comics conventions in Canada Book fairs in Canada May events Annual events in Toronto Recurring events established in 2003 2003 establishments in Ontario Festivals established in 2003 Comics conventions Literary festivals in Ontario {{lit-festival-stub