THIS IS SERIOUS reveals the considerable contributions artists from across the country are making to the greater field of global comics - of which Toronto, Montreal, and Hamilton are significant creative centres. Surveying the work of 40 contemporary Canadian artists, THIS IS SERIOUS showcases the energy of underground artistic production and indie publishing, expressed through a diverse range of artists. Co-curated by Alana Traficante and award-winning cartoonist Joe Ollmann, THIS IS SERIOUS presents the recent arc of production that has helped shaped the current state of graphic storytelling, here and now, on home soil. With contributions from Jeet Heer and Peggy Burns. Featuring the work of contemporary and historical Hamilton artists such as: David Collier, Jesse Jacobs, Sylvia Nickerson, Doug Wright, James Simpkins and Joe Ollmann. Featuring four of the most well-respected Canadian artists: Seth, Julie Doucet, Fiona Smyth and Chester Brown. Also featuring a national survey of artists working today, including: Jillian Tamaki, Michael Deforge, Hartley Lin, Ho Che Anderson, Gord Hill, Diane Obom, Kate Beaton, and Pascal Girard, among many more.

Joe Ollmann lives in Hamilton, the Riviera of Southern Ontario. He is the winner of the Doug Wright Award for Best Book in 2007 and loser of the same award many other times. Author of 7 books, Chewing On Tinfoil (Insomniac, 2001), The Big Book of Wag! (Conundrum, 2006), This Will All End in Tears (Insomniac, 2006, Winner of the 2007 Doug Wright Award for best book), Mid-Life! (Drawn and Quarterly, 2011), Science Fiction (Conundrum, 2013), Happy stories About Well-Adjusted People (Conundrum, 2014) and The Abominable Mr. Seabrook (Drawn and Quarterly, 2017). CBC Radio has said of him "Joe Ollmann is to graphic novels what Alice Munro is to fiction: a master of the short story form."

Joe Ollmann's profile page

Alana Traficante's profile page