I have been doing a lot of research into the history of Canadian comics, focusing on work from the late 1960’s to the early 1990’s. My research took me on a trip to Winnipeg, where I got a chance to visit different cartoonists and chat about their work. Winnipeg is an interesting town since the cost of housing is still quite minimal, especially compared to where I live in Vancouver. This means that artists have been able to focus on flourish. Nicholas was the first cartoonist I saw during my visit, giving me a good run down of the city and comics community. I had been in touch with Nicholas for a while, getting back ground info on some of the work I am researching. He’s a really passionate creator with a love for his community and the people he has gotten know. It had been a while since I had sat down for a wide ranging conversation like this, so I appreciate him taking the time to chat with me.
Nicholas Burns’ work is most recognized for Super Shamou, a character crated by Inuk tv producers, Barney Pattunguyak and Peter Tapati. Burns’ wrote and drew the singular issue which also had translations in Inuktitut. He also created on Arctic Comics which was published for Expo 86 here in Vancouver and can be found pretty widely in regular comic stores. There is also a more recent Arctic Comics anthology of work by different creators.
