I am always surprised, by the vast amounts of information
that are available to me, on the Web/Net and yet,
there are things that I expect to find and inexplicably,they are missing from the fossil record.
The Silver Snail comic book shop, of Toronto, has published
a number of posters, over it's 40 Years in operation and
it seems like an ideal time to commemorate that fact.
Let me start with the earliest one,
at least, as far as I am aware.
It was used to advertise the store's moving,
from it's second location
at 223 Queen Street West,
to
it's third and so far longest lived location,
at 367 Queen Street West.
I apologize, in advance, for my poor photography and I hope that, anyone who is interested in this topic, will just be glad that these examples are here to be seen.
The same image was used on postcards, available for free, at the cash register, in the store, preceding the great move.
This would have been 1983 and if this had been an
Anniversary Poster,
it would have been the 7th.
Paul Rivoche, the artist, had already worked with
Ron Van Leeuwen, the owner of the store, on the original
'Andromeda' comic book.
1985
This poster does not state that it is an Anniversary Poster
but it is quite possible that it was and that I have simply forgotten that fact, in the 31 years since!
The indomitable, Ken Steacy, who left us, moving to the West Coast, in the late Eighties, did the artwork.
The pencilled layout image, for this painting, is framed and hanging on the wall, in the Silver Snail's present location.
If it was an Anniversary Poster,
then it would have been the store's 9th.
1986
At the 10 year mark, Ron felt sufficiently moved, to make a very big deal out of the Anniversary and even went so far as to throw a big party at, 'His Majesty's Feast' aka Medieval Times, down on the Lakeshore, here in Toronto.
I seem to remember meeting the writer,
Chris Claremont there and the artist,
Marc Silvestri, who were both in attendance and well into their cups!
Ty Templeton, the then young artist, was chosen to illustrate the poster and did a fabulous job of it.
As far as I know, this was the first poster to announce it's Anniversary status and it proudly displays the fact
that this is the stores 10th.
The next poster marks a turning point,
at least, I think so, as Ron selected an American professional,
from the ranks of the mainstream comic book world, to illustrate it.
Charles Vess, had fairly close ties with the store, at that time and with his passion for fantasy themed paintings and stories, he was an excellent choice.
The artwork is signed and dated 1986
but I think, this poster was published in 1987,
which means, that this could be taken as being the 11th
Anniversary Poster.
It is a very poor photograph but the eagle eyed among you, may notice the added silver disc, in the upper right hand corner. It is my only example of a self-adhesive promotional item, from the store, with the Silver Snail logo on it.
Now we move into an area of uncertainty, because the next poster that I own, was printed in 1989 to advertise the visit to the stores (At that time there were only three, Silver Snails. The fourth one, in Ottawa, would not open until the following year.)
by the French superstar artist,
Jean Giraud, otherwise known as Moebius.
Can this be construed as an Anniversary Poster?
Were there any other posters, Anniversary or not, printed for the Silver Snail, during these years?
I, for one, would love to know and sinceI do not have any examples, nor have I seen any, that would fill in the dating gap, between the Charles Vess poster, of 1987(?)
and this one:
The self proclaimed, 15th Anniversary Poster!
Painted by one of the 'star' artists of the time,
from England, this time,
Simon Bisley.
This would have been the year 1991 and his
Batman/Judge Dredd:
Judgement on Gotham,
from DC comics, was making news at the time.
I will end this first part, of 'my trip down memory lane',
with what was probably the longest of the Anniversary Posters,
Michael William Kaluta's
glorious 16th Anniversary poster,
of 1992.
In 1993, I left Toronto, moving up north, to the small city of Elliot Lake and I lost track, as one does, of the busy comic book scene of Toronto.
Even when I returned, down here to the south, it was to the suburb of Pickering, in 1997 and I tended, being short of cash, to do my comic book collecting closer to home.
That meant, that I was more intimately associated with the stores in Oshawa, than I was with the Silver Snail, in Toronto and that was how it remained, until I moved back into the city, in 2004.
It explains why there is a huge gap, in the record that I have, of the posters and why the next example is the one from
1999.
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