Home › Comics › Cole Pauls, creator of the award-winning “Pizza Punks” and “Kwändǖr”, heads to Angoulême and Gosh

Cole Pauls, creator of the award-winning “Pizza Punks” and “Kwändǖr”, heads to Angoulême and Gosh

By John Freeman on January 17, 2024

Award-winning artist Cole Pauls will be making an appearance at Gosh Comics in London this month, just after travelling to the Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d’Angoulême.

Cole Pauls is a Champagne and Aishihik Citizen and Tahltan comic artist, illustrator and printmaker, hailing from Haines Junction (Yukon Territory) with a BFA in Illustration from Emily Carr University. He’s the creator of three award-winning graphic novels, all published by Conundrum Press: Dakwäkãda Warriors, a bilingual (English and Tahltan) comic about two earth protectors saving the world from evil pioneers and cyborg sasquatches, which won an Indigenous Voices Award; Pizza Punks, which is just what it sounds like – a collection of comics about punks and pizza; and Kwändǖr, a collection of stories that celebrate the cultural practices and experiences of Dene and Arctic peoples, which recently won a Yukon and BC Book Prize.

The British Columbia Review said of Pizza Punks, “The drawings and details in this comic series are stunning, from the thoughtful backgrounds to the outfits, environments, use of shading, and realism in its portrayal of urban Indigeneity.”

Gosh London Signing: Cole Pauls Signing - Monday 29th January 2024, from 6-7pm.

Cole’s two appearances on this side of the Atlantic, at the Angoulême Festival and Gosh, will be to promote Kwändǖr, and he’ll be travelling with the support of the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival.

“Cole is one of Canada’s biggest up-and-coming Indigenous comics artists, and he’s never signed in London before,” Conundrum’s Sal Sawler tells downthetubes. “Aside from being a brilliant comic artist, Cole is also an enthusiastic proponent of language reclamation, which could be interesting to explore. You can read a bit about that work in this article about Dakwäkãda Warriors, but it’s a theme that continues in Kwändǖr as well.”

Kwändǖr gathers Cole’s comics from magazines, comic festivals and zine making workshops, comics that are his most personal work yet. You’ll learn stories about the author’s family, racism and identity, Yukon history, winter activities, Southern Tutchone language lessons and cultural practices.

Have you ever wanted to learn how to Knuckle Hop? or to acknowledge and respect the Indigenous land you’re on? Or how to be an ally to Indigenous people? Well, gather around and hear this Kwändǖr! (Story!)

Conundrum Press is located in Mi’kma’ki/Nova Scotia, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. The press was founded by publisher Andy Brown in 1996, amidst the political turmoil and cultural vibrancy of Tiohtiá;ke/Montreal. Originally a publisher of chapbooks, short stories, novels, comics, and zine collections, Conundrum began exclusively publishing literary graphic novels in 2010 and is supported by Canada Council for the Arts, the Province of Nova Scotia, and the Government of Canada.

While Conundrum is proud to have published many award-winning comic artists, such as Meags Fitzgerald, Max de Radiguès, Jillian Tamaki, Cole Pauls, Aimée de Jongh, Joe Ollmann, Sami Alwani, Michel Rabagliati, Dakota McFadzean, and Nina Bunjevac, the press also remains committed to discovering new voices in the graphic novel field.

• Cole Pauls is online at tundrawizard.com | Instagram | X |

• Conundrum Press

• Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d’Angoulême 25th – 28th January, Angoulême, France | Official Website: bdangouleme.com

• Gosh London Signing: Cole Pauls Signing
6.00 – 7.00pm Monday 29th January 2024 Gosh! Comics, 1 Berwick Street, London W1F 0DR | Web: goshlondon.com

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.