Jamie Michaels, author and founder of Dirty Water Comics, joins us for the launch of his latest release, Christie Pits, a graphic novel examining the incredible true hsitory of when young Jewish and Italian immigrants squared off against Nazi-inspired thugs on the streets of Toronto.

No charge. Everyone welcome. Refreshments will be served.

About the Novel

A gritty ride through Toronto’s immigrant neighbourhoods, Christie Pits tells the incredible true story of when young Jewish and Italian immigrants squared off against Nazi-inspired thugs on the streets of Toronto. This is the history of a gruff and unrecognizable Canada— one of ‘swastika clubs’ and public bigotry. A homemade swastika flag flown at a public baseball game was the spark that found tinder in these untenable and hateful conditions. What followed was the worst race riot in Canadian history. Archival research and first-hand interviews lend historical depth to an unknown story of resistance against hatred in uncertain times."

About the Creators

Praise for the Novel

"The decision to present this important sotry as a historical comic book was ingenious. It reads like fiction, but is all fact." —Professor Irving Abella, President, Academy of the Arts and the Humanities, Royal Society of Canada

"There have been other histories of anti-Semitism in Toronto and Canada during the 1930s, but none as creative a Jamie Michael's Christie Pits... the story he skillfuly tells is well-researched with an array of fascinating characters that leap off the page owing to the realistic and vivd illustrations of Doug Fedrau. A significant and worthy literary achievement that will enlighten readers of all ages." —Allan Levine, author of Seeking the Fabled City: The Canadian Jewish Experience