Kagagi: The animated series

It seems that Captain Canuck is not the only Canadian character getting the animated treatment. The following was included in an Arcana Comics newsletter recently:

We heard your title with Jay Odjick, Kagagi, is being made into an animated television series. Congratulations! Can you give us more details about the series and when can we expect to find it on television?

Kagagi is the first First Nation superhero and is being produced by Sean Patrick O’Reilly and Jay Odjick for thirteen episodes of an animated television series. The cultural history infused in the story is enriching, unique, and educational, providing audiences with three dimensional, relatable characters, and an overall entertaining product. APTN is the Canadian broadcaster, and the first episode will debut on TV in January 2014.

Sweet!  Here's Arcana's Kagagi page from which you're able to buy the book in print or digital form.

There was also a website built around the book.  There's been little activity on it of late, but it still displays some preview and pin-up art.  The image below, however, is one I lifted from a message board (and which makes a nice wallpaper, I might add...).

Congratulations to Kagagi creator, writer and artist Jay Odjick and to Arcana founder/CEO/editor Sean Patrick O'Reilly.

"She was Jill Canada...

...and we need to bring her home".

I love the simply-stated dedication of the above line, spoken by Angus Finney, uncle to the modern-day Leaf (Michael MacSorly), in The Leaf #5.

After 60 years of regret and knowing that his end is near, Uncle Finney is determined that a wrong needs to be set right.  Angus asks Michael to help bring Jill Canada's remains to their proper resting place.  Of course, as the cover strongly implies, they are pleasantly surprised by what they ultimately find.

I was sent the book a few days ago and while it's taken me a while to write about it, I dove into it from the moment I saw it in my inbox.  I've been eager to see more of Jill Canada since I first laid eyes on her in a golden age Leaf pin-up by Stuart Berryhill.

Uncle Finney steals the show somewhat in this issue.  His protective affection for Jill is touching and while The Leaf takes care of much of the physical action, Finney is often the one to come up with the solution to the problem at hand, including how to deal with the big darling at right, Panzermann.

The Mountie Brigade also debuts in this issue in the first of four four-page installments. An awful lot of story is packed into those four pages.  Without giving too much away, something has worked its way into the Mars-based space station on which Constable Angus MacSorly is stationed.  What, and to what end, is the mystery that MacSorly will need to figure out.

The Red Leaf Comics site has an image of what we can expect from the Future Leaf.  As if that isn't an action figure waiting to happen...

Click on the cover for #5 to be taken to the Red Leaf digital store.  And while you're on the website, take a moment to float around.  There has been a lot of background and teaser content added in recent weeks.

Can't live on superheroes alone!

I backed the Monstrosity Indiegogo campaign a couple of weeks ago when I saw it mentioned by someone I follow on Twitter.  I'm normally more interested in superhero material but both gentlemen on the campaign team, Brian Evinou and Phil McClorey, are from Toronto, so what the hell?

Out of curiosity, I had a look at the project's funding progress recently and was pleasantly surprised on two fronts.  First, the the team has generated almost half (as I type this) its financial goal with 25 days remaining in the campaign.  Second, there is far larger talent list than I'd realised, much of it Canadian.

A couple of names in particular jumped out at me; J. Bone is involved in the upcoming True Patriot anthology and Gibson Quarter is among the artists contributing to the Heroes of the North comics.

Tony Taylor, one of several other Toronto creators to work on the book, provides the book's back cover displayed below.

The book will contain 18 stories and can be had digitally for $5.  Pretty sweet deal and a good way to support Canadian creators.  Click on the back cover painting above to be taken to the Indiegogo campaign page where you'll be able to view more preview art, read brief creator interviews and, hopefully, support the project.

Pieces of the Mosaic

I recall that I found the name "Masked Mosaic" a little peculiar when I first heard it.  "Masked" makes sense for an anthology about Canadian superheroes, but the use of the word "mosaic" seemed odd.

A few stories in, the application of the word becomes quite clear.  The book is diverse in just about every way possible.

There is roughly equal gender representation among the featured writers, for example, and several different cultures are worked into the stories.  Most (all?) provinces host a tale.  The adventures take place in several different points in time.  The characters are so varied that some probably would not meet the definition of the term "superhero".  The writing styles range from comedic, to being reminiscent of noir crime novels, to being borderline indescribable.  The editors, Claude Lalumière and Camille Alexa, did a fantastic job of displaying as much variety as possible in all facets.

The other edge of that sword though is that not all styles will appeal to everyone.  It's doubtful that you'll love all 24 stories, but after you realise that there's such an eclectic mix between the covers, you can't help but be eager to reach the next story regardless.

Some personal highlights:

THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE INTREPIDS by D.K. Latta.
Probably my favourite story in the collection.  Unfortunately, there's little I can say about this league of extraordinary Canadians without ruining a significant portion of it.  In general terms, it packs a lot of story (and history) in about 20 pages.

Latta's name was familiar to me but I coul dnot recall why.  Looking for his personal website (assuming he had one), I came across The Ultimate Captain Canuck Tribute Page, a site that I've been visiting for years.  Latta has managed it since at least 1999 (the first entry on his "updates" page) so clearly he has been interested in this subject matter for some time.  Cool.

THE MAN IN THE MASK by Emma Faraday
The main character is a woman on a very personal mission.  The titular man in the (gold) mask is a mysterious figure with an unusual ability.  The story takes place in the Yukon, or at least the same version of it that appears in one of Faraday's (Marcelle Dubé) books, Backli's Ford: Book One of the A'lle Chronicles.  It's an interesting setting and down the road, I plan on reading more about the A'lle.

GIANT CANADIAN COMICS by Patrick T. Goddard
This one's just fun.  It is written in such a way that it might not appeal to everyone, but I loved it. It's difficult to describe, but it's similar to reading a comic book without art.  Imagine being only able to read the captions and dialogue.  Think Alpha Flight #6 (original series) but done for a Golden Age comic.  It can be challenging to follow, but Goddard weaves it so that you can visualise the panels.

Masked Mosaic has been worth waiting for.  I don't know if a second volume is being considered but if so, Alexa, Lalumière and 24 writers have set a high bar.

Guardian / Captain Britain by Toni Solanes

There's your dream Marvel team-up book.

This picture has been floating around for a while, but the comicartfan version had only 17 views when I came across it.  Can't have that. ;-)

All I know about artists Toni and Javi Solanes is that they are from Spain (and that is based on their deviantart profiles).  Guardian shows up in other artwork pieces from Toni, though unfortunately that does not include the "all-time favourites" folder.  It does, however, include the Alpha Flight pinup below...

...and an interesting one of a number of heroes teaming to take down Namor and Cyclops.

But then, as you can see, Toni uses Guardian as his avatar so perhaps we have more Guardian / Alpha Flight art coming.

Kade: Canadian Northwest

I took advantage of Arcana Comics' winter sale a few months ago to purchase the "Kade: Original Sun" trade paperback.  Kade is not a Canadian character, but Arcana is a Canadian publisher, and the book compiles his first adventures.

Actually, Kade may not be Canadian, but that doesn't mean he hasn't spent a little time up north.

There are a few extras in the book, such as pinups and character fact sheets.  There's also a "On The Horizon" section displaying what was going to be future versions of Kade as he worked his way through history.  You have your feudal Japan Kade, the World War II Kade and, wouldn't you know it, the Canadian Northwest Kade!

I don't know if the above version of Kade was ever used.  I've asked Arcana (on Twitter) but to tell the truth, their communication is near non-existent in any form I've ever tried so I haven't received a response.  If he was, it was most likely in the Prodigal Son graphic novel.

We open with a view of a dusty frontier town. This is Sunset Canyon, Colorado, and there's trouble in town. The lone rider comes into town to clean things up and we see him learn about the local ruffians terrifying the town...and then he himself is killed by something mysterious. His body is left to rot in the desert...where a wagon train passes it. "What's that, Pa?" a young boy asks. "Nothing we need to bother with," says a man. The man's name is Elias Kade...

Hard to imagine that he popped up in any of the other settings....

I'll probably continue getting these chronologically so it'll be a while before I reach that era.  Kade is an interesting character though and I hope there are plans to continue to show his impact throughout history.  His appearance in Intrinsic is encouraging along those lines.

From Gold to Grey

The following was posted on the True Patriot anthology Facebook page.

We're all about being Canadian, so J. Bone's Golden Owl has been renamed Grey Owl! Whatever you call our fine feathered friend, he looks great in colour...

Makes sense.  In fact, it's kind of surprising that no one has thought to name a Canadian superhero Grey Owl to this point (that I know of).  Here's part of the image being referred to:

That's J. Bone's work above.  That page is one of several preview images on that Facebook page.  If you plan to follow the progress of this book, which has a tentative release date of July 1st, that's the place from which to do it. 

Here's another piece, this time by Tom Fowler, featuring several other characters from the book.

Left to right, we have Dominion Jack, Raven Girl and The Red Ensign.

This thing can't hit my mailbox fast enough.

Red Leaf Comics Presents...

...quite a bit of material in the coming days, it would appear...

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned that Red Leaf Comics had sent me a digital copy of The Leaf #4.  The above is a panel from that issue.  I'd meant to talk about the book in greater detail but got sidetracked, so here it is.

What struck me while reading it was the character's growth into his role between the 3rd issue, in which The Leaf's career begins, and this one.  Michael McSorly has still only been a crime-fighter for a few weeks by this point.  He's more comfortable...but still has some doubts. He's building something of a network of helpers...including one that appears prepared to force his way into the operation. His world is quickly becoming more fully developed.

My exposure to this character has been quite staggered.  He (and the golden age version of the character) has appeared in a number of books by other publishers, usually in short stories.  I tracked those down while waiting for issue #4 to be available.  Reading them between issues of the ongoing series has helped "sell" his increased comfort level in #4 to me.  Essentially, it felt like watching him gain the experience that has led to his increased confidence in #4.

Getting a hold of those shorts is far easier now.  Red Leaf has collected them in a #0 issue,  packaging them with several pin-ups of the character.  It's interesting to see The Leaf evolve from the early stories in issue #0 to his most recent release.

Red Leaf is in the middle of a rather prolific spell; they have also re-released Red Leaf Comics Presents #1.  That book features three short stories of the Golden Age Leaf, one of which guest-stars Jill Canada, with a new cover (seen at right).

My exposure to Jill Canada has been limited, but I've enjoyed her few appearances and have been anticipating more.  Sounds like the wait will be paying off soon.

Jill will play an important part in the main story of the fifth issue of The Leaf (expected to be available late this month or early next).  Also, The Mountie Brigade will debut in the first of four four-page installments.  The Brigade continues the legacy of the McSorly family as mounted policeman Angus McSorly faces danger during a posting to Mars Dome One in 2125.  Click the "Mountie Brigade" tag below to see preview art of that story in an earlier post. The entire book will be in full-colour.

The second issue of Red Leaf Comics Presents is also on the way, the entire content of which takes place during WW2.  I've been generously provided with a look at one of the covers for that book, which I'm all too happy to share (at left).  Obviously, Jill and the Golden Age Leaf are the main event, but a Man-Fish creature from Eastern Canada will also make its first appearance.

Plenty of Canadian characters in action over at Red Leaf.  Their DriveThru store, for digital purchases, can be reached through this link. Print versions can also be obtained from IndyPlanet.

ICYMI Art: Nelvana by Adriana Blake

As ever, it's difficult to judge just how much someone's work has been seen.  It's particularly so in this case as this image was shared on Twitter by Hope Nicholson, associate producer on the upcoming Lost Heroes documentary.  It may be that very few people interested in the character have NOT seen it.

Doesn't really matter, because I'm sucker for anything Nelvana.  :-)  Adriana explains the inspiration for the piece on her tumblr.  Give the image a click to be taken that page.

Tags: Red Leaf Comics, Heroes of the North, are "it".

As I write this, the most "tagged" publisher in the past year and change of posting about Canadian heroic character types is Marvel Comics with a healthy 26.  That's hardly surprising; Marvel has an all-Canadian superhero team.  They often treat them like moose shit, mind you, but they still have them, as well as several other Canadian characters that aren't necessarily connected.

Next up is DC Comics with 17 tags.  A significant portion of those were the result of trying to change the "DC has no Canadian characters" perception.  They actually have several, though they have little connection to one another and are seldom used.

Next up?  Red Leaf Comics with 12.  Heroes of the North have the same number under the characters/titles category.

For a company based out of Arizona, I sure do talk about Red Leaf a lot, eh?  The reason why is actually quite simple: They make it easy to.  And it's something a lot of small publishers could learn.

The most frustrating thing about trying to be supportive of smaller publishers is when they won't "let" you.  For example, I recently wrote to two Canadians to ask if the publisher they were presently working for/with had other Canadian talent on board.  One didn't respond, the other confirmed there are others but didn't elaborate (the response was about five words long).

Also fairly recently, I offered to buy one publisher's entire line of books if they could give me a grand total price which includes shipping.  I never received a final answer, so that money remains unspent.

What does Red Leaf do differently?  A few days ago, publisher John Michael Helmer provided a digital copy of The Leaf #4 for me before it becomes available for purchase.  John has nothing to lose; I'll buy the print version regardless.  I've also received preview art from Red Leaf in the past.

Now I may not be able to provide John with a huge amount of exposure in return, but there's also no sense (from his perspective) in leaving stones unturned.  Some publishers get this, others don't.  Heroes of the North are friggin' unbelievable at it.  They manage social media as well as anyone I've seen.  Nearly 5000 Facebook fans and almost 30,000 Twitter followers speaks for itself.  They engage their fan base by making them feel appreciated and involved.  A few months ago they asked their fans to come up with names for characters based out of specific provinces, and to vote on uniform designs.  That's fun for fans.

Another example?  Andrew Lorenz over at September 17th Productions has sent me preview art for his Legacy book.  I haven't bought a single thing from this guy, he just appreciates that I'm interested and wants to keep that interest up.  Imagine that concept.

A few months ago I joked with Charlie McElvie, father of the Watchguard Universe, that if he made a Les Superieurs t-shirt available, I'd buy it.  So what did he do?  The obvious.  He called me on it.  Charlie made the shirt available, I bought it. What did this cost Charlie?  Judging from how fast he had the Supérieurs logo up on RedBubble, a few minutes tops.

I'm not sitting here begging for people to kiss up to me.  I know full well that being talked about on this blog is the furthest thing from instant fame and success.

But when you are in a position of selling a product, take any and every opportunity to be seen and talked about, no matter how small.  You never know what it could turn into.  Ignoring or overlooking interest is no way to sell your product.