In my first post, I mention having looked for alternatives to Alpha Flight following the recent end of that series. One of the options I came across while working my way through the Canada-specific page of the International Heroes website was the Canadian Legion .
Said to be published by Arcana, I checked if the book(s) could be purchased from them, but the title was not listed among a very extensive list. Then, on a message board, I saw a reference to a Canadian Legion graphic novel, but any time I would find a listing for it, it was said to be sold out. That is, until I saw one reference to it being "delayed".
Eventually, I landed on something called Legion Unleashed. It looked like the same characters, but I didn't want to buy the sequel before the original, and Unleashed appeared to be exactly that.
I contacted writer Richard Evans and he was kind enough to respond quickly. He explained that the plans for the graphic novel have been dropped. The books will be released individually instead. At the moment, they can be downloaded from Graphicly, however print versions will be available soon.
Looking forward to it. Hell, I would get it for that #2 tribute cover alone. ;-) It came as something of a surprise as I've seen some criticism of Mr Evans on Alpha Flight creator John Byrne's forum for having made negative (or at least perceived as such) comments about that team.
Find out more about the Canadian Legion Universe on (one of) Mr Evans' blog.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Who you WON'T read about on TSOG.
At least not very much.
Wolverine. Did you know he was Canadian? ;-) You can't swing a dead cat around (at least in a comic store) without hitting a book that features Wolverine. There doesn't seem to be much point in trying to draw attention to his appearances, especially when these guys seem to do a great job of it anyway. And if I tried to keep up with all the books he's in, I'd be homeless. So I'll pay attention to Wolverine when he happens to interact with other Canadian characters but otherwise, I'll largely ignore him.
Deadpool. Well, for one thing there appears to be some confusion as to whether he's even Canadian. If he is, it doesn't seem to be (from my limited exposure to him) particularly noteworthy to his overall character. Plus, one of the first books I bought as a collector was a New Teen Titans issue where the character he's ripped off from became a favourite of mine, so I can't get into this idiotic version.
We're going to make a rare exception today just as we set the ground rules...
...but it's not going to be regular occurrence.
Wolverine. Did you know he was Canadian? ;-) You can't swing a dead cat around (at least in a comic store) without hitting a book that features Wolverine. There doesn't seem to be much point in trying to draw attention to his appearances, especially when these guys seem to do a great job of it anyway. And if I tried to keep up with all the books he's in, I'd be homeless. So I'll pay attention to Wolverine when he happens to interact with other Canadian characters but otherwise, I'll largely ignore him.
Deadpool. Well, for one thing there appears to be some confusion as to whether he's even Canadian. If he is, it doesn't seem to be (from my limited exposure to him) particularly noteworthy to his overall character. Plus, one of the first books I bought as a collector was a New Teen Titans issue where the character he's ripped off from became a favourite of mine, so I can't get into this idiotic version.
We're going to make a rare exception today just as we set the ground rules...
...but it's not going to be regular occurrence.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
They Stand on Guard!
I'm afraid I don't have much of an origin story. I'm Canadian and I like Canadian super-heroes!
I started collecting comics as a kid in the early 80's, maybe late 70's, but I've been reading them for as long as I can remember. My first exposure was to black and white French reprints of Spider-Man, Captain America and the Fantastic Four.
I do recall getting Captain Canuck #4...
...seemingly the starting point for many Captain fans, for some reason. My grasp of the English language (being my second language) was not far along at that point so I struggled to follow the story but I thought the art was cool and enjoyed having a Canadian version of Captain America, even at that age (about 10 or so).
Finding subsequent issues of Captain Canuck proved difficult but before long, Alpha Flight appeared on the scene. I picked up the first few issues of their ongoing series, but looking back, I was too young to appreciate them. I was into the Vindicator character but disappointed when he was killed off (little did I know then that he would be resurrected four or five times). From time to time I would get curious about the team again, but they were so badly mishandled that I would invariably lose interest. Fortunately most recent appearances have been more respectful.
During Alpha's long stretches of craptitude, I scratched the patriotic hero itch by finding the rest of the Captain Canuck books and enjoyed them a great deal. I also collected the Northguard books and eventually the "west" version of the Captain.
I read the final issue of the most recent incarnation of Alpha Flight yesterday. Since it's looking like the last appearance of this bunch for a while, I decided to look around a bit for options.
I stumbled into Red Leaf Comics and first heard about something called the Canadian Legion. Then I remembered a mini series called Northern Guard that I began picking up a few months back, as well as the announcement of the Heroes of the North getting picked up by Ardden. It struck me that there are options out there if you're willing to seek them out.
This blog will serve as my personal notebook as I grow and/or organize my collection. Sometimes I'll post about (much) older books that I'm finally getting my hands on, or that I haven't touched in years, other times about new releases, or reprints.
Bottom line, I'll post whatever comes to mind about Canadian superhero characters and if others happen to share the interest, all the better!
I started collecting comics as a kid in the early 80's, maybe late 70's, but I've been reading them for as long as I can remember. My first exposure was to black and white French reprints of Spider-Man, Captain America and the Fantastic Four.
I do recall getting Captain Canuck #4...
...seemingly the starting point for many Captain fans, for some reason. My grasp of the English language (being my second language) was not far along at that point so I struggled to follow the story but I thought the art was cool and enjoyed having a Canadian version of Captain America, even at that age (about 10 or so).
Finding subsequent issues of Captain Canuck proved difficult but before long, Alpha Flight appeared on the scene. I picked up the first few issues of their ongoing series, but looking back, I was too young to appreciate them. I was into the Vindicator character but disappointed when he was killed off (little did I know then that he would be resurrected four or five times). From time to time I would get curious about the team again, but they were so badly mishandled that I would invariably lose interest. Fortunately most recent appearances have been more respectful.
During Alpha's long stretches of craptitude, I scratched the patriotic hero itch by finding the rest of the Captain Canuck books and enjoyed them a great deal. I also collected the Northguard books and eventually the "west" version of the Captain.
I read the final issue of the most recent incarnation of Alpha Flight yesterday. Since it's looking like the last appearance of this bunch for a while, I decided to look around a bit for options.
I stumbled into Red Leaf Comics and first heard about something called the Canadian Legion. Then I remembered a mini series called Northern Guard that I began picking up a few months back, as well as the announcement of the Heroes of the North getting picked up by Ardden. It struck me that there are options out there if you're willing to seek them out.
This blog will serve as my personal notebook as I grow and/or organize my collection. Sometimes I'll post about (much) older books that I'm finally getting my hands on, or that I haven't touched in years, other times about new releases, or reprints.
Bottom line, I'll post whatever comes to mind about Canadian superhero characters and if others happen to share the interest, all the better!
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