A Can-Con look at Astonishing X-Men #49

Every attempt will be made to keep this a spoiler-free zone.

This book is similar in almost every way to the previous issue.  The only difference is that the action takes place in the middle pages rather than at the end.  Northstar again appears in a near-future scene over the first four pages and we spend the rest of the issue still catching up to that point (but we're not there yet).  Not every one likes that but personally I have no objection to that kind of story-telling.

I'm still not crazy about this book overall though.

I buy it for Northstar specifically and he feels out of character to me.  I have no idea what he's doing with this bunch.  For that matter, I have no idea what the team is together for.  They feel like random characters thrown together.  Maybe all will be made clear later but there's no real indication of that.

They were attacked at Gambit's place after which Northstar apparently agrees to help some of the others track down who did it.

Why?  He has no reason to think that he (or Kyle) was specifically a target.  He didn't even want to be there, he was dragged by Wolverine.  He has no problem telling Alpha Flight to go to hell.  But his relationship with the X-Men is so much better that he'd look into who blew up Gambit's condo?  Hasn't he been trying to avoid this lifestyle for years?

And of course, we get what appears to be a mandatory four-page declaration of love between Kyle and Northstar.  I don't mind romance in a book but this one is so over-played that it's nauseating.

Also, whether you consider it a plus or a minus, Wolverine is still not particularly prominent and in fact, when you do see him in a fight scene and are actually able to determine what he's doing, he's getting punked by a couple of d-list'ers.

I'm going to make my way through the first storyline regardless but will not make an effort to keep up beyond that if the book remains little more than an advertisement for Marvel's new-found tolerance and if the book exists just to have another X-book out there.  It may be that the team's purpose was defined earlier and I just missed it because I don't buy 20 x-books a month, but that doesn't help me enjoy this one any more.

Trapped on IndyPlanet, part 3: Group of Seven

This is the last part of this unfortunate series involving books I can not purchase from IndyPlanet, though if my memory is sound Group of Seven is the first book that caught my eye when surfing the site.

As it should.  Check out the cover to #1.   If you're looking for books with Canadian characters, these guys would be hard to miss.

There are two issues of this book available...I guess.  There's a bit of an oddity here in that IndyPlanet offers issues one and three.  #2 is nowhere to be found.

And I mean nowhere.  I've been all over that Google thingy and can not find a website specific to this book, its publisher and/or its creator(s).  It's weird.  My first thought was that creator/writer/illustrator Reg Steacy simply lost interest, but issue 3 was added to IndyPlanet in October of last year.  That's not so long ago, so it doesn't appear to be the case.

I did find a website for Brown Paper Bag Comics which is maintained by a friend of Mr Stacey's named Daniel Barclay.  I have written to him so perhaps he can help Mr Stacey and me connect.

Let's take a look at the solicitation:

With the mysterious return of Canada’s founding father, John A. Macdonald, Canada is elevated to a new age of independent national growth, bringing with it a heightened sense of unrest. There have been many assassination attempts on the Prime Minister’s life as a result of his revolutionary agendas. Many of these attacks have employed super-humans, resulting in the government’s ever growing dependency on Canada’s Premier Super Team, The True North Guardians. However, while an appointed meeting between the Prime Minister and the Maple Leaf takes place to discuss the growing superhuman threats, The True North Guardians are eliminated in one fell swoop. Witness the birth of a new age of heroes, from the ashes of the old.

The Group of Seven is a Canadian Superhero Comic Book set to unfold in 7 Acts. Its narrative structure is unique in so far as each issue (or act) contains three scenes, 7 pages in length, with character biographies separating each scene. These biographies serve a dual function; they provide a rich tapestry of back-story in an immediate and effective manner, and these back-stories serve as direct lead -ins, which relate to the conflicts, situations, and character motivations, at hand.

While the lady in front and center is an eye-grabber, I'm actually kind of curious about Prairies Boy (huh...that's probably not his real name...) over on the right. That's an unusual look and I'd like to know what his abilities are.

The lady in the middle, however, is an art submission contest just begging to happen.  I'd love to see what a variety of illustrators come up with using only the image above as inspiration.

Trapped on IndyPlanet, part 2: THUNDER

While being unable to order from IndyPlanet has been frustrating, I have to admit to being grateful for having been introduced to Canadian characters, creators and/or publishers through their listings. That is how I first found Thunder and with this book we get the triple-crown.

Let's check out the sales pitch:

A terrorist is threatening to blow up a dam. Out of nowhere comes THUNDER, a flying man who can throw lightning bolts. Who is this supernatural stranger? Meet Devon Wells, a polite Canadian man with a half-mortal, half-god heritage, trying to find his way in the world-- which involves technological armor, old gods, magical powers, computer geeks and aliens!

Half-mortal, half Norse God, Devon Wells returns home to Canada after a youth spent in Asgard and steps onto the path to becoming a hero.

A polite Canadian?  Is that not redundant? ;-)

This book is a Two Gargoyles Graphics production, based out of Calgary.  Thunder seems to be something of a departure for them when compared to some of their other titles like...huh...Diaperman and The Spanker. (???)

Peculiarly, there is no link to this series on the company's website. They do have a dedicated page but it is somewhat hidden, for some reason (probably just that the site is due for an update).

And of course one of the "gargs" (Michael McAdam) has a deviantart page.  Check that out for some preview art as well as the cover to #2.

They're fairly active on their Facebook page, the link to which is provided on the front page of their website.

Trapped on IndyPlanet, part 1: Team North America

In the post about the Legion Unleashed books, I mentioned struggling with ordering from indyplanet.com. 

Unfortunately, Legion Unleashed was not the only book I've been unable to buy (whether in print or digitally) from that site.  Another series of book that drew my attention some time back on that site were the Argo Comics Anthologies.

Argo comics are based in New York (I believe) and appear to have a very varied cast, in terms of nationalities if nothing else.  Here is a portion of the solicitation for their first anthology book:

In this issue mythological beasts are on the loose in Brazil and England and the Impact heroes from Germany, England, USA, Greece, Russia, Brazil, Japan, Italy, India, and France unite to face the threats head on!

Ooh!  Do I dare dream that their line will include Canadian characters??

Sho' Nuff!  Here is the beginning of the solicitation for the 3rd Anthology.

Canadians, Americans, Mexicans, and Central Americans unite as we ask the question, "Are demons unfairly treated?". Find out as we meet the super-team known as Team North America.

I have been asking myself for YEARS whether demons were unfairly treated so it's comforting to know that someone can finally provide me with the answer.  ;-)

The only potential drawback is that with three stories, several pin-ups, etc, the actual Canadian content may not be great.  Regardless, I've been able to reach Argo Comics, and they're making an effort to get their product out to me directly, so I feel compelled to support them.

Something else which may be of interest is a contest over at deviantart.com in which the winner gets his or her character published in one of the Argo books.  Check that out right here.  Pretty cool idea.

I think this one will ultimately work out and I hope to be ble to say more about Team North America in a few weeks.

Mountie Madness part 3: Space Mounties

French is my first language and like many for whom that happens to be true, I grew up reading Asterix, Tintin, Lucky Luke, etc.  Those books managed to be both fun and educational.

This one...maybe not so much.

I wonder if, as I learn more about Mounties in literature, I'll be able to see a clear turning point when they went from respected lawbringers like King and Preston in the 50's to a silly joke.

Not that I don't love the idea of Mounties in space.  What's not to love about that??!

But this book just sounds lousy.  To recap the recap, Marcus Brodie and Gordon MacPherson are two irredeemable slackers who are shipped off to a strange planet by their asshole superior. They arrive to find out that their primary function will be to deliver the mail.  They also find out that their predecessors all died in mysterious ways, then get themselves into hilarious shenanigans, each situation wackier than the last!

Here's a sample page:

Meh.  It doesn't appear to be very good and therefore as though it was very successful. Only three books were released, the first in 2001, the last in 2004.  Nothing since.

But coming across this reminded me of another option that I had totally forgotten:  Superspace.

Remember the ending to Captain Canuck: Unholy War #4, or rather the four page preview at the end?  That Captain Canuck (David Semple), after giving up his mask and returning to mountie work "full time" was abducted by a spaceship.

The ensuing story was told over eight webisodes.  They are still available on the Hot Hail Comics site and were created by the primary people behind CCUW, Riel and Dru Langlois, as well as a few others including Myles Langlois.

There is another title named Apollo Gauntlet available as well but I admit to not being familiar with that one.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to have been much activity from Hot Hail in the past three years or so as many of the site's pages are dead or blank.  I do know that Dru Langlois drew the cover to the third issue of Red Leaf Comics' The Leaf last year but I have not found any recent work by Riel.

If anyone is aware of any additional work being done by the Langlois's in this field, I'd appreciate being directed to it.

Spring Vacation Reading, part 3: Legion Unleashed

Finally...Legion Unleashed!

This is one of the books that caused me to start this blog.  It was the discovery of Legion Unleashed and the Red Leaf Comics line which made me realise, appreciate, and wish to share that there are Canadian superhero comics options out there.

It has taken me a little while to obtain them.  My plan was to wait for print versions but the only opportunity to do so to this point was through IndyPlanet and I struggle to order from them.

However, creator and writer Richard Evans recently offered the first two issues as pdf files for $1 each so I happily took advantage.  If you'd like to as well, while the offer stands, click the above and select the "buy now" button rather than the Graphically link.

A few things that stood out to me:

For the most part, these are not the "typical" Canadian characters.  Off the top of my head, I can not think of many Canadian superheroes with stretching powers like Plasti-Girl.  I can not think of an archer, especially one with enhanced speed like The Arrow.  The flag-waiver is a standard but the one in this book (Black Flag), as I've mentioned before, reminds me in appearance to The Authority's Midnighter.

Without giving anything away, the choice of antagonists in issue two is...unpredictable.

Combining the "extras" in these two issues with the Handbook to the Canadian Legion material, it is quite clear that the surface is barely scratched in terms of the stories Evans wants to tell.  These characters (including the villains) have deep backgrounds that have yet to be revealed. And there are many more characters to be revealed as well.

Let's give a little nod for customer service.  My copy of issue #1 had a couple of pages out of order.  No big deal, it wasn't during a key point of the story.  But evidently Richard noticed and contacted me to provide me with a corrected version of the book.  I wouldn't have said anything so the gesture was appreciated.

All told, a great addition to the TSOG library.  When #3 is available, it won't take me so damn long to add it to the collection.

Spring Vacation Reading part 2: Weapon-X The Underground TPB

I began picking up Weapon-X issues on the cheap for the simple reason that the series involves several Canadian characters, good and bad, including a few members of Alpha Flight.

I started with the Aurora and Wild Child "draft" issue, then gradually acquired issues 1-5 (The Hunt for Sabretooth) of the regular series.  I stopped by Silver Snail in Ottawa earlier in the week and, as they tend to sell their graphic novels at 20% of the U.S. price, could not resist getting The Underground.  It collects issues 6-13 of the series in one relatively inexpensive shot.

Is it any good?  Well, it depends...

If you're a big Alpha Flight fan, you likely already know all about the series.  Let's assume you are, but that you don't.

Will you get to see some of those characters that you love?  Sure!  In addition to the two named above, Madison Jeffries also appears.  He is not seen often, mind you, but his role is quite significant.

You just may not like what you see.

Keeping things relatively spoiler-free (and starting with the draft issue), Aurora starts as a drooling vegetable that the program attempts to rehab.  She is physically brutalized on two occasions.  Wild Child is little more than a recipient of both physical and mental abuse, depending on who happens to do the abusing.  Madison Jeffries is essentially brainwashed into assisting the Weapon-X program to commit atrocities.  Diamond Lil has a cameo...in which she is beaten into submission.  That's a lot of abuse to witness in only 14 issues.

So there are plenty of Canadian characters featured (Garrison Kane, while not a personal favourite, is another).  The story has a number of surprises, twists, betrayals, etc.  On that basis, I personally enjoyed the book a lot.

But if you are attached to these characters, you certainly won't see them in their best light.

Spring Vacation Reading, part 1: Night Raven

"Where brooding darkness spreads its evil wings
the Night Raven stings"

I've been off all week, with very little to do (exactly as I wanted it) so I devoted a fair amount of my free time to this little hobby in particular.  I got lucky in that some of the reading material I ordered by mail arrived early in the week.

The first of those is Night Raven: The Collected Stories.

This book came out in 1990.  I used to see it on the shelf all the time, wondering where this character came from and how he earned, for lack of a better term, a graphic novel.

Well, the literal answer is that he came from England.  He appeared in 3-page installments Marvel UK's Hulk Magazine.  This is a compilation of 20 such installments.

I thought it would be awkward to read in that format, but that is not the case at all.  The book contains seven chapters.  The first two are three pages each.  The other five vary in page count (in multiples of three, obviously), but even though they were originally told three pages at a time, the flow of the stories is still perfectly smooth.

Credit for that goes to British writer Steve Parkhouse.  The bulk of the art was handled by David Lloyd (including the cover painting) with John Bolton contributing his own considerable talents for chapter seven.

So...How is any of this Canadian?  From reading this book, you'd have no idea.  In fact, you'd have no idea who he is or why he does what he does.

He appeared on a Google search for Canadian comic book characters, which led me to this oustanding fan page, which in turn states "The man who would become known as Night Raven was born in southern Alberta, Canada in 1900."

I want to avoid reading too much about him from that page because I fully intend to get my hands on the other graphic novel, House of Cards.  Presumably his background is detailed in that book.  There have been Night Raven text stories written as well but that I know of, they have not been collected in one volume so acquiring them may prove to be tricky.

In 1995, Night Raven appeared as a supporting character in the Black Widow / Nick Fury graphic Novel called Death Duty, indicating that he is a part of the "mainstream" Marvel Universe.

A four issue mini-series called "Nocturne" came out later that same year involving this character but from what little I've been able to piece together without potentially spoiling it for myself, it seems like a re-write of the character that shows no indication of being a part of the Marvel Universe.

These books are very much worthwhile if you are a fan of characters like The Shadow, The Spider and/or The Green Hornet.  I wouldn't recommend Night Raven on a "Can-con" basis, and there's no real cause to assume that we'll be seeing new adventures from him any time soon, but I would definitely recommend him to anyone who enjoys good "noir" stories.

Mountie Madness part 2: Sergeant Preston of the Yukon

Earlier this week, my surprise at discovering the extent of the popularity achieved by Mountie characters in the 30's to the 50's led to this post about King of the Royal Mounted.

King was a big deal to be sure, but if another mountie could make him cry "uncle" in terms of capturing the public's attention, it would be Sergeant William Preston of the Yukon.  Arguably.

Originally titled "Challenge of the Yukon", Preston's adventures began as a radio show in early 1938 which lasted until 1955, at which point the television series began.

Despite having been on the air for over a decade, the show's name was only changed to Sergeant Preston of the Yukon in 1951 (which is also when the comic book began being published by Dell)...and therein lies the challenge I had with this character.

There's some question as to whether Preston really WAS the star of the show.  It appears that the intent was for Preston's dog, Yukon King, to do the bulk of the work.  Some of the comic book covers seem to support this...

...as does this page about the show.

Be that as it may, Preston (and his horse Rex completing the crime-fighting trifecta) was still a big deal.  29 issues of his comic book were published until its end, as well as the TV show's, in 1958.  Along the way, Preston appeared in puzzles, a board game, and a number of giveaways as a result of a sponsorship agreement with Quaker Oats.

Entire episodes of the TV program are available on youtube, and can be purchased on DVD, but for kicks, here is the 1955 intro.

Runabout of the WatchGuard universe

Diggin' the character design below.  It was (still is, I guess...) located in a message board post related to a role-playing game called Mutants and Masterminds.

Sneak peek at new art for an upcoming WG supplement!!
Sponsored by the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command's metahuman task force (Designate: M) in Quebec, and HQ'd in Manitoba, this is an elite, military-based & led, metahuman special missions force operating within the WatchGuard Universe. More to come on these guys soon!!

"Runabout", art & design by Kevin Sharpe, inks by Troy Zurel, Colors by Eddy Swan.

Glad Charlie McElvy didn't call him Runaboot. :-/

It is still a little unclear to me whether Watchguard is "only" a supplement to a role-playing game or that and also an actual comic book yet to be produced.  A website called watchguardcomic.com would seem to indicate that the latter is part of the overall plan but for the moment at least there is no such material available.

Runabout isn't included on the sourcebook cover, and the description above makes him/them sound like his/their appearances will be occasional, so we'll keep him/them in the "prospect(s)" category for now.

If you want to have a look at some of the other characters in the WatchGuard universe, these t-shirt designs make for a good sampler.  Runabout would look good on a red background, eh?

Captain Canuck Reborn! Huh...Another time!

Locating the rather dynamic image below is once again the result of fortuitous surfing.
 

It appears on this deviant page under Devin Jasztrab's (Dev7n) profile .  A closer look at the credits was interesting.

Page that i hope to be coloring for new Captain Canuck comic book coming out late 2012 early 2013!

To see some of my work visit my DeviantART page at: [link]

To see some of Christians work visit: [link]

Drawing By: Christian Comely
Inked By: Christian Comely

This isn't the first that I hear of this project.  Christian Comely (son of Captain Canuck creator Richard, natch) first started writing about in 2008.  I would check in from time to time, but after almost two years without updates, I assumed he'd lost interest and/or was unable to come up with a final product which he found satisfying.

Whatever the cause, apparently the break did him some good as he recently threw down a number of posts about a variety of topics (characters, script, etc) over the course of the past few weeks.  It sounds like the project is back on and I look forward to seeing it take shape.

Mountie Madness part 1

When you take some time to research Canadian comic book characters from the 40's, you quickly come to realise that you can't swing a dead beaver without hitting a mountie.

What is somewhat surprising is that some of the most prominent characters were created by non-Canadians.  One in particular, (Dave) King of the Royal Mounted, first saw the light of day in 1935 as a weekly newspaper strip.  He is the creation of New York'er Stephen Slesinger.  King went on to appear in daily strips, books and movies and had a number of comics published by Dell, the final issue of which came out in 1958.

I've been able to locate and download most of the issues (I believe there are 28 in total).  Those that I've read to this point contain murder mystery stories.  Throughout, King is helped by a kid named...huh...Kid, whom I suspect is deliberately left a relatively blank slate so that the reader can visualize himself in the story in his place.

Dave King was not a superhero but then, neither was Johnny Canuck.  So as a change of pace, from time to time such characters will be given their little spotlight here as an acknowledgement of their place in Canadian comic history (or at least, that of Canadian characters).

Gryfalcon by Red Leaf Comics

Happy Easter, fellow fans of Canadian comics!

What am I doing on here on Easter morning?  Well, my fantastic wife is making brownies so the most logical course of action is to get out of the way and let the magic happen.  There's no way that my presence will lead to a better result, but plenty of potential for my presence to cause profanity, so I'm in another room, workin' the blog.

Prior to that, I spent a couple of minutes reading a digital comic that I purchased a few days ago from Red Leaf Comics.

I had seen Sky Watchers in their online store before but was not drawn to what appeared to be a sci-fi anthology.  Not that it look to be a bad product at all, it's just not my thing.

However, one of the variant covers featured a superhero named Gryfalcon that seemed to be more along the lines of what I look for.  I bought and downloaded Sky Watchers #1 to see if Gryfalcon was the TSOG type.  He absolutely is.

Gryfalcon's adventures (which, by the way, take place in North Bay) are written by Canadian Dino Caruso.  If you're not familiar with Mr Caruso, here is an interview he did with Red Leaf publisher John Michael Helmer last year in which they discuss his past work.  Mr Caruso also has a website of his own which includes a link to a regularly-updated blog.

Sky Watchers #1 only features five pages of Gryfalcon material, but that material is part one of four.  Working out that complex math in my head, I would assume (and hope) that we can expect a compilation at some point.  I would love to get my hands on a print version of Gryfalcon #1.

Orion Magazine online

Ugh.  I'd been looking for this for some time, then totally stumbled into it while mentionning Mark Shainblum in the Captain Canuck Easter eggs post.  While I'm happy to find it, there's an underlying frustration caused by wondering why I had such difficulty doing so when I was actually searching for it.

Nonetheless...For those who are unfamiliar with it, I can't add much more of an introduction to Orion Magazine (The Canadian Magazine of Time and Space) than what is already said on this page.  It should be pointed out that while issues three to eight are available, most (all?) of the material from the first two issues is included among those six.

I first began looking for Orion  (and failing) when I heard of a character named Canadiana appearing prominently within its pages.  I later found another source from which to enjoy that character's short-lived adventures so gave up the search.

I'm pleased to have ultimately located Orion anyway because it includes additional Canadiana material, as well as some of the Captain Canuck newspaper strip.  I haven't checked yet to see if the strips are the same that are provided with the collected edition of the Captain's book, but if not, it helps complete the collection.

The magazines also feature interviews with creators such as Marv Wolfman and William Gibson, articles, reviews, etc.  If you didn't know about it, I'm sure you'll find it a nice addition to your Canadian comics resources.

Captain Canuck Easter Eggs

These may not qualify as Easter Eggs in the "hidden treat" sense because they only became treats over time.

Captain Canuck is often referred to as an inspiration for many comic book creators.  The series itself reveals just how true that is as several of the letters or fan art on display were submitted by people who went on to make their own mark in the field.  Let's have a look...

• Captain Canuck #4:  Matthew Paine of Brandon, Manitoba, submits a picture of a character called Black Corsair.

I believe that's the same Matthew Paine went on to work as a colourist, mostly for Marvel comics.  I am not entirely certain that it's the same person as the bio linked displays a different home town but it seems to fit.  Paine would have been about 19 at the time that  CC4 came out.

• Captain Canuck #7: Mark Shainblum of Montreal, Quebec, appears in the letters page.

Certainly "sounds" like the Mark Shainblum that went on to write Northguard, among others.  The letter touches on religion, the holocaust and politics, all subject touched upon in Northguard and (quite obviously in the case of politics) Angloman (Ha!  Bob Ray!  Good one!).

• Captain Canuck #8: Geoff Isherwood of Montreal, Quebec, contributes to the gallery.

And these days, he contributes to Heroes of the North.  The only thing that causes me some doubt here is that he has spelled his name with one "f" for quite some time now.  My guess is that there's an error in the Captain Canuck comic.

I've linked it before, but a pretty thorough review of his career is included here.  Not mentioned is a plot and design assist credit for the first chapter of Northguard.

I include the Jamie Grummett drawing as well because I believe he is the brother of DC and Marvel penciller Tom Grummett.

• Captain Canuck #9: John Bell of Halifax, Nova Scotia, is printed in the letters page.

And one John Bell, born in Montreal but "with roots in Halifax", wrote a great deal of historical reference material in regards to Canadian comics, including one that is seemingly linked on every single page having anything to do with Canadian comics.  Check the "sources" link on that page for more details.

Mr Bell also contributed the foreword to the Northguard graphic novel.  That thing apparently became an all-star team for Captain Canuck fans.

I may be wrong about some of these, and it's even more likely that I did not recognize the name of someone in one of the Captain Canuck comics who went on to a publishing-based career of his or her own.  If that's the case, I'm open to corrections/additions.

"In Case You Missed It", Art Edition, Volume One, Part Two

If you've already viewed "part one" and surfed around a bit, you've likely come across this gem from Geoff Isherwood.  Not only do we get more Captain Canuck goodness, but Commander Steel is featured this time.

Title:     Standard Comics Team-Up #180 - Cyborilla, Captain Canuck, Commander Steel
Artist:     Geof Isherwood (Penciller)
Artist:     Geof Isherwood (Inker)
Media Type:     Pen and Ink

Full credits and description

Commander Steel hasn't had a lot of face time here yet, simply because I don't know all that much about him, but I look forward to learning more.  He is, for those who are not familiar with him, one of the many 40's era characters that still captures the imagination today, though doesn't quite get the "publicity" that Nelvana and Johnny Canuck do.  He was included in Ty Templeton's Northern Guard book that came out in late 2010 (issue one) and early 2011 (issue two).

Geoff Isherwood is a contributor to the Heroes of the North.  Here is his "tag" on their blog.  Scroll down to the cover for Medusa.  How friggin' great is that??

Edit, April 13th:  The black and white version that was posted up until today has been replaced by one coloured by Christopher Ivy.  Here is the page for that version.

"In Case You Missed It", Art Edition, Volume One, Part One

The artwork below was a commission piece done by John Byrne.  It was posted on Comic Art Fans in 2008, but only has a little over 1000 views, so in case there are people out there who would enjoy it but may not have happened across it, I thought it was worth spotlighting.

Click here to be taken to the page from which it was copied.

Title:     Captain Canuck Defeats the Red Skull 1 Artist:     John Byrne (Penciller) Artist:     John Byrne (Inker) Media Type:     Pen and Ink I'll admit that I'm not Mr Byrne's biggest fan, but damn how I love this piece!  I'll spend the rest of my life wishing that the 0.0000000000001% chance that a graphic novel comes of it becomes reality.