One Year In

It's been a little over a year since I started this blog as a notebook of sorts with which I could track, and support, Canadian comic book characters.

It's been interesting and educational.  The Canadian comic industry is both in better and worse condition than I thought at the time.

On the upside, I discovered a lot of new (to me) talent and that's been fun.  I've also met (online, anyway) quite a few people with a similar interest, which is encouraging.

On the downside, that "new" talent does not seem to be supported particularly well at home.  Unless appearances are deceiving, there are at least a couple of good-sized publishers in Canada (another "plus" that I wasn't really aware of), but their "Can-Con" is actually quite limited, both in terms of characters and creators.

Meanwhile, it doesn't get much more Canadian than Heroes of the North, yet their comics are published through New York-based Ardden Entertainment.  And why could a project like Northern Guard not be published by Canadians?

So Canadian publishers don't publish Canadian characters, and Canadian characters, for the most part, must be self-published or published by American companies. The more examples of this I came across, the less I understood it.

Now I do understand that I am on the outside looking in.  Truthfully, I suspect there's an aspect to this that is obvious to those "in the business" that I'm totally missing.  Someone "inside" will read this and think I'm pathetically uninformed.  Truthfully, that person will be correct.

And of course this isn't the case across the board.  There are anthology books (see True Patriot and Masked Mosaic at right) planned that will be "All-Canadian" that I'm very much looking forward to, for example.

But by and large, I expected that reading about Canadian characters meant supporting Canadian publishers and that has not been the case, for the most part.  It seems like it should be, but it isn't.

Maginnis of the Mounties

It's been a little over a year now since I began focusing on Canadian comic book characters and started this blog.  Maginnis is one of my most recent and surprising discoveries.

When posting about a book or character, I'm often concerned that I'm treating common knowledge as though I've broken the Da Vinci Code.  I've seen very little information about Maginnis so I don't believe that's the case here.

Maginnis first appeared in New Comics #4 in early 1936.  His adventures continued until the 12th issue of the book, at which point it changed names to New Adventure Comics.  New Comics was published by National Allied Publications, one of a number of companies that would eventually become DC Comics.

Maginnis' was tasked with travelling to "St. Pierre Country" for a little undercover work.  Trappers were being assaulted and robbed and Maginnis was to investigate the matter and put an end to it.

I've tried to get my hands on copies of this book online but have not been successful to this point.  However, the DC Comics Artists site provides a scan of the first page of the story which I've copied below.

DCmania offers a more detailed synopsis of Maginnis' adventure and I need to express some gratitude towards ecksearoh.com for making me aware if the character through this blog post.

Files of Number None

The Masked Mosaic and True Patriot anthologies have gathered a little more press to this point, but Vancouver publisher Cloudscape Comics continues to work on an anthology of their own.

Cloudscape recently announced an interesting feature for their book, open to people who may want to contribute.  The full version of the blog post is located here, but the bulk of the information is copied below.

The final section of the book is to be the “Number None Files,” the supposed files of Number None, a fictional division of the Canadian government that monitors superhumans. This section would include bios of various superheroes and supervillains, in the manner of “DC’s Who’s Who”...

Your character can be a superhero or a supervillain; it can be someone with superpowers, super-technology, or just an iconic gimmick. It can be from the past, the present, or the future. It could be a street-level crimefighter, a superspy, the champion of a dying fantasy world, or anything you like. All that is required is that your character be either born in Canada, currently operating in Canada, or both.

If you’re (interested) in creating a character, then send me a black-and-white full body image of the figure with 4 length x 6 height image proportions as well as info about the hero or villain. The info can be in note form, as I’ll be writing all of the entries up together so they have a cohesive style. For information, include the characters’ name (both names of they have a secret identity), alter ego (if relevant), base of operations (city, province, etc.), origin, most important deeds, superpowers and technology,  and anything else it would be important to know.

Deadline for submissions is February 28th. Send all submissions to...Bevan Thomas, at webmaster@cloudscapecomics.com.

Do you have a character floating around in your head that you'd like to see in print?  This could be a good opportunity to make that happen.

Just for kicks, and perhaps as an example, I want to include a piece that I've come across on deviantart. 

The art is by Allan Crocker based on a character created by Shawn Webster.

I love the use of iconic characters in the background, mixed in with lesser known ones.  The character at middle left, for those who are not aware, is the creation of one Gaston25 and is named The Fightin' Canuck.  I believe the character across from him is Captain Canada and assume that the bad-ass at bottom right is Black Flag from Legion Unleashed.

Cool stuff.  I'll be interested in seeing the degree of variety in what is submitted to Cloudscape Comics since many Canadian characters are quite similar. So if I may add another rule, please, no "Canadian Shield" or "Fleur-De-Lys" suggestions. ;-)

Mask of the Red Panda #1 Cover Reveal and Release Date Announcement!

I guess those involved with this comic book know how to keep a secret.  Or work quickly.

The three-issue limited series was first revealed on the Decoder Ring Theater Facebook page (or at least that's the first place I saw it) in mid-December, and now the actual release date of February 27th (digitally, on Comixology, from Monkeybrain Comics) is confirmed on their blog, along with a look at the cover (now copied below).

For an indie publisher, that seems like very fast production.  But no one should mistake that for a complaint.  I very much enjoy this character and he'll be a same-day-as-release digital purchase.  He'll also be a trade paperback acquisition, assuming it is eventually offered in that format.  And in light of the variety of ways in which The Red Panda's adventures are told, it would be shocking if it wasn't.