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, Thunderbirch 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.