Spinnerette's League of Canadian Superheroes

I will admit that this is not a style to which I'm particularly attracted.  But since many Canadian characters are quite similar,  it's easy to appreciate the originality of this bunch.

I really want that cat lady's coat...

So first things first; I found out about this team when directed to the very successful Kickstarter campaign for Spinnerette, Volume 3.   Spinnerette is a web comic based in Columbus, Ohio, but the character has received the proverbial assist from the "unfailingly cheerful" League of Canadian Superheroes throughout her adventures.  Not only will that also be applicable to the third volume, but a portion of the story will take place in Canada.

Sounds cool.  So who are these guys?  Let's do this left to right.  The info below is lifted from the Spinnerette Wiki.

Werewolf of London, Ontario
As his name suggests, he is a werewolf. He remains in his wolf form because to cope with the loss of a friend, he decided to stay in his bestial state, and was eventually unable to revert back to human form.

Katt O' Nine Tails
A French-Canadian catgirl with nine prehensile tails. According to Heather (Spinnerette), she was working at an animal shelter and somehow found a magical cat that hid there since the War of 1812.

Katt's tails double as combat tentacles, they are quite dextrous and possess the strength to throw a car. She's able to ball her tails together into the shape of a fist.

Minerva
Minerva is a Cerberus and guardian of Hell whose job is to capture wayward evil spirits and bring them back. She is apparently named after an ancient Roman goddess. While the Roman Minerva was part of a triad of goddess, this Minerva is a tripartate being, in keeping with her cerberus nature.

Green Gable
A descendant of the original Anne of Green Gables. Despite being a male, his family made him wear the girly outfit, on the basis that Green Gable is a Legacy Character passed from mother to child, and just because that child is a boy is no reason to end the tradition.

Minerva is not on the above shot, but I don't know how Canadian she really is anyway...

The ongoing Canadian content doesn't appear to be a coincidence.  Here's writer KrazyKrow's bio.

KrazyKrow is a webcomic veteran with over 12 years of writing experience. His first comic, Krakow, was first published in the University of Calgary student newspaper before leaping onto the web. Spinnerette is his first foray into the world of superheroes!

So while he appears to be based out of Chicago these days, it seems he has some history here.

Not my usual deal, but I have to admit to being very curious.  I'll be keeping an eye on Spinnerette going forward and hoping for a League of Canadian Superheroes special. ;-) 

Hell, I'd be happy with a Katt O' Nine Tails solo.  She looks like she could be quite cool.  Get a load of this image of her by Paolo Barrios.

Damn I so badly want that coat...

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.