Let your hearts be gladdened...Nelvana will return!

One of the original goals of this blog was to shine whatever small amount of light I could on some of the Canadian superhero characters from the 40's.  This country's history in the genre appeared to be sadly overlooked and under-appreciated.

Being that there are currently far more Canadian characters, publishers and creators than I'd originally expected to find, I inadvertently deviated from that goal.  Most mentions of Nelvana refer to her appearance on posters and the like, though the basics of her origins are included in the "Superheroes to call our own" post from February 2012.

I mention this now because of recently-announced plans to reprint Nelvana's adventures of the time.

Lost Heroes researchers Rachel Richey and Hope Nicholson (Richey also manages the Comic Syrup blog, while Nicholson is listed among the Lost Heroes producers as well) have acquired the rights to reproduce Nelvana's stories.  They plan to do so following a crowd funding campaign which will begin on October 1st.  You can follow their progress through this Facebook group.

Nelvana creator Adrian Dingle is said to be have been inspired to create Nelvana by Group Of Seven artist Franz Johnston's stories from the latter's travels to the Arctic.  Nelvana, in turn, was at least to some degree the inspiration for Alpha Flight's Snowbird character.  Snowbird's mother is named Nelvanna, with an extra "n", presumably to avoid legal issues.  Her grandfather is named Hodiak, similar to Koliak above.

Nelvana was often assisted in defending the north by her far less celebrated brother Tanero who shared dad's inability to have his true seen by "whites".  Tanero would usually avoid this by changing shapes to that of a flying Great Dane.

Well, that's ONE way...

These books are a lot of quirky fun and having them properly collected would be a real treat.  I'm excited to see this project move forward.

Justice League Canada!

I'm still struggling with accepting that this is not an April 1st type of situation.

I've abbreviated the article below.  Click on the Star link to read the ful version.

Toronto Star: ...On Friday afternoon, at Toronto’s sprawling Fan Expo convention, DC Comics will announce that its flagship superhero team — which has included such celebrity superheroes as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern — is going to uproot from the U.S.A. and be headquartered north of the border in the spring of 2014. The ongoing Justice League of America series will be renamed and feature a new Canadian character alongside some of the world’s best-known heroes.

Better yet, it will be written by Toronto’s own Jeff Lemire, who has become one of DC’s superstar writers, and now gets the chance to bring those heroes to his familiar stomping ground.

Much of the action will take place in Toronto, Lemire says, but the actual team will be based around James Bay and Moosonee.

...

“It’s not really like Alpha Flight, as we’re not creating a bunch of very Canadian characters,” Lemire says.

“Like those characters are all almost clichéd Canadian archetypes. This is still very much set in the regular Justice League universe and the team will still have some of the bigger named superheroes, but they will actually be located in Canada now, and there will be a couple of new members who are Canadian. So obviously as a Canadian, and as a Canadian storyteller, it’s something I’m very proud of.”

Lemire said the idea initially came from Dan DiDio, DC’s publisher, and he admits that he, too, first thought it was a joke. But when he realized his boss was being serious, he gladly accepted the challenge and “has kind of gone crazy with it.”

The northward migration will come after the ongoing crossover comics event Trinity War, in which the current three Justice League teams clash, and the ensuing Forever Evil, in which the villains of the DC Universe take over.

“As a result of that, without spoiling any of that story, there will be major changes in the Justice Leagues, and in the spring, the current Justice League of America team goes through a dramatic change and some of the pieces that are left behind will evolve into this new Justice League Canada team.”

Lemire says that the new Canadian character is going to be a big story point, and he can’t reveal too much, but he says: “I’m trying to make a character that reflects a real part of our cultural identity, who could be a real Canadian teenager. That’s what I’m really after with that.”

In addition, Lemire says that he will be bringing back Adam Strange, a Silver Age DC character, a swashbuckling archaeologist who is transported to the far-off planet of Rann. In this new incarnation, he will also be Canadian. Comics continuity can be a mind-bending thing to try to explain, but one of the reasons Lemire has a free hand with characters is that DC relaunched all of its titles two years ago in an initiative called The New 52, giving all of their long-standing characters a fresh start.

Lemire can’t say who will make up Justice League Canada, but says it is a “dream team” of A-list DC characters and some of his favourite oddball and more obscure heroes.

“It really is just trying to make an honest portrayal of the places and the country and people that I know. That’s why I’m setting it in Toronto and Northern Ontario, because those are the places that I really know well,” he says.

“I’m just trying to create a genuine backdrop for these stories that are big and cosmic in scope, but are still really grounded in a real place. As long as I keep that focused, I’ll probably avoid clichés, but sometime those clichés are clichés because they’re true, so I’m sure some of that will slip in there.”

So it's more Justice League IN Canada than a true Canadian Justice League, but assuming that we're not getting punked, it's still pretty damn cool.

Never thought of Adam Strange as Canadian, but I don't know that his nationality was ever a huge factor in his stories.  It may have never been stated, for all I know.  I've always liked him as a guest appearance character but have never read books specific to him, that I can recall.

So between Booster Gold supposedly being Canadian (can we assume membership?) and Sandman on Earth-2, DC now has a few "converts".  I would prefer new characters, or existing Canadian characters fleshed out since most have had limited exposure, but I'll take what I can get.  I have a feeling this is a temporary change for the series, so let's enjoy it while we can.

Hurry Up and Perk Up!

While writing about the New Recruits fundraising campaign last week, I mentioned a particular perk that they offered which I found to be a convincing encouragement to contribute.  Basically put, they offered something up front, which is a nice change from having to wait several months before seeing the benefits of your donation.

There are two other fundraising campaigns in which I've participated that feature(d) interesting perk ideas.

I need to hurry up in regards to the one that is currently ongoing.  The F1rst Hero campaign has a first-day contributor bonus which enables you to get a little more bang for your buck.

For that pledge, someone living in Canada can get the trade paperback version of the 4-issue series with extras shipped to him or her and if he or she is quick enough, the above preview book.  Not a bad deal at all.

Oh, what's F1rst Hero about?  I'm glad you asked!

What if everyone who ever had superpowers had gone insane and become a threat to society?  What if, after decades of this, one man gained abilities "far beyond those of mortal men" but kept his sanity?  Recently discharged from the Army and faced with a society that fears superhumans, a government that hunts them down and growing numbers of crazed supervillains all around him, JACOB ROTH must decide to either put himself at risk by using his powers to help people or do nothing and remain safe while innocent people get hurt.

The Canadian content appears to be among the creators.  Creator/Writer Anthony Ruttgaizer and Colourist/Letterer KT. Smith are both Toronto residents.  The book will be published by Pittsburgh-based Action Lab Entertainment.

The other perk that I thought included a cool feature is the one I originally selected for the Heroic campaign from Zenith Comics.

CANADIAN HERO - You get everything at the Reservist range, as well as a printed copy with the cover that will ONLY available for this Kickstarter! This tier is for Canadians only, all others use HERO tier.

Nice way to work in the extra shipping charges, since the "regular" hero tier is $15, as opposed to $25 for the "Canadian hero" one.

I might have taken this one a step further (though granted, there'd be an extra cost involved on the part of the publisher, so that's easy for me to say) and offered a Canadian-exclusive cover.  Zenith has a Canuck character named The Grenadier who was talked about earlier (look for the label at right).  A fan art pin up by a gentleman named Marvin Law was added to the Zenith Facebook page recently.

I am thinking along the lines of the rather awesome Phil Jimenez variant cover for Avengers #4.  The contents of the book were the same, but Marvel made an Alpha Flight cover specifically for the Canadian audience.

I doubt that the Kickstarter-specific cover will include the Grenadier, but I would gladly have plunked down a couple of extra couple of bucks for one that did.  Seems appropriate enough for the "Canadian Hero" perk.

The New Recruits by Utility Belt Comics

By and large, I think fundraising through sites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter is a splendid option.

The downside, from the contributor's point of view, is that it can take quite some time for it to pay off.  I am still waiting on some perks I bought in 2012 and frankly there are a couple that I believe I'll never see.

Brad Glenn, for Edmonton-based Utility Belt Comics, does something I appreciate in his campaign for the first issue of The New Recruits. I selected the $8 perk described below.

Yeah! You get the comic before anyone else! You also get your name on the patron page. (Or pseudonym, should you wish.) As a bonus, you will receive a PDF of Tales of the New Recruits within a week of donating! Outside of Canada add five dollars please.

The portion in bold above makes reference to issue #0 of the series.  That issue compiles a number of short stories that provide a little background information about the characters that will grace the pages of the New Recruits series.  It is promised to be delivered within a week yet I received it about two hours after my contribution was processed.

I know the point of these campaigns is usually to raise funds in order to be able to create the product, but it was nice to get something upfront for a change (perhaps this is done more often than I realise, but it's the first among the various campaigns I've supported). Makes the wait until the actual perk is available a little easier to bear.

With that said...What's New Recruits about? Well, as stated at the top of the campaign page "The New Recruits is the story of a group of young, rookie superheroes that are in William Bestman College to become superheroes."  Furthermore...

This story is unique. It isn't really about superhero fights and battles, although there are a number of them in the comics, but more than that, it's about people. It's about being young and away from home, and given freedoms, choices, responsibilities, and consequences. It's about the pressures that change people, and how stress can make you question your beliefs.

Visit the page and watch the video in which Glenn and artist James Clement discuss the various characters in the book.  They've come up with a rather eclectic bunch and it'll be interesting to see how (or if) they all mesh together.

Red Squirrel from PoorMan Comics

This blog was partly inspired by a comment on a message board that Canada had no comic book industry to speak of.  Not only am I adding yet another publisher to the tag list at right, but the book below adds a healthy dose of variety to the mix.

The last book discussed here was Crazy Gas.  It is a dark, gritty, paranoid urban tale.

Red Squirrel is the exact opposite; it is a huge, flashy, colourful science-fiction story.  Never let it be said that the Canadian comics are one-trick ponies.

The bulk of the comic is flashback material.  We know that Red Squirrel is in a battle against a nasty bastard named Deathkong.  He (Squirrel) is trying to catch his breath during a lull in the action, after which we are taken back to the events that led to the fight.  The parts that take place on Earth are set in Niagara Falls.

Don't mind the blurring on the left side of the image above.  That's on me, not the artist.

It appears as though the entire book is put together by one Gordon Shipperbottom, though a gentleman named Randy Riddick is credited as a contributor.

But why my read my take?  Here's a brief interview with Mr Shipperbottom in which he discusses what makes Red Squirrel tick.



The book can be purchased from the PoorMan Comics site.  Now I don't know if it's a browser issue but that particular page on the site is very difficult to read because of a lot of the black text appears over dark colours in the banner in the background.  This page, which displays additional preview material, looks far better.

Awright! It's Classic Captain!!

One of the perks offered during the True Patriot fundraising campaign was a sketch featuring a Canadian superhero drawn by one of the several artists involved in the project.  It was offered at little extra cost and I very much wanted the project to be successful, so I ponied up for it.

And I'm very pleased that I did.

The True Patriot team sent e-mails just prior to mailing out the books to ask for artist preferences.  That's a little awkward, and I changed my mind a few times, but I eventually decided on Ron Salas, the illustrator for the Dominion Jack story.

Having received the pdf version of the book earlier, and lacking the willpower to "save" some of the material to read only once I received the print version, I became eager to get my sketch.  I was now curious on two fronts; would I get my choice of artists and which character would be displayed.

I couldn't be much happier.  The sketch is indeed by Salas and it's of the good Captain.

Obviously, there aren't many other characters I would have preferred.  I would have been equally happy with Guardian from Alpha Flight and, from within the True Patriot book itself, Dominion Jack (which was part of the reason I selected Mr. Salas).

The only choice which may have been disappointing would have been Deadpool, and it occurs to me now that among all the sketches that were previewed on the True Patriot Facebook or fundraising page, he was never shown.  I don't recall seeing him, anyway.

Wolverine would have been a bit of a drag too.  I could probably buy a new book with Wolverine in it every week if I were so inclined.  He's the opposite of every other Canadian character; we see too much of him.

But my top artist choice combined with a one of the top three characters I would have selected given the opportunity?  That's a sweet conclusion to the True Patriot project at my end.  Hope to hear news of a second volume soon.  You can still get a copy of your own through this link.

ICYMI Art: Night Raven by Jonathan Wyke

I love this character.

The above image is the work of one Jonathan Wyke.  I like it, but even if I didn't I'd be stoked to find fan art of the character anyway.

For those unfamiliar with Night Raven, I first wrote about him here.  This find serves as a good reminder to get my hands on the House of Cards graphic novel.

Coincidentally, Jonathan's character sketch folder includes a "doodle" (I wish I could doodle that well...Jeepers...) of one of the many Canadian Shield characters that have been mentioned here.  This one is the original creation of deviantartist Agent Foo.

The folder includes another sketch of Night Raven and one of a character called Canadian Steel. Some pretty good stuff there, so give him a look.

Crazy Gas

Crazy Gas is another book that I discovered from drivethru comics' new release section.  Nothing identified it as a Canadian production at first glance, I selected it simply because it looked cool.  But in reading the solicitation, one line in particular caught my attention.

Crazy Gas is the story of the super-hero Rambler who is exposed to crazy gas in a fight with the villain Poisoner. The gas starts to drive Rambler insane. As he moves through his city, is he helping it or hurting it?

...

Fun fact: Most of the names of the characters in the story are based on the names of towns in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Right.  You don't do that unless you're from the area in questions.  It would be equivalent to me naming characters and locations after towns in Missouri.  Sure enough, I did eventually track down writer Stephen Cadigan and his Twitter account places him in Newfoundland.

Rambler's ongoing struggle to overcome the effects of the gas and retain his sanity is interesting enough, but his relationship with a supporting (at least for now) character named May is intriguing.  May is a former sidekick of The Poisoner.  She has apparently gone straight as a result of Rambler's guidance following her capture.  You get the sense that there's something brewing there but aren't quite sure of the direction it will take.

The book is in black and white.  Whether this is due to a business decision or an artistic choice is unknown to me but regardless, the book probably works best that way.  The coloured cover is sharp, but the black and white interiors help sell the intensity and paranoia in the story.

A special edition with a variant cover includes a preview of the second issue as well.