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Monday, October 28, 2013

Transonic of The Lights

Because I detest the X-Men, I'm only finding out now that in mid 2010, Marvel Comics introduced a Canadian character among a new group of mutants (because if there's one thing lacking in the Marvel Universe, it's a few more mutants).

The image below is a variant cover for Generation Hope #1 and it features one Laurie Tromette from Vancouver.  She would later adopt the nickname Transonic.  While the artwork is by Greg Land, I was not able to identify the porn actress he probably traced it from.


So what's Transonic's deal?  As I understand it, there was a period of time during which no more mutants were supposed to emerge.  Theoreticaly then, mutants were facing extinction.

Knowing Marvel Comics as we do, that scenario wasn't going to last very long.  Faster than you can say "We need more Wolverine books", Marvel opened the door for mutants to begin appearing again.  Laurie Tromette was the first of the Five Lights; The bunch of mutants that were introduced following that event.

Tromette made her first appearance in Uncanny X-Men #526.  She bookends the primary story.  In the first couple of pages, she is seen freaking out because she's in pain, her skin is turning blue and her hair is falling out.

I'm not sure what the issue is; Doesn't sound much different than my maple whiskey hangovers.

In any event, in the final few pages of main portion of the book, Tromette takes the only logical course of action in dealing with her discomfort and prepares to jump off a building.  But wouldn't you know it...


So that worked out nicely.  That is especially true for Hope Summers (that's her arm around 'sonic's waist in the above image), who also chose the most logical course of action when facing a suicide jumper.  That is, jump after her and try to talk her out of it in mid-drop.

Beyond that initial storyline, Transonic was a part of the Generation Hope series during its 17-issue duration and was later seen in the Avengers Academy book.

There was another Canadian-content surprise in this book.  No, not the mandatory Wolverine appearance, since nothing could be less surprising.  Rather, former Alpha Flight member Madison Jeffries pops by in a sub-plot in which members of the team tries to figure out why Kitty Pride can not turn off her phasing ability.  It's nothing more than a cameo but still an unexpected treat.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

2rue Patriot Cover Reveal

The image below was posted on the True Patriot Facebook page.  The TP2 team is preparing a launch party for their fundraising campaign on November 1st at The Comic Book Lounge and Gallery (587A College Street, Toronto).  The book's cover was partially shown as a teaser on October 16th and now a full view is displayed on the event page, although it is apparently not yet fully completed.  It is the work Tom Fowler and Jay Stephens.


When it was first revealed that a second volume would be forthcoming, I was told (on Twitter) that if I enjoyed the first book, I would be very happy with the line-up of the second.  Evidently so; the five characters above are all making return appearances.   Clockwise from top left we have: Arrowhead, Grey Owl, Raven Girl (Did that name hold up?  It's actually not used in-story), Dominion Jack and Superhero Girl.

A couple of the stories in the first volume concluded with a "next issue" blurb.  It'll be interesting to see whether those were actually applicable or just included for effect.

I admit that I'm a little worn out on Indiegogo and Kickstarter campaigns but I can't wait for ths one to begin.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Upcoming Red Panda / Flying Squirrel material

That the Masks of the Red Panda digital comic from earlier this year is being collected into a trade paperback is less "news" than it is confirmation. The only unexpected aspect of it is that it is being published by IDW rather than Monkeybrain, who released the original mini-series.

Dimensions: 104 Pages, 6.3 × 10.24 × 0.39 in
Published: March 4, 2014

Racketeers, gangsters, the occasional power-mad supervillain - all have fallen before the iron resolve of the city''s masked protectors. But when forces with powers from beyond this world threaten to bring their war to the streets of Depression-era Toronto, can even the Red Panda prevent disaster? Bringing to life characters from The Red Panda Adventures, Decoder Ring Theatre''s award-winning radio drama series, Mask of the Red Panda is pulse-pounding pulp perfection for all those who love the classic two-fisted adventures of the golden age of radio, classic movie serials, and the hero pulps.
So that's cool.  I enjoyed the limited series a great deal and looked forward to having a print version for the collection.  The only disappointment is that it is not being published by a Canadian company.

My attempts at locating details about the book actually led me to find out about other Panda-based (and of course, his lovely partner, The Flying Squirrel) projects.

As mentioned in a comment to an earlier post about The Red Panda, a fourth novel is due to be released soon.  It will be titled The Pyramid of Peril. It was expected to be released in 2013 though at this late point in the year, that seems a little unlikely now.  Would love to treat myself to a Christmas present though!

What I did not know (for certain) is that more comics are planned. Here's the portion of the Red Panda Adventures wikipedia page which makes reference to this.
After the initial three-issue series a Kickstarter campaign was run to create a "full-cast video comic" of the series. The intent was to raise money for not only the video, but also to fund new issues of the comic. At the close of the campaign, Taylor announced that enough money had been raised to provide for at least 8 new issues of the series. His plan is to do four 2-part stories.
The comics were well-received (at least critically, I have no idea how much they sold) so on that level this doesn't come as a surprise.

The "four two-part'ers" claim may not be solid; on the Kickstarter updates page, writer Gregg Taylor stated that they would make 10 books if they reached $13,000 in funding.  They came close; 12,009 was raised.  It was close enough that they will still consider releasing ten.

As something of an aside, if you're not doing so already, keep an eye on Monkeybrain Comics.  They offer a variety of quality books and have a number of Canadian talents on their roster including Paul Little and Charles Pritchett working on a title that I've just discovered entitled Anti-Hero.  A-H is written by Jay Faerber of Dynamo Five and Noble Causes fame.  Good stuff.

Monday, October 14, 2013

A Cowgirl Named Boy

I can not contribute much more information about this project than what is already stated on its indiegogo fundraising page and a Sherwood Park News article. I happened to find it while searching for Canadian projects on Indiegogo.

Sherwood Park News - The comic centers on Drea Boyd, a girl living in modern day Sherwood Park who has a super hero alter ego with the name Boy.

“She’s a cowgirl living in 1910 Alberta,” (Sally) Neal continued. “She is smart and tough and saves the day a few different times. Lord Strathcona’s ghost is her sidekick. I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but he shows up when she needs some extra help.

“It is designed to appeal to a broad spectrum, certainly being as Drea is the main character,” she added. “It is designed to not pigeon hole itself into one (genre).”
You can have a signed print version of the book mailed to you for $10.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

ICYMI Art: Alpha Flight by Marcelo Mueller

I particularly like the way Guardian came out on this:


It's been up on deviantart since August 20th, but only has a little over 100 views at this point.  Criminal. ;-)

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

ICYMI Art - Nelvana of the Northern Lights by Alex Perkins

You could be forgiven for "missing" this one since it was only revealed earlier today, I believe.


The image was included in an update to a fundraising campaign.  The campaign's goal is to raise funds to reprint Nelvana's original material from the 40's. Aside from being able to pre-order a copy of that book, it also offers other perks such as a calendar and prints from a number of Canadian artists.  Click on the image above to have a closer look and, hopefully, to contribute.