Red Leaf: Willing and Able

Special Task Force Canada has arrived on the scene. 

Enter Mounties Willing & Able, two unique members of the Crown's Special Task Force! Can the Leaf assist or is he destined to be just another victim of... THE MASS!!! 

Kate Willing and Jack Able... 

They always get their man...er creature! 

Twenty pages of all-out action on the streets of Toronto.

The above is "cover B" to the ninth issue of The Leaf.  The publisher's flagship book has become a platform for introducing characters into the Red Leaf universe in recent issues, such as Cold Man and Kung Fu Canuck.  Number nine serves that function for theWilling & Able duo.

So what's the deal with these two?  See below.

When a crime scene reveals too many abnormalities for comfort, the "Freak Squad" (as Willing and Able are nicknamed) are brought in.  When it looks like super abilities may be involved in the crime, The Leaf is called in as back up.

Yes, there's an X-Files vibe going on, which I doubt is meant to be subtle.  I can't pretend to having been a fan of that show, but by my limited knowledge it seems to me that Willing and Able's abilities set them apart from Mulder/Skully, as do their personalities.

Speaking of inspirations, the book's primary cover is displayed below and is an acknowledged "tribute" cover by Robert Norton.  Click on it to be taken to Red Leaf's online store.

What We Learned from the Captain Canuck Summer Special

The 2014 Captain Canuck Summer Special was made available for free just prior to Canada Day in comic book shops all over the country.  I wasn't able to get my hands on one right away, but a friend was kind and considerate enough to snag one for me.  He handed it off to me this past Friday night, so I finally got to read it at TSOG Secret HQ on the weekend.

Were you also unable to obtain a copy initially?  If that's the case, allow me to share some details about the book and future plans for our favourite square-jawed Canadian protagonist contained within.

THERE WILL BE A 2015 EDITION.  That might have seemed obvious, but since the last summer special came out in 1980, one probably should not have assumed.

THE 2015 EDITION WILL FEATURE RESULTS OF A FAN ART CONTEST.  There was such a contest held on deviantart.com some time ago, but this one is a bit more official.  There will be several judges and ten selections will appear in the 2015 Summer Special.  The submission can include any Canuck cast member.  Send entries to fanart2015@captaincanuck.com between now and March 15th.

THE COMIC BOOK SERIES IS SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 2014. We first heard about it in January, but at that point I don't believe a tentative release date had been stated.  July 1st was the obvious target date but evidently plans have changed.  Now keep your fingers crossed for a merry Canuck X-Mas.

THE GOOD CAPTAIN DIGS BOOSTER JUICE.  As he should, Booster Juices are delicious.  My personal favourite is the Soymilk Slam.  Not only is it healthy and filling, it sounds like something a superhero (or perhaps a pro wrestler) would drink.

WE GET REDCOAT AND KEBEC BACK STORIES.  Both characters make only brief appearances in the animated series, but we get to find out a bit more about them in this book.

TATIANA MASLANY IS FRIGGIN' AWESOME.  No wait...Everyone knew that already.

WHAT HAPPENED AFTER ISSUE 15.  Being a Canuck fan can require patience (and no, that's not a dig at how long it took for them to send out Indiegogo campaign perks).  Issue 14 was published in early 1981.  The 15th issue saw limited release only, according to Wikipedia, but not until 2004.  Fortunately it was included in the Omnibus published by IDW in 2011.

Well, one of the two stories in the 2014 Summer Special continues the tale that began in 1981.  The story concludes with a caption that this was "not the end" so we'll get the next installment in a little less than a year, assuming everything goes according to plan.  By comparison, the time should fly right by.

I Wish My Name Was Brok Windsor

As the project to reprint Nelvana's stories was beginning to take shape last year, one the ladies involved (either Rachel Richey or Hope Nicholson, I forget which) mentioned on Twitter that they might look to do similar for another iconic character in Johnny Canuck.  Made sense, seemed obvious, but they had their hands full with Nelvana so any discussion about Johnny would have to wait.

Sure enough, we received confirmation on July 1st (or thereabouts) that Johnny Canuck was also headed towards reprint treatment.  But as a bonus, we got the news that Brok Windsor's adventures would also be reprinted.

Johnny Canuck is a fairly well known character, and what you don't know you could reasonably guess at.  Brok Windsor is far more obscure so plans to re-release his stories were a pleasant surprise.

Windsor first appeared in the April/May 1944 issue of Better Comics.  The Joe Shuster Awards website does a great job of describing the premise of his adventures.

...Already a manly outdoorsman-type, physician Brok was portaging through the Lake of the Woods region and stumbled upon an island upon which he was transformed into a 7 foot tall muscle-bound specimen of the superhuman variety. Teaming with the 12 foot tall son of the chieftain of a unique Native Canadian tribe that lives in this uncharted territory named Torgon, Brok, needing the unique serum that enables Torgon’s people to endure the physical transformations, embarks on a perilous journey to find the special waters. 

The only online copy of Better Comics I've been able to find (though I haven't looked in a while) is volume three, number 7, the cover for which is copied above.  You can download it from The Digital Comic Museum as a preview of this project which, along with the Johnny Canuck reprints, I look forward to supporting.