The Canadian Side of the Advent Universe

I've known for a couple of years now that, at some point, I would write about Advent Comics.

It just seemed inevitable. You don't have to devote much time to looking through the preview art on the publisher's Facebook group to realize that Advent has an enormous cast of characters, various team concepts, and so on.

I did not, however, locate a Canadian at first view. At least not one that jumped out as such.

So the other night, as Advent appeared in my Twitter timeline, I took the time to ask. And the response was better than I expected.

A Canadian character has indeed appeared in an Advent book; Advent Comics Spotlight #1. ACS1 was released in early 2012 and was the third book to be published by Advent. The two earlier ones, Pandemonium: Evil Incarnate and Champions of Hope, were massive, combining for 170 pages and laying the foundation for what would be the Advent Universe.

Spotlight continues to build on that original material, clocking in at a healthy 64 pages of its own. You don't need to have read the two previous books to follow this one. The first story is essentially a "man on the scene" recap of what happened and an explanation of the aftermath. It sets the pieces on the board, so to speak.

The Canadian character in question is name Lynx and appears in a story about a team called G-8. And as the solicitation states, "G-8 battles to stop an international kidnapping plot and faces off against the terrorist network known as The Cadre."

Here's a page from that story which gives us a look at Lynx while his colleagues discuss his personality and effectiveness in mid-battle. Click on it to blow it up for a better read.

G-8 is described in the Advent Universe Handbook as "Special Deputized Ambassadors of the United Nations".

Always love me some global teams with Canadian content. Actually, the only thing I love more is an all-Canadian team and what do you know, Advent has that in the pipeline as well!

The fifth issue of Advent Comics Spotlight will feature a team called The Canadian Shield that is also known as The Force (the latter name will be used on this blog for easier identification). It seems they have a cameo appearance in Champions of Hope, which makes it very tempting to pick up that book on that basis, but...I'm going to grit my teeth and wait for a story specific to them. I can't wait to lay eyes on them.

An easy way to sample the Advent product is through their Free Comic Book Day offering which offers previews, covers, etc., of their various projects.  You can download that from this link.