Epic Canadiana 2 is Now Live on Kickstarter!

In late 2013 or early 2014, I'd planned to write a sort of "wish list" of Canadian comics products that I was hoping to see in the new year. For fear of seeming overly critical of certain publishers/creators, and realizing fairly quickly that no gives a crap about what I want, I flushed the list I'd started to write and didn't give it much more thought.

I do recall what number one was, however and if everything goes to plan, I should have it by the end of this calendar year.

The only aspect of the Epic Canadiana anthology book that from November 2013 that was somewhat disappointing to me was that a print option was not available. It could only be purchased as a pdf.  A print-on-demand trade paperback version was at the top of my scuttled wish list.

I know from far too much time spent on social media that others shared the same feedback. Evidently the fine folks at Cloudscape paid attention. The fundraising campaign for Epic Canadiana was launched on the weekend and a limited edition print version of the first volume is among the perks ($35 level, plus shipping) offered.

EPIC CANADIANA TWO VOLUME TEAM-UP
Get the print editions of both volumes of Epic Canadiana-- our new book, plus one of the limited print run of #1.
Limited (XX of 100 remaining)
Estimated delivery: Nov 2015
Ships anywhere in the world

Let's let Cloudscape's Bevan Thomas explain what we're in for.

"Epic Canadiana #2" features 17 stories (over 200 pages!) dedicated to exploring numerous flavours of superheroism within Canada. It features a truly diverse collection of heroes – some of them pastiches of classic 40s characters and others totally new. 

There are arctic demigods and social activists, restless spirits and bison-riding vigilantes. Canada is a tapestry of great diversity, and we have striven to represent them in our anthology with heroes of various genders, ethnicities, and perspectives, including aboriginal and immigrant champions, a character coping with autism, a gay rights activist, a conflicted colonial soldier, and many more. 

And carefully studying all of them is Department None, a hidden branch of the Canadian government dedicated to keeping track of all superhumans… and dealing with them if necessary.

If you're unfamiliar with the first volume of Epic Canadiana, don't let the familiar cover and reference to Department None suggest that this is some Alpha Flight knock off.  It is nothing like that. The first volume showcased a number of diverse characters and writing/art styles, yet with a common thread tying the various stories together. There's no reason to believe that the second book won't deliver on what it promises above.

In addition to the images offered on the Kickstarter page, click on the Cloudscape label under the publishers listed on the left side of the page for some past preview material.

The Martlet, Flying into Epic Canadiana 2

Remember Sgt. Sawchuck? On March 10th, I posted information that Nelson da Rocha had shared on the Canadian Superheroes Facebook Group about his character's upcoming appearance in Cloudscape's second Epic Canadiana anthology.

Sawchuck's inker/letterer, Stephany Lein, recently displayed additional material on that very same Facebook group from that story as well. And that act prompted Mark Shainblum (creator and writer of Northgu...bah, you know that already...) to offer a peek at his own contribution to the anthology. Here's what he had to say (and show):

Okay, since Stephany is previewing her work from Epic Canadiana 2, why the heck not? Here's a sneak peek at The Martlet, my new character from the same book. Art by the amazing Ksenia Kozhevnikova. 

"Martlet: (mart*let) A mythical bird without legs that must fly eternally."

Lovely.

In looking to find out more about the "real" martlet, I came across this portion of its Wikipedia page which speaks to its modern significance.

The formerly supposed inability of the martlet to land is said by some modern commentators to symbolize the constant quest for knowledge, learning, and adventure. Thus the martlet has been incorporated into the modern arms of McGill University, in which the women's athletic teams are named the McGill Martlets;

I had failed to make the connection but it makes the name all the more appropriate.

Additional good news: This edition of Epic Canadiana will be available in print and not just digital. Now if we can somehow go back and do the same for the first volume...

Coming in Epic Canadiana, V2: Sgt. Sawchuck And The Red Surge!

The information below was shared by Nelson da Rocha on the Canadian Superheroes Facebook group on the weekend and, with permission, I am quite pleased to share it here too!

Here are a couple of pages for a CANADIANA Vol. 2. story I wrote about a loveable fascist Mountie and his boss/sidekick.  

The story is called SGT. SAWCHUCK and the RED SURGE. Story by me, pencils by Alex Greychuck (fantastic artist whose work can be seen in Toronto Comics Vol. 1 & 2), and inks and lettering by Stephany Lein who did art for my first story in Toronto Comics Vol. 1 and does the art for Daniel Reynolds' story, Redevelopment and Reunion for Volume 2 out in May this year.

All right, so let's break that down a bit...

The mention of Canadiana is in reference to the Cloudscape Comics anthology. I loved the first book and was pretty happy to come across a preview of the second.

Alex Greychuck's work can be found here. While going over his portfolio I was pleasantly surprised to come across the pinup of 8-Ball from Heroes of The North copied below, but there's plenty more to see so float on over and have a look.

There are a number of superhero stories in the second volume of Toronto Comics Anthology, and we'll have a closer look at those as we get near the book's release date.  But in the meantime here's a page from the Major North story (Sam Noir and Christopher Yao) included therein. A Major North sketch page was displayed here in late January. That image is followed by a pin up of Sgt. Sawchuck.

Many thanks to Nelson for providing/clarifying the information and material.

"Epic Canadiana #2 is Go!"

Some good news was delivered to us this past weekend by way of a comment to a post from November.

This is (Bevan Thomas) the editor of "Epic Canadiana," pleased to announce that we've now launched the call for submissions for "Epic Canadiana #2"! 

"Epic Canadiana #1" featured a host of Canadian heroes that paid tribute to the golden age of Canadian comics, from gun-toting vigilantes to Arctic demigods and gay activists. The book was featured on CBC Radio, ShawTV, and the Vancouver Courier, Now it's time for a sequel. Are you ready to join the ranks?

More information can be found at:
http://www.cloudscapecomics.com/2014/06/12/epic-canadiana-2-is-go

I very much enjoyed the first volume of Epic Canadiana which, if you missed out, is still available here.

While preparing this post, I flipped through the book again to find some artwork to display but could not settle on a specific image. There is too much variety within the book to properly showcase it with an image or two, so for a broader look inside, click on the store link above and check out the slideshow at the bottom of the page.

That said...If I handed out year-end awards, similar to a sports league or team, Canada Jacques would have been my 2013 rookie of the year.  I absolutely loved the character in his brief introductory appearance.

I don't want to get too much into it for fear of spoiling parts of the story for people who have yet to read it.  Probably the best way to express it is to say that Jacques is more heroic than he is superheroic.  He is the type of character that would make a great role model for a number of reasons.

If you think you have something to contribute to this anthology, review the guidelines listed on the page linked above and show 'em your stuff.  And meet your deadlines, damn it, because I don't want to wait any longer than I have to for this thing.

Johnny Canuck reinvented, part two

Epic Canadiana is finally out!

You could be excused if the name didn't ring a bell.  I first posted about it in May of 2012 at which time it was known as All-Canadian comics.  In February of this year, the anthology's publisher, Cloudscape Comics, sent out a call for character submissions for what was then called Canadiana Comics.

That was the last I heard of this project until Friday night when I stumbled on the online launch announcement event on Facebook.  The Epic Canadiana anthology became available for download on the Cloudscape online store that night.

Art by Chenoa Gao

This thing weighs in at about 170 pages for all of $3.  It is not available in print format, at least for the moment.

As you may have determined by now, that's Johnny Canuck waiving the leaf.  He is featured in the first and last stories in this book.  Since the story takes place in present, this is apparently the original Johnny, making him 90-something years old.  He is a recluse, but being recruited to serve as a uniting symbol for the superpowered individuals who are suddenly emerging onto the scene.

Most of Johnny's "face time" is spent reviewing his history and detailing what his mission is expected to be but he does not see action as such.  The "words from the editor" at the beginning of the book pretty well state point blank that there are plans for future volumes, but you would get that sense from the book's contents anyway.

As far as the other stories in the anthology are concerned, there's a good blend of reimagined / updated versions of other World War Two characters and new creations.  Now that we've been formally introduced, I'm curious to see whether they will actually form a team, or if future stories will be based on Canuck's influence on the individual characters.  It sounds like the former, but they could play it both ways. Either way, I look forward to more volumes of Epic Canadiana (hopefully in print as well as digital).

Files of Number None

The Masked Mosaic and True Patriot anthologies have gathered a little more press to this point, but Vancouver publisher Cloudscape Comics continues to work on an anthology of their own.

Cloudscape recently announced an interesting feature for their book, open to people who may want to contribute.  The full version of the blog post is located here, but the bulk of the information is copied below.

The final section of the book is to be the “Number None Files,” the supposed files of Number None, a fictional division of the Canadian government that monitors superhumans. This section would include bios of various superheroes and supervillains, in the manner of “DC’s Who’s Who”...

Your character can be a superhero or a supervillain; it can be someone with superpowers, super-technology, or just an iconic gimmick. It can be from the past, the present, or the future. It could be a street-level crimefighter, a superspy, the champion of a dying fantasy world, or anything you like. All that is required is that your character be either born in Canada, currently operating in Canada, or both.

If you’re (interested) in creating a character, then send me a black-and-white full body image of the figure with 4 length x 6 height image proportions as well as info about the hero or villain. The info can be in note form, as I’ll be writing all of the entries up together so they have a cohesive style. For information, include the characters’ name (both names of they have a secret identity), alter ego (if relevant), base of operations (city, province, etc.), origin, most important deeds, superpowers and technology,  and anything else it would be important to know.

Deadline for submissions is February 28th. Send all submissions to...Bevan Thomas, at webmaster@cloudscapecomics.com.

Do you have a character floating around in your head that you'd like to see in print?  This could be a good opportunity to make that happen.

Just for kicks, and perhaps as an example, I want to include a piece that I've come across on deviantart. 

The art is by Allan Crocker based on a character created by Shawn Webster.

I love the use of iconic characters in the background, mixed in with lesser known ones.  The character at middle left, for those who are not aware, is the creation of one Gaston25 and is named The Fightin' Canuck.  I believe the character across from him is Captain Canada and assume that the bad-ass at bottom right is Black Flag from Legion Unleashed.

Cool stuff.  I'll be interested in seeing the degree of variety in what is submitted to Cloudscape Comics since many Canadian characters are quite similar. So if I may add another rule, please, no "Canadian Shield" or "Fleur-De-Lys" suggestions. ;-)

Masked Mosaic; Canadian Super Stories

Superheroes! Supervillains! Masked vigilantes, superpowered antiheroes, super scientists. Adventurers into the unknown, costumed crimefighters, mutant superterrorists . . . we want to see any and all permutations of the superhero genre, but with a uniquely Canadian perspective. Stories must involve a Canadian element — setting, politics, culture, history, characters, etc. Any genre-mashing goes: alternate history, crime, horror, romance, SF, fantasy, surrealism; we want a variety of tones, approaches, subgenres, cultural perspectives, etc. We’re especially interested in submissions where setting (a specific city, region, or province) plays an essential role, but we’re open to other types of stories, too.

The above was the "pitch" for Masked Mosaic, an anthology from Tyche Books scheduled to be available in February of next year.  Editors Claude Lalumiere and Camille Alexa have reviewed the submissions (the period for which opened June 1st and closed August 1st) and the following selections were announced early last week.

E.L Chen – Nocturne
Kristi Charish - Canadian Blood Diamonds
Silvia Moreno-Garcia – Iron Justice versus the Fiends of Evil
Jonathan Olfert – Never the Twain
Kevin Cockle – Circe and the Gunboat
David Nickle - Knife Fight
Derryl Murphy – On-to-Ottawa
D.K. Latta – The Secret History of the Intrepids
Emma Faraday – The Man in the Mask
Mike Rimar – A Bunny Hug for Karl
Emma Vossen – “Not a Dream! Not a Hoax! Not an Imaginary Story!” The Lost Years of Joe Shuster
Patrick T. Goddard – Giant Canadian Comics
A.C. Wise – Kid Wonder
Rhea Rose – Leaf Man
David Perlmutter – Octopi Bleakly Corners
Lisa Poh – The Seamstress without a Costume
Marie Bilodeau – The Kevlar Canoe
Rhonda & Jonathan Parrish – Sea and Sky
Chantal Boudreau – A Face in the Wind
Michael S. Chong – The Creep
Jason Sharp – Lonesome Charlie Johnstone’s Strange Boon
Alyxandra Harvey – The Shield Maiden
Michael Matheson – The Many Lives of the Xun Long
Jason S. Ridler – Revenge of the Iron Shadow: A Tale of Kingstonia

See Tyche Books' announcement for links to some of the writers' blogs, websites, etc.

Sounds like a rather eclectic collection.  I am not familiar with most of these writers so this should make for a good introduction to their work.

Along similar lines, finding out about this superhero anthology reminded me that Cloudscape Comics were planning one of their own.  There had been little news about their version of All-Canadian Comics in recent weeks, so I wrote to Cloudscape president Jeff Ellis to inquire as to its status.  Mr Ellis was kind to confirm that the project is still underway and to expect news soon.

Also, writer J. Torres has planned a similar anthology called True Patriot.  He first announced it last week and has begun naming some of the talent/characters involved.  This link will take you to the True Patriot tag on his blog so that you can follow the project's progress.  Torres plans an Indiegogo campaign next month in order to help fund the project.

All-Canadian Comics: The New All Whites

Cloudscape wants YOU for All-Canadian Comics, an anthology of Canadian-focused heroism, many inspired by classic Canadian comics from the Golden Age of Comic Books.

So begins Cloudscape Comics' offer to fans, creators, etc to submit material for their book.  Read the full rules and deadlines here.

Cool idea, and in a subsequent post (from about a week ago) they reveal a few of their characters, including the extremely cool gentleman below.

Canada Jacques (by Bevan Thomas and Ksenia Kozhevnikova): Perhaps the first Metis gay-activist superhero.

I'm not sure there's a whole lot of doubt about that label...

Unfortunately, if you're only finding out about this now, the first deadline is Saturday so, you know...you might want to get goin'.  ;-)

Looking forward to seeing this thing take shape, and hopefully it becomes a regular event!