CODA is in the books!

It feels a little pointless to discuss a book that was released several weeks ago now, but since the material will find its way into a trade paperback at the end of the year, let's think of it as a preview and forge ahead with some observations.

8-Ball was not among my favourite characters when I first discovered the HotN, but he has quickly become one.  Including his appearances in the web series, he has the most clearly-defined relationships with the various other members.  There's obvious mutual respect between he and The Canadian, the amusing back and forth teasing with Nordik, and he may be the only character even capable of teaming up with Black Terror on occasion.  The Canadian is the team's leader but 8-Ball brings the whole thing together.  He's developed into a very flexible character.

While he sometimes shares the load, Yann Brouillette writes every story in the book (even letters some of them) and shows a lot of versatility in doing so.  You never really know what you're going to get next.  You might read a dark, moody, violent story about 8-Ball stopping a corrupt city official's abuse of power, then flip the page to humour involving the New FLQ.  The story might be 20 pages long, or it might be all of two pages in total.  The unpredictable story structure helps keep these books interesting.

Moving from stories to art...You know who's good?  Geof Isherwood is good.

For one thing, I'm impressed by someone who is able to draw a wide variety of facial expressions.  Isherwood has that skill down.

He also occasionally includes certain details that not every artist will.  Here's what I think is a good example: Look at the picture of Nordik below (easiest thing you'll do all day...)

Now have a look at her posture on the page scan below, particularly the first panel, from the first story in the book.

Isherwood draws a story further into the book which features Madame Doom.  Doom doesn't have that prominent back arch that Nordik has above. "Nordik drawn" looks like "Nordik live".  Madame Doom does not.  Isherwood avoids cookie cutter art.  As a fan, I love that.

There was another instance where the attention to detail was appreciated.  In the Madame Doom story mentioned above, close ups of Doom show the scarring past the edges of her mask.  Not every artist would bother including it, but that scarring is a significant factor in her character so it shouldn't be ignored.  Isherwood's ability with facial expressions was often on display in that story as well.

Isherwood doesn't have a monopoly on eye-catching art detail, mind you.  The maple leaf pattern on the sole of Black Terror's boot was a nice touch by Olivier Raymond. ;-)

Now then...I guess it can't be considered a spoiler anymore if the HotN posted it on their own Facebook page but flashbacks aside, that should be the last that we see of Nordik after this book (and perhaps episode 20 of the web series) right?

Well...I'm not convinced.  There is too much of a genetic manipulation element to these stories for me to buy into the notion that Nordik is gone.

Is THIS Nordik done?  Heroes of the North claim that when their heroes die, they stay dead, and I believe them.  But there are ways around that self-imposed rule and I look forward to seeing which one is applied in this case.  ;-)

Great read again, HotN!  Bring on the trade paperback!

Heroes of The North: Coda (solicitation)

First Comics News announced the Ardeen Entertainment solicitations for December earlier today.  I updated my own Solicitations page accordingly, but there's so much content and talent on display that I wanted to make it more prominent.  My house, my rules. ;-)

HEROES OF THE NORTH: CODA

Writers: Yann & Michel Brouillette
Artists: Geof Isherwood, Olivier Raymond, Gibson Quarter.
Cover by Olivier Raymond
Price: $6.99
Full Color, 80 Pages
8 Ball is confronted to the madness of municipal politics, prompting much soul searching. Madame Doom wants an heir and hires Medusa Commander to engineer her a son worthy of her greatness. Discover how a lowly civil servant becomes the sewer lurking menace known as King Komodo! 8 Ball and Black Terror head out to North Korea to free The Canadian and Nordik from the evil clutches of Medusa Commander. What happens will change the Heroes of the North universe forever! All that and much more in the 80 pages conclusion to the first Season of Heroes of the North!

If it hasn't already, it shouldn't be long until "Missions" hits stores as well.  I want to be sure I get my hands on that because these books seem to move pretty fast.

Heroes of the North Oscar Night

It's Oscar night! And I couldn't care any less!

Except that it's good set up to give a few props to the folks behind the Heroes of the North web series. I've been enjoying these for a while, checking in periodically.

They currently have 16 episodes up (of 20) in season one but we'll only be looking over the first 15 since they combine to create the first three storylines; Origins, Recruitment and Madame Doom.

I don't think they require much more introduction than what is offered up on their website, other than to point that the order changed at some point so we're working with the one offered up on this page now.

So much like the Oscars unload their less popular awards "off camera", let's get some of the feedback out in quick bullet point form.

• The French guys, the NFLQ, are hilarious. :)


• The music is cool throughout, but seemed particularly effective in episode seven as 8-Ball runs a gauntlet to whup on a prick named Baxter. From the moody "build up" at 5:10 to the fight scene against Steel Tiger, the tunes complement the visuals very well.


• I have no idea how difficult it is to produce, but Fleur de Lys' lightning effect is done quite well.

Now then, on to the "big" awards (by comparison only). Of course, this is all personal opinion and done for kicks.

Best actor: 8-Ball (Anderson Bradshaw)


Bradshaw does his best work in his character's origin story, episode three, as he's being offered the gig. His changes in facial expression (from about 2:30 to 2:38), when he's told about having killed a police officer, stand out. He's also entertaining in his back-and-forth with Nordik in episode seven when he feels he's doing all the heavy lifting.

Honourable mention to Black Terror (John Fallon) for his intensity. When he walks into a scene, you know an ass is about to be kicked with authority.

Best actress: Masquerade (Pia Metni)


Metni accomplishes an awful lot with just a raised eyebrow. She does a terrific job in episode 13 of first showing curiosity and disdain at Madame Doom's operation, then concern over Black Terror potentially being loose nearby. I'd hazard a guess that she has the deepest acting background and/or experience of any of the cast members. Edit: Her bio here seems to bear that out.

Honourable mention to Anne-Marie Losique as the previously-mentioned Madame Doom who is very entertaining as a cold, shallow, volatile fashionista. She's funny while still being frightening because of the suddenness and extremes of her losses of composure. Also to the young lady playing the teenage version of Nordik for getting everything across without dialogue.

Best episode: Canadian Shield
This is actually kind of tough. Most of what I enjoy is included in episodes seven and 13. But overall, I enjoyed episode six best. Perhaps ironically, I believe it's actually the first video they shot so let's be clear that I don't mean to indirectly suggest that work quality has decreased since. But six's battle scene is well executed and it ends on a obviously-significant cliffhanger. The aged video effect is a nice touch, and the scene of Shield running, firing his gun and blocking bullets at about 2:45 is quite cool. The episode mixes a lot of interesting components quite well.

This is a fun series and the enthusiasm shown by the folks involved is contagious. And we haven't even seen (in episodes) several of the characters that they promote, like Hornet, Acadia and Pacifica. They clearly have plenty more stories to tell and their use of multiple formats with which to tell them (diaries, magazine covers and photo albums as examples) is another entertaining aspect. They're obviously having a good time doing this and as such, I find them easy to get behind. More power to the HotN and see you at the Ottawa Comicon in May.