Chapterhouse Expands in 2017

The news from Chapterhouse Books earlier this week was simultaneously exciting and frustrating. I found out about it while at a cottage with limited internet access so I wasn’t able to get at information as quickly or thoroughly as I would have liked.

On the other hand, tackling it several days later, I can refer to various sources for details.  And it all sounds pretty damn sweet.

For those who missed it entirely, Chapterhouse is expanding its output to include more books about (mostly?) Canadian characters, from the past, all of which will share a universe with Captain Canuck (in fact, it’s referred to the “Chapterverse”). The announced projects on tap include:

Fantomah by Ray Fawkes and Soo Lee. Comic Book Resources referred to this one as “joining the Captain Canuck serial” so perhaps this will take the form of a back-up story. 

Agents Of Pact: An all-female super team including Red Coat and Kebec from the modern-day Captain Canuck book.  Canuck writer Kalman Andrasofszky and Blake Northcott will write it.  

Freelance:  The Golden Age era character, re-imagined by Jim Zub and Andrew Wheeler with art by Vaneda Vireak. This book is described by Geekpron as a “globe-trotting adventure series”.  

Northern Light: Van Jensen and Eric Kim will restore the character in a sci-fi tale.

Additionally, Captain Canuck will cross over with the Pitiful Human-Lizard and the Northguard book will continue with a new story arc.

Again according to Geekpron, Freelance and Agents of Pact will kick things off in January and run for four issues at which point two other new books will replace them (presumably for four issues as well, and also presumably Northern Light and Northguard, since I’m not sure Fantomah will have her own title right away) and so on and so forth.

Now add the regular Captain Canuck / Human-Lizard content to this, as well as the bi-monthly True Patriot book, and you’ve got a regular source of Canadian characters and (for the most part) creators to look forward to. This is fantastic news.

I’m only vaguely familiar with Freelance and Fantomah but will be looking into them a little more over the next few days.

Chapterhouse's Surprise o' The Month! Northguard!

Every month, I review solicitation material from as many publishers as I can locate in order to (hopefully) help fill these pages.

Landing on Chapterhouse's upcoming releases always creates a bit of a charge. There's always a moment of anticipation before clicking the link. It's been said here before but I find Chapterhouse has developed an ability to surprise fans on a regular basis now, whether it be through collecting past, now hard-to-find material, or re-releasing recently-published books such as The Pitiful Human-Lizard and True Patriot.

Their March 2016 solicitations are no different. Unexpectedly (at least from my perspective), Northguard apparently returns in the spring. Not only in the form a compendium reprinting his earlier appearances (we knew that already) but as a guest-star in the regular Captain Canuck series.

(Story) Kalman Andrasofszky
(Aart) Leonard Kirk
(Cover) Kalman Andrasofszky 

Who is Northguard? Is he friend or foe? And how does his sudden arrival affect last issue’s shocking revelation about Redcoat?

If I recall correctly, Northguard creator/writer Mark Shainblum had stated in interviews that there was a possibility that his character would return at some point.

Now frankly I come across such statements fairly frequently. The best example is Captain Canuck himself, really. How often has he "returned" (Reborn, Legacy, etc...) only to fade away again just as quickly? I had no reason to doubt Mr. Shainblum, but sometimes circumstances derail plans and intentions. Nothing was written in stone. Nothing could be.

So this was very nearly a coffee spit-take type of surprise for me this morning, as I'd heard nothing about the possibility in several months. But when Chapterhouse gives Northguard his own series, I'll be better prepared. ;-)

ICYMI Art: Pitiful Human-Lizard and "Friends"

How great is this?

The image was used in this First Comics News review / interview with Human-Lizard creator/writer/artist Jason Loo. It's a great blend of classic Canadian Whites characters and more current ones in Grey Owl and Dominion Jack.

I absolutely love it and I may not be the only one. When I first came across the interview this morning, the image was thumbnail-sized. 12 hours later, as I prepare to share it here, it's the entire width of the post. It may well be that First Comics News generated some positive feedback on it.

Speaking of positive feedback, I've said it before and I'll say it again: First Comics News is very friendly to independent creators and publishers. They are very good at announcing Chapter House's monthly solicitations, for example. So if you have some news to share and want a little exposure, you may find them quite accommodating.

Another Treat from Chapterhouse in October

It seems that every month the Chapterhouse Comics Group manages to toss a nice surprise among its future solicitations. In addition to the compilation of the original Captain Canuck series, they are reprinting (and completing) Beyond, a fantasy story that served a back up feature in the CC book at the time, and will begin publishing the adventures of The Pitiful Human Lizard shortly.

In October, the sixth issue of the regular Captain Canuck series is released, but for the first time the four issues of the "Captain Canuck West" book will be collected as well.

CAPTAIN CANUCK: UNHOLY WAR TP
(W) Riel Langlois
(A) Drue Langlois
(CA) Kaare Andrews 

No one killed his partner; he’s not part of a top secret government project: what if a man became a super-hero just because he knew he could? RCMP constable David Semple dons the guise of Captain Canuck to take on the Unholy Avengers, an outlaw biker gang menacing the Canadian west coast.

Chapterhouse reprints the Unholy War of the West Coast Captain Canuck by Riel and Drue Langlois. Originally released in a 4-part limited series in October 2004 under Comely Comix, this 120-page Trade Paperback includes exclusive interviews and pre-viously unseen extras.

Going on potentially faulty memory, I believe the book was originally intended to be a 3-issue limited series and a fourth "special" issue was later released. Even if that last issue was slightly oversized, a page count of 120 seems high for reprinting four comics so it sounds like the extras will make it worthwhile. I'm in.

This little bit of news led me to a couple of others. Looking for details about Unholy War on Chapter House's website, I saw the promo image in regards to a Northguard Compendium to come in December. I have the original series (I believe five issues) in trade format, as well as the three-issue Mandes Conclusion mini series which followed, but I trust that Chapter House will make the format and extras alone worthy of picking this up. The original material was in black and white so do we dare hope for...colour?

The other image that caught my eye while trying to gather information was displayed on the Pitiful Human Lizard Facebook page.

Pitiful Human-Lizard issue 5 will introduce a brand new suburban superhero by Adam Gorham and Greg Harms. Prepare yourself for the Mississauga Marauder!

Right on. There will be a launch party for that specific issue on August 8th but no doubt it will also be included among future Chapter House solicitations, as will all future issues. PHL creator/writer/artist Jason Loo states as much on the Facebook event page.

TSOG Team-Up: Fleur-de-Lys and...Fleur-de-Lys

How do you pluralize "Fleur-de-Lys", anyway?

During last week's Heroes of the North panel at the Ottawa Comiccon, the inevitable question came up; Has there been any thought given to a team-up with Captain Canuck or Johnny Canuck?

Neither option is particularly feasible at the moment.  But one that would appear to be far more achievable, at least in comic book format, would be between these two female characters of the same name.

If required, you can learn more about the HotN version from her character sheet here.  For those who aren't familiar with the character of the same name who appeared in Northguard, here's a partial page scan from her first appearance in uniform...

Pardon the slight blurring above.  It is a result of my poor scanning, not poor interior art.

Here's FdL in action (as depicted by Gabriel Morrissette).  Right click into a new tab or window to see the full-sized version of either image.

I don't know if the Northguard edition inspired the HotN one, but there are a number of similarities.  Both have hand-to-hand fighting skills and an electricity-based weapon.

The differences in their personalities may be what makes the partnership intriguing.  The earlier FdL is a far more positive character, even smiling while fighting against difficult odds, as seen above.  The HotN character has a rather Dark Origin and is therefore more, well, dark.  That could make for an interesting contrast.

So could this match-up happen?  From the outside looking in, there doesn't seem to be that many obstacles if all parties are willing.

Even ignoring the rather fluid use of time and aging in comics, and assuming that the Northguard FdL character was in her early 20's when the last book came out, she'd be in her mid-40's or so now, right?  Even if we assume she retired after the final issue, a threat either large enough in scale, or of a personal nature, could persuade her to put the suit on "one last time".

Could Northguard and/or The Canadian appear?  Probably.  Even with the uniband destroyed, Northguard seemed to indicate at the end of The ManDes Conclusion that he intended to continue being a superhero.  There could be a significant clash of ideology and methodology between the two.

When the Captain Canuck / Johnny Canuck questions were being asked, my initial reaction was that, since the HotN characters are still being established, a team-up of sorts may not be the best idea.

But done as a one-shot (rather than a short story in an omnibus) or two-parter, and involving Northguard writer Mark Shainblum (or at least his blessing, obviously) and perhaps even artist Gabriel Morrissette (does he still work in this field?), it's easy to imagine a number of positives coming of it.

For those unfamiliar with, but interested in, the Northguard and Fleur-de-Lys characters, the series can be obtained from the comics section of drivethru.  Also available there, and partially in the superhero genre, is the short-story collection Playing Solitaire:

PLAYING SOLITAIRE
Rachel Steinberg wasn't really Solitaire. She was just a nice Jewish girl from suburban Montreal. She never asked for superhuman powers, nor the relentless, grinding cycle of violence and alienation that came with them. Rachel allowed herself a glimmer of hope when Carl said he loved her, when he swore up and down that her secrets didn't scare him. But that was before he saw her glowing like the north star, before he ran in terror just like everyone before him.

Probably not the ideal moment for an omnipotent, 3000-year-old evil slumbering under the Island of Montreal to awaken and wonder what it should do first.

Captain Canuck Easter Eggs

These may not qualify as Easter Eggs in the "hidden treat" sense because they only became treats over time.

Captain Canuck is often referred to as an inspiration for many comic book creators.  The series itself reveals just how true that is as several of the letters or fan art on display were submitted by people who went on to make their own mark in the field.  Let's have a look...

• Captain Canuck #4:  Matthew Paine of Brandon, Manitoba, submits a picture of a character called Black Corsair.

I believe that's the same Matthew Paine went on to work as a colourist, mostly for Marvel comics.  I am not entirely certain that it's the same person as the bio linked displays a different home town but it seems to fit.  Paine would have been about 19 at the time that  CC4 came out.

• Captain Canuck #7: Mark Shainblum of Montreal, Quebec, appears in the letters page.

Certainly "sounds" like the Mark Shainblum that went on to write Northguard, among others.  The letter touches on religion, the holocaust and politics, all subject touched upon in Northguard and (quite obviously in the case of politics) Angloman (Ha!  Bob Ray!  Good one!).

• Captain Canuck #8: Geoff Isherwood of Montreal, Quebec, contributes to the gallery.

And these days, he contributes to Heroes of the North.  The only thing that causes me some doubt here is that he has spelled his name with one "f" for quite some time now.  My guess is that there's an error in the Captain Canuck comic.

I've linked it before, but a pretty thorough review of his career is included here.  Not mentioned is a plot and design assist credit for the first chapter of Northguard.

I include the Jamie Grummett drawing as well because I believe he is the brother of DC and Marvel penciller Tom Grummett.

• Captain Canuck #9: John Bell of Halifax, Nova Scotia, is printed in the letters page.

And one John Bell, born in Montreal but "with roots in Halifax", wrote a great deal of historical reference material in regards to Canadian comics, including one that is seemingly linked on every single page having anything to do with Canadian comics.  Check the "sources" link on that page for more details.

Mr Bell also contributed the foreword to the Northguard graphic novel.  That thing apparently became an all-star team for Captain Canuck fans.

I may be wrong about some of these, and it's even more likely that I did not recognize the name of someone in one of the Captain Canuck comics who went on to a publishing-based career of his or her own.  If that's the case, I'm open to corrections/additions.