Canadian Characters in Standard Comics

Remember Standard Comics?

Some time ago, I posted a fake cover of a book in which Captain Canuck and Commander Steel were fighting a half-robot, half-gorilla villain. Here's another, for example, with solicitation no less!

When three members of the Freedom Brigade decide to come to Canada to make demands of the War Department, some fighting Canucks remind them who won the War of 1812 (hint: it wasn't the Yankees). Since Canadians had been fighting against the Nazis since 1939, the Americans' "late" entry into the war did not put them in much of a position to make demands. So three of Canada's finest arrive at the Windsor-Detroit crossing, the Ambassador Bridge, to intercept the Yankees before they enter Canada. 

The writer Thomas Royale brings another issue of the retroactive series set in WWII, with perhaps a bit of pointed social commentary on how long it took to get the USA into a war the Canucks had been fighting for two years. Arvell Jones provides the dynamic cover, the first of many. 

Pencils by Arvell Jones, inks and colors by Christopher Ivy.

The three Canadian heroes in question, in the unlikely event that you are not familiar with them, are Commander Steel again, Nelvana of the Northern Lights and The Penguin at bottom left.

There is no such comic book, no matter how real the the images may seem. Roy Johnson, the man behind Standard, explains what the whole thing is about on a recently-built Facebook page:

Standard Comics was a real comic company until the 1950s when it went out of business. When I was commissioning art featuring Public Domain superheroes, I appropriated the name and logo as an imaginary 3rd publisher alongside DC and Marvel, doing fake covers and so on to give a glimpse into that alternative world. 

The art displayed on Mr. Johnson's Comic Art Fan gallery is convincing enough to fool people for a number of reasons. Many well-established artists have contributed to his hobby (including some Canadians in David Cutler and Geoff Isherwood), Mr. Johnson mixes golden age and/or public domain characters along with original creations, and the work tends to reflect a certain era very accurately.

But after years of fooling people, Mr. Johnson is now looking to take his interest to the next level.

"Standard Comics Encyclopedia (Abridged)" is a 30+ page comic in the style of Marvel's Handbook and DC's Who Who series: a group of illustrated profile entries on the exciting characters who populate the "Standard Comics Universe". 

The comic will be available in hard copy and digital form from IndyPlanet in the next few months. 

Several Public Domain characters (Magno, TNT Todd, Count Orlok, and others) are featured alongside a large number of my own original characters (Optima, UltraMan, Raven, etc.). 

If all goes well (hint hint, if I sell some copies and generate enough interest), I'll look into doing a traditional comic book featuring some of them. Here's hoping.

Mr. Johnson is well aware that he can not use Nelvana in his books but since he adds his own creations I'm hopeful that he'll use her (and the other Canadians he included in his fake material) as inspiration for a new character. I'm a big fan of those public domain heroes so I would have paid attention to the Standard's progress regardless, but at some point down the road I'd love to report a pleasant surprise from them. Wishing you luck, Mr Johnson!

"Superheroes to call our own"

The following is from a CBC page linked below. For all I know, it's been there for years, but I've only just now come across it.

Because it encapsulates the history of Canadian superhero characters in easy-to-digest, brief fashion, I am copying it for both future reference, and in the event that the CBC decides to remove it one day and it is lost. Anyone sharing this interest with me should view the video that is included on this page.

Superheroes to call our own
• The superhero comic made its debut in the summer of 1938 with the publication of Action Comics No. 1 featuring Superman. Written by Jerry Siegel and drawn by Toronto-born Joe Shuster, the comic was a sensation and spawned the superhero comic genre.

• To learn more about the life of Joe Shuster, go to our clip Superman makes his debut.

• In the winter of 1940, the Canadian government passed the War Exchange Conservation Act. The legislation was intended to stabilize the value of the Canadian dollar by barring the import of non-essential goods from the U.S.

• As a result, all American periodicals - including comic books – disappeared from magazine racks across Canada. Over the next few months, several Canadian companies sprouted to take advantage of the lucrative comic market, including Maple Leaf Publishing, Anglo-American Publications, Commercial Signs of Canada and Hillborough Studios (which later merged with Bell Features.)

• Cy Bell, owner of Bell Features, oversaw one of the more ambitious of the Canadian companies publishing such characters as Dixon of the Mounted, the patriotic Johnny Canuck, the Penguin and Nelvana of the Northern Lights, which was inspired by an Inuit legend.

• The daughter of the king of the northern lights, Nelvana debuted in August 1941 and is considered Canada's first national superhero.

• Based on an idea by Group of Seven member Franz Johnston, Nelvana preceded the U.S. debut of Wonder Woman by three months, making her arguably the world's first female superhero.

• Originally an old lady, the comic book Nelvana was the beautiful young daughter of the king of the northern lights who wore a miniskirt while battling Nazis and the mysterious Ether People.

• Johnny Canuck was created overnight by 16-year-old Leo Bachle. A captain in the Allied Air Forces who had super-strength, Johnny debuted in the February 1942 issue of Dime Comics. Bachle's skill earned him notice in the U.S. and in 1944 he moved to New York City to draw for several comic companies.

• In the 1950's Bachle left comics, changed his name to Les Barker and started a new career as a nightclub entertainer and actor.

• In 1995, Canada Post commemorated Johnny Canuck on a stamp. To see Barker discuss the honour, see our clip Stamp of approval.

• Though Johnny Canuck is well remembered today, the first made-in-Canada superhero was actually a hero called Iron Man.

• Iron Man first appeared in Better Comics No. 1 in March 1941, which is considered to be the first Canadian-made comic featuring original characters. Created by Vancouver native Vernon Miller, Iron Man was the only survivor of a destroyed civilization who lived underwater.

• Other Canadian-made characters of the period include the Polka-Dot Pirate, Freelance, Canada Jack, Stuffy Bugs and Senorita Marquita.

• Despite the popularity of The Whites, the federal import law was repealed after the war ended in 1946. Within a couple of years all of the companies had closed.