Captain Canuck: The Complete Edition

I took the plunge this past weekend and bought this. I have the originals (1-14 and the Summer Special) but as stated previously, some are in brutal condition.


I'm very pleased that I got it...and that I waited. I had seen the first volume at Chapters, but the choice of content seemed odd. I looked it up when I got home and volume one includes issues 4-10, while volume two has issues 11-14 and the summer special. Apparently, the plan all along was to have all of that and issues 1-3 in the complete edition only.

So...why would you buy the first two volumes? I'm not sure I follow the reasoning.

This thing is gold if only for including the never-published #15 (though it's in black and white). Still, if you are a story collector, you have to be pleased by that.

It also includes the newspaper strip, but displays eight of them over two pages. I have no idea how many such strips were actually published, but the ones that are included are numbered 128 to 135 and they are clearly the middle portion of a story.

The 1.5 issue of the Legacy series makes an appearance...but the #1 issue does not. Not a problem for me as I have it, but again, I'm a little puzzled as to the reasoning.

And in light of the things that are arguably missing from the "complete" edition, a gallery that displays small version of covers from the original series, all of which are included in full size earlier in the volume anyway, seems pointless. Readers might have enjoyed a foreword detailing the character's history and iconic achievements, or perhaps some insight/anecdotes from the creator(s) similar to liner notes in CD's or the "director's commentary" in a DVD instead of getting the same content twice.

By and large though, those are minor quibbles. The reproduction is great and the unique colour style looks fantastic in this format. Plus, it's amazing to see the rapid improvement in this book from its first couple of issues to issue four or so.

And there may be very good reasons for the content selection being what it is; just because I don't know them doesn't mean they don't exist.

Going forward, if it's even possible, I'd love to see...

a) The full newspaper strip.
b) The Legacy series completed and combined with the Reborn series (to the point it reached) in a single volume.

Whether that's in one volume or separate ones, I couldn't care any less. I'm appreciative to IDW for making this collection available and hope there's more Captain Canuck content to come before long.