Mr. Monster Cover Appearance for Argo Comics

I've been away for a few days without an internet connection (or at least an ongoing, reliable one) and am in the process of catching up.

In the meantime, here's kind of a neat thing that I stumbled into today, even though it was actually posted on the Argo Comics Facebook group back in April. The cover to the 17th issue was provided by Michael T. Gilbert, the gentleman who revived Mr. Monster in the mid-80's.

Argo has a couple of Canadian characters of their own, but that I know of they haven't appeared recently. I believe the plan was for them to be included in the Argo anthology book, but while issues of Argo 5 have been released with some regularity, there's hasn't been an anthology title in some time. Still, we'll keep an ear to the ground.

Ultro of the Argo Universe

Get a load of this dude.

What we have here is a pinup of Ultro from Argo Comics' Team North America by John Hebert.  He is one of two Canadian heroes on that team.

I struggled to get the books in the Argo Comics line due to an inability to order from Indyplanet. However, publisher Dan Sehn went the extra mile to make them available which, naturally, I appreciated.

As expected, being that Team North America appears in a three-story anthology, their inclusion is limited to only a few pages. However, the story centers around the two Canadian characters; Ultro and a demon named Wilde (the purple dude at far left on the cover to #3). Wilde feels that Ultro was out to show him up in a recent mission to stop a monstrous creature named Motetzotzona (yeah, like I really wrote THAT from memory...).  The page count for that individual story is low, true enough, but Team North America dominates the pin-up section.

Unfortunately, there is too little time (or page space) to go into origins and backgrounds of individual characters, Wilde and Ultro included.  And based on solicitations for anthology issues beyond this one, it doesn't seem as though Team North America gets a lot of attention going forward.

The rest of the Argo book content is interesting if only for the variety of nationalities represented. If Alpha Flight was referred to as the "Canadian X-Men" (an unintended slight, as far as I'm concerned) then I would call this series the "Indie Legion of Super-Heroes".  A great many cultures are represented, though one significant difference is that they are not all on the same team.

I'll continue to get the Argo books just on good customer service alone, and highlight the Can-Con, if and when it comes to pass.

Dan, if you happen to read this, again and sincerely, thank you for the effort to get these out to me.

Trapped on IndyPlanet, part 1: Team North America

In the post about the Legion Unleashed books, I mentioned struggling with ordering from indyplanet.com. 

Unfortunately, Legion Unleashed was not the only book I've been unable to buy (whether in print or digitally) from that site.  Another series of book that drew my attention some time back on that site were the Argo Comics Anthologies.

Argo comics are based in New York (I believe) and appear to have a very varied cast, in terms of nationalities if nothing else.  Here is a portion of the solicitation for their first anthology book:

In this issue mythological beasts are on the loose in Brazil and England and the Impact heroes from Germany, England, USA, Greece, Russia, Brazil, Japan, Italy, India, and France unite to face the threats head on!

Ooh!  Do I dare dream that their line will include Canadian characters??

Sho' Nuff!  Here is the beginning of the solicitation for the 3rd Anthology.

Canadians, Americans, Mexicans, and Central Americans unite as we ask the question, "Are demons unfairly treated?". Find out as we meet the super-team known as Team North America.

I have been asking myself for YEARS whether demons were unfairly treated so it's comforting to know that someone can finally provide me with the answer.  ;-)

The only potential drawback is that with three stories, several pin-ups, etc, the actual Canadian content may not be great.  Regardless, I've been able to reach Argo Comics, and they're making an effort to get their product out to me directly, so I feel compelled to support them.

Something else which may be of interest is a contest over at deviantart.com in which the winner gets his or her character published in one of the Argo books.  Check that out right here.  Pretty cool idea.

I think this one will ultimately work out and I hope to be ble to say more about Team North America in a few weeks.