Let's Talk Team-Ups

Jeff Burton, creator of Auroraman, sent out an update earlier today in regards to the Kickstarter campaign he ran successfully for his book this past spring.

The campaign included what I thought was an excellent perk; A Canadian Creators Digital Omnibus featuring material from several other publishers.

The cover for that compilation was revealed to backers today and since it appears on the campaign page, which is not backer-specific, that I know of, I don't think there's any harm in displaying it here too. It is the work of Sabastian Van Esch.

I'm going to assume that Captain Canuck needs no introduction. Working clockwise from him, we have Impact from Canadian Corps, Auric of the Great White North, Axiom-Man and of course, Auroraman himself.

We potentially got some even better news earlier today on social media. The following image was posted from the Expired Comics Twitter account. The caption was attention-grabbing.

Who Wants a Team-Up?

Oh, I think I could get into that...Auric and Auroraman, mentioned above, are joined by Expired's Big Nick, who only recently joined the scene as well. Apparently the team-up is "in the works", which is probably all Expired Comics could tell me at this point.

They also suggest we stay-tuned. No issues on that level. And hopefully you guys kick off a trend. Or a tradition. Or a team book. You have options. :-)

Second Issue of Auric Of The Great White North Planned for May

This past Thursday, the cover to the second issue of Auric Of The Great White North was revealed on the Facebook group dedicated to the character.

Of course, you would have already seen it (or at least a nearly completed version of it) if you'd bought the first issue since it appears on the inside back cover. If you did, I commend you on your good taste and instincts. If you didn't, you might want to rethink that.

Last year's Zero Issue detailed the character's background. Issue number one adds detail to that background as well as providing some basics about Auric's monster-fighting operation, his supporting cast and some of the tools of his trade. They both include a respectful bow to a past character which any fan of Canadian comics history is certain to appreciate.

Both can be had digitally from drive-thru or you can purchase print versions directly from Great North Comics' website (remember to include the standard shipping cost).

Writer Davis Dewsbury was recently interviewed for a Timmins Press article which appeared n the February 25th edition. Highlights appear below, but you can read the full versions by clicking here. In case the link goes dead, credit goes to Alan S. Hale.

...The character was initially conceived as a mascot for the 2015 Northern Ontario Expo (the annual comic book convention held in Timmins) and until the release of Auric of the Great White North No. 1 late last month, the only book featuring the superhero was the one printed specifically for last year’s expo. 

The new comic is to be the first in an ongoing series with a story arc that will continue over multiple issues, similar to most other popular comic book series... 

... 

There is no doubt that Auric is a Timmins superhero. The lion-headed warrior’s story takes place in an alternate universe version of Timmins. He uses the McIntyre headframe as a base, and even his name is a play on the chemical symbol for gold: Au. 

Without spoiling anything, Dewsbury said that the story arc for the series starts with Auric returning to Timmins after fighting a war against a race of beasts wreaking havoc in the north. A major theme of the story, said the writer, will be exploring the idea of a superhero who is himself aging. 

“I called the story arc ‘All Things Old’ because I want to show the juxtaposition between a young hero and a hero who is past his prime,” he said. “So throughout the issues, there will be shots back to the past which will show him building him into the great hero he’s known to be, and then come back to the present where he’s not effective as he once was.” 

Two teammates for Auric are also being introduced to the series to assist him, who Dewsbury said he wanted to reflect the diversity of people found in Timmins. 

“I’m trying to keep the cast of characters diverse to kind of show the different races we have up here in the North. One is of native descent, and the other is African-American. I didn’t want it to be whitewashed. I wanted it to show who we have up here in the North,” said Dewsbury. 

With the first comic out, Dewsbury said he and Thomas are working hard on issue No. 2, which they intend to be out in stores before the next Northern Ontario Expo on May 7 and 8.

September Reading List Additions

I've started cleaning things up a bit around here. Nothing too drastic just yet, just making sure that links work and such, but also adding a couple of new books to the reading list.

Auric Of The Great White North is now included in the hope that folks will discover it and/or sample the book because it seems fairly unique. I admit I have yet to purchase the zero issue (the only one available as I write this) myself. I would prefer to acquire it along with issue number one when that book becomes available next month. In fact, if the option presents itself, I might buy them digitally but get the trade later for the collection.

In any event, Auric is obviously a nice fit for this blog and I'll be keeping that project on the proverbial radar. If the book looks like your kind of thing, the best place to track its progress appear to be this Facebook group. And as usual, clicking on the cover image in the reading list will take you to a page from which you can purchase it. In this case, it's quite simply the Great White North Comics' website's store page.

The other addition is Canadian Corps, a book I'd been eager to read for quite some time. The digital version was among my perks from when I pledged to the fundraising campaign so I got to read it a few weeks ago but I deliberately avoided discussing it here until it was available for purchase. That's now the case; the book can be had on drivethru.

It serves as an introduction to the various team members as leader Warrant (above) gathers them to fight off an alien invasion up (way up) north. Much like he's done in past books, writer Andrew Lorenz manages to give you just enough information about each character to make you feel like you know them a bit already, but also makes it clear that there is significantly more to learn. Good stuff, fun read.

There are a couple of other books that I've received recently as a result of participating in crowdfunding campaigns and I hope to get to them soon.