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.

ICYMI Art: Nelvana sketch cover by Steven Butler

I've been checking in on Gallant Comics for some time because of their use of classic public domain characters. Today, while looking for an image of the Nelvana Of The Northern Lights book cover to add to the left hand side of this blog, I happened across a sketch cover that they had for sale.

The cover to this comic is a piece of original art, hand-drawn and colored (watercolors and markers over india ink) by Steven Butler.  It features a beautiful rendition of the character Nelvana of the North (who has yet to appear anywhere else in a Gallant Comics product).

I'm not sure that they actually can use Nelvana in their books but if they don't, I would expect that they'll come up with a reasonable facsimile. So now I have an even better reason to keep an eye Gallant.

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!

Mini-Komix offers Heroes of Canada!

Take off to the Great White North with these Golden Agers from Canada. 

We've got the masked Red Rogue trying to solve a murder, the original Mr. Monster taking on the Terror of Trezma, an adventure with Nelvana of the Northern Lights, and Tricky Merlin takes on some cheating gangsters. 

Brush up on your curling as these Canadian superheroes save the day, eh?! 

Good gravy...

I discovered Georgia-based publisher Mini-Komix a few months ago while searching for reprints of pulp stories. At the time, it seemed I was only coming across their "Daring Dames" line which would spotlight jungle girls or space sirens or some such. Turns out they have a Golden Age theme in play at times as well and last month, the Canucks got their turn.

The above book can be purchased in digital format (pdf) from Drive-Thru for all of  a buck. Mind you, the stories it contains can also be had elsewhere.

Nelvana's adventures are reprinted in their entirety and currently available for purchase in the Nelvana of The Northern Lights compilation. It was also announced recently that Mr. Monster will get similar treatment soon.

Meanwhile, Trick Merlin (not "Tricky" Merlin, as the solicitation states) and The Red Rogue were each included as back up features in the two issues of The Northern Guard that Moonstone Comics published in 2010 and 2011. The stories in the Northern Guard books appear to be the same ones that are included in Heroes of Canada, but reprinted in colour and with a little background material offered as well. Based on the preview material available on Drive-Thru, it seems that Heroes of Canada is a black and white book.

Bluntly summarized, the Nelvana and Northern Guard books are the better product by a significant margin, and I think it's safe to assume that the Mr. Monster book will be as well. But if you want some quick sample exposure to a few of Canada's golden age characters, Mini-Komix offers an inexpensive and easily accessible option.

Halloween 2014 awesomeness!

Confession: Every time I see some local kid dressed as Captain America for Halloween, a small part of me dies. :-(

But when I see great Halloween outfits such as the ones below, I could come back to life more often than James MacDonald Hudson! :-)

All are lifted from Facebook groups, and each respective group is linked through the picture.  I take credit for nothing, I display only because I dig.

First off, Captain Canuck West.

The above is actually from Winnipeg's Central Canada Comic Con (but it was taken and posted on Halloween, so it counts). It's cool to see that version of the character still have some legs. You know what else would be great? Check out what Marvel is doing with Spiderverse and transfer that over to the Captain. All versions of the character in one book/story line. How much fun would that be?

Next, we have Nelvana:

The lady is named Amy Kenny.  Not sure about the dog. ;-)  As far as I'm concerned, that's her brother Tanero.

Last and certainly not least...The Red Ensign from True Patriot!

This was credited only to "a fan from Ottawa".  I love seeing a more recent character with a limited publication history get this kind of treatment if only to add a little exposure.

Good on ya, folks!  For what little it's worth, I appreciate the effort and the originality!

ICYMI Art - Nelvana of the Northern Lights by Alex Perkins

You could be forgiven for "missing" this one since it was only revealed earlier today, I believe.

The image was included in an update to a fundraising campaign.  The campaign's goal is to raise funds to reprint Nelvana's original material from the 40's. Aside from being able to pre-order a copy of that book, it also offers other perks such as a calendar and prints from a number of Canadian artists.  Click on the image above to have a closer look and, hopefully, to contribute.

Let your hearts be gladdened...Nelvana will return!

One of the original goals of this blog was to shine whatever small amount of light I could on some of the Canadian superhero characters from the 40's.  This country's history in the genre appeared to be sadly overlooked and under-appreciated.

Being that there are currently far more Canadian characters, publishers and creators than I'd originally expected to find, I inadvertently deviated from that goal.  Most mentions of Nelvana refer to her appearance on posters and the like, though the basics of her origins are included in the "Superheroes to call our own" post from February 2012.

I mention this now because of recently-announced plans to reprint Nelvana's adventures of the time.

Lost Heroes researchers Rachel Richey and Hope Nicholson (Richey also manages the Comic Syrup blog, while Nicholson is listed among the Lost Heroes producers as well) have acquired the rights to reproduce Nelvana's stories.  They plan to do so following a crowd funding campaign which will begin on October 1st.  You can follow their progress through this Facebook group.

Nelvana creator Adrian Dingle is said to be have been inspired to create Nelvana by Group Of Seven artist Franz Johnston's stories from the latter's travels to the Arctic.  Nelvana, in turn, was at least to some degree the inspiration for Alpha Flight's Snowbird character.  Snowbird's mother is named Nelvanna, with an extra "n", presumably to avoid legal issues.  Her grandfather is named Hodiak, similar to Koliak above.

Nelvana was often assisted in defending the north by her far less celebrated brother Tanero who shared dad's inability to have his true seen by "whites".  Tanero would usually avoid this by changing shapes to that of a flying Great Dane.

Well, that's ONE way...

These books are a lot of quirky fun and having them properly collected would be a real treat.  I'm excited to see this project move forward.

ICYMI Art: Nelvana by Adriana Blake

As ever, it's difficult to judge just how much someone's work has been seen.  It's particularly so in this case as this image was shared on Twitter by Hope Nicholson, associate producer on the upcoming Lost Heroes documentary.  It may be that very few people interested in the character have NOT seen it.

Doesn't really matter, because I'm sucker for anything Nelvana.  :-)  Adriana explains the inspiration for the piece on her tumblr.  Give the image a click to be taken that page.

2005 Paradise Toronto Comicon program cover art

This is another terrific piece I've come across while looking up information in order to write The Superman Conundrum (see above).


Some cropping was required for display purposes.

I happened across this pic from the graphicly site and it is identified as being the work of Kaare Andrews (in case you missed it on the picture itself). It seemed like a particularly appropriate time to post it since it was done to celebrate the launch of the Shuster Awards mentioned in the previous post.

2005 Shuster Award Hall of Fame Print

Not new, but new to me, and therefore perhaps to others. It's too cool for people to miss so I'm sharing a smaller version of it. Plus anything that includes my girl Nelvana is going to get stored away for eternity or until my death, whichever comes first.


I located it on the comicartfans page. Coincidentally, James Waley is involved. He was one of the gentleman who brought Northern Light (see previous post) to life in the 70's. Full credits:

Credits: CONCEPT / INITIAL LAYOUT / ART DIRECTION: JAMES WALEY;
FINISHED LAYOUT: PAUL McCUSKER (w/ JIM ORDOLIS);

PENCILS: Freelance / STEVE LeBLANC;
Prince Valiant / TERRY PALLOT;
Nelvana / SCOTT COOPER;
Johnny Canuck / PETER GRAU;
Superman / TY TEMPLETON;
Harold Hedd / PAUL McCUSKER; INKS: T. PALLOT;

COLOURS & PRODUCTION ASSEMBLY: P. McCUSKER. a SOLID COMICS STUDIO production / raythyonder@yahoo.ca

Superman TM & Copyright DC Comics; Prince Valiant TM & Copyright King Features Syndicate; all other characters are TM & Copyright to their respective owners.

Float around the Joe Shuster Awards page for more artwork involving classic and current Canadian characters.

"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.