Sandstone Comics Presents

Do you like a great deal? Of course you do.

I backed the Sandstone Comics Presents anthology a few days ago. The pdf version was $10 which, initially, seemed a little steep for a digital book. I'd overlooked the fact that this book is 72 pages in length, however, which makes the cost far more reasonable.

Then it got even better. Sandstone chose to promote the pdf for only $2 during its Kickstarter campaign.

So what am I (and hopefully "we") getting here?

First, it bears pointing out that Sandstone is based out of Charlottetown PEI and likely would have been supported on that basis alone. But as with any project, Canadian characters are of highest interest to me and, at first glance, there didn't seem to be much of that here.

That's a little misleading. Most of the characters are from "Charlotte City", which I suspect is simply a larger version of Charlottetown. I'm reminded of how True Patriot's Family Dynamic are based in a fictional town in British Columbia. it would appear a similar approach is in play here.

Here are the characters in question, starting with Nucleus from Indestructible.

After an accident involving an electromagnetic test, Martin (Mason) gained extreme powers and strength. Now a protector of the people, he roams the skies a Nucleus, guardian of Charlotte City. His time as a hero might be short-lived as there is a sickness living inside of him.

If Nucleus patrols the skies, The Ghost Of The Cradle prowls its streets.

When a mysterious vigilante starts targeting the criminal underworld of the Cradle, a borough of Charlotte City, Detective Alex Turnbull is tasked with tracking down this strange new threat. Turnbull is forced to face his own personal demons in the hunt for this ghostly persona, all while under the watchful eye of an even deadlier menace looming in the shadows.

There is another character mentioned on the Kickstarter page but it is unclear how involved he'll be in the anthology. The book is marketed as containing three full-length stories and in addition to the above, includes one called Leap Frog.

You can see Century Man is listed as an extra so he may only get a few pages. Nevertheless, he is also Charlotte City product.

The more I looked into the project, the more boxes it checked so rather than take them up on their offer to reduce my pledge from $10 to $2 for the pdf, I upgraded it to the print version of the book as well as a few other perks. It was listed as being a $40 reward and I did not realize it at the time but that includes shipping. That's something to bear in mind but you can still support the project for all of $2.

Follow Sandstone's progress on Facebook.

Groups of Seven/7

The folks behind Group Of 7 have been fairly active while I've been dormant! They have released the second and third issue of their flagship series...

...And are preparing to release another, presumably complementary, title.

Here’s a first look at our new project - PEREGRINES - Service. Sacrifice. Sisterhood. Protecting the dominion of Canada from threats unknown and unbelievable since 1867.

If you're unfamiliar with Group of 7, the book is described (partially) as follows:

While the battle (Vimy Ridge) rages topside, Canadian physician John McCrae leads a secret mission underneath the Ridge against a mysterious enemy with monstrous intentions. To succeed, he’ll need a group of unique soldiers.

Six more of them, in fact, including Lester Pearson and Conn Smythe. Check out the full list here.

In announcing Peregrines earlier this month on their Facebook page, the person who displayed the cover also pointed out that we can expect three more issues of the main Group of 7 book in 2019. The first three can be purchased in print or digitally by following the instructions on this page.

Meanwhile, after long period of dormancy of their own, it appears that the team behind Group of Seven (no relation between the two books) is carrying on as well as evidenced by a recent character redesign.

Here it is folks! The final new look for the character formally known as Canadianna Red. Thanks to all for the feedback with the process of the redesign. My wonderful wife has realized the vision in full colour, for your viewing edification. Here's Anna as she'll appear with her "Hell Bunnies" in the forthcoming Group of Seven issue 6. Now to get onto drawing the book...

I don't believe a fifth issue is available as of yet if I can rely on Indyplanet which I know damn well I can't from past experience. A cover for it has been displayed on that Group of Seven's own Facebook page though so work is at least under way to some degree. A compilation of the first four issues was made available on Amazon.ca in kindle format some time ago.

The Most Crude Post Ever

But it's been so long since I posted anything, probably no one will see it anyway. ;-)

My "career" as an Indiegogo/ Kickstarter supporter is somewhat spotty. Most creators have come through with their promises even if most of that group has been late in delivering.

Rob Mackinnon / Vigilante Comix and their Deborah Daring book has been among the most reliable projects I've supported. I enjoyed it a great 

When I received issue number four some time last year, I recall being a little disappointed that the series would only run for six books in total and hoping that a sequel series would be announced in the future.

My wish was half-met. As Deborah's book prepares to come to an end, Vigilante announced the following series would be crowd-funded next month.

Our tale begins 300 years ago in the Athabasca River area of the Canadian North West, when a dying Cree shaman places a curse on the white settlers that brought disease to the people of his tribe.

Fast forward to 2016 when the Shaman's spirit is awakened by a terrible wild fire that ravages his burial ground near the oil town of Fort McMurray.  

Let's have a better look at some of that art by Dario Carrasco..

Pretty swell stuff. MacKinnon has other irons in the fire in 2019 in books called Hardboiled and Hildebrand - Valkyrie. It's very encouraging to see Vigilante Comix growing. You can find out about their plans on his recently updated and expanded website.

Now I have to be honest and admit that initially, by its name, I believed that this was a bit of a rip off from the Crude story that has been running through the True Patriot Presents anthology book from Chapterhouse.

Reading more about MacKinnon's concept cleared that up quickly; a name similarity appears to be all they truly have in common.

It did, however, remind me that much like Deborah Daring's adventures appear to be coming to an end, at least temporarily, Crude's (and that of all the characters that appear regularly in TPP) may as well. The most recent issue, #11, was released on January 2nd and it confirmed that the series is coming to an end.

The penultimate issue of True Patriot Presents. Get in on the ride while you can! This issue features Dominion Jack! Crude! The Canadian Sentinel! The Family Dynamic!  

Look for an oversized issue #12 in less than two months, plus important True Patriot News!

That's quite the drag but at least there's a hint of something being on the horizon.

I suspect that anyone reading about Canadian superheroes already supports True Patriot Presents but if you do not on the basis that it is a digital-only book or simply don't hear about the book being released, I would suggest your reconsider and/or look into it. At $2 a pop on Comixology, it is an inexpensive way to support Canadian creators.

Psychosis Vol. 4 Now Available!

And I know this for a fact, because it was in my mailbox on Friday! Yay!

For all the difference that it makes, I neglected to mention the Kickstarter campaign here when it launched in March. Regardless, as usual, the book met its goal and still as usual, the 2-man team behind the book were pretty punctual with fulfilling rewards, something I appreciate tremendously.

The pitch was a little sparse this time...

Our team is back to keep pushing themselves to their limits. Not everyone is making it out this time.

Psychosis has bounced around a bit in term of publishers, at least on the digital side, but now (writer Adam) Atkinson and (artist David) Coates are selling the books in print format directly from their Facebook group.

If anyone is looking to order copies of Psychosis, the following is our pricing model, and costs. 

10$ - Single Volume
40$ - Whole Set (4 Volumes)
15$ - Tshirt
35$ - Hooded Sweatshirt (DESIGN TO BE FINISHED SOON) 

Within Moncton Area we will deliver to you at no cost. 

SHIPPING COST TO CANADA
5$ for Single Volume
10$ for All 4 Volumes 

INTERNATIONAL
10$ Single Volume
20$ for All 4 Volumes 

Email psychosisthecomic@gmail.com with orders, and we will have them sent as quickly as possible.

Now excuse me, I have some reading to do.

Update on Canadiana

The image and text below are from about a week ago (link and paragraph break added).

Getting ready for East Coast Comic Expo this weekend! I just picked up our books and prints we'll be selling. Really pleased with the result Pressed 4 Time Printing did. Great job! 

These books have the Canadiana story from the original 2005 web series, (written by Mark Shainblum, pencilled by Jeff Alward, and inked/colored by me) as well as a preview of the brand new adventures. This is the first time in print for Canadiana, and I can't think of a better place to premiere it than the ECCE. 

The above was written in the Blu Haus Studio Facebook group. I have to assume that the "me" referred to above as inker/colourist is Holly Noel since she's the only other Blu Haus member named

A work-in-progress print was displayed months ago as well.

Looks like Canadiana is building herself a team!

I believe that is The Martlet in flight at bottom left, a character that was first revealed (to the best of my knowledge) as an entry in the second Epic Canadiana (no connection to the the character above) anthology from Cloudscape.

That I recall, she ultimately didn't appear (I really need to revisit that book...And to tone down on the parentheses) but from what little I know of her, I'm quite pleased to see her still in play. She sounds like she could be an interesting character with some fairly unique qualities.

If you're not familiar with her, see if you can guess what they are just from the image above.  It's a rare thin among comic book characters.

True Patriot Presents #8 is out!

True Patriot Presents has found a way to release its issues just as I begin to assume that the series is done for. Number 7 came out in January and while I think we all know to not expect an exact bi-monthly schedule, by now things were starting to seem a little bleak.

We hadn't heard much chatter about issue 8 leading up to its release. Often it will be teased a few days in advance. Not this time; While glancing at the new books for the week, there it was in all its Canadian glory.

As the cover above reveals, most of the regulars are here. The book leads off with an action-packed installment of The Red Ensign made to look, as usual, as though you are viewing it on a WW2 newsreel. The copied image below doesn't quite capture it adequately but it's a neat touch.

The Family Dynamic follows with a continuation of the stories told in the three-issue limited series from DC Comics from some years back.  We are at the beginning of the second issue from that series at this point. These pages focus on a crime-fighting duo called Blackbird and Little Wing who are very close to the family.

I quite like these two and when the old DC material runs out, I would be interested in seeing them in a story of their own.

Crude is next, but seen relatively little in a story which serves more to effectively build up the threat that the enemy presents.

The book concludes with some heavy Dominion Jack family drama though again, the supporting cast gets the bulk of the action.

30+ pages for $1.99 US.

It's encouraging to see that all four stories are to be continued. I know that guarantees nothing but it at least displays an intent to go on publishing this anthology and sets my mind at ease on that level.

So with that in mind, could we maybe expect #9 for Canada Day, even if it's a little within the usual bi-monthly expectation? Hope so.

Night of The Red Panda TPB Coming Soon!

The following information about The Terrific Twosome Of Toronto is copied from this "Coming Attractions" audio file from Decoder Ring Theater.

(Artist) Dean (Kotz) and I are going to release a direct market trade paperback of the Red Panda comics that were not in the first collection, the Night of The Red Panda arc. The one with the Mad Monkey, and Professor Zombie and Captain Clockwork...So that will be coming out soon to an Amazon near you so watch for that.

The first three issues of the Red Panda series, Mask Of The Red Panda, were published by Monkeybrain Comics in 2013. They were 35 pages each, in black and white. A trade paperback was published later, in colour, by IDW.

Monkeybrain continued the series with an updated tile (Night Of The Red Panda) but followed the same numbering. Issues were now in colour but 22 pages in length. Presumably then we are getting issues 4 through 13 (the final one) and hopefully enough interest to generate more content. Excellent news.

You Can't Keep Good Heroes Of The North Down!

Since the launch of the original version of this blog in January 2012, Canadian comics and/or comics by Canadians have seen a bit of a surge. There are now several Facebook groups dedicated to such, a creator alliance, a wiki (linked at top right of the page), a high profile publisher and probably several other promotional opportunities that I am forgetting or am simply not aware of.

There have been losses along the way. Many of the projects that motivated me to begin focusing on Canadian comics characters and up-and-coming creators in the first place no longer exist. First and foremost in that category is Heroes Of The North.

Man, I loved me some HOTN. They had the web series, comics, merchandise, novels, personal appearances...They were the total package, to my eye. I could have gone "all in" with those guys and dropped everyone else. I wondered how they could even pull it off!

Until they suddenly didn't. Looking back, their second season was ridiculously ambitious (for which I'm grateful, to be honest). They sent out a bunch of teaser material about incoming actors, new characters, etc, and then...Nothing. The whole thing went silent.

Then oddly enough, after two years of "radio silence", I came across two upcoming projects earlier today which have ties to the Heroes.

One is a book called The Cloak from LRVD Comics.

A short prequel to The Cloak is coming thanks to Yann Brouillette and Joe DeSantos. It will be available for free via digital download and also as a supplement to Issue #1 (print)!

Yann Brouillette wrote much of the Heroes Of The North material. Frankly, I assumed he'd just bailed on the comics industry altogether but evidently he saw something in this character worth investing into. And so he's back. If you want to know more about Brouillette, check out his website and keep track of updates of The Cloak project here.

Meanwhile, Alan Draven has a novella in the works (under a pseudonym, for some reason). Here's the elevator pitch by the man himself, lifted from Twitter.

VIGIL 5. New comic book type illustrated novella series by Neal Vandar about a group of vigilantes led by a black protagonist set in Montreal with elements of Afrofuturism. Coming late 2018/early 2019.

Draven wrote the HOTN novel October Dawn so writing Canadian superheroes is hardly beating a new path for him.  We can keep track of his progress on his own blog here.

True Patriot #7 Available on Comixology Jan 17th

The image below is for the 6th issue of True Patriot Presents but it seems that #7 is coming to us digitally on Wednedsay. The info below was posted on True Patriot Facebook group.

One year later, Dominion Jack’s adventures continue with this week’s release of True Patriot Presents #7...along with new Crude, Red Ensign and the Family Dynamic!

There you go! Now you have something to get you through the Monday blues!

Norlan: Sorceress Of Light

Speaking of Auric earlier...

The above was shared on the Canadian Comic Book Alliance Facebook group in November.

I don't recall a character named Norlan in the Auric book. The character that would best fit the limited information above would be the lady he met in 1912 who granted him his powers and bore a striking resemblance to a classic Canadian heroine.  Hmmm...

CanComicsWiki Awards 2017

The Canadian Independent Comic Book Wiki's construction began in December 2016 with the purpose of creating a record of all independently made comics books by Canadians over the years (and, of course, going forward). Content began to be added early in 2017and the database has grown at a rapid pace.

And what better way to celebrate an active and successful year "in business" than with an awards ceremony?

During the second half of December 2017, founder Brendan Montgomery collected upwards of 300 votes in various categories relating to independent comics publishing. The winners were announced about a week ago, starting with...

Coincidentally, I received the fourth issue of this series in the mail earlier today...

Auric is no stranger to this page, its predecessor, or probably of any fan of Canadian comics for that matter. The ongoing has been very successfully crowd-funded in the past and shows no signs of slowing down.

However, I admit to being far less familiar with the other big winner, apparently to my loss.

Adventurers originated as a web comic. After a couple of hundred strips released over the course of about three years, it also successfully took the crowd-funding route with the goal to release a compilation in print.

What was it about? Says Tindall...

When my oldest daughter was two, I began making drawings of her every day. In order to fit the strips in between my regular work, I made the rule that they had to be in pen, with no sketching beforehand, with only one colour (blue). She was growing up so fast and becoming such a fascinating person that I felt I needed to document it. As soon as she could speak, I realized that it would be a lot funnier to make comics about her 

...

For the first time, I'm going to write and draw the harrowing story of my kid's heart surgery at eight months old. The horrible days leading up to the surgery, the endless night while we waited to hear, and her two-week recovery. 

 I don't know that the description "slice of life" for a book has ever been more appropriate.

Take a look at the complete voting results of these awards. You'll see some familiar faces among the runners-up and honourable mentions, such as Big Nick and Auroraman. You may also be introduced to something pretty cool.

And make a mental note to participate next year. Preferably as a creator, if you've ever had that inclination.

Get To Know...Patriotfire!! (And The Rest Of North Force Alpha)

As work proceeds on the second and third issues of North Force Alpha, as well as a sourcebook about the team and its world, creator/writer/artist Peter Colp has been posting some background information about its members on its Facebook group.  Patriotfire below is an example.

FEELING BETRAYED BY HIS COUNTRY, AND MISTRUSTING OF THE GOVERNMENT, JACOBY "DAGGER" STEVENSON HAS RELUCTANTLY JOINED NFA. HIS "MUTATED" ABILITIES AND APPEARANCE HAVE BEEN A LIFE ALTERING EXPERIENCE AND CAUSED HIM TO HIDE AND BECOME AN OUTCAST FROM SOCIETY FOR MANY YEARS.

NOW, ENCOURAGED AND INSPIRED BY A PAST CANADIAN PATRIOT'S HEROIC DEEDS, HE HAS DECIDED TO AID NFA AGAINST THE TERRORIST ORGANIZATION KNOWN AS THE OCTAGON!

I'm kind of curious about this "past patriot" part now...

The second issue is expected to be available at the end of January and the plan following that is to release another issue every three months or so. The third issue should introduce a rival team from the United States and THAT's always a good time. ;-)

Colp has also launched a website specific to his team recently. It's still in need of a few tweaks, but you can have a look at that here.

Here's a capsule view of the team. The image below was posted by Colp on the Facebook group.

Fourth Time's The Charm?

The North Shield is a graphic novel project by William Byrne that's been percolating for some time. Here's its elevator pitch:

They thought they killed him, but they were wrong... Rising from the ashes to be found by a secret government agency under the streets of the Toronto as he struggles to understand and cope with his newfound abilities. 

He will be trained by a battle scarred WW2 French Canadian superhero/spy and armed with an alien battle-suit. 

He will claim back his new home from the dark tyranny that threatens to destroy the city. 

He will become the hero the city/country and the world needs!

Byrne attempted to kickstart it on three separate occasions earlier this year. The first campaign was cancelled for reasons which escape me now and the next two failed to meet their goals.

But...Byrne deserves some credit here, for a variety of reasons.

1) Many people would have called it quits after the first attempt. Byrne believes in his project and persevered.

2) Byrne received quite a bit of press over his project including the CBC, local newspapers and of course a variety of comics sites. That's not always easy to do so clearly he managed to strike a chord with some people.

3) While he didn't reach his goal, he was still able to obtain thousands of dollars in commitments.

Referring back to point one, after the third attempt did not meet expectations, Byrne stated that he and his character would be back soon. Honestly, I've read this claim a dozen times from folks who were never heard from again so I admit I've begun to think of it as the standard farewell speech.

Prior to writing this, I went over the past few months of activity on The North Shield Facebook group to look for news I might have missed since the end of the last fundraising campaign. There are two types of posts by Byrne that stand out; Those relative to his various attempts at improving his product and the more general ones about not giving up on a goal.

Then today, Byrne shared a post from Toronto artist Loc Nguyen which displays a redesign of The North Shield character.

Pretty smooth, eh? It builds nicely on Marvin Law's art above (I don't know if Law was involved in the original design or only as the artist on the book). Nguyen's use of darker colours and the added detail work very well here.

Byrne's own hard work, public requests for feedback, positive attitude and a sleek new look for the main character all indicate that he truly has not given up on seeing his graphic novel published. Don't be surprised if The North Shield appears on Kickstarter once again before long.

ICYMI Art: Dominion Jack by Steve Rude

Jack Briglio shared the image yesterday as part of his Merry Christmas message to friends, family, etc.

As a True Patriot & Dominion Jack treat, thought I’d share an image of a gift I received from none other than the “Dude” himself, Steve Rude! His take on Dominion Jack and Mashup. Cool or what, eh? 🙂 Enjoy! 

I’ll have some shots from the next True Patriot Presents Dominion Jack chapter that Hugh and I are cooking up in the new year! The story is heating up...

No better gift than one you can also share.

The "Hugh" being referred to is no doubt Hugh Rockwood. Hugh has handled art duties on the last couple of installments of the Dominion Jack stories in True Patriot Presents and apparently will continue to do so. He also contributed the cover below to the third issue of Captain Canuck Chapterhouse Archives book. Alas, it never saw print.

Looking Ahead to 2018 Some More!

The last chronological post here displayed the cover for Deborah Daring #4 but as the year comes to a close, I should take the time to mention some of the other great books that are schedule to become available in the early part of the new year.

These three covers are displayed in the order that I remember seeing them in. It is not a reflection of the order in which they might be released or indicative of my affection for the product and/or its creator(s). ;-)

Big Nick #3

Auric #5

It's good to see the Auric cover. I have yet to receive #4 after supporting it in the recent Kickstarter campaign. I have no concerns about it reaching me, as the team behidn Auric and Great North comics has always been reliable in that sense, but seeing work on #5 already being shared makes me hopeful that there will be a little less time between these two issues.

Project I.M.P.A.C.T. #1

More serious fare here. I'd been hoping a coloured version would come quickly after the black and white one was revealed a few days earlier.

I know work continues on North, Oktana @ Co, North Force Alpha, the Lucky Comics version of The Leaf, Psychosis and more as well. One book that met its fundraising goal and that should be coming my way soon is Atticus Drake. Here's the cover for that.

Find out more about that project here. It may end up being a one-and-done, but I'm always all-in for a good war story. I wish I'd been more vocal in supporting it (for whatever little good that might actually do) so I was quite glad to see it meets its goal.

If you are aware of other projects involving Canadian characters, creators, settings and publishers, get in touch with me at jf4nier(at)gmail(dot)com.

Deborah Daring #4 Getting Kickstarted Soon!

I've praised the folks behind the Psychosis book a few times over the handling of their crowdfunding campaigns but Rob McKinnon, the man behind the Deborah Daring limited series, deserves those same accolades as well.

Rob sent a campaign update earlier today in which he apologized to some backers over a delay in shipping the collected edition of the book that they'd pre-purchased. I've backed individual issues and have encountered no such delays. If any of the three books were late, it wasn't particularly noticeable.

The update came with cover art for the next issue which I very much plan to support again. Artist Jae Korim is a great choice for this book.

The Surprising Superieurs

I received an unexpected surprise (aren't they all?) this afternoon when Charlie McElvy, creator of the Watchguard Universe, sent out the following image to those who supported the Kickstarter campaign for his Watchguard and/or Teen Force 5 comics.

The above ass-kicking was provided by Chahine Ladjouze and gloriously displays Charlie's subtly Canadian super team, Les Superieurs. The image will be used for the cover to an upcoming WatchGuard Sourcebook supplement.

My surprise stems from the fact that I supported the WatchGuard campaign...in early 2012.

I did so knowing full well that Les Superieurs were peripheral to it, of course. It wasn't about them, they just happened to inhabit the same setting. The Watchguard characters were interesting enough on their own though and supporting the "universe" could only help the Superieurs material get made, so onwards.

Since then I've enjoyed purchasing character fact sheets for the various team members or some of their opponents. They are reference material for the Mutants & Masterminds role-playing game, is my understanding, which I don't play, but they provide a great deal of background material on their respective subject.

It had been quite some time since I'd had the opportunity to purchase one so I figured this was one of many, many projects I've backed in which the creator(s) lose(s) interest for whatever reason, such as Heroes Of The North and Legion Unleashed.

(No knock, by the way. Life happens. It's all I can do to maintain this blog, let alone create a comic series or write a novel)

Today's teaser confirms that a) the project is still a go and b) I should quit doubting Charlie because whenever I give up on seeing Les Superieurs, they resurface in some way. Hopefully there's still a chance that a comic book will follow as well, along the lines of the one that was produced for Watchguard. Just, you know...Don't go camping out in front of your local RPG or comics store just yet.

In the process of refreshing my memory about this team, I found this character as well.

Defending Canada's provinces and territories from villainy isn't an easy job. Luckily the nation has Red Serge as their national hero! A member of the RCMP that uses a strange, crimson-colored energy to fight the forces of evil, he protects the nation from villainy both within its borders and beyond them.

I have no idea how he fits into all this, in fact I don't believe he does. He may just be a pre-made character for those who want to play the Mutants & Masterminds game but not a part of the Watchguard Universe as such. Still, I dig the design and who knows? Just because he's not in Les Superieurs doesn't mean he can't operate on his own in Watchguard Canada.

We're Getting Closer To Finding Out Who Desbois Is!

All I know so far is he looks damn good when drawn by Mike Rooth.

The crowdfunding campaign for the fourth issue of Auric Of The Great White North reached its goal in a matter of a day or two but you still have a couple of weeks or so to get your hands on that beauty. Check that out here.

All we know  about Desbois so far is that he's a part of Auric's "team" and has historical ties with the main character. And that information comes from the fourth issue's solicitation text.

The campaign perks display an estimated delivery date for the books of December 2017. Hopefully that holds true.

Tommy Gun Banshee

This space tends to be reserved for the mask and/or cape types, but Tommy Gun Banshee looked too cool to pass up.

Introducing Tommy Gun Banshee, the story of a 1920's hit-man for the Irish Mob, haunted by a dreadful spirit- a banshee. Tommy Gun Banshee is a new quarterly full-colour comic. With Issues #1 and #2 complete, that's 64 pages of comics we're ready to give you! 

Meet Nicky, aka, "The Tommy Gun Banshee", a semi-mythic figure of the Prohibition underworld. Some call him a monster, others call him crazy- but everyone's heard the story of the hit-man haunted by the ghost of a beautiful woman. But just what IS the Banshee? Is she the fever dream of a sick man, or something far more sinister? Nicky's gunning to find out- and it seems like the whole world is gunning for him.

Very pleased to meet you, Tommy!

Aside from Decoder Ring Theater's Red Panda Adventures, very few Canadian characters have been placed in that time frame as a setting. I don't know that Nicky himself is Canadian, mind you, and as a hitman for the Irish mob, there's a good chance he isn't. But if the location is Canadian, then at least some of the characters are going to be. The added supernatural element of a banshee haunting the protagonist certainly adds to the uniqueness of this project and the art appears to be ideally suited.

The creators are celebrating achieving 50% financial support for their project with slightly more than three weeks to go in the campaign as I write this. They plan to continue publishing the book quarterly beyond this fundraising campaign and are ready to send the digital version of the first issue at its conclusion so will you will be partially rewarded right away while the print copies are being generated. I like that approach and I hope the project receives the support it needs to forge ahead.

Heroes Of The Home Front

Being deeply interested in Canadian comics history, I backed this crowdfunding project shortly after its launch, hardly needing to give it a second glance in deciding to do so. I'd come across the campaign 's founder's name (Ivan Kocmarek) in the past and the possibility of acquiring up to 300 pages of historical data about 40s Canadian comics publisher Bell Features was too good to pass up.

It is now in its final week and I am truly hopeful that it will meet its funding goal. As I find out more information about it, it becomes quite clear that a great deal of time and effort went into the project and that it is an extreme labour of love.

My initial concern, partially caused by the image of Nelvana on the campaign page, was that I would be purchasing material I already owned from supporting prior reprinting efforts (such as the Nelvana and Johnny Canuck books at the left of the page). I didn't want to pay for a 300 page book just to find that only a couple of dozen of them are new to me.

I referred back to a First Comics News interview with Mr. Kocmarek which put that concern to bed. I've copied Kocmarek's answer to a question about content below. It describes the book better than the Kickstarter campaign page does, in my opinion.

...The book is about the art and artists who worked for Canadian WWII comic book publishing company, Bell Features Publications, which was based in Toronto and which put out original Canadian comic book material between 1941-46. 

The book is a 300-page 9” X 12” volume that reproduces more than 150 pages of original art from the Bell Features collection held by the Library and Archives of Canada in Ottawa. It also reproduces an additional 25 Bell Features original art pages from private collections. Each of these original art pages is reproduced as a full 9” X 12” page in the book and have never been reproduced in this way before. 

The rest of the book is text with photos sharing some of the backstory of the artists who made those pages. There are about 30 sections in the book each one about a different Bell Features comic book artist. The basic structure of each of these sections is: 

-A backstory on the life of the artist 

-An index of his/her work for Bell Features 

-An interview with the artist where possible or an interview with a direct family member. 

-Pages reproducing a selection of that artist’s original page drawings for Bell Features.

Kocmarek states in no uncertain terms in an answer to another question later in the interview that there are no reprints in this book. In effect, this is an encyclopedia specific to that publisher, or at least its talent.

If you have an interest in classic Canadian comics, characters, or creators, I hope you are supporting this project, or will now choose to do so. Instead of duplicating past reprint effort, it appears that this book will serve as a great to complement to them.