comicanuck...

The Mosaik Project comic debuts with Toronto commuters

2011-02-16T16:37:00.001-08:00

Hey all. It's been difficult to juggle things for the past several months. That's why I have accepted a generous offer from the dedicated folks at Sequential to have my own little comicanuck space at their site semi-regularly!

My initial focus may be there but I will also be posting here as well on and off. Hopefully we'll find the perfect balance of comicanuck goodness.

You can read a chat I had with the folks at The Mosaik Project, a new Toronto comic book available across the Toronto Transit Commission system at Gateway newstands and through the Toronto Public Library.

I ran across their debut issue this week and was actually far more intrigued by their unique approach to getting this sucker into people's hand than the contents. This is literally a throwback to old school newsstand distribution. How much more underground do you get than the subway?

Commuters are always looking for different things to read that can entertain them on short and long trips. They also have a better chance at really being seen by urban kids. And the fact that animation professionals are part of the collective behind this project means the art should always have life and a slick veneer.

The main challenge the Mosaik Project has so far is compelling material. The first issue has some nice layout, a cool portfolio and loads of hype but is short on compelling comic material. I'm not seeing anything particularly new.

A two-page colour spread advertising a new cop character called McBubbles (likely based on the videotaped cop currently suing Youtube over capturing his finest hour) just made me sad.

The first issue's comic, 9toOmega, is well rendered with a really clean line style though its light on the blacks and grey tones. The feature is drawn as if its begging for colour to fill in the blanks. But mostly, it's all about pacing and storytelling.

About two thirds of the book is taken up by an Incredibles-style commuter going to work. One or two things happen but events contribute little to the story or our knowledge of the characters. The pacing is out of whack. You turn a page and the hero is no longer in his car but suddenly walking the rest of the way to work asking why he bothers to drive.

Why did he leave his car? Because the creators need him to bump into a could-be-crazy-could-be-wise street person. Nine pages are spent covering a discussion that could have been done in four or five pages with greater impact.

I have worked for years in animation as a storyboard artist and writer and I know that sometimes animators confuse bits of business for story. I hope The Mosaik Project finds an editorial voice with a sense of story to help guide their awesome line-up of artists into showing themselves to their best advantage.

And they need to do it fast. People will make their minds up about this book pretty quickly and you want them wondering what's nest as much as possible so their faces light up when they see the book on the stands.

I see flashes of that possibility in this issue. The wonderful Perry Osuna "Electric Mosaic" portfolio shows a stellar style and will appeal to the urban audience. So will Mosaik's efforts to reach the audience (the back cover promises a High School Creator contest). Of course, proper contact info would help with that!

But this whole concept and approach has me pretty jazzed about the possibilities. So I wish the Mosaik Project all the best.

Find out more about The Mosaik Project at their blog and at their Facebook page.

Beavers Up!

Speed Savage – “Murder Has The Puck”, Part 2

2010-09-28T14:48:00.000-07:00

Hey there. It's been a long time.

So what have you been up to? I'm sorry I didn't call or write, but I had some well, issues, you know? It wasn't you. It was me. And it's all good now. You don't mind if I play a little Barry White while we get re-acquainted, do you? Cause, Big Bad and Dangerous to Love is back and ready to make it up to you. I'm gonna make that painful hurt from waiting so very long with no updates go away with this... My gift to you and only you.

A while back I got it in my head to do a post for every day of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. It was the patriot in me. Sadly, I only made it about halfway.

But I did manage to offer up Part 1 of "Murder Has The Puck", a golden age Canadian comic book adventure by writer/artist Ted Steele from Bell Features starring Speed Savage -- The White Mask!

Feel free to re-read it and get all caught up. Then come on back here and enjoy Part Two at last. Both of these adventures are from the Speed Savage one-shot put out by Bell after the Second World War reprinting a number of Speed's adventures.

Time to bring you up to -- ahem -- speed. Our Canuck golden boy, Speed Savage is a dashing sportsman and all-around magnificent athlete who moonlights as a costumed vigilante known as the White Mask. Speed started out as a pulpy adventurer with a zoot suit, cape, fedora and mask. Eventually he traded in his suit for tights but stuck with twin forty-five automatics to augment his powerful fists. Hey, if it ain't broke don't fix it, right?

Last time out we had two modern takes on Speed Savage's White Mask persona with sketches by current Sweet Tooth and Atom scribe, Jeff Lemire and Scott Hepburn of The Port and Clone Wars.

This time out we have two more awesome variations. The first is Speed's original pulp look by Michael Cherkas, co-creator of The Silent Invasion and Suburban Nightmares with writer Larry Hancock. I added some rough, chunky inks to fill Larry's blacks and sharpen the sketchy image. Sadly, my fuzzy photo of it doesn't do it justice.

Finally, we have sleek version of Speed's later, super-heroic leotard by Jay Stephens, creator of Jet Cat and Tutenstein.

Sigh... Glorious. You can find more of Jay's work here. And while you're at it, check out Jay's new syndicated comic strip with writer Bob Weber Jr., Oh Brother!

Okay. Intermission is over.

In part one of "Murder Has The Puck", Cliff Gordley, star center for the Red Hawks pro hockey team, dies in the middle of a game. as you can imagine, this puts the team's championship hopes on the line until Speed Savage steps in to take Cliff's place. This upsets the unnamed Boss of a gambling ring eager to clean up by betting against the Red Hawks.

"Da Boss" sends his number one thug, Patch Gazetti, to the arena to do to Speed what he did to Cliff. But The White Mask smells a rink rat and hunts down the criminals in their lair only to fall as a gangster bullet creases his masked skull.

And now, lace up for sudden death overtime in Part 2 of "Murder Has The Puck"!

Three cheers for Speed Savage! Keeping the world safe for hot dog lovers everywhere and all within regulation time.

Until next time.

Beavers Up!

Fan Expo - The Premiere of Holmes Incorporated and the Craft of Azzarello

2010-08-23T11:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been struck down with vertigo for a while now and as you have noticed the blogging has as well.

The computer screen really does screw with my head so my online time is limited. I am hoping to be well-enough to attend Fan Expo in Toronto this weekend -- the geektastic Xanadu of all things comic book/sci-fi/anime/gaming and horror.

First up, I will be moderating a Brian Azzarello workshop on the craft of comic book writing for the Toronto Cartoonist Workshop, which is hosting a number of "how to" workshops throughout the weekend. Here's their schedule:

Comics Programming Spotlight: "HOW TO" WORKSHOPS - Full Descriptions!

Aug. 17, 2010

Please note: all Comics "HOW TO" Workshops take place in ROOM 203D. Any Pass Allowed. No pre-registration required.

Are you an aspiring comic book professional? These 12 Workshops, developed with the fine folks from the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop will offer you unique insight into many aspects of the creative process from TOP INDUSTRY PROS --- artists, writers and editors!

FRIDAY, AUGUST 27

5:30 - Herding Cats in a Hailstorm- The Secret Life of the Comic Book Editor with Joey Cavalieri - From Julie Schwartz to Archie Goodwin, the comic industry has had a history of formative editors who have shaped memorable projects and creators. A renaissance man who has written professionally and taught at the renowned School of Visual Arts, senior DC editor Joey Cavalieri discusses his relationship with top talent and what it takes to get published in today’s competitive comics market. Moderated by Walter Dickinson.

7:00 - From Thin Air- Drawing the Comic Book Figure from Memory with Bob Layton - Comic book artists are known for their abilities to produce detailed artwork on tight deadlines from their imaginations. Creating the human figure without reference is a Herculean effort essential to the cartoonist. Join Bob “Iron Man” Layton as he demonstrates a simplified approach to constructing the human form that is invaluable to the aspiring pro.

8:00 - Comic Book Bootcamp with Ty Templeton - Watch Toronto comics impresario Ty “The Guy” Templeton as he performs the 50 minute “nutshell” version of his celebrated Comic Book Bootcamp course. Ty will expose why talent is a myth, the importance of narrative flow and foolproof methods for creating successful writing pitches.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 28

2:00 - My Dark Places- Writing for Comics with Brian Azzarello - A former Clevelander who spent his early days in the trenches of independent comic book editing, Eisner Award winning scribe Brian Azzarello is a chronicler of the darker aspects of human nature. From 100 Bullets to his original graphic novel Filthy Rich, Azzarello has proven he is the comics heir apparent to noir writers like Jim Thompson and David Goodis. Join Brian as he discusses his approach to writing the comic book -script and gives pointers to attendees. Moderated by Robert Pincombe (Yay, me!).

3:00 - Hardboiled Storytelling- Page Construction and Composition with Darwyn Cooke - A direct artistic descendant of Caniff, Toth and Robbins, Darwyn Cooke has produced a look and storytelling ability unique in contemporary comics. Listen to this modern master discuss his theories on pacing, eye flow, spotting blacks and page design. From rough sketch to final art, Darwyn will break down his process and show you the components of a well constructed page.

4:00 - Of Directors and Cinematographers- The Penciller and Inker Collaboration with Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy - In the artistic process of producing comics, pencillers and inkers have to work together very closely and often the skills of one blend into the other. This workshop will help define the creative boundaries of the two practices. Learn the difference between layouts, tight pencils and finishes. Find out why inking is not just tracing. Listen to Green Lantern dream team Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy discuss their collaborative relationship. Moderated by Gibson Quarter.

5:00 - Drawn in Blood- Creating in the Noir Style with Alex Maleev - Longtime Bendis collaborator and artist on the hot new book Scarlet, Alex Maleev has a natural talent for picking “the right moment” in each panel of a story. His iconic stylings have delineated the darker side of life from Daredevil to Spider-Woman. Watch how Alex creates one of his mind-blowing images.

6:00 - Thumbnail to Finish: Layout of the Comic Book Page with Steve McNiven
From an early training ground at CrossGen to working on major projects for Marvel, Steve has emerged as one of the top artists in the field. Noted for his richly detailed images and adrenaline stimulating storytelling, he continues to craft amazing pages that pull you along at a breakneck pace. Listen as the artist shares his secrets for building action and suspense that keep the readers coming back for more. Moderated by Gibson Quarter.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 29

12:00 - Bold Strokes: Painting Powerful Interiors and Covers with Paolo Rivera - An industry professional since 2002, Paolo Rivera continues to build breathtaking acrylic images for the covers and interiors of top Marvel books. Watch Paolo discuss his virtuoso technique for designing and composing an eye catching colour page. Attendees will learn how to successfully incorporate both imagination and photo reference to full effect.

1:00 - Drawing for Impact- Heroic Anatomy with Ian Churchill - Superheroics have to be chronicled in a larger than life fashion. Part of this is the exaggerated musculature and structure of the heroic body. Join Marvel artist extraordinaire Ian Churchill as he demonstrates the dynamic differences between drawing a mild-mannered Bruce Banner and a raging, rampaging Hulk.

2:00 - Floating Worlds-Watercolour Masterclass with Jill Thompson - Watercolour is a difficult medium at best and a hard one to master. Watch Beasts of Burden and Scary Godmother artist Jill Thompson show you how to build a successful watercolor painting. This workshop will show it all, from initial pencil sketch, to the layering of vibrant colour to build an expressive piece with depth and dimension - ROOM 203D

3:00 - How to Workshop: Expressive Anatomy - Drawing Heads and Hands with Olivier Coipel - Any artist will tell you the most difficult thing to draw about the human form is the head and hands. Watch one of Marvel’s “Young Guns” Olivier Coipel as he shares his secrets for breaking these complex structures down into simple shapes. Whether you’re drawing the Avengers or the X-Men these tips will prove to be valuable tricks of the trade.

Secondly, this weekend sees the debut of the TCW's first Fit to Print project, Holmes Inc. It's a lovely 52-page extravaganza of stories about the descendents of Sherlock Holmes fighting the good fight across the globe.

I wrote one of the stories within as well some text pages. Come check it out. It's created by comic book superstars of tomorrow! Here's a sneak peek at my pag. Story by me, Robert Pincombe, art by Gibson Quarter and Ty Templeton and letters by K.T. Smith.

The concept and characters are a Ty Templeton creation but all the creators joined in fleshing out the characters and designing the world. The Holmes Headquarters in London at Baker Square is all mine. (In this world, the family bought up 221 Baker Street and the surrounding street and building a public square to house their corporate headquarters). Here it is, drawn by Christopher Yao.

Yup, that is the original 221 Baker Street as the front entrance to the building. The Holmes Inc. family is very respectful of their past. Learn more about Holmes Inc. #1 at the official website.

I'll be signing at the Toronto Cartoonist Workshop table late Saturday. I hope to see you there!

Beavers Up!

Tor.com - A Site full of Fantastical Delights

2010-07-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

Sci-Fi aficionados come in all shapes and sizes but even with the large variety of resources provided by the web, we all tend to gravitate to specific sites to get our updates. Some of us tend to look for movie and TV info, others come from a comic book background, more literary types may go to online story sites.

As far as literary sci-fi goes, I find myself more and more impressed with the community at publisher Tor.com. There’s lots here to make this site both sticky and worth bookmarking for regular visits.

I first discovered the site last year when Tor went all Victorian for Steampunk month, including redesigning “Stubby” the Tor.com rocket logo into a steampunk airship dubbed the H.M.S. Stubbington.

It was a delight to follow Tor blogger Irene’s Saturday Morning Cartoons posts, pointing me to awesome sci-fi themed toons from around the world.

I still return to posts like Steampunk Saturday, which showcased the lavish, steampunk, shadow toon, “The Mysterious Explorations of Jasper Morello” (Whose home website is very cool Gothic Gazette) and Blur Studio’s “A Gentleman’s Duel”.

Irene is the Art Director for Tor, Forge, Starscape and Tor.com and has excellent taste in toons. Check out her personal website.

For those who like their narrative more graphic, Tor also has short stories by cartoonists including Canada’s indie horror maven, Ray Fawkes and his creepy little gem, Black Strings.

And while we’re in a Canadian cartoonist mood, take a peek at Agnes Garbowska’s delightful animated preview for her comic project, Imagination Station.

Beavers Up!

Francis Manapul - Superboy and Flash artist to TV Star: Master of the Beast Legends!

2010-07-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

Last fall I was one of several people approached for suggestions regarding a Toronto comic artist with a penchant for mythological beasts to do art for a documentary fantasy show going into production. The series, Beast Legends, looked at the real science behind mythological beasts to see if they were indeed possible. I heard no more of it until this week!

According to the cover story in this week's Toronto Star Week TV magazine, this Wed. July 7, Best Legends premiers in Canada on the History Channel (It will appear on the SyFy Channel in the States later this year and is distributed worldwide by the BBC).

The production wisely tapped current Flash artist and former Shuster Award nominee Francis Manapul for the art chores.

And to my delight, it seems they wanted more than art. They wanted Francis to star as part of a Indian Jones-like team traveling the world and researching legends. How awesome is that>

There isn't much of a web presence for the show yet but Francis was kind enough to post his own version of the press release over at francismanapul.com:

BEAST LEGENDS brings together the ‘Beast Seekers’, an expert team of specialist investigators. This elite, engaging group, a learned kind of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, is made up of:
Kathryn Denning: Myth expert, anthropologist, archaeologist and professor at Toronto’s York University.

Scott Edwards: Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Curator of Ornithology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.

Stephen Leonard: Adventurer and Veterinary Surgeon based in Bristol, England.

Francis Manapul: Philippine-born, now Toronto-based, renowned comic book artist.

In each of the six hour-long episodes, the Beast Seekers investigate a different legendary beast, travelling the globe to the actual locations that spawned the stories of these Beasts. They track down clues to find the truth behind the legends. The Beast Seekers uncover historical and eyewitness accounts, and zero in on archaeological and other physical evidence to assemble the most accurate picture possible of what these monsters would be like, where they would live and how they would behave, if they really existed.

Armed with every piece of information the team has discovered, BEAST LEGENDS then moves to the ‘Beast Lab’ to build the creature, first as initial sculpts and wire-frame forms, and finally bringing it to life in stunning 3D CGI.

And then we unleash it on the modern world…..

It's a fun idea and I think Francis was an inspired choice. He's always entertaining to watch at Cons whipping his brushes back and forth as a beautiful, haunting watercolour and ink wash painting emerges. And as a bonus, he's always really sweet to speak with.

I suspect we'll get to see a much more gregarious side of him and co-host, veterinary surgeon and "adventurer" Stephen Leonard, on this show. The first six-episode season will delve into such beasties as the half-eagle, half-lion griffin, the colossal, squid-like kraken, a giant shark spoken off in hushed whispers on the island of Fiji and the wild man of Vietnam, what the Starweek article refers to as a "tropical Sasquatch".

Hosts Leonard and Manapul each pulled in their own direction, with the artist constantly considering how the things might have looked and Leonard more interested in the biology of how it could have existed. The remining team members match the field-gathered material with scientific research and speculation to to create a workable 3-D model.

Then, like any good Ray Harryhausen adventure, the magic of modern special effects unleashes the model on the real world (and our hosts) at the end of each episode! Apprently the show has unearthed some surprises, like he fact the legend of the griffin goes farther back than it's assumed medieval origins to the mountains of Mongolia!

More on Beast Legends and Manapul here.

Beast Legends premiere episode airs Wednesday at 10 pm on the History Channel.

UPDATE: The Beast Legends website is now live.

Beavers Up!

Joe Shuster Hall of Fame 2010 - Richard Comely, George Freeman and Claude St. Aubin

2010-06-24T07:30:00.000-07:00

2010's Joe Shuster Awards were handed out this past June 5.

Along with this year's Hall of Fame inductees Deni Loubert, Dave Darrigo and Serge Gaboury, the Shusters also chose to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the creation of Captain Canuck (way back in 1975!) by inducting the three creator's most associated with the Captain's popularity -- Richard Comely, George Freeman and Claude St. Aubin.

Claude St. Aubin's award was presented by Canadian artist Kalman Andrasofsky.

George Freeman's award was presented by Canadian author or co-founder of hardcorenerdity.com, Lesley Livingston.

Richard Comely's award was presented by artist-designer-letterer and font of all 80's Canadian indie comic knowledge, Ron Kasman.

Videtape and posting of the inductions was provided by my oh so patient wife.

Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame 2010 Inductees: Jean-Claude St. Aubin, George Freeman and Richard Comely from Jill Leger on Vimeo.

Since Freeman and St.Aubin were unable to attend, all three awards were accepted by Richard Comely. Comely will hand delivering the awards when he sees Freeman out west in a month or so.

Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame 2010 Acceptance speech: Richard Comely from Jill Leger on Vimeo.

As you can see in Richard's gracious acceptance speech, both he and Freeman were specific about wanting to give Ron Leishman credit for designing and co-creating Captain Canuck. though they made it happen, without Leishman's inspiration, the Captain would never have existed.

You can find write-ups on all Shuster Hall of Famers at the main HoF page.

Claude St. Aubin's Shuster bio is here. Read an extended Comics Bulletin interview with Claude St. Aubin conducted Hall of Fame committee member Phil Latter a. Get a copy of Aubin's "March on Fort Whoop-Up" project here.

George Freeman's Shuster Award bio is here. Check out Freeman's website and get a copy of the first Captain Canuck archive here.

More on Richard Comely and Captain Canuck at the official website. A recent Comely interview can be found Jeffery Klaehn's Pop blog.

Beavers Up!

Joe Shuster Hall of Fame 2010 - Deni Loubert

2010-06-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

We continue our video coverage of this years Joe Shuster Awards Hall of Fame inductions from Toronto's Innis Hall last June 5. With special thanks to my wife Jill for her videography and editing skills. This year's inductees included Dave Darrigo, Serge Gaboury and Captain Canuck writer-artists Richard Comely, George Freeman and Claude St. Aubin.

This time we greet the Queen of the Independents. Deni Loubert quite literally helped lay the groundwork for a modern Canadian comic book industry and for independant comics in general.

The publishing, promotion and distribution system she put in place for Aardvark-Vanaheim while publishing Cerebus with her then-husband Dave Sim was adapted and refined by Sim, enabling him to achieve his incredible, uninterrupted 300 issue run.

She then ran Renegade Press for years, featuring an amazing array of talented artists and awesome comics. Watch comics writer-artist-teacher-bon vivant Ty Templeton induct Deni.

Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame 2010 Inductee: Deni Loubert from Jill Leger on Vimeo.

More about Ty (including regular Saturday morning comics and original art sales!) at Ty Templeton's Artland.

I wish I had more time to spend with Deni after the awards. She is smart, insightful and has a very unique and broad perspective on the industry. Her thoughts on how artists represent themselves for better and for worse (based on her experience as an artist's rep in Hollywood) alone is worth a round of drinks.

Deni Loubert's Shuster bio is here. The Shuster Halll of Fame main page is here.

For your enjoyment and edification, here is the short speech I wrote for her induction, which presenter Ty Templeton delightfully threw out in favour of his own unique take on Deni.

Originally hailing from Timmons, Ontario, Deni Loubert grew up living a nomadic existence with her family, crisscrossing the continent as her Dad followed work from the local McIntyre Mine to the railroads of Arizona and northern California and back to the Great White North in the nickel mines of Sudbury. Because her parents frowned on comics as proper reading material she caught up on fave comic book by reading them in the grocery store. The family settled in the San Francisco Bay area long enough for Deni to attend high school and rediscover comics in the form of Gilbert Shelton’s Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.

Another family move to Kitchener, Ontario led Loubert to discover science fiction fandom. Inspired by local comic artist and fellow Joe Shuster Hall of Famer Gene Day’s self-published work, she began to self-publish a zine of her own, Cerebus. Loubert met artist and future husband Dave Sim at Harry Kremer’s Now And Then Books, the hub for Kitchener’s local fandom and artistic community. Together, the two budding publishers formed Aardvark-Vanaheim to put out a Cerebus comic book based on their aardvark mascot. Loubert’s reputation as publisher eager to help artists create their best work was born here.

Determined to let Sim create, Loubert took the business reins and learned publishing from the ground up, forging alliances with printers, writing text pages, overseeing the printing and arranging for now legendary Cerebus tours. Eventually, her love of artists and desire to forge her own identity inspired her to expand the Aardvark-Vanaheim line, publishing early work by Image Comic’s Jim Valentino, Arn Saba, Bob Burden and Max Allen Collins. When Loubert and Sim’s marriage ended, the infrastructure she had set up for Aarvark-Vanaheim were the foundation of Sim’s extended run on Cerebus - the longest running independent comic in history.

Already partially responsible for helping a new generation of Canadian artists and publishers to step up to the plate, Loubert moved to Los Angeles to start fresh with her own imprint, Renegade Press. In addition to publishing numerous US artists, Loubert helped shepherd new work by Canadian creators like Dan and David Day (Cases of Sherlock Holmes), fellow Shuster inductee Dave Darrigo and R.G. Taylor (Wordsmith) and Larry Hancock and Michael Cherkas (Silent Invasion).

Loubert closed Renegade’s doors in 1989 but it’s a testament of the wide respect and popularity she held within the industry that the founders of Image Comics first approached her to be their publisher when they broke away from Marvel Comics. Loubert also worked for Wendy and Richard Pini as the Managing Editor at WaRP Graphics and was VP of Comic Book Development for Full Moon Entertainment, overseeing works by Marv Wolfman, Harlan Ellison and others.

For several years, Loubert worked as an artist representative in Hollywood and Friends of Lulu pamphlet, “How To Get Girls Into Your Store”, remains a must-read for comic shops wishing to avoid alienating half the world’s population. In 2003, her comic savvy and natural entrepreneurship continued with NovelGrafx Inc., an early developer of concepts and technology for delivery of comic books to cell phones and is currently laying the groundwork for a new, as yet unannounced comic project.

While we're celebrating all things Deni, check out this terrific and candid video interview with Margaret Liss and Jeff Tundis during the 2008 San Diego Comic Con.

Next Up: The creators of Captain Canuck share the spotlight.

Beavers Up!

Joe Shuster Hall of Fame 2010 - Dave Darrigo Video

2010-06-24T06:06:00.000-07:00

More of the Joe Shuster Awards 2010 Hall of Fame Video from Toronto's Innis Hall last June 5. This year's inductees included Deni Loubert, Serge Gaboury and Captain Canuck writer-artists Richard Comely, George Freeman and Claude St. Aubin.

Our next inductee is Dave Darrigo. Dave has a long history of independent publishing and self-publishing through his Special Studios imprint. Despite not seing the same level of public awareness as some Canadian creators, Dave has provided work and a showcase for a great many Canuck artists. He was also one of the original group that founded and got the the Shuster Awards up and running.

The Hall of Fame committee was proud to shine the spotlight on a man who rarely gets such attention and when he does, he usually tries to give it to someone he feels is more deserving!

Though family concerns have taken Dave away from comics creation for a while, he assures us he has some ideas percolating.

Dave's award was presented by Joe Kilmartin, manager of Toronto's Dragon Lady comic shop.

Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame 2010 Inductee: Dave Darrigo from Jill Leger on Vimeo.

Dave doesn't have a big online presence as yet. Time to fix that, Dave! :) His Hall of Fame bio is coming soon though. Keep checking the Shuster Hall of Fame main page.

For more info on the Dragon Lady Comic Shop you can join their Facebook page.

Next up, we'll see the induction of a true founder and builder of the modern Canadian Comics scene. We all owe the very idea of making it as a Canadian Comic artist to this woman and her fellow early movers and shakers. Stay tuned for Deni Loubert!

Beavers Up!

Joe Shuster Hall of Fame 2010 - Serge Gaboury Video

2010-06-24T05:43:00.000-07:00

The Joe Shuster Awards have come and gone once again, held this year at Toronto's Innis Town Hall on June 5.

Each year of the Shusters brings surprising and delightful additions to their Hall of Fame and this time around is no different. (*Full Disclosure: I was one this year's Hall of Fame and as usual, debate was lively but respectful.) Inductees included Deni Loubert, Dave Darrigo and Captain Canuck writer-artists Richard Comely, George Freeman and Claude St. Aubin.

I'll be posting video of all the Hall of Fame inductions shot and uploaded by my lovely, talented and oh so indulgent wife.

The night kicked off with the induction of prolific Quebec cartoonist Serge Gaboury. I had the honour of presenting Serge with his trophy and chatting at length with he and his beautiful Mrs. Gaboury after the event.

Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame 2010 Inductee: Serge Gaboury from Jill Leger on Vimeo.

Serge was gracious, humble and quite moved by the event. See more of his comics and animation at his website, www.gabourycartoons.com and at his bdquebec page. If you need a readable Anglais version, here is the Google-translated version.

You can find Serge's Shuster Hall of Fame page here.

For a complete list of Hall of Fame members check out the Shuster's HoF main page.

For those who are interested, here is the text of my speech:

Serge Gaboury was born in Quebec in 1954. By the time he studied Graphic Communication at Laval University, he had already published strips in the Peuple-Tribune and was drawing cartoons for the university’s newspaper. Despite a rise in awareness and recognition of Québec culture during the seventies, the province’s indigenous comics scene was still struggling to find itself when Jacques Hurtibise founded Croc magazine, a hybrid of Quebec comics and satirical humour that became a leading showcase for Quebec’s top cartoonists. Gaboury joined the Croc team in 1979 and never looked back, contributing strips throughout its legendary run.

Since then, Gaboury strips have appeared regularly in comic magazines like Safarir and Les Debrouillards while his cartoons and caricatures appeared in publications as diverse as the Journal de Québec, Le Devoir, Le Soleil and 7Jours, and La Terre dé Chez Nous (Quebec Agricultural Producer’s union newspaper). Gaboury’s animation work has appeared on Radio-Canada and the Canoe website. In the last decade Gaboury’s popularity and renown has only increased with the publishing of his award-winning Glik and Gluk collections. At one point, along with all his comic work, Segre was also designing all the floats for night parade of the Quebec Winter Carnival.

It’s easy to dismiss exceptional, consistent output like that. After years of incredible basketball, we take a Kobe Bryant 50-point night for granted. That’s because someone that good is no longer measured in normal terms. They’re only measured against themselves. That is Serge Gaboury’s legacy. Artist Gabriel Morrisette calls Serge the best gagman in the business and mentioned an old joke about Gaboury, who did comics for every level of government at one time or another… Except for the Ministry of Revenue, because he works for them every time he does a job! Artists and fans admire Gaboury’s versatility – from his caustic humour in Croc and the Lewis Carroll-like adventures of Alys in Titanic to editorial caricatures and children’s books like the funny bees of Zzzzzoé (pronounced hEY!) and his well-known Glik and Gluk series.

Morrisette also points to Gaboury’s generosity with his technical expertise. He was one of the first to move to digital colour and helped teach Gabriel when he needed to learn it for a job. In terms of sheer output, Gaboury is amazingly prolific - the Jack Kirby of Quebec comics, constantly working to support his family. Tonight, since I started this speech Serge has finished another Glik and Gluk collection, an ad for Quaker Oats and a 350 page graphic novel about the history of the pogo stick… all since taking his seat! You might be surprised to find there are very few Serge Gaboury anecdotes. But how could there be? The dude never goes anywhere. He’s always at working. Some might think that a dull life. Maybe… but never dull on the page.

Gaboury’s loose, cartoony style sometimes gets taken for granted but it’s very effective and he is highly regarded by his peers. Pierre Fournier tells tales of everyone at the Croc office gathering around when Gaboury’s artwork came in and laughing out loud at his pages. Even an artist like Henriette Valium, whose extremely underground work is miles from Gaboury’s, used to buy kid’s magazines to read his Glik and Gluk and was terrified to meet the talented Serge in person. As you’ll soon see, Serge is in no way terrifying so that says a lot.

By the way Serge, Pierre requested that I relay a message to you. Usually he meets you at the Quebec Book Fair so you and your wives can catch up. This year Pierre couldn’t make it. He assures me that is because he’s avoiding you, as you suspected.

Fellow Shuster Hall of Famer Jacques Hurtubise did share one anecdote. Croc magazine was the most important Quebec humour/comics magazine of its day. And rival magazine Safarir (or Saf) was very competitive. So when Croc magazine folded, they quickly moved to scoop up three key Croc artists: Pierre Fournier and Real Godbout, who didn’t last, and Serge Gaboury. The Editor-in-Chief of Saf was bragging to Gaboury about the advantages of working for them over Croc and assured Serge that they would never make him draw bloody and violent strips like Croc had him do. Serge happily replied, “They were not forcing me. I love to draw bloody and violent comics!” Dull life? Never on the page.

We are seeing a slow evolution in English Canadian comics. Where once there was a great divide between comic books, comic strips, comic albums, animation, caricature and graphic art, creators are coming to see the link between all these forms. In Quebec that is how it has always been. The meaning of the term “comics” is vast and broad thanks to the versatility of pioneering artists like Serge Gaboury. Gaboury fans were able to find his work not just in comic magazines, but also in newspapers, on TV and in advertisements. The examples set by Gaboury and his peers (like fellow Joe Shuster Hall of Famers Jacques Hurtubise, Real Godbout and Pierre Fournier) inspired a new generation of creators to view comics as an art form with no boundaries.

For over thirty years Gaboury has been a force for Canadian comics in Québec with consistently enchanting, engaging work and we are proud to induct him into the Joe Shuster Hall of Fame. Ladies ad Gentlemen… Serge Gaboury.

(*With thanks to Gabriel Morrissette, Jacques Hurtubise and Pierre Fournier)

Next up, an under-appreciated but potent force in Canadian Comics is inducted -- Dave Darrigo!

Beavers Up!

Ad-Astra: Animation Guest of Honour

2010-04-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend I will be appearing as the Animation Guest of Honour at Ad-Astra.

Not only is it my first time as a Guest, but it's also my first official sci-fi convention... ever!! (Not counting Fan Expo, which I have attended for the comics side). I hope you are all gentle with me and my non-sci-fi wife!

In addition to guesting on several panels and helping to judge Canada's Next Top Zombie (Awesome!!), my panel on Animation will be on Sunday Morning (Opposite Robert Sawyer's writing workshop. Sigh. But who wants to hear what the tremendously successful, engaging, friendly and prolific hack has to say?)

Since I'm not sure what to expect, I thought Id let you know what you can expect!

LIFE IN CARTOONS

Got a question about animation? Wondering why your child is obsessed with Bakugan or where Max and Ruby’s parents are? Want an inside scoop on the making of your favourite - and not so favourite - cartoons? Using his own extensive career as a living example, Animation Guest of Honor Robert Pincombe dishes on the joys and pitfalls of his chosen profession: the trials of breaking in, the challenge of writing for different age groups and different kinds of animation, and the often hilarious cultural disconnects you run into when adapting anime.

The Ad-Astra site is here.

And my bio is here.

And my not quite current imdb page is here.

See you there! :)

Beavers Up!

A Paralympic Pledge from Alpha Flight's Box - Part Two: Handicapped Heroes and Wheelchair Wonders

2010-03-14T14:09:00.001-07:00

Hey there comicanuckers! Box here again -- Alpha Flight’s man of metal.

We’re continuing on with our Paralympics inspired look at handicapped comic book heroes. Check out part one, A Paralympic pledge from Alpha Flight’s Box – Part One: Differently Super-Abled Superheroes.

Last time out we talked about amputee avengers and paralyzed protectors so let’s check out super dudes and dudettes on two wheels!

For most of comics history, we only saw a hero in a wheelchair when the writer needed us to see the hero at rock bottom. The hero is completely physically incapacitated. See? He or she’s even in a wheelchair! It provides a potent visual for the hero literally getting back his or her feet, like Moon Knight here.

Wheelchairs also provided a terrific source of emotional turmoil for seventies love comics! Check out this post over at the awesome Sequential Crush - DC's Pity Party!

Wheelchairs also serve to show how bad-ass a hero is when they can kick butt from a rolling wheelchair despite their injuries. Jonah Hex here is classic example!

Sometimes all it takes to show how wicked wheelchair-bound characters can be is a way-cool toy like these two Prof. X action figures.

Or you might prefer the new Avatar Jake Sully action figure, which are augemnted with some very wild technology, as described over at Coolest-Gadgets.com:

"These Avatar toys use augmented reality, something that I have referred to as the Coolest Gadget ever. It works when one of the toys is placed in front of a webcam. Software provided by Total Immersion then takes over, and the monitor will display information about the character, 3-D animations of the character, and even more pictures. There is also a plan for bonus features for the “deluxe figures”. These are figures with a 3-D tag, or i-TAG, on the back of them. Scanning these guys will cause them to come to life on the user’s monitor, and placing two i-TAGs together will have them interact."

The two grandfathers of wheelchair-bound heroes would be the dueling professors -- DC Comics' Niles Caulder of the Doom Patrol and Marvel’s Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men.

Prof. Charles Xavier started out a terrific visual metaphor -- A harmless looking, paralyzed man of peace who had one of the most powerful mutant brains in the entire world. There have been so many X-Men adventures over time that Charles has grown to become an interesting, if inconsistent character by default.

Out of that mountain of tales it's only natural some terrific Prof. X stories emerge.

Prof. X's character is all about his mission: to lead mutant-kind into a peaceful partnership with mankind. The chair is almost never his motivating factor and that makes him far more interesting and compelling. That said, his chair can also be pretty cool. Especially this steampunk version designed by Daniel "Smeeon" Valdez.

Dr. Niles Caulder, aka The Chief, beat Professor X to the printed page by several years and he was a dark character from the beginning. Caulder tricked and teased his way into the lives of three misfit freaks who had suffered traumatic accidents and gained tremendous powers. Niles Caulder felt responsible for their situations and for the many horrifying inventions his research had set lose on the world. He had a lot to make-up for and a short temper to boot! And best of all, ALL of the Doom Patrol were murdered at the end of their series run.

Unlike The Chief and Prof. X, some superheroes are not limited in their abilities when they’re in their heroic disguise. Daredevil’s previously-mentioned radar sense is a great equalizer, as is Dr. Mid-Nite’s blackout bomb.

Marvel Comics Navajo hero, Jesse Black Crow was paralyzed in a construction accident and had vision of the plight of American Indians. When the ancient spirit from that dream transforms him into a mystic warrior he has full use of his limbs and a multitude of magic powers (transforming into a lightning bolt or crow, summoning fog, limited telepathic ability) at his disposal. When his job is finished, Jesse returns to his normal form and loses all that magic mobility.

There's another completely paralyzed character who gains full mobility when his powers kick in. He’s the bringer of death for Jack Kirby’s New Gods and always a threat to take gold on the slopes – the Black Racer! Sgt. Willie Walker, a bed-ridden Vietnam War Vet, first appeared in Jack Kirby’s New Gods issue 3.

After Darkseid brought his war of the Gods to Earth, Walker was in is hospital bed contacted by the Source, a semi-sentient shared consciousness power in the DC universe. When a New God is near death, he Source transforms Walker into the deadly and inescapable Black Racer, who takes their essence to Hadis (Kirby’s Fourth World version of Hades).

In Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers version of Mister Miracle, the Black Racer is not Willie Walker, he’s a Caucasian man in a wheelchair. Man, Kirby and Morrison. Two very wild creators firing on Bizarro batteries.

Paul Grist’s ongoing series Jack Staff introduces a new, marketable character every three or four panels it seems. Like my own Alter-ego Box, Tom Tom the Robot Man from Paul Grists's Jack Staff series, is in fact a large robotic suit piloted by 11-year old wunderkind Patricia Carthy. Paralyzed in the explosion that killed her inventor parents, Patricia used their robot suit (designed for Space Exploration initially) to become the mechanical defender of Castletown.

The one character to challenge for Professor X’s crown as the most interesting comic book character with a handicap is Barbara Gordon. For years she fought crime on her own and alongside the dynamic duo as Batgirl until The Joker shot her in the spine in Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s Batman graphic novel, The Killing Joke.

Much was made of Barbara being one of a long line of female characters attacked or killed simply to motivate a male protagonist. But Moore was attempting to write a definitive Batman story and wanted to give the Joker’s madness punch and weight. He wanted to really test Batman’s resolve not to kill. In other words, the people crying out where pretty much right!

But was Barbara really a fully fleshed out character when all she did was dress up as a female version of Batman? Was she really more than attempt to guard DC’s copyright to any bat-related character? I don't’ think so. And the proof is in what DC did with her character after the traumatic event. Barbara used her Detective skills and upgraded her computer tech to became Oracle, a hub of superhero and villainous information for the DC universe.

In the hands of writers like Gail Simone, Barb has been treated (generally) like a woman with intellect and personality first and foremost. Her handicap is a fact of her existence, not the defining feature. And she can still beat up toughs with the best of them!

Barbara Gordon/The Oracle -- has taken on a much greater symbolism and power by fulfilling a unique niche in the DCU, not being defined by a costume and being a good role model for all the wonderfully imperfect people reading her books – be they men or women and be they handicapped or fully functional... with multiple points of articulation like Babs’ action figure included in the Birds of Prey action figure set below.

We've managed to make a fairly impressive list . But since this blog is unabashedly Canadian, let's end it with a couple of Canucks. You could be forgiven for missing the first and only appearance of this next, all-Canadian Superhero...

In the early nineties, Marvel produced five “Kids in Trouble” Spider-Man comic books for the Canadian Association of the Chiefs of Police, the Alliance of a Drug Free Canada and a host of sponsors, including, hilariously Shopper’s Drug Mart. Over three million comics were handed out to Canadian children by Police Officers and teachers. So I’d have to call that campaign pretty successful.

The series debuted with a highly touted Todd McFarlane cover featuring the least subtle portrayal of the dangers of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and needles ever committed to a the comic book page…

The various adventures find excuses for Spider-Man to travel through Canada and interact with local semi-celebrities like the Montreal Expos and The Toronto Blue Jays and Herb Carnegie, the almost NHLer who was blocked due to fifties racism turned community servant. Spider-Man gets caught up in kid’s lives while he fights a who’s who of Marvel’s third-tier villains. Various streetproofing themes are touched upon in the five books, like say no to drugs and bike safety, thanks to one or two panel appearances by the Canadian bike safety brigade, the Right Riders.

All five issues were under the Amazing Spider-Man banner but each had an individual cover title. Skating on Thin Ice followed Spidey as he tracked Electro to Winnipeg and helped a kid named Alan avoid alcohol and drug abuse. Double Trouble moves the action to Fredericton for more anti-drug speechifying. Hit and Run sees Peter Parker in Toronto covering a Jays/Yankee baseball game, bike safety and tracking a drunk driver with the help of the Ghost Rider (who, unlike Spidey, chooses threats over speeches to reach the kids!)

The fifth issue, Deadball, finds old webhead in Montreal fighting off the Green Goblin.

But it’s issue four where the magic happens, in a tale by Canadian artist Jim Craig and Scott Lobdell (he of the worst coming out story in comics with his ridiculous, insensitive and borderline incompetent outing of my Alpha Flight comrade, Northstar). In an issue entitled Chaos in Calgary, we finally meet -- Joline Cargill, aka TURBINE! (SOLEINE to our French compatriots!)

Hey, Boxy! Can't I tell I tell my own story? Please, please, please, pleeeeeeeease? I get even less spotlight time than you do and you’re all dead and stuff!

Oh sorry, Joline. Sure, go right ahead. Tell everyone how cool you are.

I hear the sarcasm, Mr. I-Went-Crazy Pants. Well, my story IS cool. Really cool. So there! Yeah, I’m paralyzed from the waist down but that doesn’t keep me from being awesome! So my Dad, who’s like a doctor and stuff but apparently has no first name buts till won a Nobel Prize, right?

So Dad took to me to the Calgary Stampede, but not like any Stampede, one that was totally celebrating the city’s anniversary, right? And people were wearing cowboy hats and pretending they weren’t actually just cubicle drones at some bank or oil company, right? And Marvel’s western super-team the Rangers where performing.

Anyway, my Dad is there and we meet this totally cute photographer named Peter Parker, right, who’s like covered in awesomesauce with a side of nice buns, you know?

Joline, can you rein in the hormones a litttle? It's a family blog and you’re what, thirteen or something?

That’s what you think! The story actually never tells you how old I am so I could be anywhere from eight to fifteen! So there. I’m a woman of mystery and I’m totally smart for my age too.

Anyway, the Frightful Four (In this case, the Wizard, The Trapster, the Dreadknight and the Man-Bull) tries to kidnap my Dad in broad daylight in front of thousands of witnesses. Which makes me think their leader, Mr. Wizard, should kinda rethink his name. So in the fight, the bully Man-Bull dope wrecks my wheelchair so cutey-pattotey Parker carries me back to my Dad’s van. Sigh!...

But what nobody knows is that my Dad made me a solar-powered turbine cycle that flies and everything and hid it in our van, right? It moves superfast, flies kinds facing down, and generates really powerful winds. Not like that boy in my class, Gabriel says he can do I mean, real, strong, non-stinky wind.

Then I totally fought the Frightful with the Rangers and Spidey. I blew Dreadknight’s horse over and rammed a Trapster trap. Did you know he used to be called Paste Pot Pete? Gross.

And in the end Spider-Man totally congratulated and promised to look me up when he got back to Calgary. I’m still kinda waiting to hear but it’s not like he took down my e-mail or anything. Same with Peter McMagicMuffin. Boys are stupid. Throw rocks at them. Anyway, that’s my tale!

What about my tale? I’m a handicapped hero too!

Hey! Get out of here fellow handicapped superhero Takashi “Taki” Matsuya, alias WIZ KID! You're way less super than I am! This is a Canadian blog and you’re totally American!

You can't make me leave, Joline: also known as Tur-WHINE. After all, you totally stole my flying wheelchair bit.

Oh yeah? Well you totally stole your whole, manipulating-machinery mutant power from Alpha Flight member Madison Jeffries! So there! And flying chairs were around for Jack Kirby’s New Gods with that creepy Metron guy – the New God’s ultimate science nerd.

You’re just jealous because since my first appearance in X-Terminators #1, I’ve appeared in more stories than you. I was in X-Factor!

Yeah? And look where it got you.

You're lost in limbo without a regular comic now, just like me.

Well get this, not only did I lose my parents and my ability to walk in a car accident, I’m also dyslexic, which is a very hot handicap right now. So I’m due for a revival any time.

And my origin is way more awesome than yours! When my mutant friends were kidnapped by the demon N’astirh my mutant ability to rearrange machinery – herewith referred to as “technoforming” burst forth and I turned my wheel chair into an awesome flying weapon and sweet ride. I also know computers inside and out and I’m a Rank 13 Field Marshall in WoW (World of Warcraft).

Well, so what? You were totally depowered on M-Day and you’re still stupid for never letting me ride your stupid hovering wheelbarrow or whatever you call it.

You-you’d… like to ride on my chair?

Maybe. It's kinda cool I guess. And you're kinda cute under that dorky helmet.

Look who's talking!

Okaaaaay. Well, as young love works its magic I'll end our salute to the spirit of the Paralympic as seen in comic books.

Let's end this on a bang with the greatest handicapped hero ever in the history of anything!!! And he's Canadian character to boot (which rhymes with out).

Yes, the mother of all, "I have to read this to believe it" characters comes from our golden age of Canadian comic books -- MAJOR DOMO AND JOJO!!

Created by artist Avrom Yanovsky for Bell Features in the forties, ex-Paratrooper Major Domo was a special agent for UNIB, the United Nations Investigation Bureau. He was aided by his moustachioed, powerful dwarf assistant, Jo Jo. In addition to Jo Jo's extremely bushy moustache, he also had the biggest pupils ever given to a non-manga cartoon character.

As you can see, the Major was extremely handy with his feet in a fight. The funniest thing about our hero is the fact that he was an undercover agent! Nope. Major Domo didn't let a little thing like having no arms keep him from donning a disguise and entering the criminal underworld.

In fact, his ace in the hole Ace on his back?) was Jo Jo, who would ride on Domo's back under his coat, pretending his overlong, powerful arms were Domo's! Yet no criminal ever noticed the sizable hump on Domo's back!

Seriously awesome!

I promise to do a more extensive post on Yanovsky and Major Domo in the future because they both occupy a unique place in comic book history.

Coming up next week: We'll present a final (I promise) Olympic and Paralympic wrap-up post and also bring you the second part of "Speed Savage: Murder Has the Puck!"

Beavers Up!

A Paralympic Pledge from Alpha Flight's Box - Part One: Differently Super-Abled Superheroes

2010-03-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hey there all you Comicanuckers! Roger Bochs comin’ atcha! But you probably know me better as Alpha Flight’s original living robot -- Box! Get it? Oh wait, you might think, this being a Canadian blog, that my name is pronounced the Frech way,“Bow-SHAY”. But it’s not. It totally sounds like “box”. Now get it? Come on, work with me here.

Our comicanuck March Olympic madness continues with a celebration of the 10th Winter Paralympics, the first to be held in Canada, which began this weekend in Vancouver. So naturally I’m a shoe-in to host this post about it.

Though you can’t tell from my handsome robotic picture, I’m disabled -- or differently-abled. Well, technically I’m dead, but how dead does any comic book character ever really get, right? I’m a brilliant mechanic and engineer whose legs were amputated years before my first comic appearance in the first issue of Alpha Flight (a cameo before my real debut in issue 11).

Being so mechanically-inclined I naturally looked for ways to use my talents to increase my mobility. But new legs weren’t enough for me after watching Saturn 3 like, fifty times (who wouldn’t love a spacewoman Farrah Fawcett?) so took it to the extreme by building a powerful, humanoid robot. That’s when I hooked up with Alpha Flight.

You see? I’m a capable, card-carrying, saving the country and sometimes the world-type. B-List superhero. Heck I once went toe- to toe with the Incredible Hulk. Sure, he smashed my legs clean off, causing me to flash back to losing my legs the first time and revealing a fragile psyche that writers with no idea what to do with me would later use to drive me mad and kill me off brutally. But I’m not a bitter guy by nature.

My point is, despite my so-called disability I can compete with the elite. My original Box body could press 40 tons, was pretty much indestructible (if you ignore the Hulk thing). At first, all I needed to control the body was a psycho-kinetic helmet (kinda like Bruce Willis in Surrogates, except I skipped the fake looking toupee) and I could also ‘see’ and ‘hear’ everything the Box bot did.

With a little help from fellow Alphan Madison Jeffries, a mutant who can control and construct machines with his mind, I built a new, more powerful Box robot that I could “phase into”, passing my own body into the armor to control it from within. And it flies too! I can stay inside the robot for a few hours at a time or I might end up trapped inside forever!

Pretty awesome huh? You bet your back bacon butt it is. And so are the Paralympics. I know… sweet segue, Rog. This article in Friday’s Toronto Star, Paralympics: Second Class Games No More, says it much better than I could.

“While Canada's goal at the outset of the Olympics was to top the medal standings, the target for the Paralympics is more modest. Coming off a 13-medal – five gold, three silver and five bronze – performance in Turin, Italy, that was good enough for sixth place four years ago, Canadian officials are looking to move up to third in the standings this time.

But the Paralympics are about much more than winning medals. They are about athletes proving to themselves – and especially to the public at large – that they are not people with disabilities to be pitied for what they supposedly have lost but elite athletes to be admired and respected for the work they have put in and the skills they have developed.

Born out of the rehabilitation of British soldiers after World War II, the Paralympic movement grew into an Olympic-style competition for those with spinal cord injuries in 1960. In 1976, which was the year the first Winter Paralympics were held in Sweden, Toronto hosted Summer Games that included the blind and amputees for the first time. By 1988 in Seoul, the Paralympics were using the same venues as the Olympics.”

Believe me, these athletes are the real deal. There were plenty of inspiring stories to come out of the Olympics, but the Paralympics are all about inspiring stories! Journalists should beware of overindulging in the smorgasbord of piping hot, heart-warming stories available or they might choke on their own inspiing metaphors. As another Toronto Star Olympic story, Zelkovich: Paralympics worthy of record TV coverage, noted on Friday…

“One of the highlights of the CTV-Rogers consortium's coverage of the Vancouver Olympics was the depth of heart-warming and inspiring stories the athletes had to tell. But finding those stories, such as moguls skier Alexandre Bilodeau's relationship with his brother, or Clara Hughes' inspiring Olympic legacy, wasn't always easy. When the 2010 Paralympics open Friday in Vancouver, the consortium will again focus on athletes' stories. But this time, the challenge will be trying to decide which stories to leave out.

"There are so many incredible stories," said Rick Chisholm, the consortium's executive vice-president of broadcasting. "Every story is so inspiring." That's one reason the consortium has committed itself to world-record coverage of the Games. That's not hype, either. The International Paralympic Committee said the total of 57 hours of television coverage – 27 English and 30 French – is more than anyone has ever done. That total includes unprecedented live coverage, all of it focusing on sledge hockey. In the past, the Paralympic packages were shown a week or two after the event, with small daily highlight packages. This time, Canadians will get 90-minute highlight packages on a 24-hour tape delay in addition to live sledge hockey.”

I know that doesn’t sound like a lot of TV coverage but it is a lot of the Paralympics and there will be a ton of online coverage too. It’s a growing phenomenon worthy of our support and respect. Athletes like blind cross-country skier can compete with anyone in the world, even if his coaches don’t think so. So keep the Olympic spirit going for all these extraordinary athletes, okay?

Comics never seem to be quite sure how to handle disabled characters. Most of the time our personalities are centered around the disability only and we’re given little, if any, further motivation. Even more annoying, we’re often written out of the book or killed off once that limited direction has played itself out.

Other times, disabled characters are mere walk-ons, or wheel-ons, in my case). We’re trotted out to provide a visual aid or act the mouthpiece to draw attention to an issue and then be packed away for the big fight scene.

I think it’s a testament to John Byrne’s considerable talent and professionalism in the early eighties, how well treated I was under his stewardship of the Alpha Flight title. Byrne has made no secret of the fact that he didn’t want to do the book. So he challenged himself to make his book and his characters as unusual as possible – an Inuit goddess, French Canadian twins, A Sarcee shaman, a hoser dwarf acrobat and a former pro-footballer scientist with an ability to turn into a bigfoot.

Byrne made a poignant point to reference the pain that can accompany Puck’s achondroplasty (the genetic disorder that is a common cause of dwarfism). That gave his joy for life an emotional power that was sacrificed for lame complications by follow-up writer Bill Mantlo, who attributed Puck’s condition to his body being inhabited by an ancient sorcerer, the Black Raazer.

Mantlo was famous for his crazy, anything-goes plots and prolific scripting for Marvel. Trust me, if you read a Marvel comic in the late seventies and eighties chances are a few of you favourite books and a few of your least favourites were written by Mantlo. But while his Black Raazer yarn made for a wild tale, it sacrificed an element of real humanity in Puck’s character.

Of course, that was nothing compared to how I ended up! My creator, John Byrne established that I had a handicap and but wrote me like a person who happened to have no legs. But after suffering emotional trauma from the heavy damage inflicted on Box by the Hulk my character decisions were almost based around my handicap.

My Box robot served as a home for Walter “Sasquatch” Langkowski’s lost spirit after he was killed by our Alpha Flight teammate Snowbird. Meanwhile, I moped and wondered if I’d ever get to use Box again. Then I was given new legs and an Olympic worthy body by Madison Jeffries brother Lionel, aka Scramble, who could manipulate flesh the way Madison manipulated machinery. Once I had the new legs I became a complete asshole and Aurora’s lover, all to prove my newfound manhood and show off my manly new bod. Then my legs deteriorated when it turned out they’d been made from dead flesh and I went crazy. Lionel merged his body with mine creating an insane monster that Madison eventually had to kill.

Tell me, is there a single plot point or character decision in there that wasn’t about my handicap? Nope. Nada. Darn it! I had a lot of potential as human being and as a hero. But for my writers that wasn’t an option. The whole “no legs” thing had run its course. Pun intended. So in their minds I had to go.

But I have the spotlight here and know and I'm going to use it to celebrate our favourite handicapped heroes!

Let’s see, Daredevil is probably the big handicapped hero that comes to mind. I sometime wonder if he counts, since his radar vision essentially lets him see better than most of us! But in comic book terms the dude counts. Daredevil's character has benefited from a long, unbroken run since the late sixties. It's allowed writers to explore many sides of his character. He's know known more for his soap opera life than his blindness. Recent writers have pushed the Marvel Universe's former most honorable man (after Captain America) down a much more shadowy, conspiracy-laden road - creating a life as dark and murky as his vision.

DC's Dr. Mid-Nite was the earliest blind superhero, having a good twenty-years on Daredevil. In another fluke accident caused by gangsters, Dr. Charles McNider and later, Pieter Cross, were blinded but discovered an ability to see in extreme darkness. The current Dr. Mid-Nite focuses not on his blindness (or his half-blindness) but rather on his unique position in the DCU as an expert metahuman physician. It positions him as a useful character for DC Comics. Marvel has tons of superhuman scientists to help an injured hero. DC, not so much.

We also have have fellow amputees like Misty Knight, who lost an arm and had it replaced with a bionic one, ala the Six Million Dollar Man.

You've got yer Aquaman, who lost a hand and went around sporting a harpoon hook and acting badasss. Laterm the harpoon was replaced with a hand made of magic water.

We’ve got a founding member of the New Teen Titan -- Cyborg -- who replaced his missing parts with powerful, robotic limbs.

Though his creators Marv Wolfman and George Peréz did deal with his handicap, they spent a lot of time giving him his own personality and other concerns. The result was a character who has maintained a huge following for the company. Of course, any time you have a character who is part mechanical, eventually you will have storylines based on the human side being taken over and Vic was no exception. After spending time as the villain Cyperion, Vic was eventually given a mostly human body once again and ended up mentoring his own team of young heroes.

The man who revitalized Daredevil, Frank Miller, gave us a powerful handicapped sci-fi samurai in his graphic novel Ronin. Billy Challis was born without any limbs due to a genetic defect (one of the rare comic characters to have their condition from birth). Billy's psionic abilities are groomed by the artificial intelligence that cares for him and uses his powers. Billy's vivid dreams of a nameless Ronin and a demon called Agat. Billy uses his powers to refashion himself into the Ronin of his cyber dreams.

In PART TWO, we'll check out handicapped heroes on wheels. Beware the chair!

This public service announcement was sponsored by Am-Can Petroleum Company. Drilling Canada's sweet spot for over fifty years.

Beavers Up!

Speed Savage – “Murder Has The Puck”, Part 1

2010-03-09T14:04:00.001-08:00

How’s it going, eh?

Eugene Judd Milton Judd, better known as the bombastic Puck, coming ‘atcha again for more Olympic goodness. It took the folks here at comicanuck so long to start blogging about the Olympics (They originally planned to post every day of the Games) that our post-Olympics comic book round-up is now officially a pre-Paralympics series!

Last time we talked up Canada’s favourite game – hockey, eh? Now it’s time for the second period to begin with a nod to the golden age of Canadian comic books.

There’s no doubt that between the Olympics in Vancouver last month and the Paralympics this month, we’re been witness to the top athletes in the world competing in the ultimate competition. But I’d like to tell you about the greatest athlete I’ve ever met. And lemme tell ya, I was born before the outbreak of World War I, I’ve seen a lot of terrific athletes in my day. But first, I've got to set the scene a little.

In the early days of World War II, (Dec. 1940, to be exact) the Canadian government grew increasingly concerned over the imbalance of trade between the US and Canada, One of their solutions was to introduce the War Exchange Conservation Act which limited the importation of non-essential goods – like magazines, books and comic books. I know, how could any rational, sane human being consider comic books to be non-essential?

Eager to fill the void, several indigenous comic publishers arose to fill the void. Maple Leaf Publishing, out of Vancouver, and Toronto’s Anglo American Publishing were first out of the gate, putting their first books (Maple Leaf’s Better Comics with our first superhero, Iron Man, and AA’s Robin Hood and Company) on the stands by March 1941. It may have happened even earlier since most periodicals put a long lead date on the cover to allow for long time on the stands.

For a short time, the classiest books on the stands came from the third publisher to enter the fray; Adrian Dingle’s Hillborough Studios and Triumph Adventure Comics. With the help of his wife and several talented painter friends, Triumph was proudly Canadian and introduced the world to Nelvana of the Northern Lights. Sadly, by the sixth issue of Triumph the burden of writing, drawing, editing, packaging, publishing and distributing his book took a toll on Dingle and he sold his title to publisher Cyril Bell.

Bell hired on Dingle as his art director but Dingle’s other accomplished artists, except for the Kulbach brothers, René and André, did not follow. I suspect several of them were drafted into military service or signed up themselves because Bell Features was soon relying on teenage talent to fill out their ambitious array of titles, rather than more experienced artists.

In the seventh issue of Triumph Comics (which had now dumped the lengthy adventure portion of the title), we see the first of the youngsters to arrive --

-- Ted Steele and his heroic adventurer, Speed Savage!

Based on the popular pulp heroes of the time, Speed Savage is “well-known all over the North American continent as a crack athlete and private detective”. I can vouch for the athlete stuff. There were few competitors as well rounded as Speed. When he wasn’t racing cars or speedboats, Speed was making opponents eat his powder as a crack skier or lighting up the scoreboard as a star hockey player.

To show just how amazing Speed was, here’s a splash page from Triumph Comics 12 that says he is competing in a cross-country ski race at the “St. Anne Winter Sports Carnival in Quebec.” Picture it, Speed is in a cross-country race and yet the splash shows him sailing overa ski jump with perfect form! Either Speed is competing in two races at once (and winning both) or his sense of direction is seriously screwed up!

A competitor as dogged as Speed drew a lot of cheating gangsters and unsportsmanlike criminals into his circle. But Speed took care of them in his own, not so unique way… You see, “only a few trusted friends” knew that Speed was also the “the mysterious ‘White Mask’, dread hunter of criminals and avenger of wrong.”

The White Mask started out fighting crime in a taking-care-of-business zoot suit with a fedora, blazing 45’s and of course, a white mask. He completed the ensemble with a groovy skull symbol on his forehead which, quite frankly, beats the heck out of the “P” plastered on the front of my original costume. Alpha Flight’s government tailors sure make sturdy clothing but fashion forward they ain’t.

Just saying.

Here’s Speed as envisioned by Canuck comic book artist, Scott Hepburn (webcomic The Port and Clone Wars). The sketch is too big for a scanner so I took a digital photo.

Later, much like DC Comics Sandman character, Speed dumped the suit but kept the 45’s as he turned to a more streamlined, skintight outfit. He was busting heads and looking good doing it! Ol' Puck here used some of Speed’s, er, the White Mask’s ideas when they first made my costume. Wish I’d thought to copy the forehead skull though. That’s just dang cool.

Toward the end of the war, after the repeal of the War Exchange Conservation Act, Cyril Bell attempted to position his company for post-war business as usual. He released a number of one shots featuring Bell characters like Nelvana, Tang and the Phantom Rider in the hopes of introducing people to the idea of buying their exploits in their own books. The books contained mostly reprints but I suspect the Nelvana one shot had one new story.

Today’s Speed Savage story comes from the Speed Savage one shot (which sported two covers - one for Canada and one for Britain - shades of modern comic marketing! Pictured below is the Brit version). It was released with two separate covers. I believe the one I have here was for the British market. I suspect this tale is a a reprint but I don’t know what issue of Triumph Comics it's from.

In keeping with our hockey theme, this golden age adventure is all about rinkside shenanigans.

And to make things even more exciting, we have a splash page recreation by none other than Canadian comic book creator Jeff Lemire (Essex County trilogy, Sweet Tooth, The Nobody), who’s no stranger to hockey and comics himself!

So hold onto yer hats, hosers… Comicanuck and Eugene Judd are proud to present Speed Savage The White Mask in “Murder Has The Puck” part one, by Ted A. Steele!

Whoa! What a cliff-hanger. Our eye-patch wearing villain is still going through with his murderous scheme even though his boss, the guy who's presumably paying him, is dead. I guess it's kind of like paying his last respects without having to pop for flowers.

Is it just me or does Speed's plan of getting shot by crooks to throw them off their murderous path seem like a bad idea all around?

Well, the secret is out and now you know why Speed was such a great hockey player. He used to be the top man in the National Hockey League! Let's see... That would have meant he was playing at the end of the thirties, after the Great Depression reduced the number of teams from ten in 1930 to seven by 1940. Playing with greats Howie Morenz, Charlie Conacher, King Clancy, Hap Day, Art Ross and Eddie Shore will make a hockey man out of ya, all right.

Montreal's hockey-crazed citizens supported two teams for years- the Maroons and the Canadians. And New York, then as now, supported two teams as well - the New York Americans and the New York Rangers. The Maroons, despite winning their second Stanley Cup (over the Maple Leafs) in 1935 and considering a move to St. Louis (where the hard luck Ottawa Senators had tried moving to as the St. Louis Eagles for their final season) gave up the ghost in 1939 and the New York Americans were teetering on the brink. After changing their name to the Brooklyn Americans they folded in 1942.

I like to imagine that Speed helped the hard luck Maroons win that last Stanley Cup before they ran out of time and money. Not being part of a storied franchise like the Canadians that lasted into the 21st century and celebrates its past heroes maybe the only reason we haven't heard of Speed's days in the NHL.

We'll retire to the dressing room for a last ditch pep talk while I sweep up the ice (I worked as a human zamboni back in the day, eh?)

Come on back for sudden death overtime when comicanuck presents Part II of "Murder Has The Puck"!

Beavers Up!

A "Golden Age" Olympic moment with the irrepressible Puck!

2010-03-06T08:41:00.000-08:00

Groan… How’s it going, eh?

Shhhh! Don’t answer so loud. Why is everything is so very, very loud? Oh yeah, my hangover, eh? The last week of partying in Olympic village and on the streets of Vancouver is pretty much a blur to me and my aching head and ears are a wee bit sensitive today.

Forget those other Alpha Flight second stringers you’ve been reading all week. Despite my blurry vision and feeling like my skull has been run over by a three-man luge, you’re hanging with the real deal now. The one and only Eugene Milton Judd, alias Puck (Alpha Flight), Alpha Flight’s number one ladies man and adventurer!

Oooooh! Shouldn't have done that cartwheel for effect. My stomach’s still delicate from being pumped out by paramedics after the beer chugging contest with those university kids... who, in retrospect, looked suspiciously like disguised members of Omega Flight.

Jeese, my zombified head is feels like it’s been in a blender. I suspect I feel a lot like these Russian guys in the electric pinballs from the closing ceremony.

I should know better by now - never mix Glen Breton Rare 15 year single malt with Niagara Ice Wine with pitchers of lager and Bloody Caesars for an entire week.

Take my advice. If anyone ever offers you free refills of a drink they call a "Wolverine". You say, "No" and back away slowly.

Sore as I am, I can say this was one Hell of a Winter Games. And I should now, I’ve been to pretty much all of them since they officially began in 1924.

Let’s see, what can I remember? Me and my Alpha Flight buddies were in special Box seats watching the game. Actually, we were sitting IN Box, who had reshaped his robot body into bleachers hovering near the scoreboard.

I was head cheerleader despite already being wiped out from partying with the women’s hockey team. Those young women are harder to stop than Deadly Earnest.

Who could forget Northstar acting all pissy when his Olympic credentials and passes were rescinded after he interrupted the Joni Mitchell aerial ballet in the opening dancer to give the guy tips on proper flying technique? I think Jean-Paul was just trying to pick up myself. So he was forced to watch it on big screens in Robson Square with like, a billion other people.

Jean-Paul and I did get into it with some rowdy snowboarders in the chalet. But we made sure those loudmouths had finished competing before we beat the crap out of them for dissing the true north strong and free. You'd think the Danes had been made fun of enough themselves to know better.

Oh yeah. Drunk as I was I can still remember, “He shoots, he scores!” to quote my old buddy, Foster Hewitt.

It’s amazing how a single moment like a game winning, gold medal, overtime goal can turn a player like Sidney Crosby from the under-performing scapegoat of the Olympic Men’s Hockey team into a hero of the games. Ask Paul Henderson about how that works. The last time I was this excited was after his game-winning goal in game eight of the 1972 Summit Series. He’s been dining out on that for decades. In fact, I’ve treated the guy to a few dinners myself. And Crosby? The kid’s only 22 and he’s got a Stanley Cup, a World Junior Championship silver and gold and now an Olympic gold medal. It’s all downhill from here, kid. Ask Paul.

Hmmm. These bruises ring a bell. Now it’ s coming back to me. I remember being pretty stoked when Scott Niedermayer asked me to join the team’s “quiet, family” celebrations – which turned out to be a game of shinny. Did they put me in goal due to my incredible reflexes? Nooooo, they needed a puck and I’m a sucker for punishment.

The next thing I know I found myself in a horrible, Canadian nightmare -- a puck's eye view of a tabletop hockey game being played by a half-asleep, bored looking Avril Lavigne, courier du bois and Michael Bublé. It must have been some bad poutine. I woke in a cold sweat, screaming. Then Nickelback arrived to make it all better.

Now I know how my nephew, Peter Puck must have felt.

While we’re into complete honesty here, I have to admit that I the one who smuggled in beer and stogies to the Women’s Hockey team for their post victory, on-ice celebration. My bad, eh?

Of course, the women ended up in the same place I always seem to end up after a hockey game -- drunk and passed out at center ice until the zamboni nudges me awake.

What can I say? I’m a sucker for athletic ladies who aren’t so lady-like. Yes, yes, I know it's wrong in terms of sportsmanship and international unity but it’s also sooo right in terms of hanging out with the toughest, sassiest gals at the Games.

The party ended some time around the time I demonstrated my bullfighting skills for Jennifer Botterill and Jayna Hefford on this huge, floating moose, which turned out to be a balloon from the closing ceremonies.

Huh, no wonder that thing charged so slowly.

At least Cheryl Bernard gave my attempt to impress a thumbs up. Bernard is single-handedly responsible for making curling sexy in the minds of American males (and sometimes their wives) across the continent. My vote for favourite phrase coined so far for Cheryl has to "Couglar".

The fact that everyone is raising up a 43 year-old curler as their favourite MILF-Cougar athlete is kinda good and bad, eh? It's nice to see a broader range of what can be considered sexy, and yet we all know objectifying someone is bad. That's why all good old Eugene's jpg's of Cheryl are not on display as his laptop wallpaper, but rather lie safely tucked away in a file marked "Dull Accounting Docs" so as not to insult the ladies, nor arouse their suspicion.

Sadly Cheryl, finding a comic book curling story or cover is next to impossible. this amalgamation of curling, broomball and hockey is the best I could do.

So we'll just have to hold your sexy curling brethren in our maple syrup drenched, comic book loving hearts here at Comicanuck.

So here’s the deal.

I know Sasquatch and Shaman are all excited over those old Batman Olympic comics but this diminutive dynamo is all about the hockey, you now? Besides, Sasquatch ran off trying to do unspeakable things to a giant, inflatable beaver with Shaman running after him. So they could be gone for a while, eh?

Today, we’re going to celebrate Canada’s most beloved sport (along with lacrosse and pretending the cold doesn’t affect us in front of Americans) – HOCKEY!

It seems like mostly gag comics have hockey covers. Makes sense. Adventure comics focus more on the danger elements whereas gag books are always looking at daily life to give somehting for reader's to relate to in the physical humour. Readers have to understand what is normal to know how the characters are screwing things up.

Though stories of hockey heroes have appeared in comic books, few stars achieved cover status except for the modern masters the Great One Wayne Gretzky and "Super Mario" Lemieux.

Tough guy superstar Gordie Howe go the star treatment as well. They say a Gordie Howe Hat Trick, rather than being three goals, was one goal, one assist and one fight! The company that put out these sports bios than decided to combine the art and stories from all three books into one "Hockey Masters" collection.

When most adventure comics think of hockey at all, the focus seems to be more on the weapon possibilities of the lumber.

But I have to give the Brits the biggest score for not quite "getting" how hockey works. Of course, that's the very reason I am dying to read these particular yarns from The Champion more than any other!

Got to give "The Champion" props for creativity. A suspended, David Blaine-style cage, ghosts and motorcycles are not usually a part of the average hockey team's equipment. If only they were! The Champion managed to mangle other winter sports as well, as their fire safety version of ski jumping will attest...

I mean, seriously, that is the most complicated fire safety protocol I've ever seen -- Tie the ends of a blanket or hall carpet to the window, summon the German shepherds to yank it taught as you don your roller skates and ski jump to safety? Just make that cheapo slumlord landlord cough up the dough for a fire escape already.

Well, Alphans, the ref is blowing his whistle and the first period for Puck's ode to the rink is over. With the Paralympics less than a week away, we have more surprises in store.

Next time we lace up, I promise a special, hockey treat from Canada's own golden age of comics and Canadian comic book star, Jeff Lemire.

Beavers Up!

Olympic Memories with Shaman - Revisiting "The Underworld Olympics '76" - Part 2

2010-03-05T09:46:00.001-08:00

Bwahahahaha!

Fear me!!! Fear Tanaraq, one of the mystical Great Beasts of Canada’s north and deadly enemy of Alpha Flight heroine Narya.

It is Tanarq'a undefeatable form Walter Langkowski takes on when he transforms into Sasquatch. And today Tanaraq has possessed Langkowski's body to better wreak havoc on this week’s Comicanuck Olympic blogging!

Bwahahahaha!

Prepare for boredom, frustration and rage as I describe in minute detail why the Vancouver 2010 closing ceremonies reeked of suck, except for letting Catriona Le May Doan get a second chance at lighting the torch. Sniff! That brought a tear to many a Great Beast’s evil eye.

And Tanaraq must confess the Michael Bublé number is growing on him. Tanaarq can appreciate a good rampage of over-the-top madness, Busby Berkeley-style -- though Tamaraq is afraid of giant beavers. But then, who isn't?

First I shall make fun of the audience ponchos – Gah! What is this? Ancient Sarcee magic, binding my mouth, gagging Tanaraq’a mighty roar -- mmmfffttt!!??

Fear not, gentle readers of comicanuck. There are more than two of you, right?

I, Michael Twoyoungmen, better known as Shaman, mystical defender of Canada and founding member of Alpha Flight, have temporarily contained Tanarq’s raging sarcasm with a magical gag. As the Binder of Spirits, the Breaker of Dark Spells and former Talisman, I shall banish the Great Beast and free Waletr Langkwski’s spirit later.

But for now we shall take some time to discuss more of the Underworld Olympics ’76!

Like Walter, I too, followed this DC Comics storyline with interest. After a rollicking J. L. Garcia Lopez romp in Batman 272, we turn to the Batman 273 for second round of this criminal Olympiad.

“The Bank Shot That Baffled Batman” opens with the European team disrupting a Revolutionary War reenactment for Gotham’s bicentennial celebrations. As Walter, er Sasquatch mentioned in his previous post, the US was experiencing a fervor of patriotism between their birthday and the Olympics happening so close to home on their home continent.

Writer David V. Reed starts the proceedings with an ideal opening – a unique action sequence that reels the reader in and creates a lot of questions. Disguised as redcoats and using real bullets the team wounds several Gotham Colonial Minute Men, steal their cannon and add insult to injury by planting a British Union Jack in place of the good old star and stripes. Consider your reader's curiosity peeked! Upon rereading, this approach works just as well today as it did for my nine-year old self back in 1976.

It’s funny to see Batman helpless to stop the event because he’s stuck in orbit around the earth on monitor duty in the Justice League of America satellite. It’s too bad the JLA HQ doesn’t have say, some way to contact other Justice League heroes to ask for their help in such an emergency.

Come to think of it, no radio would make being on monitor duty kind of pointless wouldn’t it? Then again, Artist Ernie Chau’s (Ernie Chan) cramped version of the satellite doesn’t even have a chair. Batman is huddled on his butt hugging his knees to his chest like a kid quietly watching cartoons downstairs early in the morning hoping they don't wake their parents.

But I digress.

One fun aspect of Batman one-off stories of this period, is that attempts are made to give some sense of Bruce Wayne’s working life. In this issue we see Bruce “swamped” with paperwork at a bank we presume he owns or perhaps serves on the board of directors.

Just those two panels are enough to give the sense that Batman’s secret identity has a life of his own and isn’t just pulled in when Batman needs entry to somewhere undercover or a writer needs temporary soap opera elements to drive a story.

I have found many writers (myself included) find it easier to write relationship stuff rather than writing a credible story around Bruce’s business acumen and responsibilities.

It’s lucky for the bank that Bruce is working late because as the European team arrives with a mysterious deposit. To their shock, the bank is held up by a local gang. To the gang's shock, they're holding up Batman's bank. And he's pissed.

Despite Batman’s interference the gang get away with cash and one of the European team’s safety deposit boxes. Batman tracks the gang but Underworld Olympian Boris Chomsky, utilizing his KGB training, follows him. Boris bashes our hero’s Bat noggin and escapes with his stolen box. All Batman sees through a haze of wracking pain (caused less by the bum on the head than by trying to move with anatomy so hopelessly squashed and stretched by his artist) is Boris’ shoe soles as he dives out the window.

When Boris returns the stolen safety deposit box to the bank, a suspicious Bruce Wayne confirms Boris’ villainy when he spots the baddie’s shoes. Batman slips into the vault that night and opens all of Boris’ safety deposit. Bats assembles the contents into the missing cannon, which is “easily reassembled if you know how”. (Perhaps this is another hint at Bruce Wayne’s downtime as a Revolutionary War re-enacter?)

Batman replaces the cannon parts in their boxes and lies in wait for the Olympians to arrive again. We then discover Batman’s priorities will always lie more his curiosity and a rollicking good yarn than say, Bruce’s need to keep his bank from being blown up. The caped crusader's 'plan' involves waiting for the crooks to sneak into his vault, reassemble the cannon and let them fire an artillery shell through the roof of the bank so he can track it’s trajectory!

The issue comes to a quick close as Batman makes short work of the remaining team and is once again left to wonder over this senseless, Gotham crime spree with the international flavour.

Wait! My spiritual warning signs portent great danger nearby. But where... WHERE??!!

Oh no! Tanaraq is rending my mystical mouth guard and throwing my own power back at meeeee!!! Argh! Tanaraq is--

-- Free! Raaaaaarrrrwwwwllll!!!

Flee in terror , puny mortals!

Your magic gag was no match for my evil bite force, Shaman! Your love for this four–part Olympic tale is proof of your lack of taste as a child. There is so much to despise between these Bat-covers! Let us first talk of the scoring system for these so –called International Crime Olympics!

In Batman 272 we see each challenge is scored out of a hundred divided up into three phases, with penalties assessed for partial failure. Bah! The only proper penalty for failure is to be ripped apart by my mighty talons! But what can you expect from mere humans? Listen to this human explain the scoring from the first so-called adventure in this Underworld Olympics.

Yes, yes, So far, even Tanaraq follows despite his low percentile scores in monster finishing school. Phase One is worth 45 points but after losing 25 points for pathetic-ness the South American fools only score 20. Phase Two is worth 30 points and Phase Three is worth the remaining 25 points. At least Tanaraq thinks that's what the ugly, chewy-looking, Chairman/head bookie with pointy stick says.

Tanaraq is lost but pretty sure the score is out of... um....

A total of 100 possible points, Tanaraq! Why don’t you buy yourself a calculator?

Silence, Shaman!

Tanaraq is a Great Beast and devourer of worlds! He has no need of basic, human calculus! And the tiny buttons on crappy calculators rip apart under the tapping of my razor sharp nails.

Yet, without such technology, Tanaraq finds the scoring in Batman 273 even more confusing. First, fleshy, bow-tie wearing human says Round One for the European team's challenge will be worth 20 points.

Then smoky, bald-head tells us Round Two is worth twenty points. Then chatty, moron man says Phase Three is worth 10 points, which in Tanaraq'a dark, beasty netherworld still equals fifty. Seriously, isTanaraq right, or is Tanaraq right, here? So now the total challenge is not scored out of 100 like it was only last issue?

Okaaaaay then.

To quote Nelvanna of my cursed, immortal Gods of the North enemies -- What the…?

But at the end of the book, after Batman kicks Olympic butt, this juicy sack of blood man adds the European team's points up to 80 (out of fifty) and takes them down to fifty! Which should mean they have a perfect score. Except they don't because, the score isn't out of fifty now. It's out of something else. Pi perhaps? Gaaaarrrrr! Math is hard!!!

To many numbers, Tanarag must flee this place. And don’t get Tanaraq started on Ernie Chan! Seriously, Tanaraq will raze this town if you even ask. Gaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

O-M-G. I thought he'd never buzz off.

Perhaps I’d better go after Tanaraq. He's disappeared into what’s left of the still-partying Olympic Village here in Whistler, BC and these late night party people would be fools to party with a Great Beast. More on the Underworld Olympics next time!

So farewell for now. And remember, Shaman says may your spirit guide always lead you on the shortest path to home.

Beavers Up!

And please do not ask why an ancient Canadian Northern monster
is speaking olde English... or Tanaraq will eat your house!

Post Olympic Round-Up - Slam Poet Superhero

2010-03-03T13:29:00.000-08:00

In keeping with this week’s post-Olympic post theme, here are some more things to help us retain that fleeting Olympic high.

Feel free to check out my Rebel Alert Fanboy Geek's Eye View of the Vancouver 2010 opening ceremonies. I think it’s worth a read for the Logan’s Run mitten stuff alone.

Slam Poet and Yellowknife native Shane Koyczan has seen his profile shoot through the roof after his spirited rendition of “We Are More” at the Vancouver 2010 opening ceremonies Feb. 12. The poem was originally the English language poetry commission for the Ottawa Canada Day celebrations in 2001. Read Shanes bio and media kudos here.

In a recent interview with the Northern News Service, Koyczan lists a graphic novel among his current projects. It’s likely being done through his publisher, House of Parlance Media.

In addition to publishing poetry by Kiyczan (Stickboy, Visiting Hours), Kinnie Star and Mike McGee, House of Parlance has also published three volumes of manga based on Canadian pop chanteuse Avril Lavigne’s songs that look pretty good.

Avril Lavigne’s Girlfriend, and Avril Lavigne’s Make 5 Wishes vol. 1 and 2 are written by comic scribe Gail Simone, lettering by Ed Brisson. The books are illustrated by designer and muralist Nelson Garcia of Nomadic Alternatives and Vancouver based princess of awesome, Camilla d’Errico (Tanpopo, Nightmares & Fairy Tales, The Fallen and Arcana Studios' Burn).

The Comics Journal describes d’Errico’s style as “somewhere between manga standard and Sam Keith’s bittersweet cartoon line work creates a world that looks eerily like Margaret Keane characters trapped in an Igmar Bergman film.”

Beavers Up!

Olympic Memories with the mighty Sasquatch - Revisiting "The Underworld Olympics '76"

2010-03-02T02:03:00.000-08:00

Hey there Olympic-level comics fans! The world is singing the praises of the true north strong and free and admiring us crazy canucks as much for our ability to compete on snow and ice as for our ability to throw a massive party. So let’s keep the Olympic party going a little longer!

Walter Langkowski here. Some of the science geeks out there know me for my pioneering research in physics and biophysics. Yeah right!... It’s not like they put out highly collectible trading cards series for Nobel Prize front-runners, now is it?

And yet, I do look familiar don’t I? I sometimes get stopped in the streets or make some extra cash appearing at car dealerships or local sports collectible shows thanks to my years as a utility player for the Green Bay Packers.

No? Perhaps you were once a student at my McGill University classes or you’ve seen me on various tabloid covers during the very messy divorce from my actress wife, Veronica. Of course, I was trapped in the body of an impossibly leggy, willowy, muscular, platinum blonde, woman-type female at the time.

Still not sure? Well, I’ll give you a hint. Who’s humungus, orange and furry, can stop a plane with his bare hands, went toe to toe with the rampaging Hulk, came back from the dead and gives the fuzziest, bestest hugs in the Marvel Comics universe? Why the ever-lovin’ Sasquatch, that’s who!!! (and points off to anyone who guessed that blue beastie X-man, scientist and ex-footballer, Hank McCoy.)

No, not that one.

Not this one either. Work with me here.

Ah! Now you're cookin' with back bacon!

This week of Olympic posts are partially inspired to help Canadians come down slowly from the wonderful Olympic high we’ve been on without having to do it cold turkey (or in our case, cold Canada goose). But it was also inspired by my memories of reading another series of Olympic stories way back in my wayward youth.

I had hoped to write about these tales during the actual Olympics but I didn’t want to draw only from the web for my recollections. I wanted to read the stories again, dang it! And since the comic shops in town did not have the back issues in question, I was left to rely on mail order and the books simply did not arrive in time.

But they’ve arrived at last true believers -- a set of Olympic-themed stories from Batman Comics that have stayed me with since I first read them way back in the seventies. Like these past few weeks, the Olympics in question took place in Canada, almost bankrupting the beautiful city of Montreal in the process! (What's the big deal? It only took the city thirty years to pay off the 1.5 billion dollar debt from the 1976 Games and the disastrous Olympic Stadium).

Some highlights of the Games (Thank you, Wikipedia! Wish I had you around when I was at Penn State or studying for my Ph. D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) include the fact that it was the first time a host country for the modern Games won no gold medals (a fact broadcasters hammered home through out these latest Games), the U.S. cleaned up in the boxing using as bunch of unknown stumblebums like Sugar Ray Leonard, Leon Spinks, Michael Spinks, Leo Randolph and Howard Davis Jr., Bruce Jenner set a world record for the decathalon and future prime minister of Japan, Taro Aso, competed, as did Britain’s Prince Anne. And the world fell in love with Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, not only the first competitor in the modern Olympic Games to earn a perfect ten in competition, but the only one to do it seven times in one OIympiad!

That the Montreal Olympics occurred in North America, allowing for more daytime and prime time live network coverage, and the fact that 1976 was also the United States’ bicentennial year, meant the event created a huge buzz in America. So it was only natural that comics picked up on that in its endless search for a good story hook.

And as a young comic fan I was already diligently prowling the comic book racks of my local variety stores for stories and the Batman and Detective Comics of the time never let me down. (What? A Marvel character can't dig a DC book?) This is a series of four interconnected tales that left me wishing for more… especially since I never actually found the final issue until years later to find out how it ended.

Get ready for The Underworld Olympics 1976!!!!

This classic Olympiad of evil kicks off in Batman 272 in a story by David V. Reed. The art is supplied by the team of J.L. Garcia Lopez - who would go on to become the artist behind all DC licensing images for more than a decade - and Ernie Chua – who would go on to change his name back to Chan and rock the comic book world of Conan the Barbarian for more than a decade.

I was a fan of Batman at the time for a number of reasons. Stories were more or less one-offs so I could generally get a complete adventure without having to track down a follow-up issue. In a world before the direct market that could prove difficult. You never knew if the store you bought one issue would get the same batch of ongoing titles from month to month. That’s why I developed a string of variety stores and supermarkets to visit month in and month out. I had to cast a pretty wide net.

Secondly, DC was back to focusing on Batman being the world’s greatest detective and escape artist, so each issue generally presented some form of impossible mystery that highlighted Batman’s observational skills, esoteric knowledge and cleverness. Generally presented at a breakneck pace and filled with plenty of action. Revisiting the world of the Bronze Age, one is reminded of how much story we were given in a conventional comic compared to today.

For better of for worse, modern, “decompressed” comics average four or five panels a page. As far back as fifteen years ago, comics probably average 7 or more panels per page. That means a story that may have taken one issue back then is often spread out to two, three, or even four issues now. That leaves plenty of room to accent character, play with pacing and reveal that approximately 85% of modern comic writers have no idea how to work in this elongated format. Bronze Age books wasted no time. They had less than twenty pages to get you in, get you involved, get out a couple of fights and few surprises then wrap it up so they could do it all over again next month.

“The Underworld Olympics ’76” opens in a suitably international environment, Gotham International Airport. Thanks to an anonymous tip, Batman (who was still at the point where he had complete cooperation from all levels of police and security personal) gets all Homeland Security up the ass of several suspicious looking tourists.

What follows is an insight into Batman's loathing of gaucho gangsters and one of the most unique displays of comic book jui-jitsu I've ever seen. The battle quickly flows through numerous kung fu moves like "Whirling Camera Chin-A-Chunka" and "Come Hither Thigh Trap" to finish off with "Death Palm Camera Smash".

The felonious pair turn out to be smuggling uncut emeralds in their suitcases. Batman reveals the hidden gems and the inadequate training of the Gotham Customs officials in a quick series of panels.

The final panel on the page reveals the entire operation is a decoy allowing members of the South American team to slip into the city unnoticed. Soon, in the “carefully guarded confines of a townhouse on Gotham’s east side, the “first international Crime Olympics” are officially kicked off. Rather than stretch the Games out with teams from each country, author Reed divides the players up by “continental blocks” with South American, North American, European and Afro-Asian teams, comprised of multicultural representatives from various countries “chosen from among its own master criminals.” Each team is given a different assignment and tries to amass points by completing an assigned crime. Meanwhile, a whole bunch of unsavory types lay bets in a smoky den of iniquity.

Lopez and Chan have a lot of fun giving every face and character in the story personality - even the sketchy background figures. It adds a nice sense of realism to the events. I especially like the guy in the green suit in panel above to the left of the frame. That could be a threatening scar on his face or a prominent bead of sweat. Either way, from his effete way of smoking, to his highly manicured nails and overabundance of hair product, we can tell that this is one metrosexual who's not to be trusted.

The South American team is up first. They are assigned to murder J. P. Vandermeer, chosen at random from a phone book. Apparently it was a very upscale phone book, because Vandermeer turns out to a member of Gotham’s elite, serving on the board of the Gotham Museum and hobnobbing with the likes of Bruce Wayne, millionaire playboy. Vandermeer is lured away with a phone call.

A suspicious Bruce notices he has a direct line to the museum and yet the emergency call came over a regular phone. A quick change of costume and the Batman is soon off in hot pursuit in Bruce Wayne’s roadster. He quickly finds Vandermeer’s wrecked and an even more wrecked Vandermeer, deader than a doornail. Deducing that a second vehicle rammed him, Batman catches up to the car and battles the South American team, capturing two of them. In between we take a short break for a one page advertisement featuring Captain Marvel and Hostess Cupcakes.

Since nothing is stolen, Batman can’t figure out a motive, nor why one of the murderers’ chosen weapons was an espada brousse or Bolivian jungle sword. Of course, he doesn’t realize the phone book is an accomplice. Perhaps he should take that phone book into an interrogation and beat a confession out of it with a… phone book? Er, never mind.

Batman gets a second chance when the remaining members of the South American team steal Vandermeer’s body from the morgue. Luckily, the eagle-eyed pathologist has already removed a transistorized tracking device from the body (used y the team to determine it’s whereabouts for the second phases of their assignment). Batman uses the bug’s frequency to track the team as they attempt to bury the stone cold Vandermeer in an equally cold stone monument.

Batman arrives to kick butt and order ice cream (The team has hidden the body in an ice cream cart for discreet transport through a park) in one of the worst I’m-gonna–joke-while-I-hit-you lines ever...

You heard the Bat. Here's a double scoop of justice... with sprinkles, you crooks!

Batman wraps up the case and wraps up the South American team in a vender’s umbrella. Back at Olympic HQ, the absent team is assigned a final score - a mere 20 out of a possible 100. The world's “finest criminals” retire to prepare for tomorrow’s challenge while poor Batman and Commissioner Gorden are left to ponder why Vandermeer’s body wasn’t stolen when the car was wrecked and why all the baddies hail from south of the equator.

For once, the reader is one step ahead of the Bat, leaving a nice sense of anticipation for what's to come next issue.

And in the next blog post.

Beavers Up!

An Olympic Message from Snowbird - Goddess of the Great, White North

2010-03-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

Snowbird, by Ramon Perez.

Greetings, mortals.

I am Narya, daughter of northern goddess, Nelvanna and the human Richard Easton. You may also know me as Col. Anne Mackenzie, of the Yellowknife RCMP detachment or even the mountie who presented the “Let’s Play Safe with Snow” presentation to your child’s fourth grade class last week.

As a goddess of the north I have found my spirit empowered by the display of passion shown by the inhabitants of my homeland these last two weeks.

Such raw emotion and joy has sent me soaring skyward in my arctic owl from to soak up the Olympic spirit, until one of the biathalon competitors from a country that shall remain nameless, took a shot at me hoping to bag a Canadian souvenir. I don't have to tell you that contravened the spirit of this ancient event, the hunting and exporting laws of the land and earned him the enmity of a warrior goddess!

Do not fear, I did not kill him. But he shall require the assistance of a highly skilled surgical to remove those skis from where I shoved them in my polar bear form.

Sadly, my diminutive comrade in Alpha Flight arms, Puck, seems to have gone missing in the jubilation of the gold medal hockey game yesterday. When last I saw Eugene, he was sucking spilled beer out of the official Hudson’s Bay mittens and leading a pack of revelers to find Canuck defensemen Rob Niedermayer and get him to sign their genitals.

(shiver) You understand now why I did not care to follow, I hope.

Since Puck is still nowhere to found and it is still difficult to get anywhere in Vancouver unless you can morph into any winged creature of the frozen tundra like me, I shall take over today’s salute to the Olympics skating events.

The skaters are so graceful and lithe, they truly convey a sense of what it feels to fly through the air under your own power. To watch them is to understand one such as me, at least a little bit.

Enjoy!

Unless you're Victor Plushenko, a sense of humour is the most important ingredient for ice skating. That frozen H2O can be a harsh mistress!

One thing you humans forget, is how romantic skating can be. The feeling of gliding along with some one you love is can most alluring. See how Patsy Walker's graceful swan rotation almost instantly attracts a potential life mate to her side. It could also be because her tights had "Come get me!" written on the crotch but we''ll never know for sure.

Guys, you know it works. Let go of the hockey obsession long enough to turn on some figure skating and your sweetie will want to cuddel up with a cup of hot cocoa and you... guaranteed. Take it from a sexy Goddess of the North. I know how to stay warm on those long, Canadian winter nights!

And so, until next time! Farewell mortals!

Beavers Up!