Page 50 - JOA August 2020

Escaping the Pandemic with Imagination

ith everything that’s happened in 2020 thus far, pretty much Unholy Avengers. The three-issue miniseries ran in 2004-2005.
any day seems like a good day to pause and think about good In 2006, Comely published the miniseries Captain Canuck: Legacy,
Wand interesting things, or at least things less serious than the featuring two stories. One saw the second Captain Canuck trying to
world around us. The Canadian comic book scene, for instance, is very keep illegal weapons out of Canada and the
interesting in that it has always paralleled its American cousin, but second continued the third Captain
it’s also had its own unique aspects. Canuck’s story.
IDW Publishing published a few
Protecting Canada for 45 Years: volumes that collected Captain Canuck
Captain Canuck comics, including Captain Canuck:
Captain Canuck, the patriotic The Complete Edition that contained
Canadian superhero, celebrates his issues 1-15, the summerspecial, Captain
45th birthday this year. Created Canuck: Legacy #1.5, newspaper strips,
by cartoonist Ron Leishman and and sketches.
artist-writer Richard Comely, the A five-episode animated web series
stalwart hero was introduced in aired in 2013, featuring Kris Holden-
Captain Canuck #1 (July 1975), Reid as Captain Canuck, Paul Amos as
published by Comely Comix. The the antagonist Mr. Gold, Tatiana
series ran off and on until 1981, Maslany as Redcoat, and Laura
followed by several other iterations Vandervoort as Blue Fox. The web
including Captain Canuck Reborn, series’ success led to the 2014 one-shot,
Captain Canuck Unholy War, and Captain Canuck Summer Special,
Captain Canuck Legacy. published by Chapter House.
A few different characters have A year later he starred in his
taken the name of Captain Canuck, own Free Comic Book Day special
each possessing superstrength and issue followed by a fresh series
superspeed. The first was Tom Evans, that reimagined Canuck as the head of
a costumed secret agent of the Equilibrium, a global crisis
Canadian International Security intervention agency. That series ran
Organization who gained powers for 11 issues.
from contact with extraterrestrials. It Chapter House restarted the
was set in the then-future of 1993 series again in 2017, with Tom
when “Canada had become the most Evans leaving Equilibrium and
powerful country in the world.” Drawn his brother, Michael, becoming
mostly by George Freeman, it ran for Captain Canuck. His first major
three issues through 1976 then returned mission was to take on an
three years later for 11 issues and a extraterrestrial incursion in a four
summer special. issue series.
Darren Oak became the second With his heroic determination
Captain Canuck in 1993 under the and penchant for steadily
Semple Comics imprint. This series returning to comics, it’s always
was set in the present with Canuck Created by cartoonist Ron Leishman and artist-writer Richard Comely, only a matter of time before
working to thwart a global conspiracy. Captain Canuck first appeared in Captain Canuck #1 Captain Canuck comes back to
(July 1975), published by Comely Comix.
Written and drawn by Comely, Leonard save the day again!
Kirk, and Sandy Carruthers, it ran for four issues then transitioned into Some of the issues can be difficult to find, but most of them are very
a newspaper comic strip. accessible price-wise.
David Semple was the third character to wear the maple leaf. Also Continued on page 50
known as the West Coast Captain Canuck, he was in Captain Canuck:
Unholy War, written and drawn by Riel and Drue Langlois. In this
J.C. Vaughn is Vice-President of Gemstone Publishing.
version, he was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Constable Gemstone’s Amanda Sheriff and Carrie Wood contributed
who becomes Captain Canuck to stop a biker gang known as the to this column.

48 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles