CC/Kebec Sculptures by Jake Dowker

Lev Gleason sent out a newsletter yesterday announcing the release of a third Crime Stoppers Special. Click on the cover to purchase. 

A 2024 Crime Stoppers Canada Exclusive! While trying to track down clues to the whereabouts of one of Canada's most wanted, a young security guard stumbles across a car theft ring that puts him in the unexpected position of a teaming up with Canada's greatest hero... Captain Canuck. 

(W) Danny Djeljosevic (A) Mukor Bazan (CA) Angelo Razzano, John Mungiello

Naturally, this put me in a mood to sort through my old content and make some updates to this often-neglected blog.

While looking around for material, I came upon the rather mind-blowing images below.

These were posted on Art Station four years ago, so fans of the Captain and his entourage may well be aware of them already, but I thought I should share them on an "ICYMI" basis.

Click on this link to see more images from Dowker's work on these two characters, as well as one done for Freelance. 

New Page: Neon Mob

Neon Mob was a sort of online trading card community that closed a few days ago, unfortunately. 

About two years ago, Lev Gleason Publishing cleverly used it as a showcase for some of their characters and as an engagement tool. Most, if not all, of the cards displayed cover or interior art from books that were already available.

Since Neon Mob is no longer in operation, it seemed like a good idea to share some of the cards here in the event that the site disappears entirely in the future. I didn't include entire sets, just the main Canuck cast.

2013, July 22nd, Calgary Herald: "Captain Canuck True To Form In Web Series"

Lev Gleason Publishing has been rather quiet of late, and when they have been heard from, it's had little to do with their face-of-the-franchise, flag-bearing (in every sense) character.

My guess here is that the good Captain has quietly entered yet another period of dormancy. Admittedly, I feared this when much of the publisher's attention was suddenly directed to characters like Daredevil and Silver Streak. If LGP didn't lose interest in Captain Canuck entirely, they certainly found themselves distracted by another shiny object.

Ah well. Much gratitude for the material we did get, it was top shelf. Maybe one day inspiration strikes again.

In the meantime, for the hell of it, we'll go back a decade or so to when the good Captain returned in animated form. I recall the excitement generated from finding out about this and looking forward to each episode dropping. Good times. Hope they repeat themselves. 

Sold on LGP Presents!

It took me a while to warm up to Lev Gleason Publishing's format when the "Lev Gleason Presents" book was first announced. It initially appeared as though I'd have to choose between paying a bit more for product I don't want (such as the reprinted classic Daredevil and Silver Streak material) or to wait longer to obtain single printed Captain Canuck issues or trade paperbacks. 

I decided to give the digital option a look earlier today and am quite glad I did. 

The bonus material drew me in. I already have the "bonus" Captain Canuck issue in print so that wasn't the appealing factor. Getting the four-issue Freelance series along with the rest of the content just seemed like too good a deal to pass up. Freelance didn't appeal to me upon release but as a throw-in? What the hell.

And I'm so glad I did. I read the first two Freelance issues and enjoyed them more than I expected, then had a glance at the Silver Streak story. There is a very direct connection between the two so I appreciate the relevant Freelance material being made available. To be honest, I'm surprised I didn't read more online chatter about that connection when the Freelance books first came out.

Now that I've sampled it, I think I will continue taking advantage of the digital option (whether it includes bonus content or not) to get my hands on the story ASAP then collect the trades at a later date.

Incidentally, you'll note that past solicitation material was incorrect. It originally stated that the third issue of the fifth season of Captain Canuck would be included in this book. You can see that in the previous post, if you're reading chronologically. It's actually the second issue that is included. My guess is that LGP just changed plans after the solicitation went out, no big deal.

LGP Late Winter / Early Spring Solicitations

I like to post the Captain Canuck solicitations as they are made public, but I held off for a bit when I came across the publisher's recent announcements. 

As far as trade paperback reprints are concerned, I've added the most recent attempts at publishing this past material down the right side of the page. This includes the original series from the 70s and 80s separated over two volumes, Lev Gleason Publications' (as Chapterhouse) own mini series featuring the original Captain, and the "West Coast Captain Canuck" mini series from the mid 2000s.

That done, let's look ahead. The following book is scheduled for late April.

Lev Gleason Presents #1

Lev Gleason’s Comic House returns to super-hero publishing after 75 years with Lev Gleason Presents #1. 

This series jumpstarts with Silver Streak: Season 1 Issue 1 by Keith Champagne (Stranger Things) and Stefan Tosheff (Minerva’s Map); Freelance: Season 2 Issue 1 by Andrew Wheeler (Wonder Woman) and Juan Samu (Black Panther); Captain Canuck: Season 5 Issue 3 by Ho Che Anderson (KING) and Felipe Cunha (Cult Classic); plus a classic archive adventure featuring the Golden Age Silver Streak! 

Each mega-sized issue will contain a brand-new #1 issue as well as at least two NEW 20-page stories continuing from the Comic House shared universe! Included in each issue are download codes for digital copies of each issue featured.

Captain Canuck's third issue of season five is included in this?  What if I don't want the rest of the content? Am I "stuck" paying the $9.99 suggested retail price for the one book I do want? 

Apparently not, according to Keith WTS Morris in this interview with First Comics News. 

Yes, standard 32-page single-issue comics will always be for sale for collectors and readers through our demand edition program, Never miss a back issue! Exclusive variants and Retailer programs as well all available through levgleason.com.

All right...Presumably there will be announcements specific to individual issues being released because it doesn't sound like they will be included in regular solicitations. Or if they will, they have yet to, anyway. 

Here is the solicitation for the second issue of LGP, available at the end of May. 

Lev Gleason Presents #2

“The Greatest Name in Comics” Daredevil: Season 1 Issue 1 by Kenny Porter and Iñaki Azpiazu; Freelance: Season 2 Issue 2 by Andrew Wheeler and Juan Samu; Canuck Beyond: Season 1 Issue 3 by Adrien Benson and Esteban Calvi; plus a classic archive adventure featuring the Golden Age Daredevil!  

Blue Fox!! 😀

I think at the end of the day, this gives us a little flexibility. I'll be blunt, I have zero interest in Freelance. Where the good Captain is concerned, I prefer individual issues over trades. I think I would just as soon wait on his own issues to be made available for purchase if that's part of LGP's strategy.

Good for me, but anyone who wants to know pretty well all that's going in the Captain's "universe" can keep up through the "Presents" book for relatively low cost. Makes sense, if my understanding of LGP's strategy is sound. 

Finally, the best news I received was the coming novel by D.K. Latta, also scheduled for late May. 

When Captain Canuck and his team are called to Lunartown to oversee the Space Needle’s completion, what should have been a simple job unearths a plan to sabotage the Needle’s launch. Suddenly, the mysterious disappearance of Captain Canuck reveals a scheme of alien origin. Now, Captain Canuck must choose between duty to his country and possibly the chance at a normal, everyday life. The Space Needle must be finished at all costs!

I'd be interested in any Canuck content, but I have read a couple of Latta's stories in anthologies and found them to be outstanding, so I look forward to reading an entire novel from him. In fact, based on that work and his long-standing interest in the character, if I'd been asked to select one person to write a book about the Captain, D.K. would have been the easy and quick choice. 

He wrote about his upcoming book recently and mentioned that a re-edited version of Neil Dougherty's The Terror Birds is coming down the line at some point. That's good, because that book had huge editing issues. Some sentences are outright nonsensical. It was like a first draft was mistakenly released rather than the final version.

The story itself has potential but it got lost in all the errors. I believe Neil is a better writer than that book suggested, and that a cleaned up version will demonstrate that. 

LGP February 2021 Solicitations

Only one Canuck offering in February.

With the Brotherhood of Light hot on their trail, Canuck and his new found allies must work fast to rescue the captured Fen, and uncover of the mystery of how the planet Beyond came under the control of the mysterious Aguirre.

The book is written by Adrien Benson and drawn by Esteban Calvi.

The other book being released next February (both are scheduled for the 24th) is a compilation of the Beyond back up story from the original Captain Canuck series from the 70s, with new material. So if you're looking to find out more about the setting in which the current book takes place, that'll be an opportunity to do so.

Transitioning from Season 4 to Season 5

If you're here, there's a very good chance you're already on the Chapterhouse (Lev Gleason Pub) mailing list. If you're not on that list, here's what you missed (and therefore a couple of good reasons why you should be on it) last week.

As has been done for Season Zero with its Redcoat/Kebec origin flipbook, a fifth issue has been added to Season Four.  

The Invasion is over. The Borealis were routed, but the world is left to pick up the pieces and bury the dead. Among those lost, the world’s shining beacon of hope…Captain Canuck. Still working through the stages of grief, the world plans for the future while gathering to mourn his loss…

This one comes with a pretty boss variant cover and an excellent incentive, aside from its awesomeness, to purchase it.

The newsletter specifies that this version of the book is limited to 100 copies and that all proceeds will be donated to the Royal Canadian Legion Poppy Fund. How great is that? Both books will be available to purchase from the publisher's website on November 7th. 

Then on November 18th, A zero issue will be available for Season Five. I believe it reprints the material from the 2019 Free Comic Book Day issue but comes with a wraparound cover. We now get to see what these guys...

...were all looking at.

The Captain's pose isn't quite right based on the shadow on the original cover but we'll assume there was a brief delay between the two images. ;-)

Finally, this wasn't announced in the newsletter, it was just something I happened to notice when I clicked on one of the links. Perhaps it was unintentional but the Season Five trade cover is displayed on the website. 

Good looking bunch. Could we have a team book in the making?