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.