Must Read Indie Comics: Canada Day Edition

Canada Day is here and I think we should spend some time looking at some awesome Canadian indie comics. Comics and superheroes aren’t just an American thing; Marvel, DC, and Image all have their Canadian properties: Alpha Flight, Wolverine, Deadpool, Equinox, and We Stand on Guard, just to name a few (but that’s pretty much all of them).

But Canada does have a rich comic book history within its borders. The Canadian Whites were a result of wartime law resulting in only essentials crossing the border. Comics were deemed nonessentials and Canadians came up with characters like Johnny Canuck, Nelvana of the Northern Lights, Freelance and Brok Windsor. More recently, Chapterhouse Publishing is the largest Canadian publisher with titles like Captain Canuck, Northguard, the Pitiful Human-Lizard, and the anthology series True Patriot.

Here are some indie comics north of the 49th parallel that you might not have heard of that deserve your attention.

Adventures of Auroraman

Writer: Jeff Burton and Andrew Lorenz
Artist: Justin Shauf
Colourist: Donovan Yaciuk
Letterer: Rod Salm

Created by school teacher Jeff Burton, the Adventures of Auroraman is based in Humbolt, Saskatchewan. Our hero, Jeff, takes his students out on a field trip to watch a meteor shower when a cosmic staff lands right by the students! Jeff picks up the staff, turns it into the galactic lost and found- I mean, becomes the Protector of the Prairies.

Auric of the Great White North

Writer: Davis Dewsbury
Artist: Andrew Thomas
Colourist: Sharon Gauthier
Letterer: Andrew Thomas

Auric is a 100 year old anthropomorphic warrior from Timmins, Ontario. After miners release mystical energies a northern goddess gives Auric the ability to control the beast that threatened to take over his mind and body. Decades after his last battle, the monsters have returned and Auric isn’t the warrior he used to be.

Big Nick

Writer: Kevin Montpellier and Martin Deschatelets
Artist: Martin Deschatelets

After a mine cave-in 30 years ago, Nick Murray, a mine rescue worker emerges not having aged a day, and with amazing new powers. Strange, giant, rock creatures have been released on the City of Greater Sudbury and Nick is the only able to stop them. And Nick has to catch up with the world after being underground for so long.

Canadian Corps

Writer: Andrew Lorenz
Artist: Justin Shauf
Colourist: Donovan Yaciuk
Letterer: Rod Salm

When America’s superheroes are busy fighting off an alien invasion, Canada’s superheroes come together to defend Canada and the rest of the world when a few of the alien space ships make it to the surface. Heroes from all across Canada, of different ethnicities, must learn how to work together to fight off the invaders.

North 

Writer: Scott Sawyer
Artist: Scott Sawyer
Colourist: Falk
Letterer: Andrew Thomas

Canada hasn’t had active super-heroes or villains for decades. There were only a handful of heroes back in the eighties and that ended catastrophically. Casey Van Allen, the daughter of the fallen, legendary hero Major Snow, has learned that the monster responsible for her father’s death is alive and well. She suits up and unearths a team of gifted misfits to help her in her mission.

 Spacepig Hamadeus

Writer: Donovan Yaciuk
Artist: Shane Nitzsche, Justin Shauf, Ryan Howe, Evan Quiring
Colourist: Donovan Yaciuk
Letterer: Donovan Yaciuk and Bryan Senka

Similar to to the pulp Flash Gordon series, Spacepig Hamadeus follows a space faring pig as he encounters time traveling Roman Centurions, and Zombie Plesiosaurs from the Moons of Saturn! And best of all, his name is Hamadeus!

Thunder

Writer: Michael McAdam
Artist: Dean Meek
Letterer: Michael McAdam

Half Norse God and Half Canadian, Thunder is about Devon Wells, a young man who has returned to Canada after spending his youth in Asgard. Devon must learn to live among mortals while dealing with old gods, technological armor, geeks and aliens.

Toronto Comics Anthology

The Toronto Comics Anthology is one large love letter to the City of Toronto, which is considered a comic book Mecca. Writers and artists from all over the GTA have come together to make 4 volumes worth of comics. Featuring stories about monsters in Honest Ed’s, vampire pigs, local superheroes, a kid time travelling to return Babe Ruth’s baseball, and many more!

USNA

Writer: David Longworth, Harry Kalensky, Allan Stanleigh
Artist: Dave Casey and Francine Delgado
Letterer: Chris Barret

This story is set in a world where the United States and Canada have peacefully amalgamated into one nation. It follows a woman who finds herself caught up with a band of rebels seeking to restore ideals, when the policies of the government represented the best interests of the people, not the best interests of those who govern.

Click on the images to find out more and check out the Canadian Comic Book Alliance for even more great indie comics.