| Captain Canuck | |
|---|---|
 Cover toCaptain Canuck #1 (July 1975), art by Richard Comely. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | I:Comely Comix/CKR II: Semple Comics III: Comedy Comics/Hot Hail Comics IV:Chapterhouse Comics |
| First appearance | I:Captain Canuck #1 (Comely Comix, July 1975) II:Captain Canuck: Reborn #0 III:Captain Canuck: Unholy War #1 (2004) IV:Captain Canuck 2014 Summer Special |
| Created by | I:Richard Comely Ron Leishman II:Richard Comely III: Riel Langlois Drue Langlois IV:Richard Comely Kalman Andrasofszky |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | I & IV: Tom Evans II: Darren Oak III: David Semple |
| Team affiliations | I: CISO IV: Equilibrium |
| Abilities | I: Super-strength, super-speed IV: Super strength, super speed, enhanced durability, super suit with a variety of technical abilities |
Captain Canuck is aCanadian comic booksuperhero. Created by cartoonist Ron Leishman and artist/writerRichard Comely, the original Captain Canuck first appeared inCaptain Canuck #1 (July 1975).[1] The series was the first successful Canadian comic book since the collapse of the nation's comic book industry followingWorld War II.[2]
Three characters have worn the maple leaf costume of Captain Canuck. The first Captain Canuck patrolled Canada in the then-future year of 1993, where "Canada had become the most powerful country in the world". He was the costumed agent of the "Canadian International Security Organization" (CISO). In 1995, Captain Canuck was honored with a Canadian postage stamp, along withSuperman,Johnny Canuck,Fleur de Lys andNelvana of the Northern Lights.[3]
Like mostindependent comics, Captain Canuck's adventures have been published sporadically.[4]
First published in 1975, Captain Canuck's original adventures were published on and off until 1981. There were several iterations since. Captain Canuck Reborn, Captain Canuck Unholy War (also called West Coast Canuck) and Captain Canuck Legacy.
In 2012Richard Comely entered into a partnership with Toronto businessman, Fadi Hakim to relaunch a new, updated and modern version of Captain Canuck, which was designed in part byKalman Andrasofszky (Marvel Comics). An animated series was crowd funded and it aired between 2013 & 2014. A second series of the animated adventures was set to air between 2015 & 2016. The first episode premiered atHal-Con during Halloween.
Canuck's first appearance was in 1975, published byComely Comix ofWinnipeg,Manitoba. The story followedTom Evans, a Canadian secret agent who gained superhuman strength from contact with extraterrestrials. This first version of the Canadiansuperhero ran for three issues before going on hiatus in 1976. In 1979, it came back, with Comely being backed by CKR Productions, and publishing 11 more issues, plus a summer special, concluding in early 1981; it was drawn mostly byGeorge Freeman, taking over from Comely, who did the writing and lettering. He was pushed out of CKR after issue #12 was completed and issue #13 and #14 were outlined. The completed issue #15 (written and pencilled by George Freeman and inked, lettered and coloured by Claude St. Aubin) was finally published in 2004 as a limited edition by Comely.
Since the original, two newer incarnations of the Canadian icon have appeared: Comely launched a second version in 1993, under the imprintSemple Comics. Set in the present,Captain Canuck: Reborn featured a new Captain Canuck,Darren Oak, who fought a global conspiracy. This title lasted only four issues (#0–3) and was written and drawn by Richard Comely,Leonard Kirk andSandy Carruthers with inks byÉric Thériault. That incarnation continued as a newspaper comic strip for a short while.
A third incarnation (sometimes called the "West Coast Captain Canuck"), edited by Comely but written and drawn by brothers Riel andDrue Langlois, appeared in 2004 under the banner of Comely Comics, entitledCaptain Canuck: Unholy War. Yet another man,RCMPConstableDavid Semple, adopts the guise of Captain Canuck, to take on a biker gang called the Unholy Avengers. "Unholy War" was slated as a three-issuemini-series, the third and final installment being published in January 2005, but the series came out with a fourth issue (under the 'Hot Hail Comics' banner) in August 2007, which fully concluded the character. A trade paperback of the series was published in 2015 and reissued in 2023.
A miniseries, written and illustrated by Comely,Captain Canuck: Legacy, began in the fall of 2006. It contained two continued stories: one detailed the efforts of the second Captain Canuck to prevent illegal weapons from reaching Canada, whilst the second chronicled the continued adventures of the third (West Coast) Captain Canuck.[5][6] While the series has remained in limbo for some time, the official Captain Canuck website stated that the remainder of the series would be completed in 2009.Captain Canuck Legacy 1.5 was published in August 2011 as a limited edition of 5,000 copies only distributed in Ontario.[citation needed]
IDW Publishing published two volumes of collected editions of the 1975-1980Captain Canuck series.[7] Its first release in June 2009 contained issues #4–10. Volume two, released in December 2009, contained issues #11-14 and the 1980 Summer Special. In November 2011, IDW releasedCaptain Canuck The Complete Edition as a 375-page trade paperback with issues #1–15, the Summer Special, the newspaper strips, sketches andCaptain Canuck: Legacy #1.5.
The success of the web series allowed for a one-shot comic book, the 2014Captain Canuck Summer Special, which was released on Canada Day, July 1, at comic shops across Canada.[8] This is the first time since 1981 that the Summer Special was released.
In 2015, aCaptain Canuck #0 issue was released on Free Comic Book Day,[9] which is the first Saturday of May each year. This issue preceded the new ongoingCaptain Canuck series published byChapterhouse Comics, the first issue of which was available in comic shops worldwide on May 27.[10]
The Canadian company Mind's Eye Entertainment announced at the 2011San Diego Comic-Con that it planned to develop a Captain Canuck feature film. No scriptwriter or director were attached.[11] The following year, Mind's Eye revealed that it had selectedVancouver-based screenwriter Arne Olsen to script the feature. Olsen was chosen from a solicitation of pre-selected, accredited Canadian writers, who submitted treatments. The final two choices submitted copies of sample scripts.[12]
In 2013 Captain Canuck was reimagined for a five-episode animatedweb series by Captain Canuck Inc andSmiley Guy Studios.[13]Kris Holden-Reid voices the Captain andPaul Amos his antagonist, Mr. Gold. Several other actors voiced roles in the series includingTatiana Maslany as Redcoat[14] andLaura Vandervoort as Blue Fox.[15][16] A second series was announced for 2015.[17]
By 2023, a live-action Captain Canuck project was in development. The project is a collaboration between Lev Gleason Studios, VVS Films and Muse Entertainment.
By 2023, an animated series based on the Comic House universe called Camp Canuck was in development. The series is an adaptation of the superhero mentoring the future heroes and villains of the world as a camp counsellor. The project is a collaboration between Lev Gleason Studios, Little Blackstone Studios and Big Studios.[18]
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| Books about/D.W. Series | 1987 - D.W. Flips! 1988 - D.W. All Wet1993 - D.W. Thinks Big1993 - D.W. Rides Again!1995 - D.W. the Picky Eater1998 - D.W.'s Lost Blankie1999 - D.W. Go to Your Room!2001 - D.W.'s Library Card2003 - D.W.'s Guide to Preschool2006 - D.W.'s Guide to Perfect Manners | ||||
| TV/Arthur Adventure Series | 1980 - Arthur's Valentine1981 - The True Francine (later republished and retitled in 1996 as "Arthur and the True Francine")1982 - Arthur Goes to Camp1982 - Arthur's Halloween1983 - Arthur's April Fool1983 - Arthur's Thanksgiving1984 - Arthur's Christmas1985 - Arthur's Tooth1987 - Arthur's Baby1989 - Arthur's Birthday1990 - Arthur's Pet Business1991 - Arthur Meets the President1992 - Arthur Babysits1993 - Arthur's Family Vacation1993 - Arthur's New Puppy1994 - Arthur's Chicken Pox1994 - Arthur's First Sleepover1995 - Arthur's TV Trouble1996 - Arthur Writes a Story1997 - Arthur's Computer Disaster1998 - Arthur Lost and Found1999 - Arthur's Underwear2000 - Arthur's Teacher Moves In2011 - Arthur Turns Green | ||||
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