SeajayVentures and Star Verse Comics Team Up for Project

Jonathan "A" Gilbert of SeajayVentures (the creative arm of Red Lion Publications) and Ryan Crouse of Star Verse Comics are pleased to announce that they will be teaming up to publish a two-issue limited series that will feature the pencils of up and coming talent David Johnson Jr.

Set in the universe of Mr. Crouse's TechStorm character the tale will take place between issues one and two of TechStorm: Rages of War.

"We don't want to give away too much info as yet but the storyline will involve Ryan's TechStorm characters, a hero called SwiftStar and my Destiny character" states Mr. Gilbert.

"And as an added bonus we will bringing Destiny back in his original uniform as designed by Lloyd Smith, publisher of the gone but still much loved Blue Moon Comics Group".

For more information on Star Verse Comics you can visit www.starverse.ca . Jonathan "A" Gilbert has worked in the comics industry since 1989 and is currently writing a blog at www.dispatchesfromthegreatwhitenorth.blogspot.com .

Ryan Crouse can be contacted at star_verse@hotmail.com and Jonathan "A" Gilbert can be reached at seajayventuresca@yahoo.ca .

Volume Four, Number Two

Sorry for the delay, folks. Once more I have had computer troubles.

Next installment I want to wrap up the whole MLJ/Archie Adventure Series serial that has been dragging on like forever. This time out though I am gonna do a long over due review of a comic by my buddy Ryan Crouse at Star Verse Comics.

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TECHSTORM: RAGES OF WAR Vol. 1 No. 2. For ordering information visit www.starverse.ca .

I have known a lot of small press creators in my time and my buddy Ryan Crouse is right up there with Lloyd Smith as being both talented and an A+1 guy. Check out his website and you will see all the neat stuff that he does.

As for this particular comic; well, it is a fun read. The artwork may not be to every one's liking but for me I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Basically it is a high tech sci fi tale that is full of action, fun dialogue, cool layout designs and other neat stuff. I am not gonna give the story away here; not by a long shot. But I will recommend it.

You can also order the comic through Ian Shire's Dimestore Productions
( www.dimestormproductions.com ) and there is a pdf version if ya wanna read it online.

So if ya want a fun comic to read definitely pick this up; or any other comic by Ryan. I love Donar myself but they are all fun reads.

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Well I am sorry for the short review folks but I am busier than heck this week. I will at one point talk about what I am now doing. Maybe I will do that next time out and then wrap up the MLJ serial. We shall see.

Take care and have a good week.

E-Dispatches Special Notice!

Sorry I have been absent folks. To be quite honest between the three moves in seven months plus my health issues it kind of kicked the poop outta me.

I am starting to feel better now and in the next week or two I hope to put up a long awaited review of a StarVerse comic my buddy Ryan sent me and then after that wrap up that whole MLJ thing.

Sorry about neglecting everyone but I have not been well at all at all as The Groovy Agent will attest to. Doing better now though and back on track with lots of stuff.

And speaking of Ol' Groove, thanx, buddy, for that great Heap piece. That's my fave comic folks; plain and simple. And Groove did it justice. You are the best.

Well gotta run. I do live folks despite the rumours otherwise. Just been a real sick puppy lately. Take care and see ya all in a couple of weeks.

Jonathan "A" Gilbert

E-Dispatches Exclusive #3: The Groovy Agent Raps About The Heap #1

What's happening, comix fans? Yeah, it's none other than the Groovy Agent providing a gargantuan guest-post for my main man Jonathan "A" Gilbert's E-Dispatches from the Great White North! Jazzy Jon has asked Ol' Groove to rap with ya about one of his all-time favorite weird heroes, Skywald Publication's The Heap. Now, since Ol' Groove's mind works in such mysterious ways that even he doesn't understand himself, I thought it would be cool to make this post a cross-over between E-DftGWN and my own far-out (if I do have to say so) blog Diversions of the Groovy Kind. What inspired such a brain-blasting plan? Well, the fact that Skywald actually introduced their version of The Heap in their black and white (pre-) horror-mood mag Psycho #2 helped. Jon wanted me to focus on The Heap's color comicbook debut, The Heap #1 (July 1971), so I thought I'd do the Psycho debut as today's Black and White Wednesday post. So you can double your Heap pleasure by clicking here after you finish blowing your mind with this particular post. Comprende? Whew! Enough explanation, let's get on to diggin' The Heap #1!

The Heap was originally created back during the Golden Age for Hillman's Airboy Comics. The character really seemed to grab a lot of fans, so the original Heap developed a cult following that kept him--er--it a veritable legend for those fans hip enough to dig into their comicbook history. What fanned the flame for slimy superheroes? Inquiring minds would like to know! All I know is that in late 1970, the fledgling Skywald Publications created their own version of The Heap, while almost simultaneously Marvel unleashed Man-Thing and DC allowed Swamp Thing to shamble into the spinner-racks. Whatever the reason, Skywald updated The Heap's origin and brought him--er--it kicking and screaming into the scintillating 70s. Somebody at Skywald thought fandom would dig a Heap color comic, so they gathered together the high-quality creative team of Bob Kanigher, Tom Sutton, and Jack Abel and turned 'em loose. Kanigher, Sutton, and Abel, in turn, tweaked The Heap's origin from Psycho #2 a bit, plus they gave him--er--it a makeover, no doubt so he'd pass the Comics Code--and have a better shot of passing for something heroic and sympathetic, 'cause, man, the b&w version (by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito) was uglyyyyyy...

Enough talk. Here is The Heap #1 and "Shadows of Satan!"


As you can see, Kanigher's story for The Heap #1 is an engaging mish-mash of lots of horror cliches: the good-man-turned-monster, a blind girl, the mad scientist (a descendant of Dr. Frankenstein, no less!), the ghostly/demonic villain; it's all there, but it's written in such a way that pathos verily drips from the pages, sucking you in and making you really feel our horrible hero's pain and anguish. Personally it hits the same kind of buttons for Ol' Groove that DC's Swamp Thing hit--and that's a good thing. The bad thing is that the color Heap comic only lasted for this one ish, so we never get to see what Kanigher, Sutton, and Abel had planned for the future. All I know is that the last page really, really grabbed me, and I'd have definitely scarfed up future issues of Skywald's Heap!

Volume Four, Number One

Yes, I am back. I am really, really, really back this time. Promise.

So, why "Vol. 4", you ask? Well, I could say that it has been so long since I've written an "E-Dispatches" that I've forgotten what number I was at (and was just to darn lazy to look it up.). Truth be told though since the last installment of this column I have moved.

Yup! That's right, folks! The Jazzy One has finally managed to flee the purgatory known as Port Stanley Ontario Canada (with purgatory in this case meaning "a place without a comics shop") and has put down roots in the exciting, thriving metropolis of Waterloo, Ontario Canada (a place with lots of comics shops and a couple or three famous comics creators). So I figured as a move such as the one I made often results in a new perspective on life why not reflect that in E-Dispatches by starting with a new "number one".

Now, how exactly this will transfer into the body-proper of this column I can't say as yet; mainly because, well, I don't quite know myself. I can though promise that in the coming installments of "E-Dispatches" it will be an interesting adventure for both you and me. I hope everyone will stick around for the ride.

Now, before I sign off I have some house cleaning issues-for lack of a better term-that I want to cover.

First, yes; I will be wrapping up the whole "MLJ/Red Circle" serial (and also eventually expanding it into book form) soon. It has to be honest dragged on longer than I had originally planned it to and while the response to it has been fantastic and much appreciated I do want to move on to new stuff in this new volume of "E-Dispatches". So look for that to wind up in the not to distant future.

Next-and just as important-is the subject of deadlines. For the time being this column will be appearing on an irregular basis until I get into a regular writing routine. I've only been in Waterloo now for less than a week-arriving Sunday November 29th 2009-and while I am pretty much settled into my new digs now I still have to find some paying writing gigs to put food on the plate and a roof over my head. So until that happens I am going to be putting my non-paying endeavors (which includes "E-Dispatches from the Great White North!") in the "whenever I have a spare moment" file. That means also that I won't be putting the same amount of research into this column for the next little while that I normally do. Instead I will be taking a more chatty, informal approach much like I am doing here or in my personal emails to all my favourite pals and gals.

Another thing I intend to do here for a couple installments is twist the arm of a few of my friends to see if they'd be interested in writing a guest installment or two of "E-Dispatches". Lucky Lloyd? Sir Steve? PDR, Mr. Mike R.? Richard V.? Any takers? Offer's open, people. And maybe, just maybe, I could get my webmaster to find a public domain comic or two and post it here for everyone to read (with of course a brief into to it by yours truly). Sky's the limit actually so we'll just see what happens over the next few weeks. Suggestions are welcomed and needed.

Now, next, to the future once I am back on track. First, as said earlier I will be wrapping up the "MLJ/RED CIRCLE" serial though as yet I can't say when. Also too I will be reviewing a comic that was sent to me by my buddies at Star_Verse while I was in mid-move. I have read it and loved it though and strongly recommend anything published by Star_Verse as just plain fun comics reading.

Besides those two things I am not quite sure what I will be doing as yet once I get settled into a routine. I can say though I will be doing more "E-Dispatches Exclusives" down the line so if you read this other than at http://edispatchesfromthegreatwhitenorth.blogspot.com be sure to visit that website from time to time to see what is happening.

So I guess that's it, Super-Folks. Questions, comments, statements, pan mail, everything that you can imagine is definitely welcome in my email mailbox so feel free to contact me at... JonAllanGilbert@yahoo.ca .

I'm done. Time to go look for some paying work. See everyone soon.

Volume Three, Number Thirty

I'm back! That's right; after a much longer than planned hiatus E-Dispatches from the Great White North has finally returned. One of these days I'll sit down and tell you all about what kept me away for so long but in the meantime let's return to...

EVERYTHING'S SUPERHEROES!

A

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

OF

THE

MLJ MAGAZINES/ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS

SUPERHERO LINES!

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Part Eighteen

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The second "Red Circle Comics Group" to hit the comics shops was "The Fly". Rather than revive the Mighty Comics Group version of the character-which in many folks' eyes was a poor man's version of Ant-Man/Giant-Man-the powers that be at Archie Comic Publications decided to bring back the earlier version minus the size changing abilities. The first issue of "The Fly" was cover-dated May 1983 and the comic lasted for nine issues (with the final issue cover-dated October 1984). While the artwork was wonderfully rendered by the legendary Steve Ditko and was an excellent example of his Randian Objectivist Libertarian philosophy the fist eight issues of "The Fly" were a disorganized mess and had little to do with either the early 1960s version of The Fly or the character that was appearing in "The Mighty Crusaders". The ninth issue was a vast improvement-though Ditko's artwork and point of view were definitely missed-for those readers who were fans of comics continuity however the writing was already on the wall and the attempt to revitalize the title was too little, too late.

The third title to appear under the Red Circle imprint was completely opposite in its approach to continuity than was "The Fly". "Lancelot Strong, The Shield" (#1 June 1983) began strong with close tie-ins with the Red Circle universe generally and the version of the character who was a member of The Mighty Crusaders. Issue number two was equally strong but with the third issue-there was a major change in the whole concept. Not only was the title changed to "Shield-Steel Sterling" (with the latter, which was the backup feature in the previous two issues, now sharing the title billing) but Lance Strong was killed off leaving the whole mag in the hands of Steel Sterling. This drastic change was enacted by long time comics writer Robert Kanigher who for the remaining four issues (now titled "Steel Sterling" beginning with issue number four) wrong the most convoluted, heavy-handed tales to appear under the Red Circle imprint. Kanigher's approach to Steel Sterling was actually not a surprise to those who had followed his career. While he wrote excellent comics stories in the 1940s and 1950s plus created some great characters over the years-most notably The Metal Men-by the 1970s Kanigher seemed to be going through the motions as a comics writer telling predictable, contrived stories that paled in comparison to what he had done before. By the time he got his hands on "Steel Sterling" in the early 1980s he work can only be summed up as a disgusting mess so when "Steel Sterling" the title died after issue number seven (July 1984) even the most die-hard fans of the original "Man of Steel" were not saddened by the comic's departure.

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NEXT: More disappointments from Red Circle Comics Group!

Volume Three, Number Twenty-nine

While things are still quite busy here at "The Gilbert Homestead" what with developing material for Red Lion Publications
( http://redlionpublications.blogspot.com ), researching a couple of books and looking for a penciler to work on the revival of my "Mister Chameleon" series ( http://misterchameleon.blogspot.com ) I'm taking a few minutes away from that insanity to share with you a comic that crossed my desk a few weeks back.

By the way, I'm not quite sure when I'll be returning to writing this column on a regular basis-I am currently looking at some time around the middle of May-but while you wait why not visit the two blogs my buddy The Groovy Agent is scribing. They can be found at http://diversionsofthegroovykind.blogspot.com and http://blindedmewithcomics.blogspot.com . But don't go there yet. First take a few minutes to read what I have to say about the comic I got.

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IN FLESH AND SPIRIT NO. 1 Winter, 2009. Published by Overtone Comics. Suggested for mature readers. Full color cover with 24 inside black & white pages. $3.50 U.S. Written and edited by Baron Misuraca, art by David G. Williams, grey tones by Jarreau Wimberly, lettering by Karen Levin and Baron Misuraca and color cover by Alex Horley.Website found at www.vasaria.com .

I usually don't review comics for mature readers but to be honest I can't for the life of me see why this comic is labeled as such. Don't get me wrong. It ain't something you'd send out to members of The Mickey Mouse Fan Club by any stretch of the imagination. It isn't though what I would regard as a mature title and actually I've seen more blood and guts on such TV shows as "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" and "Battlestar Galactica". So if you can handle shows like that you should easily be able to handle this comic. 'Nuff said on that subject.

According to the press release that accompanied this issue IN FLESH AND SPIRIT is about the origin and adventures of a vampired named Baron Misuraca who came into being in the 14th-century and continues to live today. If that name sounds familiar it should as Baron Misuraca is the writer and editor of this comic as well as a member of the goth band Vasaria.

If you are like me and are somewhat indifferent to the whole goth thing don't allow that to stop you from picking up this comic as it is quite a good read. While mention is made of the good Baron being a member of the above-mentioned goth band basically what IN FLESH AND SPIRIT is is a well-written vampire tale (with an excellent cover by DC/HEAVY METAL/VAMPIRELLA artist Alex Horley).

If I were to have one complaint about his comic-besides of course that it is printed on that darn glossy paper that I absolutely hate-it's that the dialogue needs some work. If anything this comic is a prime example of why, with a few exceptions, a writer should always have an editor.

Despite that though this is none the less a good comic and worth picking up if you see it on the stands at your local comics shop. Basically, it's an enjoyable read and that's all one can ask for, eh.

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That's pretty much it, folks. If you are following this column at www.jazmaonline.com/edispatch be sure to occasionally visit http://dispatchesfromthegreatwhitenorth.blogspot.com where you will not only find this column but some great links and installments of E-Dispatches that are exclusive to that blog site. I'll be back soon. Promise.