Overview

What do Superman, Prince Valiant, Cerebus the Aardvark, and Spawn have in common? Their creators -- Joe Shuster, Harold Foster, Dave Sim, and Todd McFarlane are Canadians. And while many of the cutting-edge talents of contemporary comix and graphic novels are also from Canada -- artists such as Chester Brown, Seth, Dave Cooper, and Julie Doucet -- far too few Canadians realize their country had a remarkable involvement with the funnies long before. Invaders from the North profiles past and present comic geniuses, sheds light on unjustly neglected chapters in Canada's pop history, and demonstrates how this nation has vaulted to the forefront of international comic art, successfully challenging the long-established boundaries between high and low culture. Generously illustrated with black-and-white and colour comic covers and panels, Invaders from the North serves up a cheeky, brash cavalcade of flamboyant and outrageous personalities and characters that graphically attest to Canada's verve and invention in the world of visual storytelling.

Full Product Details

9781770702400

Table of Contents

Reviews

This is a scholarly book, complete with footnotes, a bibliography and website addresses where you can find out more about this subject and even look at some samples of that new phenomenon, online comics. This was an interesting study. --Dan Davidson The Whitehorse Star The book's 60-plus images rightly place the spotlight on the art ... Kudos to publisher Dundurn for using colour, fully remastered, for all images that originally used it, as well as for using heavy paper stock - there's an almost tactile thickness to the images that gives them an impressive air of scrapbook solidity. --Gary Butler Quill and Quire . .. an original work that scholars, collectors, fans, and enthusiasts of all ages should plan on adding to their libraries. --Alex Good The Record Invaders From the North is the best kind of pop culture book: quirky and fascinating, with a fresh look at something most of us take for granted. --John Threlfall Monday Magazine Bell sticks to his strengths and offers a solid history ... Invaders from the North ... is still the most thorough examination of Canadian comics to date. --Scott Marshall New Brunswick Reader Refreshingly, John Bell takes a more inclusive view in his history of Canadian comics and cartoonists, Invaders from the North ... The research behind Bell's book is impressive, as is its scope. --Claude Lalumire The Gazette Bell's book is to be welcomed as part of a larger movement to recover Canada's lost popular culture. --Jeet Heer Literary Review of Canada Filled with interesting facts and vivid illustrations, the book chronicles the history of comics and comic art. --Ria Newhouse VOYA Canada's distinctive contributions to cartooning get a new history all their own in the cleverly designed Invaders From the North. --Nancy Tousley The Calgary Herald . .. Canada clearly has a comic book heritage worth celebrating, and this is a worthy tribute. --York Membery British Journal of Canadian Studies Bell's book is well researched and illustrated. --Chris Robinson Ottawa X Press .. . an original work that scholars, collectors, fans, and enthusiasts of all ages should plan on adding to their libraries. --Alex Good The Record .. . Canada clearly has a comic book heritage worth celebrating, and this is a worthy tribute. --York Membery British Journal of Canadian Studies

This is a scholarly book, complete with footnotes, a bibliography and website addresses where you can find out more about this subject and even look at some samples of that new phenomenon, online comics. This was an interesting study. --Dan Davidson The Whitehorse Star The book's 60-plus images rightly place the spotlight on the art ... Kudos to publisher Dundurn for using colour, fully remastered, for all images that originally used it, as well as for using heavy paper stock - there's an almost tactile thickness to the images that gives them an impressive air of scrapbook solidity. --Gary Butler Quill and Quire Invaders From the North is the best kind of pop culture book: quirky and fascinating, with a fresh look at something most of us take for granted. --John Threlfall Monday Magazine Bell sticks to his strengths and offers a solid history ... Invaders from the North ... is still the most thorough examination of Canadian comics to date. --Scott Marshall New Brunswick Reader Refreshingly, John Bell takes a more inclusive view in his history of Canadian comics and cartoonists, Invaders from the North ... The research behind Bell's book is impressive, as is its scope. --Claude Lalumire The Gazette Bell's book is to be welcomed as part of a larger movement to recover Canada's lost popular culture. --Jeet Heer Literary Review of Canada Filled with interesting facts and vivid illustrations, the book chronicles the history of comics and comic art. --Ria Newhouse VOYA Canada's distinctive contributions to cartooning get a new history all their own in the cleverly designed Invaders From the North. --Nancy Tousley The Calgary Herald Bell's book is well researched and illustrated. --Chris Robinson Ottawa X Press .. . an original work that scholars, collectors, fans, and enthusiasts of all ages should plan on adding to their libraries. --Alex Good The Record .. . Canada clearly has a comic book heritage worth celebrating, and this is a worthy tribute. --York Membery British Journal of Canadian Studies

Bell's book is well researched and illustrated. --Chris Robinson Ottawa X Press

.. . Canada clearly has a comic book heritage worth celebrating, and this is a worthy tribute. --York Membery British Journal of Canadian Studies

Author Information

John Bell is a senior archivist at Library and Archives Canada and a leading authority on the history of English Canadian comic books. His contributions to the comics field include two books, Canuck Comics and Guardians of the North, and the websites Guardians of the North and Beyond the Funnies. He lives in Ottawa, Ontario.

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