Captain Canuck: Unholy War #1 Review

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Story Title: Unholy War Part 1: Heart of Gold
Reviewer: Paul Sebert

Written by: Riel Langlois
Art by: Drue Langlois
Colored by: Greg Waller
Lettered by: Bryan Senka
Editor: Richard Comely

Quick. Name a Canadian Superhero?

Ok to start there’s Wolverine… who has more adventures in the United States, and even Japan than his homeland. Then you have Alpha Flight a super team forever stuck in a cycle of cancellation and re-launch. And finally you
have Captain Canuck.

First appearing in the mid-70s Captain Canuck lasted a whopping 14 issues before being canceled. Not exactly the longest run, but it proved to be popular enough to launch a newspaper strip, and the character even appeared on a postage stamp.

Now in a new mini-series by Riel and Dru Langlois the character has been given a new re-launch. This incarnation is a guy by the name of David Semple, an officer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police witnessed a bombing committed by a local gangster known as Mr. Gold and decided to take matters in his own hands. Gold, believed to be dead, is now running a biker group called The Unholy Avengers.

Anyway it’s implied that Semple, isn’t the brightest bulb (besides being Canadian and all) as in this issue he not only manages to blow his secret identity, but also almost gets killed by The Unholy Avengers. And really how much hope can you have for a superhero who gets whupped by group of Bikers? I mean as far as henchmen go, bikers are a pretty much the lowest of the low. Even lower than Hydra and AIM goons.

Anyway Captain Canuck: Unholy War’s rather funny little book in that it’s hard to recommend, but harder not to like. Riel’s dialog comes across as stiff and amateurish at times, but the characters are likeable and there’s a rather low-key sense of humor at play. The art is uneven and awkward at points, but for the most part solid giving the book a retro-80s look and the costume design of the good Captain is just plain cool. So cool even manages to take the tired 90’s cliché of wearing a coat over spandex and still look sweet.