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September / October 1980 |
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On this perfect day, CC consults a computer specialist, Mrs Linden, about computer leaks of "top priority information." CC and the specialist were in the room, but someone used "a portable tapping device." Linden's son Gregg was also there. "He'll be so excited to meet you!" One look at Gregg, though, "triggers an uncontrollable mental reaction." CC flashes back to a fateful night. "It's - it's all coming back to me!" |
FLASHBACK: Camping with Mr Evans. Michael, Gregg, and Tim. Three boys gone to gather firewood. Don't return. Searching. And Tom Evans stumbles across a massive spaceship. And the three boys hypnotized by an alien in armor! Even stranger, in the present, CC's flashback is itself monitored by more aliens in space! They record, "Sensor analysis indicates... a period of retrospection... We can only deduce he has some recollection of his encounter with us." (What the heck is going on? And how about Freeman's cool and sinister aliens?) |
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Humans have complex "almost intelligent minds". Impossible to program permanently. And the program "will have to be altered immediately". Meanwhile, at CISO's International Headquarters, Kebec takes a call. CC needs the names and addresses of six teenage boys - whose parents are all computer programmers. Kebec pulls up addresses. CC never lets grass grow under his feet. As kids rush around shouting, "It's Captain Canuck!", the hero barks into his radio. |
"I'm on my way to Montreal. The Lussier boy is the closest. I want the other boys put under 24 hour surveillance." And he's off in his gold wedge car. CC's actions are monitored from space. The aliens know his destination. "Then proceed with Elimination Program XB." A "sleek missile" squirts from the Mother Ship and lands silently in a sleepy suburb of Montreal. |
In Montreal, at Longueuil Computer Control, Jean Lussier goes to work late. For company he takes along his son Michel, who's developed a huge interest in computers in the last three months... Wandering off, Michel touches a computer and is enveloped in crackling energy. Turning, his eyes reflect eerie alien programming. He's a mind-slave! And, by mere touch, transmits computer secrets to the Mother Ship.  (Does the picture pre-date anime or what?) |
CC arrives at the plant. He's honest enough to admit, "Even to me my theory sounds crazy... But if I'm right, the aliens are using those boys - and maybe others." He jabs the intercom for admittance. Inside, Michel has finished transmitting, and his mind and body are released. CC addresses father and son - in flawless French. "May I have a word with you?" But KAR-REEENN! A giant robot bursts through the wall and nabs CC with metal pincers! "A lesser man would freeze in horror... instant death! Captain Canuck's only thought is - destroy it!" Dodging ray blasts, the captain yells for the civilians to get out. And notes "the robot's aerial glows with each ray blast! Let's see what happens when I yank it!" |
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A dodge, a dive, a snatch - and the searing-hot conductor is snapped off. "The odds become somewhat even..." CC double-punches the robot, staggering it. In space, aliens note, "Thomas Evans is even more powerful that anticipated." Dad Lussier tries to drag his son to the rear, but the boy is controlled by Another. He opens a fire box, grabs a fire axe, and tries to split CC in two from behind! |
Not to worry. CC grabs it, yelling, "Retiens ton fils! Les extra-terrestres controlent son esprit!" (Hold your son! Aliens control his spirit!) And Captain Canuck lays into the intergalactic super-powered alien robot monster with a Canadian-made fire axe. KRANG! But not for long. The smashed robot hits the floor with a KRASH! (As seen on the cover.) |
The robot is trashed, and the aliens know it. The commander orders it to self-destruct. Negative: it's totally non-functioning. Swell, evidence left behind. "Activate all controlled subjects in the area." Not wasting time, CC calls for transport and "as many choppers as you can get in the air". He drags the robot outside and stuffs it in the Lussier's SUV. "This is the hour of danger!" Oh, yes. CC wondered if others were controlled, and they are. Around the city, the aliens take command of a cop, a librarian, a rich woman, a steelworker. |
(One reason this is an all-time cool comic. CC switches from French to English and back - and the French is NOT translated. This is Canada, baby, learn!)  |
Who's the Captain talking to? Redcoat and Kebec, two of CISO's best agents. (Picture from the cover of CC 2.)  |
Choppers wheel. A squad leader with a whopping Gatling Gun radios, "We have a complete scan in operation. What is it we're watching for?" Driving like a maniac, CC radios, "You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you. Just keep your eyes on the sky for any UFOs!" As CC's car zips over the Jacques Cartier Bridge, ten noisy choppers paced it. A police car pulls alongside. Michel Lussier says, "Captain, I think the police want to know what's up with the escort?" Nope. A controlled cop blasts away with a shotgun. The SUV veers and smashes the cop car aside. SKRASH! CC notes, "For certain, this is the influence of the strangers from space!" The thought leaves the captain cold - and angry! |
As CC speeds into Old Montreal, everyone looks up at "ten air-pounding helicopters". Except for dozens of blank-eyed citizens who drive into the captain's path. Before long, his car is boxed in. "Through the park!" barks CC, and the SUV roars over grass and around fountains on two wheels. Pigeons scatter. A woman in a sports car cuts them off - then prepares to overtake them. But she's blown off the street by shots from a helicopter. The pilot radios, "That's all we can do for you, Captain! I'm afraid you're on your own until ground forces can reach you!" "On your own" are fitting last words." CC's car is swamped by ordinary people "transformed into mindless killers." People jump atop the car, mash against the windows, stand in the car's way - as CC drives hard and fast over sidewalks and cafes to avoid them! Even CC begins to despair. Kebec radios they're trying to get there as soon as possible. CC barks, "You'd better sort out your problems fast! Otherwise we'll never make it!" |
In space, the aliens debate. Tom Evans "exemplifies the species's finer qualities: tenacity!" Yet another alien counters the odds will soon be "insurmountable". Yet going public is risky. "Earth forces might unite against us as a result." CC stops. "It's impossible to continue." There are too many people. He can't plow through them. The mindless throng "swarms like ants". The car is overturned. CC dives outside and tries to hold back the crowd, but it's like "holding back a mighty river!" He thinks, "Unless Kebec gets here soon, we're finished!" |
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The cavalry arrives. Dropping from the skies come Kebec and Redcoat and CISO troops. Kebec orders S.L. Gas. "Try not to hurt them!" The crowd is dispersed. CC growls, "Those are innocent people! Whoever did this is going to answer... to me!" |
Hours later, CISO's international HQ is an armed camp. Politicians and military VIPS arrive by the score. Lord West, an old friend of CC's is one. Security is super-tight. "You'll see why." Inside, Captain Canuck stands before a dais draped with a cloth. He recaps the day, how hundreds of innocent people were mind-controlled "by a technique unknown to us. However, we do know this. The controllers were aliens from another solar system!" "ALIENS?" yells everyone. |
Lord West objects. "How can we set up proper defenses with no hard data?" A five-page report will list everything known. A politician chirps, "I can't ask for military funds with a five-page report!" Another cites, "Today's events can be explained with more coherent theories than aliens!" CC knows drama. He drags down the curtain. "Here's proof!... An alien automaton!" He adds, "They're obviously technologically superior to us and can be very hostile! The question is: Why are they here, and what can we do about them?" Next issue: Tune in for more alien intrigue. |
The backup feature is BEYOND, a continuing fun Dungeons-and-Dragons type fantasy, 8 pages, before fantasy was cool.  Other backups included CATMAN (not the DC version), a barbarian JONN, and later SPLATTER, a pacifist fighter who marks criminals with a paintball gun. |
Comments Captain Canuck is a joy for many reasons. It's fresh and clean and uncluttered by tons of back history. The stories, as a rule, rock. They run like a deer, explain on the fly, and keep the surprises coming. Too, the captain is a likeable, if distant, character, and you want to know more about him. (So does he.) And too, many Americans have fond feelings for Canada, and see it as a pristine wilderness full of friendly people. Which is largely true. |
About the only drawback is the poor quality paper. The pictures here have been cleaned and enhanced A LOT with Photoshop. Another drawback to being a CC fan are the long waits between issues and series - sometimes years. Richard Comely, bless him, runs on a shoestring but tries to get the comics out whenever possible. In later volumes, the momentum sometimes gets lost and the storylines bog. Let's hope Richard Comely can find a paying venue so Captain Canuck can become as familiar as Spider-Man. |
Check out these sites for more Captain Canuck capers. |
The back cover has an evocative ad. Buy the T-shirt and you too can be Captain Canuck!  |