In December 1940, the War Exchange Conservation Act was passed. It restricted the importation of goods from the US that were deemed non-essential to combat the trade deficit Canada had with the United States. American comic books were casualties of the Act. At the end of World War II, the act was repealed and American comic books returned to Canada; by 1956 all the Canadian comic book publishers were out of business. In July 1975 Richard Comely and Ron Leishman published Captain Canuck. Captain Canuck was the first successful Canadian comic book since the end of the War Exchange Conservation Act. Considering that the prior Canadian heroes flourished with the protection of the WECA, Captain Canuck may be the first truly successful Canadian Superhero.
Captain Canuck was created in 1971 when Ron Leishman and Richard Comely met at church, both were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was Ron Leishman who came up with the idea of doing a Canadian superhero comic book series. At the time there were no Canadian superhero comics. Richard Comely agreed. Neither of them had any background in comic book art, publication, or distribution.
Richard Comely had worked as a sign painter, crest designer, embroidery designer, and illustrator/paste-up artist for a printer. At the time they met, in 1971, Richard was a part-time janitor in his apartment building in Winnipeg.
Ron Leishman wanted to call their hero Captain Canada. However, Richard Comely had seen a sweatshirt on sale in the Hudson’s Bay Company featuring a superhero with Captain Canada logo. Richard Comley suggested Captain Canuck. Ron Leishman designed the original Captain Canuck costume.
Armed with a character design by Ron Leishman and 4 comic pages, Richard Comely spent three years putting together a business plan to publish a Captain Canuck comic book. Ron Leishman became less involved as the years dragged on. In 1975 Richard Comely was able to secure an $8,000 loan, a newsstand distributor, and a printer willing to extend credit. This was such a risk, the lender might have considered casino sites Canada instead, but this was the launched Comely Comix and Captain Canuck.
The Canadian news media gave the comic book series an unprecedented amount of coverage when the first issue appeared in late May of 1975. Even the U.S. media noticed. Time Magazine covered Captain Canuck and several newspapers picked up the wire service articles.
Although the publication has not been constantly, the character continues to be published today
CAPTAIN CANUCK
Real Name: Thomas Aaron Evans
Marital Status: Single.
Known Relatives: Michael “Mike” Evans (Brother), Saskia Evans (Sister-in-law).
Occupation: Government agent, formerly Mountie
Group Affiliation: C.I.S.O.(Canadian International Security Organization), Earth Patrol, R.C.M.P. (Royal Canadian Mounted Police).
Aliases: Lord West, General Sunn, Kébec, Redcoat, Stardance, Utak, Blackbird
Enemies: Bluefox, Mr.Gold, the Stygian
Base Of Operations: Mobile.
Height: 6’2” Weight: 220 lbs.
Eyes: Blue Hair: Black
First Appearance: Captain Canuck #1 (Comely Comix, July 1975)
Powers/Abilities: His powers are from a suit made of advanced alien nanotechnology which allows him enhanced strength, energy barriers for close-range protection (as well as protecting him from harmful things like toxic gas), and has gadgets that allow for limited flight. He also wields a set of specialized stun batons.
History: Tom Evans was a Mountie. He was leading a bunch of Boy Scouts on a camping trip when the group had an encounter with a UFO. In the process, he got zapped with a ray, which gave him superpowers. The CISO investigated the situation and recruited Tom Evans to become Captain Canuck, the living symbol of Canada.
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