So close to the United States, and often employed by U.S. publishers, they could frequently be mistaken for American writers and artists. But the glimpse they provide of distinctly Canadian culture and mindset is fun to see and discern. Much of it intelligent and aspiring toward the high end of science fiction, fantasy, and comic art.
We can start the discussion with John Byrne, who is probably the most prominent and influential Canadian artist in comics. Originally born in England and raised in Alberta, Canada, before he made his way across the border to seek his fortune at Charleton and then Marvel on the U.S. side of the border.
Byrne is in some ways the most visibly Canadian, with his taking a special liking to Canadian character Wolverine, and doing much to develop Wolverine to the point that he became one of Marvel's most popular characters.
I also love how Byrne fit in a scene portaying his native city of Calgary in X-MEN 120-121, and developed a set of Canadian characters (agents of the Canadian military), that in each story they appeared in gave a glimpse of the Canadian countryside and cities, and of then-president of Canada Pierre Trudeau, the father of the current Canadian president (in X-MEN 139-140). The Alpha Flight characters popular enough that they quickly gained their own ALPHA FLIGHT series in 1983-1986 with Byrne as writer/artist.
As I explored in a Byrne topic with a then-complete checklist, Byrne has been a prolific and influential creator, although I think most of us have a love/hate relationship with his work after about 1983. But regardless of his shortcomings, Byrne has contributed an enormous body of work to comics, and at his best is enormously talented.
And injected a good amount of Canadian visibility in his work.
So what other artists, writers or Canadian produced comics work have you seen?
What do you see Canadians distinctly contributing to comics?
