''The Great Canadian Comic Books'' is a 1971 book from

Peter Martin Associates Peter Martin Associates was a book publisher in Canada, founded by Peter and Carol Martin in 1965, which operated until the early 1980s. It published significant works in the field of Canadian politics, art, and culture, and specialized in children' ...

. It was written by

Nelvana Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...

founders Michael Hirsh and

Patrick Loubert Patrick Loubert (born 1947 in Toronto, Ontario) is one of the founders of the Canadian animation studio, Nelvana Limited, along with Clive A. Smith and Michael Hirsh. He has produced, and executive-produced, much of the company's most memorable fa ...

, with partner Clive Smith as designer and illustrator. It looks at the "

Canadian Whites Canadian Whites were World War II-era comic books published in Canada that featured colour covers with black-and-white interiors. Notable characters include Nelvana of the Northern Lights, Johnny Canuck, Brok Windsor, and Canada Jack. The period ...

" series of comic books made during World War II, with some focus on

Nelvana of the Northern Lights Nelvana of the Northern Lights is a Canadian comic book character and the first Canadian national superhero, debuting in Hillborough Studios' '' Triumph-Adventure Comics'' #1 (Aug. 1941). She is also one of the first female superheroes, debutin ...

, the genre's first

superheroine A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

, and

Johnny Canuck Johnny Canuck is a Canadian cartoon hero and superhero who was created as a political cartoon in 1869 and was later re-invented as a Second World War action hero in 1942. The Vancouver Canucks, a professional ice hockey team in the National Ho ...

, as well as their publisher,

Bell Features Bell Features, also known as Commercial Signs of Canada, was a Canadian comic book publisher during the World War II era. They were the most successful of the publishers of " Canadian Whites", and published comics such as Adrian Dingle's Nelvana ...

. It was accompanied by a two-year travelling tour of the art, the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

's "Comic Art Traditions in Canada, 1941–45". The book's copyright was originally vested in

Nelvana Limited Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...

. With the permission of

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...

, the current copyright holder,

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

reprinted ''The Great Canadian Comic Books'' in its entirety in ''

Alter Ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...

'' in August 2007. Along with the book, there was a 23-minute documentary with the same story being released in the same year. It can be found online as of June 2021.

See also

References

Further reading