Note: This was supposed to be a Canada Day edition of reading old comics. Unfortunately, it’s coming out a day late. Still, Canada is a pretty cool place, worthy of appreciation on any day, and most days people read this post probably won’t be Canada Day anyway, so we’re going with it.

When looking for an old comic to read on a Wednesday that also happened to be Canada Day I knew I wanted some Canadian content. Enter Dime Comics and Johnny Canuck (thanks to the Digital Comics Museum)!

So Dime Comics was one of the comics published by Bell Features up here in Canada during World War II. In Dime Comics#1 they introduced the public to three new adventuresome heroes: Scotty MacDonald “Super British Agent”, Rex Baxter “an adventurous young soldier of fortune”, and Johnny Canuck “Arch Enemy of Nazis and Facists” – and later to be known as Canada’s Super Hero. A hero that eventually found his way into the Library and Archives of Canada’s Guardians of the North collection.

It will not surprise you that it is to this last that I wish to turn your attention to on this Canada Day Edition of reading old comics.

Created, written and drawn by Leo Bachle, Canada’s Super Hero was a pilot, and incredibly strong man not fond of wearing a shirt.

His first every appearance here in Dime Comics #1 began like this:

And I have to say, I like it. Here in his wonderfully pulpy debut Johnny shoots down German planes, discovers a lost city and civilization in Libya, becomes their king, and frees them from a Nazi occupation. Oh, and in the process secures their vast mineral resources to help build the “British war machine”.

Notes I had while reading this:

• Does Libya have a jungle? Apparently nowadays 0.1% of the country is forested, so…maybe?
• Why do the “primitive people”  of a “lost civilization” Johnny encounters speak perfect English?
• I’m not sure “primitive” was the right word to use for a people that have quills, ink, paper, metal crafting, etc. Sure, they’re behind the times, but they aren’t cavemen.
• Hard not to notice the colonial mindset of the times when reading this. Both the Germans and the British assume this city and it’s resources are theirs for the exploiting, without a second thought. Even Johnny’s first thought upon learning of their resources is for how they might be used by the British.
• Interesting that the British are shown to make at least some mention of paying for things – though they don’t seem to entertain any notion of the city not going along with their plans.
• And, at the end there is this:
• Not sure I remember where in the comic the city was ever really in British hands…other than through their assumptions.
• The story employs the classic bad-guy blunder of having the hero beat and easily dispatchable, but choosing to hold off on the final death-stroke until a later time due to their evil ego. Unfortunately, it uses this device three times in the same story! They let Johnny live so they can plan “a more torturous punishment”, so they can “devise a suitable death for him” and because they’d “sooner save [him] for the firing squad”. Baddies – when you have a chance to kill your enemy you take it! Especially when he has just single-handedly destroyed several of your tanks!
• Not going to lie, my heart swelled with national pride when I came to this panel:
• Damn right Johnny Canuck! That is exactly how’d I’d look should I ever find myself needing to burst free of nazi ropes. As would any true Canadian!

Ok, so there we have it – a bit of Canadian comics history. I learned a fair bit prepping this edition of reading old comics and I’m definitely going to have to explore that Guardians of the North portal. My intention is to be back next week with something new (well a new thing about something old anyway). Until then perhaps you should head over to the Digital Comics Museum to discover some more Bell Features for yourself?