Heroes of the North: Frequently Asked Questions

Have you won awards for the show?

2012-02-14T21:28:35.755-05:00

We have been nominated by Clicker.com for Best Web Drama of 2010 amongst an amazing line-up. We did not win. But it felt good to be considered amongst such great web efforts! Nominees can be found here.

We were also nominated in 8 categories for the 1st Annual Indie Intertube awards. Again, we were against some pretty tough competition and we ended up winning two of them. We were nominated for:

- Best Costume Design; We won that one
- Best Action;
- Best Ensemble Drama;
- Best Score;
- Best Visual Effects;
- Best Additional Content;
- Most Socially Connected;
- Best Credit Sequence; We one that one as well. That's it so far in terms of Awards!

Did the actors play in other movies/series?

2012-02-14T21:27:41.287-05:00

The general answer is yes.

Anderson Bradshaw (8 Ball) is a stuntman and actor in numerous films, including Taking Lives, Lucky Number Slevin, etc.

John Fallon is also an actor and has been in numerous films, including 100 feet, Saw II, Deaden, etc.

Larry Vinette is also a stuntman and has appeared in numerous movies.

Edith Labelle as appeared in another one of our films, RECON 2023: The Gauda Prime Conspiracy.

Michel Brouillette is an actor and comedian and you can see him in numerous commercials (Gilette, Cage aux Sports).

I heard your comics will come out in regular comic book stores? Is it true?

2012-02-14T21:27:13.765-05:00

Yes it is true. We have an agreement with Ardden Entertainment to release our comics through the Diamond Comics network. Our first comic, an 80 pages omnibus, was solicited in the November 2011 Diamond Previews and will come out on January 25th, 2012. You can get more information about it here.

Who did covers for you guys so far?

2012-02-14T21:26:41.451-05:00

Armando Huerta: Crimson
Dean Yeagle: Hornet
Joel Adams: Nordik
Ty Templeton: Pacifica, Canadian Shield, Acadia
Donald Caron: Madame Doom, Crimson, The Canadian, Alpha Q, Hornet, Fleur-de-Lys, Nordik, 8 Ball
Felix Laflamme: Black Terror
Olivier Raymond: Canadian Shield, Team pin-up
Geof Isherwood: Medusa, Alpha Q and Masquerade, Christmas Black Terror and 8 Ball, Christmas Girls of HOTN
Marcus Smith: 8 Ball, Madame Doom, Masquerade, EDO Team, Heroes of the North vs Medusa
Al Rio: Fleur-de-Lys
Dan Parent: Love Bites (Canadian, Fleur-de-Lys and Nordik)
Michael Dooney: Pacifica, Nordik

Where did you get the latex costumes?

2012-02-14T21:25:21.112-05:00

All the latex costumes were provided by Polymorphe, a world renowned latex designer. Our costume designer, Anderson Bradshaw, would draw up the concept and Polymorphe would create the costume based on his illustrations.

Why are the episodes so late these days?

2012-02-14T21:24:24.881-05:00

While we managed to keep the episodes flowing at a decent pace of one every two weeks, we are now quite behind unfortunately. There are many reasons for it but the main one is we have to earn a living and it takes over doing the show sometimes. While we did our best to keep the pace, we got overwhelmed at some point. Do not fear though, almost everything is shot and we are committed to release the entire first season at the very least. We just cannot establish a precise timetable at this point. The best way to find out when the next show or comic is coming out is to JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER. Another option is to keep an eye on the Events page. Sometimes we throw in the Episodes releases dates or comics releases.

Is it true that you made the cover of La Presse, one of Quebec's biggest newspaper.

2012-02-14T21:24:03.330-05:00

Yes, it is true. You may view the cover (and the article) here.

Do you sell the costumes from the show (especially the latex ones)?

2012-02-14T21:23:12.325-05:00

No. It would be cost prohibitive for us to mass produce these things - and frankly we have our hands full with everything else. However, those interested can find the latex costumes at Polymorphe. They do custom jobs, and they are very friendly and open minded. Be warned: it is not cheap but the quality is great - we can fight in them without problems.

How can fans help the show?

2012-02-14T21:22:42.343-05:00

First, by participating and visiting the site often. View the episodes, rate them, comment on them. Join the forum, start discussions. Talk about the show with your friends on other forums. Recommend episodes or the comics you like on Facebook. Spread the word. The more people know about the show and visit, the more it gives it relevance to potential advertisers and sponsors. The more it gives it credence for the media as well, therefore increasing the exposure and giving us enough of a platform and arguments to convince others with money or clout that the project is worthwhile, that it has active fans and followers and that they deserve more. We have an amazing group of fans - help us get many more!

Second, if you can, donate, even if it is very little. It helps cover our server costs and helps us keep everything free for as long as possible.

Third, buy our gear if you can afford it. This goes towards our production costs and helps us keep paying the actors, technicians, artists and writers that make this all possible.

Fourth, become a member of the HOTN brigade! In a few weeks, a subscription plan will be in place on the site. For 4.95 CAD monthly, around the price of a latté these days, you will get access to additional material about the show, including sneak peaks on episodes and comics before everyone, 15% discount of the shop items, access to the full archive of photos, exclusive behind the scenes interviews, autographed pictures, and tons of other cool stuff. After 3 months of subscription, you will receive a HOTN Brigade kit, with a HOTN badge and lots of HOTN goodies. After six months, you will also receive a coffee table picture book of Season 1 with the best photos from Season 1, with more surprises along the way!

Fifth, you find a bug in the site, do not hesitate to write us about it! We are a very small team - we are doing our best to test everything but it's you guys, the end users, who can help us the most with that stuff.

Sixth, give us your opinions and criticism. Even if it is negative, as long as it is constructive, we love it! Don't be afraid to offend us, we are big boys, we can take it as long as it is done with class and respect. Just writing this show sucks does not help anyone. But if you explain why, or what you would have liked to see to make it better, it is definitely much more helpful to us. Sometimes there is not much we can do about it for budget reasons, but if we can improve it, we will.

The same reasoning is true for compliments! Just saying it is awesome and it does feel great (and we love to hear it!), but it does not help us pinpoint what works best - telling us that it is awesome and why is much more helpful! Not only that, it makes for much more interesting web conversations!

Seventh, if you have a website, you can download one of our banners here and link back to the site. We are also open to banner exchanges if your site is related to our show ie comic books, manga, genre films, webseries, etc.

And finally, we cannot say it enough: SPREAD THE WORD and your enthusiasm for the show! Create fan sites or Facebook fan pages! Send us your artwork for the upcoming fan gallery! Be the greatest fans of a web series EVER! Better even that The Guild fans! (Just kidding! You are already great!)

My question is not on this FAQ. How can I get it answered?

2012-02-14T21:21:13.825-05:00

Email us with FAQ in the subject Header and your answer will be here within a few days. Fair enough?

Are you using real explosives?

2012-02-14T21:20:53.976-05:00

Whenever we can, yes. We think it looks better than anything we can do CGI. When that is not possible, we use live action stock footage, like the fantastic stuff available at Detonation Films. If don't have what we need through stock footage, then we resort to CGI. But it is usually last resort as it is resources intensive and usually does not look that good, at least when fire is concerned.

What is the white logo marked CDO in the sidebar of the site?

2012-02-14T21:20:21.328-05:00

This is a link to the Official Canadian Defence Organization site, the Federal organism that manages the Heroes in Heroes of the North. By visiting the site, you will get a better idea of the CDO role and function, and its importance in the Heroes of the North Universe.

What is the black Medusa logo in the sidebar of the website?

2012-02-14T21:20:04.041-05:00

This is a link to the Medusa Industries website, the front company for the Medusa Organization, the terrorist group ran in the shadows by the Medusa Commander, aka Joseph Mengele. There you will find everything there is to know about the official presence of Medusa in the World.

I want to see [Insert Name of Performer Here] at the next convention in my City. Why did they not show up?

2012-01-12T22:48:23.722-05:00

While we would love to bring every single cast members to every single event we attend, we cannot afford it. Beyond that, these people have careers, lives beyond show business and/or husbands and wives. We have managed so far to get most of the characters at one convention or another: The Canadian, Canadian Shield, Alpha Q, Masquerade, Fleur-de-Lys, 8 Ball, Hornet, Crimson, Black Terror, Medusa Commander have all shown up at one event or the other. That is most of the cast. Some people are too busy and are not available when the conventions are into effect, or it is too long or too far for them. The actors that play 8 Ball, Hornet and Alpha Q actually enjoy conventions and do not mind doing them if they are available. Not everybody does either. We try our very best to bring a wide variety of our actors to shows but it is not always feasible.

Who is illustrating, inking and colouring the comics?

2011-11-28T11:53:01.040-05:00

The credits are indicated at the bottom of each comic page but here is a comprehensive list nevertheless:

Marcus MAS Smith (Pencils and Inks): Hornet, Pacifica, Alpha Q

Marcus MAS Smith (Pencils): Canadian Shield, Black Terror, Madame Doom, Crimson

Marcus MAS Smith (Colours): Canadian Shield, Black Terror, Madame Doom, Crimson, Pacifica

Marcus MAS Smith (Lettering): Canadian Shield, Crimson

Keiren Smith (Lettering): Black Terror, Madame Doom, Pacifica, Hornet, Alpha Q

Keiren Smith (Colours): Hornet, Alpha Q

Olivier Raymond (Pencils, Inks, Colours and Lettering): Fleur-de-Lys Blooming

Gibson Quarter (Pencils and Inks): 8 Ball

David J. Cutler (Pencils and Inks): Nordik

Dan Parent (Pencils, Inks, Colours and Lettering): Team-Up

Comics

2011-11-28T11:10:16.493-05:00

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When and where is your next public appearance and who is attending?

2011-10-23T19:05:07.783-04:00

We do make relatively frequent public appearances. You can find out where and when by checking our news blog regularly or by keeping an eye in our nifty EVENTS section, which is accessible by clicking the little calendar icon in the sidebar of the website. Who is attending depends on a lot of factors - actors availability, distance, costs, and so on. But we usually try to bring at least one actor to each events. Who is coming is also announced on our Facebook page and on the blog.

Is it possible to advertise on the site?

2011-10-23T19:04:31.234-04:00

Yes. Visit our Ad Network and choose a plan that interests you - we have a wide variety of plans and options: impressions, Pay per click or by number of days. You also have the option of having your ad printed in the comics. And you can combine both options. If you are a web series producer or any other person related to filmed entertainment or the comic books industry, feel free to join our Banner Exchange program, which is completely free!

Appearances

2011-09-25T21:16:54.277-04:00

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Where can I find who did what in each episodes?

2011-07-04T19:52:07.300-04:00

On each individual episodes pages, you have access to the Cast and Crew list, complete with exclusive and in most cases, never before seen Behind the scenes pictures. Click on the Cast and Crew logo next to each episodes description. All your questions will be answered.

Website

2011-07-04T19:45:23.669-04:00

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Advertising

2011-06-28T17:31:44.799-04:00

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Do you participate in Festivals? If so, which ones?

2011-05-12T07:36:33.747-04:00

We have not participated yet to any festivals. However we received a few invitations. We had to refuse because it is our policy to not participate in ANY festival that requires entry fees. While we understand that it is a cutthroat business for festival organizers - it is hard to get butts in seats anywhere! - we also feel that filmmakers invest lots of their time, energy and money to make their projects and that without them, there would not be festivals in the first place.

Festivals

2011-05-12T07:34:28.277-04:00

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Why did you shoot mostly in English since the action is set in Quebec?

2011-04-04T04:06:18.775-04:00

Well, while most of us are Quebecers, the dire reality is that a francophone market is limited to begin with. Superheroes, Canadian ones at that, makes it even more of a niche. It would be financial suicide to hope to make that work on such a small sample of the world population. English is an almost universal language understood in many countries and a good majority of people do have a minimal grasp of it. It increases the chances of the show to be viewed and enjoyed worldwide, while opening up a much bigger market. The nascent web series industry is already cutthroat as it is, we had to make an economically viable decision.

Episode One ends rather abruptly. Will we see more of the Canadian Shield?

2011-04-04T04:00:39.373-04:00

Yes, we will see more of him. A partial conclusion of Episode One will be found at the beginning of Episode 16, Past and Present. Also, there is an epilogue with the Canadian Shield at the beginning of Episode 20. There is also more Canadian Shield infos in the Season Finale Comic Book.

Episodes

2011-04-04T03:58:37.358-04:00

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What other figurines are coming up?

2011-04-04T03:57:01.438-04:00

Besides the ones already viewable in the Gallery, there is Black Terror, Pacifica, Masquerade and Medusa Commander coming up.

Merchandising

2011-04-04T03:51:20.912-04:00

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How is the show financed?

2011-03-04T08:13:37.140-05:00

Entirely out of our pockets. No grants, no subventions, nothing. Our main expense is salaries to our collaborators. We cannot pay a fortune but we do pay way above minimum wages. We do and financed everything out of pocket. Why^ Because we believe in the project and because we like it. Items bought in the store, ads, donations, eventually membership, allow us to keep some of the costs down. We hope to preserve the show for free because that is how we envisioned it but if we cannot at least break even, then we will have no choice but to seek out a better revenue stream or cease the show production altogether.

Will there be a DVD release of the first Season?

2011-02-23T17:24:19.768-05:00

Yes, once it has run its course. It will be available in the store and also as part of various packages and bundles.

Will there be a feature version?

2011-02-23T17:23:25.542-05:00

It is currently in the works.

Do you have any celebrities cameos?

2011-02-23T17:22:55.261-05:00

We have a few local celebrities already in the show. However, nobody national or international yet - it was not for a lack of trying. Budget and travel limitations are a big factor.

What is the budget?

2011-02-23T17:17:12.068-05:00

The budget varies greatly depending on the episodes, but a good average would be roughly $2000 CAD per episode, most of which is salaries and food.

Will there be nudity in the episodes like in some of the comics?

2011-02-23T16:50:57.477-05:00

Nothing extravagant and nothing full on, but definitely expect some sexy moments.

How do you manage to shoot an action series on such a meager budget?

2011-02-23T16:49:58.275-05:00

We are very resourceful.

Medias

2011-02-22T08:11:48.664-05:00

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I have seen your comics and T-shirts in Quebec french web series Les Hasbines. Why is that?

2011-02-22T08:10:47.455-05:00

The two members of Les hasbines played a part in an episode of Heroes of the North (Episode 19) as Nouveaux Felquistes. They got some comics and a T-shirt out of the experience and decided to do "web series product placement" in their show, to hilarious results, at least to those in the know...

What was your inspiration for the characters?

2011-02-21T12:57:17.126-05:00

The Canadian Shield/The Canadian: I think this one is obvious -Captain America. We need a nationalistic symbol and the Captain is hard one to beat.

Fleur-de-Lys: Quebec would not go well with the idea of National superheroes so we had to create one specifically for the Province. Simple enough. Add electric bracelets created by Hydro-Quebec and you have a classic! Plus it allowed us to introduce the New Felquists as she would have to deal with Quebec's homegrown terrorists.

Nordik: We wanted someone to deal with the Arctic parts of the country. We wanted to avoid the usual inuit/native cliché yet represent the hardship of those isolated part of the country.

Black Terror: This one is a cross between a superhero film project we had try to develop for years and the public domain character from the now defunct Nedor comic line.

8 Ball: This is Anderson Bradshaw's creation, also another superhero film we tried to develop for years without success. We took part of the original storyline and adapted it to our new Universe.

Costumes

2011-02-20T02:43:14.625-05:00

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Awards

2011-02-20T02:33:15.517-05:00

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Why are the costumes mostly black?

2011-02-19T16:09:07.215-05:00

This was an artistic choice. We figured that bright colours where not the best choice if you wanted to be stealthy. So we went for black. It also makes it easier for continuity when things get dirty.

What was the inspiration for the show?

2011-02-19T16:08:17.455-05:00

Well, most of us are long time comic book fans and we have been trying to get a show like this going for years. Our main inspiration is obviously Marvel but there is some DC thrown in and a few more obscure references to other indie titles. The main idea was to see how things would be if we had a superhero team, Marvel or DC style, in Canada, with the unique challenges that supposes in a country such as ours.

Why did you self produce?

2011-02-18T11:05:18.022-05:00

We tried for years to get a Canadian superhero project done through traditional means but without success. A 10 minutes promo of an old project shot in 1992 is available in the Members section. With the advent of the new technologies in terms of editing, special effects and cameras, we saw the opportunity to do it ourselves and finally have our dream see the light of day, perhaps without all the trappings of a real budget but at least it lives.

How did you convince Annie Dufresne to appear in the show?

2011-02-15T03:11:18.001-05:00

We have worked with Annie in the past on a few projects. She already knows us. We just had to ask.

Where did you find everyone else?

2011-02-15T03:10:12.623-05:00

The usual way: Auditions...

How did you convince les Has-Bine to appear in the show?

2011-02-15T03:09:38.622-05:00

They made a comment about wanting to appear on the show after a web article was made about Heroes of the North. We took them at their word and they accepted.

How did you convince Anne-Marie Losique to appear in the show?

2011-02-15T03:08:31.283-05:00

We contacted her management, showed them stuff we had done in the past, sent a script, made an offer, met in person with her management people and they eventually said yes.

How did you convince Edith Labelle to appear in the show?

2011-02-15T03:08:22.362-05:00

We have worked with Edith in the past so she already knew us. We just had to send a script and ask.

How did you convince Bianca Beauchamp to appear in the show?

2011-02-15T03:08:14.946-05:00

We contacted her management, showed them stuff we had done in the past, sent a script, made an offer, met in person and they eventually said yes.

Season 1 Shooting

2011-02-15T03:04:08.115-05:00

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Will there be a Season 2?

2011-02-15T03:02:24.033-05:00

It is still too early for us to tell. Our goal is to at least break even with the show. Watch lots of them, many times, buy stuff from the store and visit us often and yeah, then, there is a good chance!

General

2011-02-15T03:01:05.797-05:00

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Was it cold?

2011-02-15T02:21:08.632-05:00

Very! Most of the show was shot in November and December 2009. As you can imagine,it was not very warm. Especially for those wearing the skimpy outfits...

Casting

2011-02-15T01:56:39.132-05:00

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What cameras did you use?

2011-02-15T01:52:54.905-05:00

Most of the show was shot on various incarnations of the Panasonic HVX-200A and some scenes were shot with a Canon 5D Mark II.

Why did you use latex for some of the costumes?

2011-02-15T01:51:26.199-05:00

We thought that Lycra and spandex look silly on anyone and we did not have the budget for leather. Latex is form fitting, definitely looks like a superhero outfit and was more in our price range.

Where is the Series shot?

2011-02-15T01:44:20.717-05:00

The first Season was shot in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

How many Episodes in Season One?

2011-02-15T01:40:50.456-05:00

There is 20 Episodes included in Season One.