Jun 2011
Happy Canada Day!
With July first merely hours away, we at HOTN Central wanted to extend all our Canadian fans a warm and heartfelt HAPPY CANADA DAY!
And to celebrate the anniversary of Canada, we geared our July promo towards the Canadian figurine. Get it now while we still have some! First seven orders will also get a free 2011 Tech Sheet Calendar! Just because that is all we have left, calendars wise! Beware though that the promo only starts at 12:01 AM on July 1st!
Have fun, be safe and enjoy Canada Day, on behalf of the Heroes of the North Team!
Photo by Yann Brouillette.
Comments
The End of an Era: Les Has-bines
29/06/11 07:19 Filed in: Obituaries | Webseries
It is a sad day today at HOTN central.
Today is the last episode of what is probably the longest running web series ever (to our knowledge): Les Has-bines. It is a French Canadian (or Québécois, depending on where you stand on the nationalist agenda), web series about two actors who where on top of the world as youth idols in their prime but now have a hard time landing any job and trying everything to recover some of their former glory. It ends today with its 94th episode...
Let that sink in. 94 episodes. That in itself is a feat.
What is more amazing however, is that despite an absolute lack of budget and several technical issues, most notably with sound and sometimes picture, they somehow managed to keep an incredible level of quality in the stories and performances throughout, something that even most professional TV shows can’t manage in 13 episodes, let alone 94... With a virtual Who’s who of Québecois celebrities, from both TV and the WEB guest-starring on the show, (including the now world famous Jon Lajoie), they brought another layer of credibility to what was an already brilliant premise. With sometimes surreal storylines and situations, one of our favourites being the Ukrainian daycare sharing the basement office of the desperately hopeless agent of the even more hopeless duo, they walked a very fine line between several forms of humour with flawless ease.
Using dark humour and a comedy approach based on the systematic humiliation and embarrassment of its main protagonists, the show has created a wealth of fans over the years. And we are some of them. So much so that we have asked the two Has-Bines, (pictured below: closest to camera, the one with hair and in a White Humeur Design T-shirt is Has-Bine Leduc and the bald one in a trademark New Felquists checkerboard jacket is Has-Bine Mongrain), to appear in Episode 19: Opération Roche & Roule, one of the most hilarious episode of the Heroes of the North series and definitely the most fun we EVER had shooting. For completists, the last New Felquist in the back is Eric Pfalzgraf from another hilarious Québécois TV show, Phylactère Cola.
So it is with great sadness that we have to see Les Has-Bines go. But it is with fond memories and the sincere hope that from the ashes of their show rises a new phoenix of opportunities for the hilarious duo, that we bid a fond farewell to les Has-Bines. It was a great run and they have probably made web series short history by longevity alone. May it rest in peace and inspire new groundbreaking work. So long and thanks for everything. You were definitely an inspiration for all of us here.
Today is the last episode of what is probably the longest running web series ever (to our knowledge): Les Has-bines. It is a French Canadian (or Québécois, depending on where you stand on the nationalist agenda), web series about two actors who where on top of the world as youth idols in their prime but now have a hard time landing any job and trying everything to recover some of their former glory. It ends today with its 94th episode...
Let that sink in. 94 episodes. That in itself is a feat.
What is more amazing however, is that despite an absolute lack of budget and several technical issues, most notably with sound and sometimes picture, they somehow managed to keep an incredible level of quality in the stories and performances throughout, something that even most professional TV shows can’t manage in 13 episodes, let alone 94... With a virtual Who’s who of Québecois celebrities, from both TV and the WEB guest-starring on the show, (including the now world famous Jon Lajoie), they brought another layer of credibility to what was an already brilliant premise. With sometimes surreal storylines and situations, one of our favourites being the Ukrainian daycare sharing the basement office of the desperately hopeless agent of the even more hopeless duo, they walked a very fine line between several forms of humour with flawless ease.
Using dark humour and a comedy approach based on the systematic humiliation and embarrassment of its main protagonists, the show has created a wealth of fans over the years. And we are some of them. So much so that we have asked the two Has-Bines, (pictured below: closest to camera, the one with hair and in a White Humeur Design T-shirt is Has-Bine Leduc and the bald one in a trademark New Felquists checkerboard jacket is Has-Bine Mongrain), to appear in Episode 19: Opération Roche & Roule, one of the most hilarious episode of the Heroes of the North series and definitely the most fun we EVER had shooting. For completists, the last New Felquist in the back is Eric Pfalzgraf from another hilarious Québécois TV show, Phylactère Cola.
So it is with great sadness that we have to see Les Has-Bines go. But it is with fond memories and the sincere hope that from the ashes of their show rises a new phoenix of opportunities for the hilarious duo, that we bid a fond farewell to les Has-Bines. It was a great run and they have probably made web series short history by longevity alone. May it rest in peace and inspire new groundbreaking work. So long and thanks for everything. You were definitely an inspiration for all of us here.
PS: Yes, the show is in French. But if you do understand French, watch it! It is worth every penny! Trust us!
Heroes of the North Advertising Network
28/06/11 07:47 Filed in: Advertising
It is with great pleasure that we finally announce the launch of our very own advertising network. This has been a long time coming and we are happy to have it finally see the light of day. Additionally, we have opened up the possibility to have ads in our printed comics, after getting a few requests about the possibilities, we have now opened it up to anyone with deep enough pockets. Hurry up if you want in on the next comic because the deadline is July 31st! That’s it for the capitalist aspect!
Stay tuned for more news soon as we are also launching very shortly a web banner exchange network designed exclusively for indie films and comic producers, as well as web series producers. Best part of it all? It will be all free for the aforementioned artists and producers, as long as their banners are in good taste and fit these segments. That is all for our socialist aspect today! Have a nice one!
Stay tuned for more news soon as we are also launching very shortly a web banner exchange network designed exclusively for indie films and comic producers, as well as web series producers. Best part of it all? It will be all free for the aforementioned artists and producers, as long as their banners are in good taste and fit these segments. That is all for our socialist aspect today! Have a nice one!
R.I.P. Gene Colan
24/06/11 14:55 Filed in: Obituaries | Comic Book Artists
We are big fans of Gene Colan here at Heroes of the North and it is with great sadness that we learned today of his passing. Mr. Colan was responsible for astonishing runs on Daredevil and illustrated one of our faves, Howard the Duck. Besides his impressive body of work for MArvel, he also illustrated several Batman issues for DC, amongst other great stuff. We would like to extend our sincere condoleances to Mr. Colan’s family and remember his legacy.
Pacifica Roughs by Michael Dooney
For the upcoming print version of the Pacifica comic (written by Yann Brouillette with Art by MAS and lettering by Keiren Smith), we have asked artist Michael Dooney (of Teenage Ninja Turtles fame) to render his version of the speedy Vancouverite. Another artist we met at the Orlando MegaCon, Michael just sent us the pencils for the piece. We just have to say that it looks stunning. Enjoy! Pacifica is played by Alexandra Ordolis - look for her in Episode 16.
Heroes of the North on Black Flag TV
14/06/11 12:08 Filed in: Diffusion
Website changes
09/06/11 00:14 Filed in: Website
You might have noticed a few changes around the site lately. While some changes are too obvious to miss, some are more subtle. So here’s the rundown:
- A newly revamped sidebar which will feature our monthly specials. making them easier to find at all time;
- Still on the sidebar, a Calendar icon to access the revamped Events page which is no longer accessible from the main menu.
- Again on the sidebar, a Link Exchange icon for an upcoming webseries Link exchange service that will be added soon.
- New episodes menus, allowing you to go back to the block of episodes you are watching from anywhere.
- Buy buttons with every available comics.
- A new gallery system.
- Buy button when relevant in the galleries.
- Feedburner RSS feed in the NEWS section and comments for every news items via Haloscan
- A nifty new store architecture (still in process of implementation, bear with us)
- A new Press link in the Media section;
- An extensive Site Map;
Also coming up:
- A brand new landing page.
- Cast and Crew pages for each episodes
- A newly revamped sidebar which will feature our monthly specials. making them easier to find at all time;
- Still on the sidebar, a Calendar icon to access the revamped Events page which is no longer accessible from the main menu.
- Again on the sidebar, a Link Exchange icon for an upcoming webseries Link exchange service that will be added soon.
- New episodes menus, allowing you to go back to the block of episodes you are watching from anywhere.
- Buy buttons with every available comics.
- A new gallery system.
- Buy button when relevant in the galleries.
- Feedburner RSS feed in the NEWS section and comments for every news items via Haloscan
- A nifty new store architecture (still in process of implementation, bear with us)
- A new Press link in the Media section;
- An extensive Site Map;
Also coming up:
- A brand new landing page.
- Cast and Crew pages for each episodes
Heroes of the North, Archie Style!
You cannot be a fan of superhero comics and not be at least remotely aware of Archie Comics. Heck, our old pal Archie Andrews even had a run-in with the Punisher, no less! So to have a rendition of some of the HOTN characters Archie-style was definitely a no-brainer.
Dan Parent, writer and illustrator of several Archie Comics books, and more specifically creator of Kevin Keller, the first openly gay character in Riverdale, has agreed to do a cover for an upcoming comic book currently entitled Zombots getting schooled by Yann Brouillette. We met the groundbreaking writer and artist at the MegaCON in Orlando this March and we must say that it has been an absolute pleasure to collaborate with the man, not to mention his Canadian (and more specifically Quebec) Connection.
The fun-filled cover is ready and features The Canadian, Fleur-de-Lys and Nordik. It is our pleasure to show it to you in all its glory:
Dan Parent, writer and illustrator of several Archie Comics books, and more specifically creator of Kevin Keller, the first openly gay character in Riverdale, has agreed to do a cover for an upcoming comic book currently entitled Zombots getting schooled by Yann Brouillette. We met the groundbreaking writer and artist at the MegaCON in Orlando this March and we must say that it has been an absolute pleasure to collaborate with the man, not to mention his Canadian (and more specifically Quebec) Connection.
The fun-filled cover is ready and features The Canadian, Fleur-de-Lys and Nordik. It is our pleasure to show it to you in all its glory:
The comic will not be online for a little while however as we have to release a Fleur-de-Lys and a Hornet story before that but you can also view the piece in higher resolution from our newly revamped Galleries or procure it from our store as a reproduction.
JUNE SALE!
To celebrate the arrival of summer (finally!) and to celebrate Quebec’s National Holiday on June 24th, our Figurine of Fleur-de-Lys will be HALF-PRICE for the whole month of June! Get yours now!
