Interview with Marie-Claude Bourbonnais aka Hornet

Episode 18 Teaser
Here is a taste of what you can expect in Episodes 18… The episode features amongst others, Mengele/Medusa Commander, the New Felquists, Hornet aka Hortense Netter, Baxter, Steel Tiger and the Canadian Shield… STAY TUNED!
Additional Shooting - Day 2 - Part One
We had an action and dialogues filled shooting day on our Day 2. Lots of actors and crew members were affected by a particularly nasty head flu that is going around at the moment, which made things worse in terms of patience and endurance. But thankfully both the cast and the crew appeared into it and the challenge were reduced somewhat by their collective enthusiasm.
We had a bit of a rough start as we were given the wrong suite number for our shoot - so we spent the best part of an hour chasing actors and crew members all over the hotel where we were shooting. It made us lose precious time on an already pretty packed day, that included an extensive fight sequence, a dozen different decors and setups and almost 20 pages of dialogues… Not to mention appearances by Masquerade, Medusa Commander, Acadia, the Nouveaux Felquistes, Hornet, Steel Tiger, Baxter and two Medusa Agents…
David Michaels from the Expert Comics blog came by for a set visit.
We had the pleasure, for the second day in a row, of having the visit of Dave Michaels, one of the bloggers over at Expert Comics, whom we had invited for a set visit. While almost inhumanly quiet for the most part, David was on the ball when it came to interview and question cast and crew members alike about the show. We look forward to his entertaining chronicles in the next few weeks. David ended up doing a lot more on the show but that is still top secret at the moment.
First scene on the shooting block involved Pia Metni as Masquerade and a complex fight sequence inside a tiny bathroom and bedroom, coordinated by Anderson Bradshaw. It is always a challenge to shoot in tight spots, especially when there are mirrors everywhere like the bathroom we had. It slows things down to a crawl. In tiny spaces, everyone is constantly bumping into the other, uncomfortable and it gets hot in no time. Combine that with being already an hour late in your schedule, you can literally feel your blood pressure rise as things get more and more slowed down by the environment. But we have a good crew that is also used to work with each other, so they went to work right away, trying to take back the time lost and still deliver an impressive fight sequence.

Once the stuntmen and the Fight Choreographer have mapped out the fight based on the location’s potential and what we have available, we bring the actress in to show her the sequence of events and address everyone’s potential concerns, especially those related to safety. We are lucky for this scene because Pia tremendously enjoys the fight sequences and she always approaches them with a kind of boundless enthusiasm that is very contagious.
Stunt Man Marcelo Bezina reviewing the complex coordinated sequence.
The fight involving Masquerade and two Medusa Agents was to be extremely violent and necessitated several stages of make-up in between takes, dead time we used to shoot several other scenes in the various locations that the suite afforded.
One of these scenes involved the assignment of Acadia to the Montreal CDO division. Another prepared the introduction of a pivotal character for Season 2, Colonel Donovan.
Pia Metni (Masquerade) rehearsing lines with Howard Rosenstein (Colonel Donovan).
A lot of information had to be conveyed in a relatively short time in these scenes so delivery of the lines was crucial. We can
Stay tuned for the next instalment, where we will discuss more in depth the fight with Masquerade, the involvement of Hornet and the Medusa Commander and how it all ties in with the Death of Kim Jong Il!
Medusa by Geof Isherwood
Geof Isherwood Inks for the Medusa Cover

We wanted to wait until tomorrow to post this but it is so gorgeous, we could not wait! This is the work-in-progress for the cover of the Season Finale Comic book, penciled and inked by Geof Isherwood. It features Medusa Commander (Constantine Kourtidis in the show), the voluptuous Hornet (Marie-Claude Bourbonnais) and a mysterious aryan nurse, the identity of which you will discover while watching episode 20…and reading the Season Finale comic, of course! We cannot wait to see this piece coloured! But we have only two words right now for this inked page: breathtaking and spectacular!
Season 2 Costume Designs: The Canadian
Here is the latest costume design by Anderson Bradshaw (8 Ball) for The Canadian (Larry Vinette).

Hornet by Donald Caron
Donald Caron has done it again! This fantastic wrap around cover set piece features the deadly Hornet, captured in feral action, as she breaks inside the Flowers Industries weapons factory. One of the hardest illustrations he ever had to make apparently. But we cannot tell by looking at it! It is simply astonishing!
The attention to details in Donald’s work is simply astonishing! His Heroes of the North illustrations are simply out of this world!
This illustration will grace the print cover of the Hornet comic. We will also make a limited amount of prints, which you will be able to procure in the STORE.
The Hornet Comic Book is written by Yann Brouillette, with pencils and inks by MAS, Colours and lettering by Keiren Smith. Digital Version cover by Dean Yeagle and Print cover by Donald Caron.
Hornet is played by Marie-Claude Bourbonnais.
Please do not hesitate to like this and tweet it as well below. Comments are always welcome. We need to spread this far and wide. Local talents like Donald do not get enough of the recognition they deserve! Thank you!
Hornet Comic Book now available in Digital Format
Our critically acclaimed Hornet comic book is now finally available for digital download in the store for the very reasonable sum of one dollar.
The book was written by Yann Brouillette, penciled and inked by MAS and coloured and lettered by Keiren T. Smith. The Digital version cover is by Dean Yeagle. The print version cover is by Donald Caron.
Heroes of the North: Newsmakers!
Here you have it! The interview the Heroes of the North gave last week to Montreal anchor and all-around nice guy Todd Van der Heyden which was aired today as part of the CTV News Montreal NEWSMAKERS segment. The interview features Larry Vinette as The Canadian, Marie-Claude Bourbonnais as Hornet and Anderson Bradshaw as 8 Ball.
Expert Comics Interviews
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While we were at the last Montreal Comicon, we had the pleasure of being interviewed by Dave Michaels who runs Full Page Bleed, one of the many blogs at Expert Comics, a Montreal virtual comic book shop.
Dave conducted two interviews with us. One with Hornet aka Marie-Claude Bourbonnais, complete with a cosplay souvenir book and one with Christian Viel and Yann Brouillette. Dave also did a little run down of his adventures.
You can also find both of these interviews in the press section of our MEDIAS menu.
Heroes of the North makes the News!

Today we had the pleasure of being invited at the CTV Montreal studios to do an interview with local anchorman Todd Van der Heyden, who is also a fervent comic book aficionado. He was recently hosting the Stan Lee and Adam West panels at the Montreal Comicon this year. Todd was an amazing host, who made us feel very welcome and put everyone at ease right from the start.
We created a little bit of a commotion as several employees did not know what was going on or who we were and for what and let’s say that two dark heroes and a colourful villainess in the middle of a cold October afternoon makes for a weird sight, even at a television station. For about twenty minutes, we felt we were back at the Montreal Comicon, distributing flyers, explaining what the show is about while actors were taking pictures with the enthusiastic staff members! It was great fun!
Once everybody was dressed up, we were brought inside the studio which was quite an impressive sight. It looks small yet somehow still conveys an impression of vastness. We have been interviewed countless times for television but this was our very first time inside a TV studio and it was quite an interesting experience. Everyone is working diligently, constantly communicating, even as the cameras are rolling, ensuring that everything goes well and that you end up with a pretty much finished product! A sight for sore eyes for us who have to painstakingly edit everything and then still have to add effects, sound and colour correction!
It was a fun experience for our little group and we would like to thank everyone at CTV, and especially Todd, for making it such a smooth ride!
The interview with our three characters should air on Monday, October 31st, during a segment of Montreal CTV News at Noon, as part of their Halloween special.
Don’t worry if you miss it or do not get CTV - we will get a DVD of the piece and it will be added to the MEDIAS section of our site after the original airing.
And that’s about it in a nutshell! Let’s just say that it was quite a busy day here at Heroes of the North Central!
UPDATE: We are featured in the Newsmakers segment.

Photos Credits: Justin Phillips.
Alpha Q layouts and Hornet Cover Sneak Peek!

Donald Caron recently sent us an absolutely gorgeous Work in Progress for his Hornet cover illustration. Our Newsletter subscribers will be able to see it after midnight tonight by using the password they received with the latest newsletter by clicking here. The image will be online until midnight, on October 31st. The newsletter containing the password will start shipping to everyone at 11:45 tonight.
An Interview with Hornet
Montreal Comicon 2011
In attendance for the two days of merriment will be: the facetious 8 Ball and the striking Hornet in her even more striking Season 2 outfit, and the brilliant mind of Alpha Q!
Also, in more sporadic appearances, we will find the nefarious Medusa Commander alongside the first ever appearance of The Canadian to any convention ever!
So be there or be square!
Toronto Fan Expo and Hornet comic
Besides photo op at the boot, we will have the entire assortment of merchandise currently available in our store, including Hornet figurines you can get signed by the lady herself if you so desire.
That being said, the Hornet comic book will hit the inter webs early next week, just in time for the Fan Expo. Here’s a sneak peek.

Hornet Comic Sneak Peek

Back from MegaCon - Things to Come!
We are officially back from MegaCon. We had a total blast meeting all our current fans and making some new ones. The weather was great throughout and we met tons of super nice folks. The only shadow was that Fedex managed to screw the delivery of some of our items. Other than that, everything went without a hitch.
We also got to make some contact with new cover artists for our upcoming comics. Archie Comics writer and illustrator Dan Parent will be one of them, as well as Toronto artist Kevin Yan who does Manga style epic like nobody’s business. Cannot wait to see what they come up with!
And amongst all that, despite being a stone throw away, we managed to miss the Rob Granito scandal.
We are also amongst numerous very talented nominees in the fiction and drama, Web TV, for the Numix Awards. Wish us luck!
And we are almost done with the French implementation of the site, so we will be returning to our regular schedule pretty soon!
MegaCon Sampler DVD
The Heroes of the North Team

















