Synopsis
Lance Valiant, John Cabot, and Tasha Kolchak are fearless explorers who delve into hidden secrets of our world and protect us from threats beyond imagination, but the greatest secret of all may be Lance’s own mysterious past…
Pulse-pounding action, wit, intrigue, and globe-trotting romance – One of Canada’s original heroes is reborn for the Chapterhouse era by writers Andrew Wheeler (Another Castle) and Jim Zub (Thunderbolts), and artist Vineda Vireak (51Hundred)!
From: Chapterhouse Comics
Notes on This Title
Volume 1 of this series depicts torture.
Writer Andrew Wheeler has stated that volume 2 will depict an asexual female lead character and a trans female main character.
Awards
None.
Reviews
“Originally created by Ed Furness and Ted McCall in the 1940s, Lance Valiant —AKA Freelance— was a Doc Savage-esque pulp character who unfortunately fell into obscurity after superhero comics ceased being popular in North America. Freelance is an interesting product of his time and place; he was part of the Canadian “Golden Age” of comics that commenced once a WWII ban on non-essential imports (i.e. comic books) was lifted. American comics from that era have since become ubiquitous in modern-day pop culture, but the same can’t be said for their Canadian cousins.
But this Freelance is quite different from his classic iteration. Reimagined by Andrew Wheeler (Another Castle) and Jim Zub (Wayward) as a gay, Bond-esque superhero, Chapterhouse’s Freelance offers something unique to an underserved demographic in comics — but that’s not to say the title won’t appeal to anybody outside the queer spectrum.” (Source: Rogues Portal)
Interviews
Comicosity: “Exclusive Preview: FREELANCE #4”
Comicosity: “Queer Visibility Interview: Andrew Wheeler Goes FREELANCE [Part 1]”
Comicosity: “Queer Visibility Interview: Andrew Wheeler Goes FREELANCE [Part 2]”
Newsarama: “Classic Canadian Character FREELANCE Revamped as Globetrotting Gay Hero”
Why is this filed under “asexual/aromantic”? I didn’t notice any of that, and I pay close attention in this regard. I mean, Tasha *could* be read as asexual because there’s nothing said about her sexuality at all, but I wouldn’t say that counts as ace representation. Or was this made clearer in the second series (which I haven’t read yet)?
Same with the “trans female” tag. Do you mean the villain? Yes, she’s very tall, dresses like a gothic drag queen, and “Apollyon” seemed like an odd name for a woman, but there was never any explicit statement that she’s trans. So I didn’t even get the idea. Was this stated by the creators outside of the work itself? If this character was meant to be queer, then the comic needs a “queer villany” tag.
This first series needs warnings for violence (one of the good guys even kills a criminal) and torture, even if it’s all kept fairly gore-free and teen-rated.
Oh, and some sort of “queer man of color” tag for John, since you’re making the archive searchable for that sort of thing. While reading, I thought he was Turkish, but he’s supposed to be half Dutch and half Afro-Caribbean, according to the character profile on the publisher’s website. So I guess that would count as “black” in the American sorting algorhythm of ‘race’.
Hi Vivi. The “asexual/aromantic” and “trans female” tags are based on a message we received from one of the writers about characters whose asexual and trans identities will not be clarified until Vol 2. However, given that Vol 2 still has yet to be published, we will consider removing these tags for the time being, as I see how they can be misleading.
Thank you for your feedback re: content warnings. The entry has been edited.
We do not have a “queer man of color” tag. John was tagged as “queer multiracial character”; I have added “queer black character,” as well.