by BK Munn
One of the worst-kept secrets in Canadian comics was the pseudonym/anagram of cartoonist Hartley Lin aka Ethan Riley [seen left-source], creator of the excellent and award-winning Pope Hats series.
For years now, Lin has been a fixture on the comics and zine festival scene and always seemed to be explaining to fans of his work why his comics were signed with a different name.
Now Adhouse is collecting the main story from the first handful of Pope Hats issues into a handsome square bound book, and Lin is finally using his real name on the cover!
The long-awaited Young Frances collects the story of law clerk Frances Scarl, her free-spirited friend Vickie, and the weird entanglements of their lives.
The 144-page, black-and-white hardcover is scheduled for a Spring release (probably in time for TCAF in May).
Publishers blurb:
The long-awaited first collection from Pope Hats. After insomniac law clerk Frances Scarland is recruited by her firm’s most notorious senior partner, she seems poised for serious advancement, whether she wants it or not. But when her impulsive best friend Vickie decides to move to the opposite coast for an acting role, Frances’ confusing existence starts to implode. Hartley Lin has created comics under the pen name Ethan Rilly, an anagram of his real name, for a decade, winning several awards along the way. With his first major collection, Young Frances, he officially retires the alias.