MACKENZIE QUEEN
“Mackenzie Queen” created by Bernie Mireault is an alien invasion story with a humorous twist.
The story opens with a prologue. Madonna and Kuru members of the “Brotherhood of Balance” a galactic organization, are deep in the Canadian north anxious to deliver a book that will save the earth, to a suitably qualified earthling but who? This is a task for Kuru who must fend off agents sent by the Icemen.
We then switch to “Mackenzie Queen” who is attempting to absorb the powers of a candle into his psyche. It proves too much, and he is forced to release the energy which flashes across the sky revealing his presence to Kuru and as it turns out Madonna.
The story flashes back to the time when Mackenzie Queen was a street musician in Montréal. One night a exhausted stranger approaches him and asks him to play. Throughout the night he plays his own songs and in the morning the stranger refreshed, gives him a candle and an incantation. Through these he gains wealth and a remote castle-like building in Nova Scotia. He also uses his wealth to help others.
We are then introduced to the Icemen, bent on invading the earth because they made their own worlds uninhabitable. It is not long before we discover they are more incompetent than frightening. They are led by the “Great One”, who has a tendency to annihilate failures. The we meet Ududu the maybe last survivor of a race destroyed by the Icemen. He’s not sure. He was saved by the “Brotherhood of Balance” and sent to sleep in the bowels of the earth for four years. His time has come.
Madonna, Kuru and Ududu all converge on a bewildered Mackenzie Queen, to tell him the survival of the earth is in his hands. Now a subplot which involves a U.S. space shuttle taking astronauts into orbit is introduced. It is attacked by the Iceman and one astronaut Jimmy is captured by them. The two story lines converge as Mackenzie Queen and Ududu fly to the Icemen’s hideout on the other side of the moon – in a Volkswagen bug no less – and engage, but do not kill them. Mackenzie Queen has discovered that through the power of a tuning fork, he can eliminate their destructive tendencies, except for the “Great One”. Thus a certain uncertainty is left in the story.
Mackenzie Queen, Ududu and the astronaut Jimmy are all made “Brothers in Balance”. Interestingly enough Mackenzie Queen must return the tuning fork with its harmonizing power to Kuru. Apparently the Brotherhood of Balance believes that harmony must be balanced with a little dissention. Mackenzie Queen and Ududu return to earth to promote tolerance and the astronaut Jimmy remains in his first love space to pursue adventures there.
MEDIUM:
BOOK GRAPHIC COLLECTION:
Content novel & Cover book front & back:
Mackenzie Queen. Car., Bernie Mireault. Mackenzie Queen. Caliber Press, 1990.
PERIODICAL GRAPHIC:
Content serial:
| Mackenzie Queen…: “Mackenzie Queen …” Car., Bernie Mireault. Matrix Graphic Series. Black & white | |
| 1-1, 1985: “…Pt. 1: Origin”: 0-31.
1-2, 1985: “…Pt. 2: Ududu”: 0-34. 1-3: 1985: “… Pt. 3”: 1-34 |
“… Pt. 4”: 1-4, 1986: 1-24.
“… Pt. 5”: 1-5, 1986: 1-28. |
Cover front:
| Mackenzie Queen. Illus., Bernie Mireault. Matrix Graphic Series. Colour. | ||
| 1-1, 1985. | 1-2, 1985. | 1-3, 1985. |
| Mackenzie Queen Illus., Stephen Bissette. Matrix Graphic Series. Colour. | |
| 1-4, 1986. | 1-5, 1986. |
GALLERY:
Mackenzie Queen, 1-2, 1985: Front cover: “Ududu.” Illus., Bernie Mireault.
Mackenzie Queen,1985: Front cover. Illus., Bernie Mireault.
Portfoolio 1988: 186.
Portfoolio 15, 1999: 153.
You Might Be From Hamilton If…, 2017: Front cover.
Hamilton Spectator, 30 December, 2023: A13. Originally appeared 3 May 2023.
Andromeda, 2-2, June 1978: Inside front cover.