Crowds milled throughout the marketplace at the storefront of Amazing Stories on 8th Street in Saskatoon on Saturday. Free Comic Book Day was the cause for celebration, and Jeff “Auroraman” Burton, Kyrra Burton and their collaborator Brayden Martens of Martensville were on hand for the event. Issue #12 in the Auroraman series was also the cause for celebration, and we caught up with Martens and Burton on site at the event, amid the comics aficionados, the vendors and a host of cosplayers.  

Martens was reveling in the event, remembering his connection with comics that got him into the creative side of the medium. 

“As a young boy, this is what definitely what started the love was coming out, getting to read a vast variety of different writers and characters, and finding out what resonated for me.” 

That ties into Marten’s connection with Auroraman and his creator, Jeff Burton, based on Burton’s own life in Englefeld.  

“The character (Auroraman) has stuck out to me because he’s a father, a teacher, a husband,” Marten’s explained. “He is that everyman who can really resonated with any reader, harkening back to the days when we looked up to superheroes rather than trying to pull them down to our level – helping us to aspire to be something better in our own communities, with our own families.” 

Martens’ own character, Darklight makes a debut appearance in the latest edition of Auroraman. Darklight is an unusual entity whose motives are entirely human.  

“I thought what if there were a character that didn’t need to be physically beaten down, he needed to just be heard and listened to. And I thought Auroraman was the perfect character to do that as a father, husband and a teacher – he's ready to listen first before swinging for the fences.” 

It’s a novel concept for a comic book, and it’s one that makes the Auroraman comic the perfect first foray for Marten’s character.  

We also caught up with Burton at the event who spent much of the day visiting with comic fans old and young. 

“Today’s been fantastic, and the response to the new Auroraman has been just awesome,” Burton said. He was on track for a sell-out at the event. “We’ve got a good mix of return and brand new customers.” 

The latest copy of Auroraman is available at your favourite comic vendor and at Reel Attractions in Humboldt.