The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single (sticky) step . . .

It was around a year ago that I first began to notice folks mentioning The Pitiful Human-Lizard online, but what finally convinced me to check it out was seeing Hogtown's newest hero featured in between classic and modern depictions of Richard Comely's Captain Canuck on the kids menu for the Lakeview Diner, an historic Toronto landmark and famous film shoot location (I probably know it best as the diner that got shot up by David Della Rocco in the movie Boondock Saints).

The Lakeview Diner kids menu, featuring Captain Canuck & The Pitiful Human-Lizard.

I'm not exactly sure why, but that struck a chord with me and I immediately knew this was a different kind of hero with deep roots in a city I've always considered home. Even now, six years after having moved to the Niagara Region, I still think of Toronto as the hometown I love to visit every chance I can get.

 

 

Jason Stewart of We Got The Geek, Pitiful Human-Lizard creator, Jason Loo & "Agent Darryl" Etheridge. Photo by: Ryan McNab, courtesy of We Got The Geek.

In the past year, and thanks in large part to the mutual friendship of another Jason (Stewart, founder of the Niagara-area podcast community, We Got The Geek), I've had the chance to meet and get to know the Human-Lizard's creator, Jason Loo and gained insight into some aspects of the title's characters, while also getting the chance to offer my own perceptions as a reader. What getting to know Jason better and reading this comic has really done most for me is help to reawaken my love of Toronto and exploring the unique locales that make it such a great city.

Pitiful Human-Lizard creator, Jason Loo & "Agent Darryl" Etheridge. Photo by: Sara Tellier, courtesy of Sara J Photography & We Got The Geek.

The problem is, outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), many TPHL readers probably don't know the geography of Toronto as intimately as it's residents, some maybe not at all. Even expats like me find that establishments that have stood as pillars of T.O.'s various communities for decades are quickly changing or disappearing altogether. That's why I decided to start Sticky Footprints, as way to explore Toronto through the (often-cracked and battle-damaged) lens that is The Pitiful Human-Lizard, and attempt to provide the most up-to-date information about the locales featured.

"Agent Darryl" Etheridge & Pitiful Human-Lizard creator, Jason Loo. Photo by: Sara Tellier, courtesy of Sara J Photography & We Got The Geek.

Panel by panel, page by page, issue by issue, my plan is to seek out and photograph as many identifiable locations depicted in the panels of The Pitiful Human-Lizard and share them here as chronologically accurate as possible to the whole cast's adventures throughout the GTA, so that TPHL readers can get a truly immersive Toronto reading experience.

So with that introduction, let the journey begin . . .

-DE