Comic Notes:

• The geography of Black River doesn't have a huge impact on the plot of the comic, but it is where the comic takes place in Canada for the most part. It's not a real town but it's based in Southeastern Ontario and it's inspired by a certain geographic area. Ivanhoe doesn't live in the town of Black River, but lives in a larger rural region which is also called "Black River" (hence his address). He lives SW of the town and within the catchment area of a different school district that Black River HS.
• I purposely left out Ivanhoe's parents' faces and the elementary school principal. At the time I drew this I was still playing around with the idea of never showing the faces of parents in the comic (a la Charlie Brown). But I've been slowly dropping this over time. Certain plot points necessitated it. But I always wanted Maritonia to be about a group of kids who don't always have the best relationships with their families and never showing their faces was meant to illustrate how wrapped up these kids are in their own bullshit.

This is the origin story of the origin story! How did the pirates become friends? What was Ivanhoe like in school? After getting expelled and denied entrance to a private high school, Ivanhoe Scott gets sent to Black River Secondary where he meets his future best friends who later become the π-rates. Ivanhoe is approached by an older student named Kingston, who convinces him to dig up some "treasure" buried and abandoned by some gangsters. What follows is the camping trip from hell...

Minor Niner releases September 2025 as a digital download or print edition. The comic is 48 pages long.