Our Hero
On the topic of CBC goodness, allow me to direct your attention to Our Hero, an award-winning Canadian teen sitcom from back in 2000.
Just discovered this one through a reference on Wikipedia's article on Zines (via an article on self-publishing via an article on minicomics).
Nobody slept that night. Mom started smoking again, Ethan watched all the late night comedy shows and yelled “I could do that!” over and over, and I wrote....
I just dumped everything I'd been thinking, everything I could never say to my family, right out of my brain. And I cut and pasted it all together, with postcard and magazine bits and crappy little drawings that make me laugh. And in the end I had a zine, starring me, our hero.
Six pages, stapled, that I could copy and give to my friends; that I could mail away to other zine writers all over the world.... Secrets, for strangers. And once I'd done that, I felt in control for the first time, maybe ever.
Kale
Our Hero: The Imperfect Issue
Cara Pifko stars as Kale, the “kinda thoughtful, kinda goofy” highschooler who “likes to think her stupid, loser life brings humour and comfort to others” (character synopsis).
What caught my attention with this one (aside from Pifko's adorable grin) was the unusually original premise (young female zine writer), backed up by strong writing and authentic characterisation. Hints of Veronica Mars in that respect, minus the detective-genre setup.
Editor's Note: Our Hero — The Imperfect Issue, wherein the alarming details of our hero's life are reported for the amusement of others... and the catharsis of me.
Kale
Our Hero: The Imperfect Issue
Back in '06 the production company was kind enough to run a video podcast, and segments three through nine contain the entire first episode of the show. They're also offering all 26 episodes of the series on DVD.
More at OurHero.tv.
This one's going on my wishlist.