 Southern Cross has gained appreciation in comics circles as a precursor to the graphic novel in Canada , though it had no direct influence on Canadian comics — it was marketed to book connoisseurs , a world far removed from that of consumers of cheap entertainment that comics served in the 1950s . Copies of Southern Cross joined the collections of the National Gallery of Canada in 1952 and the Burnaby Art Gallery in 1987 . The book received an Honorable Mention for Best Book at the 2008 Doug Wright Awards for Canadian Cartooning , accepted by Hyde 's son Anthony . 
