Issue: #4
Release: May 2000
Writer and Artist: Chester Brown
Store: Drawn and Quarterly (Montreal)
Image via Comic Collector Connect
This was the second Chester Brown title I read for my scavenger hunt. While I was quite disgusted by Ed the Happy Clown, Louis Riel piqued my more positive interest from the first page. Louis Riel was a rebellious figure in Manitoba in the 19th century. I knew nothing about him before picking up this book and I will not pretend to know much about Canadian frontier history in general. However, I have long been drawn to stories of native resistance to oppressive governments so I immediately felt that I should learn more about this man.
Somehow, Brown's minimalist style brings levity to an otherwise serious subject. Months can pass between panels. Faces offer little expression. Dialogue is very dry. And yet, I am ever eager to see what comes next.
I had fun comparing Brown's renderings to photographs of the historic figures.
Louis Riel:
There's something rather Yellow Submarine-ish about that latter image, too.
John A. MacDonald:
Photo via Wikipedia
Any interest in joining a bloggers' book club? Please visit my link here.
My scavenger hunt was pretty straight-forward: find single-issue comic books off the rack with titles starting from A-Z. Go check out the rest of the participants in this year's A-Z challenge. The official site is here.
I had no idea who this guy even was. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat was definitely part of the appeal for me - an entire realm of history I know nothing about, and feel I should.
DeleteHe certainly sounds like he was an interesting guy!
ReplyDeleteI've only scratched the surface myself but I'm certainly up for more.
DeleteI'd love to read this one. Previously, I only had Alpha Flight and David Sim as Canadian comic book references.
ReplyDeleteDrawn & Quarterly is a Canadian publisher so many, though not all, of their artists are Canadian-born.
DeleteVery cool and interesting character, and you're right about that image and something rather Yellow Submarine-ish about it.
ReplyDeleteLovely read.
Silvia @ Silvia Writes
Thank you, Silvia! Happy L Day!
DeleteNeat. Love Brown's version of MacDonald's nose! :-) I also never fully understood that Drawn & Quarterly is both a publisher and a shop. Do you go up to Quebec often?
ReplyDeleteWe've been making more of an effort to go to Montreal with regularity. It's a wonderful city and surprisingly close to us.
DeleteI would go so far as to call this a lyrical cover and it is certainly my personal favorite among the ones you have featured so far.
DeleteI like the idea of nearly expressionless faces coupled with dry dialogue a lot and am particularly endeared by the outtake you supplied of Riel. To me, he looks very Canadian.
This is the best of the comics I've reviewed so far and one of the best of the whole lot. The seeming simplicity of the execution makes the story very accessible - serious history in newspaper comic strip style.
DeleteI never really thought of comics being based in real life events, for some reason.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like an interesting comic - sort of bare bones in terms of the artwork, maybe??
English language comics have been stuck in a superhero rut for decades. It's a different matter in other parts of the world, particularly Japan and France, where comics have been serious, mainstream literature for generations. Montreal (home of D&Q) is, of course, a lingual/cultural crossroads: a perfect place for English language comics aimed at a broader audience to find a foothold.
DeleteAn superior example, I think, of what you describe above. http://www.amazon.com/Trinity-Graphic-History-First-Atomic/dp/0809094681/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365954712&sr=8-1&keywords=trinity+graphic+novel
DeleteMy friends the Cannons have done a lot of work in non-fiction comics, actually - science, history, writing.
Delete