Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography
Chester Brown
Drawn & Quarterly
Let’s face it, Canadian history is pretty dull. Once you take away the fur traders, Hudson’s Bay Company and the Plains of Abraham, what are you left with? Louis Riel, of course, our only real outlaw. Chester Brown revisits a familiar tale in simple six-panel, black & white on yellow pages, revealing the heart, the violence and the bureaucratic machinations of the Red River rebellion. This year saw the book released in a softcover edition, so for less than $20 (before federal taxes Riel wouldn’t have appreciated) you can give the gift of a Canadian historical illustrated biography that won’t bore.
Carsten Knox
type: graphic novel
category: best of 2006
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.