Chester brown louis riel a comic-strip biography

Louis Riel : A Comic-strip Biography. Chester Brown. It won a favourable critical reception and three Harvey Awards. The serialization sold poorly, but the book version was a surprise bestseller. Its success played a major part in gaining shelf space for serious graphic novels in mainstream North American bookstores. It does not attempt a complete retelling of Riel's life—it omits long periods and ignores many aspects of his personality.

Instead the focus is on his "antagonistic relationship with the Canadian government " [ 2 ] from to Brown grew up in the Canadian province of Quebecwhere the majority speaks French, and where Riel is often considered a martyr. However Brown, who grew up speaking only English, [ 6 ] said he was largely ignorant of Riel's story [ 7 ] until he read Maggie Siggins ' biography Louis Riel: A Life of Revolution.

He experiences visions and talks to God, who declares him Prophet of the New World and instructs him to chester brown louis riel a comic-strip biography his people to freedom. On the cover of the book, however, we see Riel standing alone in the wilderness, staring into the sky, leaving open the question of whether what he witnessed was real.

InBrown published the anti-psychiatry comics essay " My Mom was a Schizophrenic ", in which he examines society's role in mental illness, and questions the medical profession's accepted beliefs about it. Brown enjoyed this project and thought he would like to take on another in which he could "cram a lot of research into a comic strip".

Brown found "Prophet of the New World" particularly intriguing as it dealt with Riel's religious ideas while reevaluating his alleged diagnosis of mental illness, [ 13 ] two topics Brown had especial interest in, as he had previously made "eccentric" adaptations of the Gospeland comics dealing with his mother's schizophrenia. Macdonald to gain support for the building of the transcontinental railway.

Brown had gained a reputation for improvised storytelling by the time he began work on Louis Riel. With Underwaterhe had intended to write a script, but in the end chose to improvise. He found the results unsatisfactory, and decided to write a full script beforehand for his next project. The script for Louis Riel came to over pages. James Simpkinsa Canadian cartoonist best known for Jasper the Bear, made a mildly anti-Riel two-page strip in[ 20 ] and Pierre Dupuis produced a French-language two-page summary in On the way, a number of them pass Fort Garry, where they are captured and imprisoned.

One of the prisoners, Thomas Scott, relentlessly quarrels with the guards, showering them with racial epithets. Eventually, the provisional government convicts him of treason and executes him by firing squad. The remaining prisoners are released, and the provisional government enters into negotiations with Ottawa, which results in the founding of the province of Manitoba.

They are unable to get an amnesty for the execution of Scott, however. The Canadian army arrives, ostensibly to keep the peace. Riel flees to the U. Schultz takes control of Manitoba, and the government of Ontario offers a cash reward for Riel's capture, dead or alive. Macdonald secretly sends Riel money to disappear, as his death would lose him votes in Quebec but allowing him to live would cost him votes in English Canada.

Riel flees from town to town in the U. He fears actually sitting in parliament because there is still a bounty on his head, and continues to live in hiding. Riel is expelled from Parliament for failing to sit, but wins his seat again in the next by-election. The frustrated government finally extends an amnesty to the rebels—all except Riel, whose amnesty is conditional on a five-year banishment from Canada.

During his exile, he has a visionary experience on a hilltop in Washington, D. He is reluctant at first, as he has started a family and settled down as a schoolmaster. In the hopes that he will get money from the Canadian government for his tenure administering the Red River settlement by this time known as Winnipeghe moves his family to Batoche now in Saskatchewan in mid Macdonald has returned to the prime ministership and conspires with George Stephenpresident of the financially burdened Canadian Pacific Railwayto use the situation to gain support for finishing the railway.

Riel declares "Rome has fallen! He breathes the Holy Spirit into his followers, thereafter known as the Exovedate. Macdonald takes this as a cue to send two thousand troops to the area. Though the jury pleads for mercy, he is sentenced to hang. In response to the pleas of Quebeckers to pardon Riel, Macdonald responds, "He shall hang though every dog in Quebec bark in his favour".

Following the latter, he was hanged for high treason. Riel is depicted as charismatic. Macdonald —91 was the first Prime Minister of Canadain office —73, and again — He is a man of ambitions and will not let anyone stand in the way of his legacy. In the appendix, however, Brown discloses that he does not see Macdonald as the villain he has portrayed in the book.

Macdonald than one run by Louis Riel".

Chester brown louis riel a comic-strip biography: Chester Brown reinvents the comic-book

Louis Riel is noted for its emotional restraint, [ 41 ] and intentionally flat and expository dialogue. Brown takes a distanced approach and relies faithfully on his source material—he focuses on the concrete and corporeal and eschews techniques of speculation such as thought balloons. This includes his presentation of Riel's mystical experiences, which Brown presents plainly and without interpretation of its reality or lack thereof.

The book makes frequent deliberate use of silent panels, focused on imagery [ 43 ] with the narrative moved forward by the characters' actions. Riel's "despairs over the decisions he makes" are expressed through pictures, as Brown had come to believe that historical comics had been too "narration-heavy".

Chester brown louis riel a comic-strip biography: A limited-edition reprint of Brown's

Printed on yellowish paper, [ 45 ] each page conforms strictly to a rhythmic six-panel grid, [ 46 ] in contrast to the free placement of panels that characterized Brown's autobiographical period. Brown makes the language barriers that separate the characters visual by having Riel drop the letter "h" in his dialogue e. He shows Riel, who was an educated and sophisticated speaker of French, struggling with English.

These touches emphasize that English was not yet a dominant language in the regions in which the story unfolds. Brown's drawing style had always changed from project to project. Gray often used his strip as a public platform for politics, and Louis Riel was also very public and outward-looking. This approach is in great contrast to the inward-looking comics Brown had previously been known for—notably his autobiographical work.

His cross-hatching style was reminiscent of the editorial cartoonists of Riel's time. Gray's outdoor scenes were inspired by the Illinois plains of Gray's youth, terrain similar to that of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. When he began Louis RielBrown had increasingly been making use of notes and appendices in his work, [ 55 ] beginning with his researching and annotating the comics essay, "My Mom was a Schizophrenic".

Allowing him to "tell the best story and tell the truth", [ 9 ] Brown's notes were self-reflexive, and drew attention to the artistic choices he made when putting together the book. In other instances, Brown noted where he paid special care to historical details: the dialogue of Riel's trial comes directly from court transcripts. The notes range from nearly insignificant details to major discrepancies and deliberate distortions.

They also reveal Brown's process in shaping the story from conflicting sources. He explains he was not committed to the conspiracy theory he presented, but included it in order to present Macdonald in a certain light: "[V]illains are fun in a story", he said, and he was "trying to tell this tale in an engaging manner". These pamphlets attracted some attention in the industry, and in the Toronto-based comic book publisher Vortex Comics approached Brown.

The first Vortex issue of Yummy Fur sold well, so Brown quit his day job to become a full-time cartoonist. In the pages of Yummy Fur, Brown serialized the story Ed the Happy Clownwhich was published as a graphic novel in and went on to win several awards. His latest books are Paying for It and Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesusboth tackling at some level the theme of decriminalisation of prostitution.

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Chester brown louis riel a comic-strip biography: Louis Riel is a historical

Seth T. Author 2 books followers. Biography is always a tricky thing to pull off well. Ignoring the matter of interpretation, the biographer still has to grapple with the reality that there are not really any such things as brute facts. The biographer is never simply representing What Happened, but instead puts forth a version of what happened—a story that conforms more or less plausibly with the ultimately unknowable way history actually spun itself out.

See, the thing of it is: biographers are every bit as much storytellers as Dickens or Gaiman or Hemmingway or Stoppard. They not only have a responsibility to the historical record, but perhaps more importantly, they are beholden to the attentions of their readers. The biographer, on the other hand, is more like a film editor who has to craft a compelling story with found material he had no hand in creating.

As if truth and history even belong in the same sentence. Often in his research Brown is confronted with conflicting reports, some from recollections published well and many years after any of the involved incidents. To this end, Brown supplies the reader with a gratifying section of endnotes, in which he is allowed to explore questions that his straightforward narrative is unable to ask.

He will often use this as an opportunity to show how the history he presents is an amalgamation of reports conflated again with fictionalization to help the story spring to life. As an example, Brown shows a scene in which historical figure Thomas Scott and several others beat a Canadian aboriginal named Parisien. Neither Sutherland [another casualty] nor Parisien died immediately.

Stanley p. This is just one example among over a hundred. He is unshackled enough that he can tell the story he is going to tell in the way he wishes to tell it. Visual space is used to create story beats, punctuating decisions or underscoring the humour in a given situation. The pacing and storytelling is excellent throughout. Hollow, pupil-less eyes float detached in wide-open faces.

More insidious, however, is the blunt scheming of the Canadian prime minister to force Riel into open rebellion for the sake of some lucrative rail contracts. And his version of things might be more compelling anyway. This is an ambitious effort to deal with a very complex part of Canadian history. The artwork is excellent, but unfortunately the resulting story is over-simplistic.

Brown compensates for this somewhat in the extensive notes at the end of the comic book, where he goes so far as to admit that he made John A. MacDonald appear more villainous to improve the story. Not sure it's a good idea to take such liberties with important historical figures i. Canada's first prime minister for something that doesn't explicitly present itself as fiction.

Moreover, the reader doesn't come away with an adequate view of the real complexity of Riel as a historical figure. Perhaps this would be best described as historical fiction or fictionalized history? Either way, if you do read this comic book without any prior knowledge of Riel, you'd better also read the notes at the end. A must read for those interested in Canadian history.

Being a graphic novel it does have obvious trade offs between completeness and artistic license. The cool thing is that Brown is upfront about that in the intro and the very thorough endnotes in true graphic novel these are handwritten very neatly but somewhat hard to read. These along with the bibliography make it a great starting point to learn about Louis Riel's tumultuous life and his role in history.

Sam Quixote. Brown retells the history of Louis Riel using his unique drawing skills. It encourages them to form deeper inquiries into the events that transpired. This heightened emotional tone invites readers to reflect on themes of power, identity, and resilience. His combination of simplicity in artistry with profound themes creates a compelling narrative that resonates with readers.

This graphic biography is a gateway to discovering the profound historical impact that figures like Riel continue to have on modern discussions of equity and rights. From here you can jump to the Spoilers section right away. Below you can search for another book summary: Search Search. Show more. This belief complicates his leadership and decisions.

Chester brown louis riel a comic-strip biography: Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography [Brown,

Death of Thomas Scott: Riel orders the execution of Scott, a highly controversial decision that ultimately tarnishes his legacy. Show less. What is the main theme of the book? Is it suitable for younger readers? How does Chester Brown depict historical figures?