comics@list.co.uk
Hist/w (
LOUIS RIEL Chester Brown '[Jrzmi-
All good things, they say. come to an end. With the tenth issue of Louis Riel, writer-artist Chester Brown's epic (sort of) retelling of Canada’s colonial history-cum- biography of the eponymous national figure draws to its conclusion (and gets repackaged as a handsome hard-cover graphic novel).
For those not up on their Canadian history (you will be after reading all 250 pages of Brown’s meticulously produced comic), Louis Riel was the leader of the Métis, a racial mix of Indians and white people, mostly of French origin. During the 18705. the Métis had a run in with the government of Canada
(the nation was then a strip of land running down the continent‘s east coast) when it bought the land (now central Canada) the Métis had been settled on since 1812. The land was sold by a fur trading enterprise called the Hudson‘s Bay Company. and it in turn had been granted the land from the King of England in 1670.
As is the way of colonials the world over, the Canadian government immediately occupied the Métis territory with its army and subjected the inhabitants to rape, pillage and murder before re-settling them on barren farming land. As is the way of the oppressed the world over, the Métis responded with a rebellion that was political as well as armed and violent. The rebellion was lead by Riel - a controversial figure in Canadian history who is either viewed as a political leader and folk hero or a murdering outlaw and madman, depending on differing points of view.
Of course, this is a simplification of the events and of Riel’s life. But Brown engages with the twin
problems of condensing history into a finite number of pages and of getting at the elusive truth. In the appendix that comes with each issue of the comic, Brown not only directs the reader's attention to historical distortions. discrepancies and ambiguities, but beseeches history buffs to contact him with corrections.
In storytelling terms. Brown keeps things paired down with clear black and white line drawings and a straightforward narrative style (through which runs a thin vein of humour ridiculing the messiness of history). This and the modest dimensions of the comic books themselves and the artwork panels within belie what a grand undertaking Louis Riel is. The fact that Brown opts to retell Canada’s colonial history through the interactions of a small cast of characters marks his approach as epic history on a small scale. Thus: ‘epic (sort of)’. (Miles Fielder)
I I ouzs; Hm? issuor; 7 .’() and tho (I()«'.'(?(If(}(f I)(1.'(I(j()i.’t)/ od'tiori (11!? ho ohm/nod from tho imh/zshm (it: Wit/:24(il(iL‘.~i.’1/2<fut/(1!tor/i:
I'M SURE T'AT MONSIEUR McDOUOAlL AND
‘IS APPOINTED COUNCIL WOULD DO A GOOD
JOB OF ENSURING T’AT T'E RIGHTS OF T'E ENGLISH SPEAKING PEOPLE IN OUR 5
\\ cormumry ARE REsPccrco~ I,
" BUT WHAT WI'RE '0?le TO ACHIEVE IS A DEMOLRATICAILY ELELTED GOVERNMENT T'AT Will. ENSURE T'AT T'OSE OF US Wit" / FREN(H AND INDIAN BLOOD ARE ALSO LISTENED TO.
Mtooquu LEADS / m ro DouBr
T'AT ‘E SHARES T'IS wsrou or , qur ova ruruac
EVERYT'ING I'VE ‘EARD ABOUT MONSIEUR
Mr RIEL. m SYMPATHETIC, BUT Mr \ McDOUOALL IS me i / mm THE CANADIAN
GOVERNMENT HAS /
WE'RE ~01 NECESSARILY OPPOSED 10‘. JOINING CANADA, BUT we WANT / TO DO IT ON our: Terms.
106 THE LIST '11 Cot
music@list.co.uk
BASEMENT
JAXX
Kish Kash COO.
23.1%“ "_ Ii A. 1' L' I t t.‘t'
.I‘I ti" .' ‘- i,tt‘»‘~ .3!
.L‘ILVU' \' tl' _: "i"".{,‘,‘.'
(t‘ /\'.’)"‘.l(; K331"
.' (3" Hiul'tl .f) t» ) L‘tTti‘. .
.t Yiuitf; You still ()0? tht: t;<:rit;<;-_ t‘o‘.'.'<r.oi, tho. ‘.‘.’(}l'(: gift (lgir‘mhu muuu fi‘o Sluu‘io Rio t:;ii’t!‘.’;z: 5;t\,|o ‘.'.'hi!<;- "lilki'ttl f'iit;
lho‘, L)l()(l(l(?'1iiliél' iieiiortow: ‘.'.'|ii‘. soi'ii‘: Ligiik iv‘olgiu<:lioi'<:;i oh oiotmi ‘i (Er-If; l Ikt: lloiittz'. £il1tlt_);l(3i$if; w,- Siouxsm Sioux. N'S‘mos; .J (I (Ihuz'tr/ aiuu' tht; ii‘i'hitgihlt: [Di/AN;- Rascal {ill ()l()\.'l(l(? {ill (Exl){lllf;l‘.’(? rail? of t;()'ll(l i(?5;()tll(i(?5; ‘oi tho (iuo to (l't'l‘.'.’ oh.
H10“;(I()Lll(l‘.'.’(}ll have hoo". our own MUST/(3! to tho world straddling; Nootui‘of; hut optmi to 532w, homo {illtl hlo‘s. ou' ltlllttlfi. Ami for that m: 'i‘ué;t m: trul‘, thzihktul, ~iV1£ltk Robertson.
COUNTRY SHELBY LYNNE Identity Crisis
IEMIJ CO.
(«6
‘11
M
Ol‘ék-U'Y‘U Nzifshullt: It gyri, ea Guti'irh,’ author wt: Zhi: l‘ii“ 33187.9" of Ail-25:)" Moore-r. X21“... Ms; anr has; mow: Baggage that: most But 'athor fr‘a't X'lA/‘g ui, P‘EE' trouoloss. ESW: f)l;€:"f$ .ii; and 81th tint: t:u(:f; in an ‘.'.()li(l(()‘.lf$ country- I)iu€3§3-SU;2I
5“! K,..L ( ‘, C(H-u‘),
, h. , ‘ o \ “ 0 b0
his BEAUTIFUL sour"
Gaze
i.1!" ..'. E".
GRZE
Hmuuihhiri t‘it: Hittiutitut Souti‘” lhtr, (Limitwl pith
utttw; (tiltl .‘.’€r".}l‘i".
., ‘;()(,Ilif;f‘<lélit:’l poi)
r‘ogxi', (if; tu't'“, ’)l (Fm/(er (it. fl‘o, thought tho, .‘.’(:.'(:. it'llth of f'ié: Souths particular omrxt: .'.'iil In: thii'liztl to i(:(ill‘, that (id/o, liltfill 'hilliohth zilhurh. l‘; pretty much liut;iiii::;f; zif; uésuzi! to! Hit: Hull ho‘!(3(:ti'.'i: Ax over. :2": lltt‘J: Paul
iltzzitoh't; :li:;t / [)léill‘ll‘.’(: ‘.”)(,{ilf; .'.';irl,lirit;
o‘.<:i (;lii'i;,_ Itht: 'Iziri<;ih<; rhythms). .‘.itf, (wot, t;u(:h gii; 'l l‘:£tfl mum hoolf; If; fi'ét; As, long} (if; ,I;u"<: 'l shilrfins' lot,- gill’l furthermore hon.
Hunt," and tr nit/It, haw: hum 'iom; tht: f$£iill(: olrl not; panache for so long ,ou boom to .'.’f)lt(lf:( If the, don't hovt: themselves
Allah F—tzztlcli‘fo,
DU.“ ()i’l W. AMICI Forever .0.
Poi, aim-w: (tissurhtfignym gm,- z: preczirmus imziést. Likt: Charrotte Church". i;ar:-i)o,':; kissfs' "tall tales. you hem: to .vohuw: Lottie"? BMG "as invested a coil SUN "1 WW» my: it, the look of the 80x, Mack and white
ohssu'htxos; (IO'VHHQ ‘Q'W:
f""'\.i -L i,” i i I .' r t \i' ' ', ' l ‘ it; ~ ’ .-
k" ' , ' ' i'i} "‘t " '.i°.' I
IV): if 1 ill ‘ I ' litt."l ' " I" no H,‘ ‘0 o, a .'il l ’ »' ilrl. " ’ .II t" L i °.""'_.i ° ‘ 1'11.” ‘II" l: .. \J‘JH' " ' i ’t It:' " ' u': t i°'~-l\."~' l .ttlttiflt "‘1'. t-‘
Art'ni Lt thy
l I t i; (E' i :‘tlfttt CHICKS 0 SPEED
99 Cents Chink. ’il‘. Stunt 0... -—-—- qv ‘. .1. r’ L‘ 3.)
BMW! t;(lf;t.‘fl illf, Chink". (ill 53(1‘4' 1 Qt“:
tigihuw mul, atom.- tr, honour '; £171 ill! (L()l1()ll‘:7ili() (Illl‘, oiil, nuimiq'wui) oh i.ll‘,, film All Tilt:
Ir1?'(‘:./‘:
that) (ilii'llll (,oolér'fi. .‘."’)lll‘_:t‘ Si’fl'llUfll gi iii!;ht','..t, 1'; the léiffi. moan)“,- mt ,‘ftl'W todturi: Mm; ii".lti'iw'w; Pundit-u, t/i Kittw. li: lignr, Nicola trim Aflult. (:“rl Put-(Mil; ." touch th tho (thmj Tiiizi We,” of."
from L2:"r"|ll() liumt'.
'()’)i‘}
virtual,» war; may . Cheek, C‘: (,ool. int hunting: Thriller \f/hwi; Tn start" ".1": Don't Pin, (Auitzirfj .‘; tho (tiiillfll‘: (ltl’i‘fli Peaaho‘, workout. “f/or'l, Happiiwighoorl' imivy, the Tori. Tori. (glut/3 thgortrou‘, orsitirm! L;th up to (lath- {ill/I roiiiihrif, us Just .‘J'iéit all th‘: fu‘r. .‘Jéif. zit/Al? first Wt“: rouri'l. arm 'Féishzoh PHIL-8' ‘f; the (Ira/iriqu SIJ’IISL‘: haw/firm;ch that firii‘shcs it all. Artful. irrr: ."":F‘:t‘:l. effortlessl/ L/T'llis'fl‘i’. 'ngfld Pollock;