The Final ’90s Countdown: Part Nine.
The Final ’90s Countdown continues, as we are still working our way alphabetically through the single-vote receivers in our poll! Again, no shame in getting only a single vote…there was a lot of good stuff coming out in the ’90s!
Louis Riel (Drawn & Quarterly, 1999-2003)
This ten-issue series was the one of Chester Brown’s earliest post-Yummy Fur longform projects, preceded by aborted Underwater in the mid/late-ish 1990s. (Surprisingly, Underwater lasted 11 issues, but its central conceit of babies gradually learning to understand the language spoken around them, resulting in most of the text being gibberish, was I think more than the readership was willing to do along with.)
But Louis Riel is what we’re talking about here, Brown’s biographical examination of this figure from Canadian historty, and his conflicts with the Canadian government as well as his own apparently mental issues. It is meticulously and thoroughly researched, with each issue containing copious notes in the back pages, and the story itself is drawn out with Brown’s deceptively simple and almost plain style. It makes for compelling reading, even if you’re, like, an American who thought “ah, what does this bunch of Canadian shenanigans have to do with me?” You’ll find yourself bingeing this book in short order once you start.
As I said, this was originally a ten-issue series of comics, printed in a slightly-smaller, almost digest-sized format and released over a four-year period. Its ultimate form is the collected edition, natch, available in both trade paperback and hardcover forms. But I like my set of the digest-sized comics…I love small press mini-comics, and, well, given the sales on this as individual issues was supposed not all that great, I. guess this counts as “small press.” Regardless of how you read it, it’s highly recommended.
Yay! Louis Riel was my pick. The combo of the small format and the Little Orphan Annie art style made this series seem like it came from another era.
And I think “deceptively simple” is the perfect way to describe the art. Each panel was pared down to its essential elements, which worked perfectly for a series mainly set in snowy/white/blank locations.
You can also see Brown’s art evolve over the course of the series, getting more stylized over time. I think he actually redrew parts of it for the collected edition. His dedication to detail is mindboggling. I would never have the patience.
Underwater was astounding in its ambition, as well as really beautiful, but I think it got away from him. As far as I’m concerned, Louis Riel is Brown’s masterpiece, and still well worth reading.
I loved Louis Riel!
I don’t remember when “Clyde Fans” began in Palookaville but that and this series really pushed the notion that comics really could be about anything at all. I can’t think of anything less marketable than the pitches for both series must have seemed, but Louis Riel is engrossing, intriguing reading, especially as a binge read.
Having no familiarity with the subject matter and having read very few pages of Chester Brown’s comics, I picked up Louis Riel because it got really good reviews and I was looking for something outside of my comfort zone. Turns out the reviews were right, and I really enjoyed the book. Besides the art, what grabbed me the most was Riel’s chaotic behavior in the face of his many challenges. I’d be interested in Brown tackling a similar subject in the future.
Illustrated biographies weren’t new in the world of comics when Louis Riel was published. Marvel had published a Life of Pope John Paul II comic in the early-1980s, and the story of Louis Riel is certainly more interesting and entertaining than that choice from Marvel.
It should also be remembered that Drawn & Quarterly is located in Montreal, and Louis Riel is a much more famous and appealing character in Canada, and especially in Quebec.
I admit I’ve never read Louis Riel, despite having read most of Brown up to and including the Biblical prostitution one. Which I guess suggests that Canadian history is innately off-putting. Guess I’ve read Hark! A Vagrant…