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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Like all comics anthologies, has some stronger entries than others, but overall this is a really strong collections. It's also really well curated, and includes a few non-comic extras such as paintings or other artworks, poetry, and a gallery of sketches at the end which describes some of the process of the writers working with the artists (some of whom are also indigenous, and some of whom are not but were commisioned or paired up with the writers to bring their visions to life). Honestly, some of those work-in-progress sketches were my favourite pieces of art in the book.
Indivudal entry notes (favourites in bold):
1. Vision Quest: Echo
I had no idea David Mack was native! This is an excerpt of a longer backstory of one of Marvel’s characters, Echo a.k.a. Maya Lopez, who appears in the Daredevil and New Avenger’s comics.
Done in a really cool collage style (very Mack) with Indian Sign Language incorporated.
2. Ochek - David Robertson, il. Haiwei Hou
Tells a Cree origin story about an ochek (wolverine-like animal) biting a hole in the sky to let summer in. Drawn in a very graphic illustration way which stands out.
3. Coyote and the Pebbles - Dayton Edmonds, il. Micah Farritor
Another origin-ish story, about the trickster-spirit coyote “helping” night creatures create the stars (mostly by accident). Really nice pencil-drawn aesthetic.
4. The Qallupiluk: Forgiven - Sean & Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsely, il. menton3
Inuit story of a shape-shifting deep ocean creature drawn to youthful energy. More of an illustrated short-story format than a comic, but has a really awesome horror-ish atmosphere to it with the inhuman thoughts and rules of the Qallupiluk. Some stunning visuals when the creature is in its “true” form.
5. Ue-Pucase: Water Master - Arigon Starr, il. David Cutler
A Muscogee Creek story of ‘the young man who turned into a snake’ told within a futuristic context. Replaces the traditional snake eggs with a tin of spam in a nice reference to comtemporary native culture. Nicely inked and illustrated - fairly simple re-telling, but cool.
6. The Observing - Elizabeth LaPensée, il. Gregory Chomichuk
A Haida story of the ‘star people’, set in an Indigenous steampunk world (steam as in using water as sacred technology). Wordless, very short. More vibes than plot. Cool illustrative graphic art.
7. Strike & Bolt - Michael Sheyahshe, il. George Freeman
A futuristic telling of a Caddo story of two brothers, Thunder and Lightening. The world-building is a little vague here, and the dialouge clunky at time. Makes for a fairly standard comics one-shot. Seems to also take some inspiration from H.G. Wells Time Machine, but maybe I'm just reading into it too much there.
8. Siku - Tony Romito, il. Jeremy D. Mohler
A story of an Inuit hunter encountering animal spirits. Also contains slightly horror vibes towards the end. Well illustrated and intriguing. Would definitely read more of these creators’ work.
9. Home - Ian Ross & Lovern Kindzierski, il. Adam Gorham, Peter Dawes
The story of Anishnabe artefacts in a museum, and the (somewhat frantic) recovery of stolen bones. Pacing is a bit rapid, feels like it needs more set-up, but a cool fuck-you to immoral collectors everywhere.
10. Tlicho Nàowo - Richard Van Camp, Rosa Mantla, il. Nicholas Burns
Tells the story of the Tlicho ritual, Night the Spirits Return, which occurs at caribou migration time. More straightforwardly educational than others, would be good for kids wanting to learn.
11. Ayanisach - Todd Houseman, il. Ben Shannon
Post-apocalyptic story of an oral storyteller (an ‘ayanisach’) in the Cree tradition teaching her grandson, who continues the story. Pretty simple concept and art, but it really lands.
12. First Hunt - Jay & Joel Odjick, il. Jay Odjick
Tells the story of a traditional first hunt by a young Algonquin boy plagued with dreams of wolves representing his fears. Also pretty straightforward premise & art, would be good for middle graders.
13. Copper Heart - Elizabeth LaPensée, il. Claude St Aubin, Andy Stanleigh
Tells a story of two siblings, set in the history of copper mining on Anishinnabeg land - copper being a sacred resource used to connect with trickster spirits/creatures called Memegwesiwag (which make copper clockwork and remind me a little of djinn). Really nice art, and a sweet story about siblings surviving and helping each other.
Indivudal entry notes (favourites in bold):
1. Vision Quest: Echo
I had no idea David Mack was native! This is an excerpt of a longer backstory of one of Marvel’s characters, Echo a.k.a. Maya Lopez, who appears in the Daredevil and New Avenger’s comics.
Done in a really cool collage style (very Mack) with Indian Sign Language incorporated.
2. Ochek - David Robertson, il. Haiwei Hou
Tells a Cree origin story about an ochek (wolverine-like animal) biting a hole in the sky to let summer in. Drawn in a very graphic illustration way which stands out.
3. Coyote and the Pebbles - Dayton Edmonds, il. Micah Farritor
Another origin-ish story, about the trickster-spirit coyote “helping” night creatures create the stars (mostly by accident). Really nice pencil-drawn aesthetic.
4. The Qallupiluk: Forgiven - Sean & Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsely, il. menton3
Inuit story of a shape-shifting deep ocean creature drawn to youthful energy. More of an illustrated short-story format than a comic, but has a really awesome horror-ish atmosphere to it with the inhuman thoughts and rules of the Qallupiluk. Some stunning visuals when the creature is in its “true” form.
5. Ue-Pucase: Water Master - Arigon Starr, il. David Cutler
A Muscogee Creek story of ‘the young man who turned into a snake’ told within a futuristic context. Replaces the traditional snake eggs with a tin of spam in a nice reference to comtemporary native culture. Nicely inked and illustrated - fairly simple re-telling, but cool.
6. The Observing - Elizabeth LaPensée, il. Gregory Chomichuk
A Haida story of the ‘star people’, set in an Indigenous steampunk world (steam as in using water as sacred technology). Wordless, very short. More vibes than plot. Cool illustrative graphic art.
7. Strike & Bolt - Michael Sheyahshe, il. George Freeman
A futuristic telling of a Caddo story of two brothers, Thunder and Lightening. The world-building is a little vague here, and the dialouge clunky at time. Makes for a fairly standard comics one-shot. Seems to also take some inspiration from H.G. Wells Time Machine, but maybe I'm just reading into it too much there.
8. Siku - Tony Romito, il. Jeremy D. Mohler
A story of an Inuit hunter encountering animal spirits. Also contains slightly horror vibes towards the end. Well illustrated and intriguing. Would definitely read more of these creators’ work.
9. Home - Ian Ross & Lovern Kindzierski, il. Adam Gorham, Peter Dawes
The story of Anishnabe artefacts in a museum, and the (somewhat frantic) recovery of stolen bones. Pacing is a bit rapid, feels like it needs more set-up, but a cool fuck-you to immoral collectors everywhere.
10. Tlicho Nàowo - Richard Van Camp, Rosa Mantla, il. Nicholas Burns
Tells the story of the Tlicho ritual, Night the Spirits Return, which occurs at caribou migration time. More straightforwardly educational than others, would be good for kids wanting to learn.
11. Ayanisach - Todd Houseman, il. Ben Shannon
Post-apocalyptic story of an oral storyteller (an ‘ayanisach’) in the Cree tradition teaching her grandson, who continues the story. Pretty simple concept and art, but it really lands.
12. First Hunt - Jay & Joel Odjick, il. Jay Odjick
Tells the story of a traditional first hunt by a young Algonquin boy plagued with dreams of wolves representing his fears. Also pretty straightforward premise & art, would be good for middle graders.
13. Copper Heart - Elizabeth LaPensée, il. Claude St Aubin, Andy Stanleigh
Tells a story of two siblings, set in the history of copper mining on Anishinnabeg land - copper being a sacred resource used to connect with trickster spirits/creatures called Memegwesiwag (which make copper clockwork and remind me a little of djinn). Really nice art, and a sweet story about siblings surviving and helping each other.
adventurous
medium-paced
This collection is very hit or miss, and oddly includes some stories that aren't comics. Overall pretty interesting
Echo: Excerpt but immediately drew me in. Incredible art style and made me want to read more
C - 9, A - 10, W - 10, P - 8, I - 10, L - 10, E - 10
Ochek: Cool to see an origin of the big dipper that I'm less familiar with. Pretty short. Liked the art style for the scenery, but less so far the characters.
C - 7, A - 8, W - 7, P - 7, I - 8, L - 7, E - 7
Coyote and the Pebbles: more cohesive than the last fable. Didn't love some of the interjections of animals changing when it was reflected in the art
C - 8, A - 8, W - 9, P - 8, I - 9, L - 8, E - 8
Qallupiluk: Not super sure why this is included in the collection since it's a short story, not a comic, but that aside, a cool story with a creepy creature and a bit of a heavy handed message about forgiveness. I feel like it would have been cooler as an actual comic though
C - 8, A - 8, W - 7, P - 7, I - 8, L - 8, E - 8
UE-PUCASE: I...don't get this one. I mean I get it's a retelling of the young man who turned into a snake, but the change of setting is so useless and the consequences aren't appropriately changed to match it. It's just silly. The original makes sense - eat eggs, turn into a snake. But eat...spam, and turn into a snake? What? The art is well done I guess...
C - 7, A - 9, W - 7, P - 6, I - 8, L - 3, E - 6
The Observing: Wut? really visually stunning but I have no idea what I just read...the write up beforehand did not help me understand and honestly only led to me being more confused...
C - n/a, A - 9, W - n/a, P -4, I - 4, L - 4, E - 4
Strike and Bolt: interesting conceptually, but poorly executed. The writing is really clunky and at times has some pretty obvious exposition or explanation of terms in the dialogue. It'd have been better to utilize translations (an asterisk with a definition of unknown terms) or just allowing for context clues to do their thing. I don't like the art. Awkward body poses, characters faces changing every panel, scene details inconsistent from frame to frame.
C - 7, A - 5, W - 5, P - 7, I - 7, L - 7, E - 6
Siku: I enjoyed this one though there's some unnecessary exposition in this one too (seriously it's a comic guys, show, don't tell). Wish there was more, it felt like a prologue to a larger story and I'd love to see what else happens and get more information on the more supernatural characters.
C - 8, A - 8, W - 7, P - 9, I - 9, L - 8, E - 8
Home: well that went from 0 to 100 in 0.2 seconds. WTF lol. An interesting concept but way too quick. Again, a story that could use a full volume to explore
C - 7, A - 9, W - 8, P - 8, I - 9, L - 6, E - 7
Copper Heart: somewhat interesting but a little disjointed at the end. Particularly the page with teh rapids is super random and unnecessary
C - 7, A - 6, W - 6, P - 7, I - 8, L - 7, E - 7
First Hunt: simple coming of age story about a boy's first hunt, the anxiety he feels of not being ready, and realizing he is. Not mind blowing, but good.
C - 9, A - 8, W - 8, P - 7, I - 10, L - 10, E - 9
Ayanisach: extremely poignant alternate history telling of colonization. A little heavy handed I think in part due to the brevity, but I'd read a series based on this story
C - 9, A - 10, W - 9, P - 9, I - 10, L - 9, E - 10
Ticho Naowo: really really enjoyed this story. Well paced and gives a good overview of the tradition. Loved the emphasis on maintaining cultural ties while also enjoying other traditions, like halloween.
C - 9, A - 9, W - 10, P - 10, I - 10, L - 10, E - 10
Averages (rounded):
C 8, A - 8, W - 7.5, P - 7.5, I - 8.5, L - 7.5, E - 7.5
Echo: Excerpt but immediately drew me in. Incredible art style and made me want to read more
C - 9, A - 10, W - 10, P - 8, I - 10, L - 10, E - 10
Ochek: Cool to see an origin of the big dipper that I'm less familiar with. Pretty short. Liked the art style for the scenery, but less so far the characters.
C - 7, A - 8, W - 7, P - 7, I - 8, L - 7, E - 7
Coyote and the Pebbles: more cohesive than the last fable. Didn't love some of the interjections of animals changing when it was reflected in the art
C - 8, A - 8, W - 9, P - 8, I - 9, L - 8, E - 8
Qallupiluk: Not super sure why this is included in the collection since it's a short story, not a comic, but that aside, a cool story with a creepy creature and a bit of a heavy handed message about forgiveness. I feel like it would have been cooler as an actual comic though
C - 8, A - 8, W - 7, P - 7, I - 8, L - 8, E - 8
UE-PUCASE: I...don't get this one. I mean I get it's a retelling of the young man who turned into a snake, but the change of setting is so useless and the consequences aren't appropriately changed to match it. It's just silly. The original makes sense - eat eggs, turn into a snake. But eat...spam, and turn into a snake? What? The art is well done I guess...
C - 7, A - 9, W - 7, P - 6, I - 8, L - 3, E - 6
The Observing: Wut? really visually stunning but I have no idea what I just read...the write up beforehand did not help me understand and honestly only led to me being more confused...
C - n/a, A - 9, W - n/a, P -4, I - 4, L - 4, E - 4
Strike and Bolt: interesting conceptually, but poorly executed. The writing is really clunky and at times has some pretty obvious exposition or explanation of terms in the dialogue. It'd have been better to utilize translations (an asterisk with a definition of unknown terms) or just allowing for context clues to do their thing. I don't like the art. Awkward body poses, characters faces changing every panel, scene details inconsistent from frame to frame.
C - 7, A - 5, W - 5, P - 7, I - 7, L - 7, E - 6
Siku: I enjoyed this one though there's some unnecessary exposition in this one too (seriously it's a comic guys, show, don't tell). Wish there was more, it felt like a prologue to a larger story and I'd love to see what else happens and get more information on the more supernatural characters.
C - 8, A - 8, W - 7, P - 9, I - 9, L - 8, E - 8
Home: well that went from 0 to 100 in 0.2 seconds. WTF lol. An interesting concept but way too quick. Again, a story that could use a full volume to explore
C - 7, A - 9, W - 8, P - 8, I - 9, L - 6, E - 7
Copper Heart: somewhat interesting but a little disjointed at the end. Particularly the page with teh rapids is super random and unnecessary
C - 7, A - 6, W - 6, P - 7, I - 8, L - 7, E - 7
First Hunt: simple coming of age story about a boy's first hunt, the anxiety he feels of not being ready, and realizing he is. Not mind blowing, but good.
C - 9, A - 8, W - 8, P - 7, I - 10, L - 10, E - 9
Ayanisach: extremely poignant alternate history telling of colonization. A little heavy handed I think in part due to the brevity, but I'd read a series based on this story
C - 9, A - 10, W - 9, P - 9, I - 10, L - 9, E - 10
Ticho Naowo: really really enjoyed this story. Well paced and gives a good overview of the tradition. Loved the emphasis on maintaining cultural ties while also enjoying other traditions, like halloween.
C - 9, A - 9, W - 10, P - 10, I - 10, L - 10, E - 10
Averages (rounded):
C 8, A - 8, W - 7.5, P - 7.5, I - 8.5, L - 7.5, E - 7.5
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Some of the stories were great, some too brief. Minus points for false advertising... they're upfront -within- the book about the participation of non-indigenous illustrators, etc., but it's heavily advertised as an indigenous collection and they could probably do better.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Great all around collection! My personal favorites were "Ochek" by David Robertson & Haiwei Hou, "Coyote and the Pebbles” by Dayton Edmonds & Micah Farritor, and “Home” by Ian Ross & Lovern Kindzierski & Adam Gorham & Peter Dawes.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
I am new to reading comics/graphic novels, but I really liked all the different art and story styles! From sci fi to horror to the more traditional, there was the consistent thread of the importance of stories through time and space. I would have liked to see some of them fleshed out a little more, but I enjoyed this. Will definitely check out the next two volumes.
I wasn't sure whether I'd like a graphic novel comprised of short stories instead of one cohesive narrative, but I'm glad I have it a shot because this format really worked for me! It was nice to read a chunk of the book and have closure, not to mention visiting a different story and art style each time.
fast-paced
Really cool collection that showcases a whole bunch of different stories, art styles, and a little poetry and prose!! Loved this.