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A review by books_n_pickles
History Comics: The Roanoke Colony: America's First Mystery by Chris Schweizer
3.0
Man, I wish these History Comics and Science Comics had been around when I was a kid. I would have devoured them all!
Like the Science Comics I've read, History Comics: The Roanoke Colony goes both deep and broad, and two readings would probably be necessary to untangle the European politics and people. Of course, there's a lot more of that in the historical record because if the lack of written Native American languages and the colonial lack of concern for local customs and cultures, but author/artist Schweizer goes into quite a bit of detail by using an unconventional set of voices to tell this story.
At any other point in the past, we'd have heard about Roanoke from a colonist's point of view--maybe, in the recent past, our narrator would have been Virginia Dare to be just a little progressive. It probably seems like an obvious choice since almost all of our evidence about this time period comes from the colonists.
But our narrators are Manteo and Wanchese--respectively, from the Croatan and Roanoke tribes, subsets of the Secotan tribe, which was one of three key players in the region. As they point out, the land in the (future) Carolinas wasn't empty and waiting for settlement: one of our two narrators lived right on the island! Having locals start our tour by showing us the settled order of things as they were does a much better job of showing just how dysfunctional things got after the strangers arrived, and helps us appreciate just how much the colonists lost when they made enemies--decisively--of people who could have helped them.
Manteo and Wanchese are especially excellent narrators because they show us two ways that locals might have reacted to the colonists: both are curious, but Manteo comes to love and adopt English culture, while Wanchese is suspicious, practical, and retaliatory. They also introduce us to sachems who took the middle ground, starting with friendliness and support, giving the colonists time to come to their senses, and only sought retaliation after great provocation.
Showing us the history from Manteo and Wanchese's perspectives also gives Schweizer a chance to show us some of the English absurdities that are usually glossed over, like how filthy the English are, and Queen Elizabeth's ridiculous makeup and clothes, which look so unnatural and odd compared to the understated tattoos and functional clothing worn by our narrators. Their "DARING EXPEDITION INTO THE HEART OF EXOTIC ENGLAND" is also a fantastic way to show that what's new, exciting, and exotic is all a matter of perspective.
This isn't to say that the script is entirely flipped and the Native Americans are made out to be perfect while the English are villains. Manteo and Wanchese point out the good, the bad, and the naive on both sides...but even the colonist-skewed historical record can't hide that the majority of the the middle category came from the English.
While the portrayal of Native Americans is probably more thoughtful than any book I've ever read and approaching from their perspective instead of the colonists' might just be unique (maybe aside from a picture book or two), the book still might not get a pass from American Indians in Children's Literature. Perhaps out of necessity and simplicity for what is, after all, an introduction for kids, Manteo and Wanchese call their homeland America and the people oppressed by colonists in both continents in the hemisphere as Americans or Native Americans. The very name is, of course, European. At other points, they refer to the New World and the Carolinas, both also European inventions.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and was torn between giving it four and five starts...which means it's time for me to introduce this review's big BUT.
All the Science Comics I've read (Cats, Dogs, Crows) have space in the back for a glossary, notes, and sources. The Olympians series, while a separate series entirely, is still published by First Second for a similar audience, and they have detailed notes with definitions, an author's historical note that includes disclaimers about artistic license and interpretation, and both a formal bibliography and a list of suggested sources for readers of the intended audience's age. History Comics: The Roanoke Colony has only an author's note, and it doesn't talk much about sources. This seems like a glaring omission, especially because the difference between evidence and theory is so important to this particular book: there are well-founded theories, and there are some that are totally bonkers. It seems like it would be important to point out the differences even in primary sources: Governor White and John Smith, for example, might both be primary sources in some cases, but Smith's notes about the Roanoke Colony are just reporting what others said--he didn't witness anything himself, unlike White, who can report his own observations as well as rumors. Oh, and where did those bonkers theories about UFOs and other dimensions come from? I would have thought they were Schweizer's own inventions or ripoffs of Neil Gaiman's Marvel 1602* if he hadn't included a 16th century woodcut of a UFO battle over Germany, and even then the connection between Germany, Roanoke, and Korea (!!!) isn't clear. Too bad Schweizer doesn't tell us where those crazy ideas come from so we can learn more!
(*Where the heck does Gaiman find this stuff?)
So yeah, an excellent book and a fun introduction to a piece of history, but one with major flaws preventing it from being a representative, responsible work of nonfiction. It looks like the publishing lineup for future History Comics is pretty US-centric so far, but I hope it can branch out to other countries in the future...and, you know, actually demonstrate what a proper history book should look like, with sources, notes, and acknowledgements of where the evidence is thin. Discussion questions might not go amiss, either.
Disclaimer: I work for the parent company of the imprint that published this book but this review reflects my interests, thoughts, and opinions, which are entirely my own and do not reflect those of the company or imprint.
Like the Science Comics I've read, History Comics: The Roanoke Colony goes both deep and broad, and two readings would probably be necessary to untangle the European politics and people. Of course, there's a lot more of that in the historical record because if the lack of written Native American languages and the colonial lack of concern for local customs and cultures, but author/artist Schweizer goes into quite a bit of detail by using an unconventional set of voices to tell this story.
At any other point in the past, we'd have heard about Roanoke from a colonist's point of view--maybe, in the recent past, our narrator would have been Virginia Dare to be just a little progressive. It probably seems like an obvious choice since almost all of our evidence about this time period comes from the colonists.
But our narrators are Manteo and Wanchese--respectively, from the Croatan and Roanoke tribes, subsets of the Secotan tribe, which was one of three key players in the region. As they point out, the land in the (future) Carolinas wasn't empty and waiting for settlement: one of our two narrators lived right on the island! Having locals start our tour by showing us the settled order of things as they were does a much better job of showing just how dysfunctional things got after the strangers arrived, and helps us appreciate just how much the colonists lost when they made enemies--decisively--of people who could have helped them.
Manteo and Wanchese are especially excellent narrators because they show us two ways that locals might have reacted to the colonists: both are curious, but Manteo comes to love and adopt English culture, while Wanchese is suspicious, practical, and retaliatory. They also introduce us to sachems who took the middle ground, starting with friendliness and support, giving the colonists time to come to their senses, and only sought retaliation after great provocation.
Showing us the history from Manteo and Wanchese's perspectives also gives Schweizer a chance to show us some of the English absurdities that are usually glossed over, like how filthy the English are, and Queen Elizabeth's ridiculous makeup and clothes, which look so unnatural and odd compared to the understated tattoos and functional clothing worn by our narrators. Their "DARING EXPEDITION INTO THE HEART OF EXOTIC ENGLAND" is also a fantastic way to show that what's new, exciting, and exotic is all a matter of perspective.
This isn't to say that the script is entirely flipped and the Native Americans are made out to be perfect while the English are villains. Manteo and Wanchese point out the good, the bad, and the naive on both sides...but even the colonist-skewed historical record can't hide that the majority of the the middle category came from the English.
While the portrayal of Native Americans is probably more thoughtful than any book I've ever read and approaching from their perspective instead of the colonists' might just be unique (maybe aside from a picture book or two), the book still might not get a pass from American Indians in Children's Literature. Perhaps out of necessity and simplicity for what is, after all, an introduction for kids, Manteo and Wanchese call their homeland America and the people oppressed by colonists in both continents in the hemisphere as Americans or Native Americans. The very name is, of course, European. At other points, they refer to the New World and the Carolinas, both also European inventions.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and was torn between giving it four and five starts...which means it's time for me to introduce this review's big BUT.
All the Science Comics I've read (Cats, Dogs, Crows) have space in the back for a glossary, notes, and sources. The Olympians series, while a separate series entirely, is still published by First Second for a similar audience, and they have detailed notes with definitions, an author's historical note that includes disclaimers about artistic license and interpretation, and both a formal bibliography and a list of suggested sources for readers of the intended audience's age. History Comics: The Roanoke Colony has only an author's note, and it doesn't talk much about sources. This seems like a glaring omission, especially because the difference between evidence and theory is so important to this particular book: there are well-founded theories, and there are some that are totally bonkers. It seems like it would be important to point out the differences even in primary sources: Governor White and John Smith, for example, might both be primary sources in some cases, but Smith's notes about the Roanoke Colony are just reporting what others said--he didn't witness anything himself, unlike White, who can report his own observations as well as rumors. Oh, and where did those bonkers theories about UFOs and other dimensions come from? I would have thought they were Schweizer's own inventions or ripoffs of Neil Gaiman's Marvel 1602* if he hadn't included a 16th century woodcut of a UFO battle over Germany, and even then the connection between Germany, Roanoke, and Korea (!!!) isn't clear. Too bad Schweizer doesn't tell us where those crazy ideas come from so we can learn more!
(*Where the heck does Gaiman find this stuff?)
So yeah, an excellent book and a fun introduction to a piece of history, but one with major flaws preventing it from being a representative, responsible work of nonfiction. It looks like the publishing lineup for future History Comics is pretty US-centric so far, but I hope it can branch out to other countries in the future...and, you know, actually demonstrate what a proper history book should look like, with sources, notes, and acknowledgements of where the evidence is thin. Discussion questions might not go amiss, either.
Disclaimer: I work for the parent company of the imprint that published this book but this review reflects my interests, thoughts, and opinions, which are entirely my own and do not reflect those of the company or imprint.