Red: A Haida Manga
By Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Published 2009 by Douglas & McIntyre
This is actually a difficult book to review, although that does not mean it isn’t an interesting read.
To begin with, the melding of art styles, Haida and manga, is certainly dramatic, vibrant, and visually striking. However, it can also be somewhat challenging to follow in a medium where the art tells as much, if not more, of the story than the words.
Readers will most certainly remember the artwork, 108 hand-painted illustrations, in Red: A Haida Manga long after placing it back on the shelf.
The text itself is somewhat sparse in helping to fully convey the narrative, which draws on a traditional story. As a result, you tend to rely heavily on the visuals to fill in the gaps, and that proves to be more of a challenge than expected in a graphic novel format.
Still, the approach is so fresh and unique that it is worth exploring, thanks to the vision of artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas.
Nicoll Yahgulanaas was raised on Haida Gwaii and “melds cultural hybridity and his political experiences as an Indigenous person with contemporary graphic literature to produce a unique genre called Haida Manga,” according to douglas-mcintyre.com. His works include Flight of the Hummingbird (Greystone, 2008), A Tale of Two Shamans (Theytus, 2001), and Red (Douglas & McIntyre, 2009). He lives in Canada with his wife and daughter, near the Two Sisters Mountain on an island in the Salish Sea.
Anytime we can learn more about a First Nations culture, something that was, unfortunately, barely touched upon when I was in school some 50 years ago, it is a significant positive, and that alone is a strong reason to read Red.
As the publisher notes, the book draws on “a classic Haida oral narrative.”
Red tells the tragic story of a leader so consumed by revenge that he drives his community to the brink of war and destruction.
Red is the proud leader of a small village on the islands off the northwest coast of British Columbia. Years earlier, his sister was abducted by raiders. When news arrives that she has been seen in a nearby village, Red sets out to rescue her and seek revenge against her captors. Timeless in its themes, the story echoes classic tragedies such as Oedipus Rex and Macbeth. It is both an action-driven and visually dazzling graphic novel, as well as a cautionary tale about the destructive power of rage and retribution.
As many traditional stories do, Red delivers a lesson, in this case, that festering hatred can lead to ruin, and that is a message that remains relevant.
It should also be noted that the book has received critical recognition, including nominations for the Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding Canadian Cartoonist (2010), the Doug Wright Award for Best Book (2010), and the BC Booksellers’ Choice Award in Honour of Bill Duthie (2010).
About Author
Calvin Daniels is a Saskatchewan-born, self-taught journalist. He is currently Editor of Yorkton This Week, with 35-years in the newspaper business.
Red: A Haida Manga
By Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Published 2009 by Douglas & McIntyre
This is actually a difficult book to review, although that does not mean it isn’t an interesting read.
To begin with, the melding of art styles, Haida and manga, is certainly dramatic, vibrant, and visually striking. However, it can also be somewhat challenging to follow in a medium where the art tells as much, if not more, of the story than the words.
Readers will most certainly remember the artwork, 108 hand-painted illustrations, in Red: A Haida Manga long after placing it back on the shelf.
The text itself is somewhat sparse in helping to fully convey the narrative, which draws on a traditional story. As a result, you tend to rely heavily on the visuals to fill in the gaps, and that proves to be more of a challenge than expected in a graphic novel format.
Still, the approach is so fresh and unique that it is worth exploring, thanks to the vision of artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas.
Nicoll Yahgulanaas was raised on Haida Gwaii and “melds cultural hybridity and his political experiences as an Indigenous person with contemporary graphic literature to produce a unique genre called Haida Manga,” according to douglas-mcintyre.com. His works include Flight of the Hummingbird (Greystone, 2008), A Tale of Two Shamans (Theytus, 2001), and Red (Douglas & McIntyre, 2009). He lives in Canada with his wife and daughter, near the Two Sisters Mountain on an island in the Salish Sea.
Anytime we can learn more about a First Nations culture, something that was, unfortunately, barely touched upon when I was in school some 50 years ago, it is a significant positive, and that alone is a strong reason to read Red.
As the publisher notes, the book draws on “a classic Haida oral narrative.”
Red tells the tragic story of a leader so consumed by revenge that he drives his community to the brink of war and destruction.
Red is the proud leader of a small village on the islands off the northwest coast of British Columbia. Years earlier, his sister was abducted by raiders. When news arrives that she has been seen in a nearby village, Red sets out to rescue her and seek revenge against her captors. Timeless in its themes, the story echoes classic tragedies such as Oedipus Rex and Macbeth. It is both an action-driven and visually dazzling graphic novel, as well as a cautionary tale about the destructive power of rage and retribution.
As many traditional stories do, Red delivers a lesson, in this case, that festering hatred can lead to ruin, and that is a message that remains relevant.
It should also be noted that the book has received critical recognition, including nominations for the Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding Canadian Cartoonist (2010), the Doug Wright Award for Best Book (2010), and the BC Booksellers’ Choice Award in Honour of Bill Duthie (2010).
About Author
Calvin Daniels
Calvin Daniels is a Saskatchewan-born, self-taught journalist. He is currently Editor of Yorkton This Week, with 35-years in the newspaper business.
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