On each page of the narrative are exactly 6 panels in 2 columns of 3 each, read in the conventional z-pattern, with ample margins at the top and bottom and a page number aligned along the edge of the page. Layout and Text/Image: What is most notable about Brown's style is the consistency and simplicity with which Riel's story is rendered. A feature of the pages is that the ink is very saturated, and, when combined with the low brightness of the paper and the neutral/cool colors of the cover, creates an air of low-key authority. The front, spine, and back covers are textured for a tactile feel, and the pages are of a heavy, deep-cream colored paper stock.

It was initially published in a series of 10 issues over a period of 4 years, and this edition compiles the novel in its entirety. Materials: This hardcover version is the second edition of this novel. He must strive to prove that his interpretation, told in a genre that has been traditionally associated with children and imbeciles, is worthy, and has not betrayed history. Chester Brown is faced with a daunting task - the retelling of one of the most controversial episodes in Canadian history - and in comic strip form, no less. Like the McSweeney's issue, it is a rather deluxe item, and would do well on sturdy bookshelf.Įthos: Most important to Louis Riel is the quality of virtue. For many readers outside of Canada, this will be their first introduction to the tangled past of the French and English in this nation.Ĭontext: This book is generally available at independent bookstores that carry graphic novels, as well as the few bookstores that are completely devoted to the comics genre. Purpose: Louis Riel presents the story of the Metis rebel through the form of 'sequential art,' as Scott McCloud deems it in his book Understanding Comics. While this audience may have been close to non-existent 10 years ago, it is steadily growing today, with the critical recognition of books like Maus by Art Spiegelman and Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan, and the film adaptations of instances of the genre. Audience: A biographical graphic novel, Louis Riel: A Comic Strip Biography by Chester Brown will find its audience in readers who are most likely already familiar with the form.

Louis riel a comic strip biography