Graphic Novels

In 2004, settler scholar Emanuelle Dufour became aware of a “silence” with regard to residential schools and ongoing colonialism, systemic racism, inadequate curricular material in schools, and sought to find answers by meeting with community members, Elders, spokespeople, students, professionals, families, and many others.

Dufour is an artist at heart, and the product of her findings became a “carnet de rencontres,” a notebook of coming-togethers, in which her fifty+ interlocutors are rendered “speaking,” quite literally, on and within the pages, while advocating for the importance of Indigenous cultural security within the education system. Their presence is undeniable, and their voices carry the narrative.

Originally published as C'est le Québec qui est né dans mon pays!, this translation creates a bridge, from one colonial language to another, that will enable conversations across and beyond spaces and languages. It aims to shed light on colonial mainstream narratives in Canada and, more precisely, in Québec, by considering the politics of linguistic hegemony and the double exiguity that Indigenous peoples often find themselves in, calling for a better understanding of how the province’s specific colonial history has had a profound and continued impact on its 11 Indigenous Nations. This book’s unusual (academically-speaking) form as a “carnet”, or diary, becomes an anthology of statements of witnessing, which, coupled with the illustrative narrative, bears its decolonizing mission. Quebec Was Born in My Country! ultimately is about foregrounding common and collective experiences, with the crucial goal of furthering education.

Educator & Series Information
This graphic novel that explores colonial history in Québec is part of the Indigenous Imaginings series.

Translated by Sarah Henzi.

Additional Information
216 pages | 9.00" x 12.00" | Paperback 

A pocket-sized comic by Indigenous Voices winner Cole Pauls.

Llege zedle s_on nes_it'in (Tahltan for we see stars only at night ) is a surrealistic landscape of Tahltan shapes, culture and motifs. Originally created for the Nanaimo Art Gallery's group show "Gutters are Elastic" between July 15 to September 23, 2023, Pauls decided to expand the work into a full-length book.

Playing with the connection between land, regalia, performance and heritage, Pauls follows in the footsteps of Tiger Tateishi, Hironori Kikuchi and Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas with his dreamlike narrative.

Educator Information
This work was created in the tradition of "silent" (wordless) comics and uses symbols, shapes, and motifs for the narrative.

Additional Information
80 pages | 4.25" x 6.25" | 80 b&w illustrations  | Paperback 

Guest artists Riccardo Burchielli (DMZ), Patricio Delpeche, and Emily Schnall join Stephen Graham Jones—New York Times best-selling author of The Only Good Indians and My Heart Is a Chainsaw—for a mission to the Ice Age exploring America’s pre-Columbian past!

When Martin and Tawny’s children disappeared, the couple barreled into the desert to track them down at any cost. Instead, they ran afoul of another group of rovers who claimed to be saving the world by traveling through a cave portal to the year 1492 to prevent the creation of America—an idea that defied belief until the grieving parents were lured into the cave and vanished in time and space.

Now alone, Tawny must adapt to the wild marshlands of prehistoric Florida, circa 20,000 BC, and the breathtaking and bloodthirsty megafauna are the least of her problems when she’s caught in a war between a community of native Paleo-Indians and an occupying Solutrean force. Tawny’s odds of survival are in free fall, but she’s a mother on a mission…and she’s holding on to hope that the cave brought her here for a family reunion.

In the tradition of Saga, the next chapter of the critically acclaimed sci-fi epic is here in Earthdivers Vol. 2.

Series Information
This is the second book in the Earthdivers series.  

Additional Information
104 pages | 6.62" x 10.18" | Paperback

Join or die! New York Times best-selling author Stephen Graham Jones and artist Davide Gianfelice are back in action for the next chapter of their heart-pounding historical sci-fi slasher Earthdivers!

A team of time-traveling Indigenous survivors had one goal: save the world from an American apocalypse by sending one of their own on a suicide trip to kill Christopher Columbus and course-correct world history.

Mission accomplished? Maybe not. Blood is still soaking into the sands of San Salvador as Tad’s friends suffer the consequences of his actions—and their own slippery moral rationalizations—620 years in the future. Faced with a choice to watch the world crumble or double down on their cause, the path is clear for Seminole two-spirit Emily: it's personal now, and there’s no better time and place to take another stab at America than Philadelphia, 1776.

But where violence just failed them, she has a new plan: pass as a man, infiltrate the Founding Fathers, and use only wit and words to carve out a better future in the Declaration of Independence. No need to cut throats this time…right?

The next chapter of the critically acclaimed sci-fi epic is here in Earthdivers Vol. 3.

Series Information
This is the third book in the Earthdivers series, preceded by Earthdivers, Vol. 1: Kill Columbus and Earthdivers, Vol. 2: Ice Age.

Additional Information
208 pages | 6.69" x 10.25" | Paperback

We clothed the royals. We fed the worker. We guided the traveler. We abetted the soldier. We are not afraid to love. So begins Carl Gawboy's groundbreaking graphic history of the Fur Trade Era. From 1650 to 1850, the Ojibwe Nation was the epicenter of the first global trading network. Trade goods from Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America flowed into the Great Lakes region, floating along Ojibwe waterways in birchbark canoes paddled by mixed-race Voyageurs. Gawboy offers a fresh perspective on the fur trade era, placing Ojibwe technology, kinship systems, cultural paradigms, and women at the heart of this remarkable era, where they have always belonged.

Additional Information
202 pages | 8.25" x 11.00" | Hardcover 

Unless there is snow on the ground, never speak their name aloud.

The more they eat the hungrier they become, and they are starving.

They were meant to stay undisturbed, their dismembered limbs scattered, frozen under the permafrost, but as is always the way, the greed of industry has unburied them once more. Now, the most feared, the Wheetago, have returned, using their powers to call back the Na acho, cannibalistic giants once banished by Dene deities.

The revered hero known as the Child Finder who is fighting to cling to his humanity after a Wheetago attack, a mother and her young son, and a desperate band of convicts, form an uneasy alliance to survive the Wheetago horrors now awakened.

ROTH, from award-winning, bestselling Tlicho Dene author Richard Van Camp, and visionary illustrator Christopher Shy is the first graphic novel in the Wheetago War series.

Reviews
"A storyteller is what Richard Van Camp is—a storyteller par excellence. He tells us of family and traditions, of past and present spirits. Through Roth, he weaves his magic yet again, entwined with the richly atmospheric and terrestrial palette of Christopher Shy. With the Wheetago War series, kind-hearted and horrifically evil come together to hold you fully embraced, page after page."– Kent Williams artist & illustrator X-Men, Batman

"This spectacular, boundary-pushing book will change the way you look at graphic novels.Rooted in ancient and powerful narratives, this captivating saga will have you holding your breath until it releases you from its grip at the end, only to want more.”- Waubgeshig Rice, author Moon of the Turning Leaves

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 15+.

This book is the first book in the Wheetago War series.

Additional Information
192 pages | 6.62" x 10.25" | Paperback

In stunning full color and accessible text, a graphic adaptation of the American Book Award winning history of the United States as told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples—perfect for readers of all ages

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s influential New York Times bestseller exposed the brutality of this nation’s founding and its legacy of settler-colonialism and genocide. Through evocative full color artwork, renowned cartoonist Paul Peart-Smith brings this watershed book to life, centering the perspective of the peoples displaced by Europeans and their white descendants to trace Indigenous perseverance over four centuries against policies intended to obliterate them.

Recognized for his adaptation of W.E.B. DuBois’ The Souls of Black Folk and his extensive expertise in the comics industry, Peart-Smith collaborates with experienced graphic novel editor Paul Buhle to provide an accessible introduction to a complex history that will attract new generations of readers of all ages. This striking graphic adaptation will rekindle crucial conversations about the centuries-long genocidal program of the US settler-colonial regime that has largely been omitted from history.

Reviews
“Adapting a work of history as dense and as vital as Dunbar-Ortiz’s An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States (2014) to comics form is no easy feat, but Peart-Smith is up for the task . . . A thoughtful, radically hopeful work that is sure to resonate with readers of all ages.” - Booklist

Educator Information
The publisher does not provide a recommended age range, but notes in the description that this graphic interpretation "will attract new generations of readers of all ages".

Table of Contents 

Additional Information
120 pages | 8.22" x 10.28" | Hardcover 

Based on an Inuit traditional story passed down orally for generations, The Cannibal tells the horrific tale of a family experiencing starvation when the animals they rely on for survival disappear. While the wife stays alive by eating plants she gathers daily, the husband does the unthinkable, resorting to murder and cannibalism. Horrified, and terrified for her life, the wife eventually finds herself alone in camp with her husband. She knows what will happen to her if she does not find a way to escape. Hatching a plan, the exhausted wife embarks on the journey with her murderous husband in pursuit. After safely arriving at a nearby camp, she shares the story of what has become of her camp, and her own children. Soon the husband arrives, and the camp must decide how to deal with the cannibal. Both horrific and poignant, this cautionary traditional story provides a window into the at times harsh realities of traditional life.

Reviews
"The Cannibal by Solomon Awa and Louise Flaherty is a stark and compelling novel centred on an Inuit family facing extreme survival challenges in the Arctic. When the family’s father, driven by desperation, begins to resort to cannibalism to stay alive, the story delves into harrowing themes of survival, morality, and the impact of isolation on human behaviour. This topic is suitable for an older audience, not younger students." - David D., Indigenous Educator & Administrator, Indigenous Books for Schools 

Educator Information
The publisher labels this work as an "Adult Graphic Novel."

Recommended in the Indigenous Books for Schools catalogue as a valuable resource for grades 10 to 12 for English Language Arts and Social Studies.

Themes: Animals, Death, Environment, Loss, Reconciliation

Caution: Contains cannibalism

Additional Information
44 pages | 7.00" x 10.50" | Paperback

Ela Tahoe, a runaway turned deputy sheriff, is forced to contend with a Confederate invasion of her New Mexican town three months after the conclusion of the Civil War. Ela will need to confront her heritage and past with the Apache in order to get their aid to combat this Confederate threat, leading her to look at the world from the Native American perspective once again. Conceived as a tightly paced, gut wrenching western thriller, Ela fights tooth and nail to save the lives of her townspeople and most importantly, her son.

The American Western Frontier is arguably one of the most widely misrepresented histories, rife with inaccuracies and stereotypes. Black Mi'kmaq and Anishinaabe author Tristan Jones powerfully and critically reimagines and reclaims a historical retelling of the Frontier with a focus on the historically missing Indigenous narrative. Illustrated by master sequential artist Alexander Bumbulut, The Forgotten Frontier should be on everyone's reading list.

Additional Information
140 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback

The New York Times–bestselling author of The Only Good Indians and My Heart Is a Chainsaw makes his comics debut with this time-hopping horror thriller about far-future Indigenous outcasts on a mission to kill Christopher Columbus.

The year is 2112, and it’s the apocalypse exactly as expected: rivers receding, oceans rising, civilization crumbling. Humanity has given up hope, except for a group of Indigenous outcasts who have discovered a time travel portal in a cave in the desert and figured out where everything took a turn for the worst: America.

Convinced that the only way to save the world is to rewrite its past, they send one of their own—a reluctant linguist named Tad—on a bloody, one-way mission to 1492 to kill Christopher Columbus before he reaches the so-called New World. But there are steep costs to disrupting the timeline, and taking down an icon isn’t an easy task for an academic with no tactical training and only a wavering moral compass to guide him. As the horror of the task ahead unfolds and Tad’s commitment is tested, his actions could trigger a devastating new fate for his friends and the future.

Join Stephen Graham Jones and artist Davide Gianfelice for Earthdivers, Vol. 1 (collecting Earthdivers issues #1-6), the beginning of an unforgettable ongoing sci-fi slasher spanning centuries of America’s Colonial past to explore the staggering forces of history and the individual choices we make to survive it.

Reviews
"Earthdivers is why I read comics–a timely concept told boldly; a strong debut by Stephen Graham Jones who proves a voice to watch with something to say; and career work by Davide Gianfelice, a veteran artist who was already light years ahead of his peers." –Pornsak Pichetshote, author of The Good Asian

“A time-twisting trip you don't want to miss! Myths, mayhem and history-altering murders ahoy!” –Cavan Scott, author of Dead Seas

“Earthdivers feels fresh, compelling, and bold…It’s a comic that stands head and shoulders apart from the rest of the pack on the shelves. Don’t wait for the trade – this is an urgent comic that begs to be read.” –Comic Watch

“Stephen Graham Jones enters the comics scene with a dense but fascinating and well-paced comic with a tasty dash of political commentary, as every great science fiction story should have. The visuals from Davide Gianfelice and Joana Lafuente are well-directed and stunningly detailed, making for a wholly immersive reading experience.” –Monkeys Fighting Robots

Series Information
This is the first book in the Earthdivers series.

Additional Information
176 pages | 6.69" x 10.19" | Paperback

With gorgeous imagery, visual artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas brings to life the tumultuous history of first contact between Europeans and Indigenous peoples and the early colonization by the Europeans of the northern West Coast.

Yahgulanaas uses a blend of traditional and modern art, eschewing the traditional boxes of comic books for the flowing shapes of North Pacific iconography. The panels are filled with colourful and expressive watercolour paintings. The panels of each page, if removed and assembled into one whole image, form a large image reminiscent of a woven robe.

The story follows several historical figures, including Johan Adrian Jacobsen (JAJ), who comes to the Haida village of Masset to collect specimens for a German museum, through a time span that includes first contact, the devastation of the smallpox epidemic, and the mass resettlement of disenfranchised peoples, both Indigenous and European.

Reviews
“This book is a necessary tale told by the perfect voice at the right time. It also uses graphic imagery in a way I've not seen before, and it feels ground-breaking.” — Douglas Coupland

Additional Information
132 pages | 8.00" x 10.00" | Hardcover

Indigenous Voices Award winner Cole Pauls returns with a robust collection of stories that celebrate the cultural practices and experiences of Dene and Arctic peoples. Gathering Pauls's comics from magazines, comic festivals and zine making workshops, these comics are his most personal work yet. You'll learn stories about the author's family, racism and identity, Yukon history, winter activities, Southern Tutchone language lessons and cultural practices. Have you ever wanted to learn how to Knuckle Hop? or to acknowledge and respect the Indigenous land you’re on? Or how to be an ally to Indigenous people? Well, gather around and hear this Kwändǖr! (Story!).

Additional Information
140 pages | 6.50" x 10.00" Paperback

An ambitious feminist anthology chronicling Indigenous rebellions around the world.

In 1930s Bolivia, self-described Anarchist Cholas form a libertarian trade union. In the Northern Highlands of Vietnam, the songs of one girl’s youth lead her to a life of activism. In the Philippines, female elders from Kalinga blaze a trail when pushed into impromptu protest. Equally striking accounts from Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, India, Nepal, Peru and Thailand weave a tapestry of trauma and triumph, shedding light on not-too-distant histories otherwise overlooked.

Indigenous Peoples all over the world have always had to stand their ground in the face of colonialism. While the details may differ, what these stories have in common is their commitment to resistance in a world that puts profit before respect, and western notions of progress before their own. Movements and Moments is an introductory glimpse into how Indigenous Peoples tell these stories in their own words. From Southeast Asia to South America, vibrant communities must grapple with colonial realities to assert ownership over their lands and traditions.

This project was undertaken in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Indonesien in Jakarta. These stories were selected from an open call across 42 countries to spotlight feminist movements and advocacies in the Global South.

Reviews
"The artwork throughout is excellent... Taken together, these shorts carry a cumulative power, offering a heartening reminder of the strength and spirituality within resistance and a potent call to arms against injustice."—Publishers Weekly

“I am grateful for the heart that was poured into these comics, and even more so for the bravery of the people whose stories they tell. This book made me feel a little stronger. It helped me remember some things I had begun to forget.”—Eleanor Davis, The Hard tomorrow

“Movements and Moments is an important collection of unique, vibrant voices that together sing in unison the stories of identity, liberation, determination, and resilience. To finally gain the perspectives of Indigenous women from South America, Latin America, Asia, and Oceania is a powerful, uplifting celebration of communities who have been underrepresented and overlooked for far too long.”—Rina Ayuyang, Blame This on the Boogie

"This anthology is an excellent, engaging historical resource."—ALA Booklist

Educator Information

ABOUT THE PROJECT as shared here: https://www.goethe.de/ins/id/en/kul/kue/mmo.html

"Goethe-Institut's project “Movements and Moments” sheds light on Indigenous feminist activisms from the Global South in the form of comics.

The narratives of feminism are still written from a predominantly white, western perspective. While feminist claims and positions from the Global North are, up to this day, sidelined in a patriarchal mainstream, the same holds true to a much broader extent for feminist movements from the Global South. Little information about these movements and their activists is accessible in large knowledge databases such as Wikipedia, and even in the respective native regions of these feminist activists their achievements are often not archived because resources are too scarce or their demands are not thematized.

Initiated by Goethe-Institut Jakarta, the project “Movements and Moments – Feminist Generations” aims to make visible these hidden biographies and activisms by relating their stories in the highly accessible format of comics. By emphasizing an indigenous feminist perspective, which is often linked to decolonial struggles and emancipatory approaches to sustainability, we wish to shed light on one of the most marginalized, underexposed aspects of feminist protests. On the other hand, this project wants to inquire how these often overlooked struggles might be role models for feminist movements worldwide. By publishing these stories from different continents and bringing them into dialogue with each other, we hope to spark interest in archiving and mediating non-Western feminist endeavors.

In 2019 we launched an open call and received an overwhelming 218 applications from 352 teams and solo artists originating from 42 countries. The jury members—Aua Mendes (Indigenous trans feminist artist from Brazil), Johann Ulrich (German comic publisher), Maya (Goethe-Institut Indonesien), Sonja Eismann (publisher of German feminist periodical Missy Magazine), and Urvashi Butalia (head of Indian feminist publisher Zubaan Books)—selected 16 stories from 14 countries that conveyed major narratives on ecological activism, the fight for education, and the struggle for the rights of LGBTIQA+ people. Two accomplished comic book artists, Amruta Patil from India and Nacha Vollenweider from Argentina, served as the groups’ mentors and accompanied and guided the authors during the process. Some stories will be published in German and English in 2022 through appointed publishers while other stories will be accessible on this website in English and the authors’ native languages."

Additional Information
264 pages | 7.35" x 9.75" | Hardcover

The outrageously funny and painfully relatable satire of an aspiring artist and millennial culture.

Walter Scott’s Wendy comics have become a critical sensation, with rave reviews in The New Yorker and The Guardian, and an appearance in the Best American Comics anthology. Learn Wendy’s origin story as Scott hilariously plumbs millennial culture, creative ennui, and the nepotism of the art world’s institutions.

Wendy’s an aspiring artist in a party city, and she’s in a rut. She spends her time snorting MDMA in gallery bathrooms and watching Nurse Jackie reruns on her laptop while hungover. So when she’s accepted into the prestigious Flojo Island residency, Wendy vows to buckle down and get working. But during the remote, woodsy residency, Wendy and her collaborator/bff Winona put on a performance piece that becomes the centre of an art world controversy, and so Wendy returns to Montreal, getting a job in a coffee shop to make ends meet.

With Wendy, Scott launches the Wendyverse, brimming with painfully relatable characters like the back-stabbing frenemy Tina, the name-dropping Paloma, the cool drummer Wendy obsesses over, Jeff, and of course, our treasured Wendy, the hot mess we can’t live without. In blunt, laugh out loud funny vignettes with perfect punchlines, Scott illuminates the opacity of artspeak and the ceaseless anxieties plaguing a largely privileged generation.

Reviews
“Wendy’s lust for life is inseparable from her knee-jerk self-destruction.”–The New Yorker

“Winningly messy.”—The Guardian

“The art school party girl who is perhaps the real voice of our generation (sorry Lena Dunham).”—Vice

Educator Information
Publisher recommends for ages 16+.  

Caution: mature content (swearing and strong language, sexual content, drug/alcohol use, etc.)

Additional Information
216 pages | 6.50" x 9.00" | black and white illustrations throughout | paperback 

"[In Wendy, Master of Art,] Scott manages a rare thing: the sharpness of his satire doesn’t preclude a realistic rendering of personhood, and the seeming flatness opens up, at every turn, to a depth of feeling…. His mastery of his characters’ faces and gestures is also wonderful, his line quick and sure and expressive." —The New Yorker

The existential dread of making (or not making) art takes center stage in this trenchant satire of MFA culture.

Wendy is an aspiring contemporary artist whose adventures have taken her to galleries, art openings, and parties in Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Toronto. In Wendy, Master of Art, Walter Scott’s sly wit and social commentary zero in on MFA culture as our hero hunkers down to complete a master of fine arts at the University of Hell in small-town Ontario.

Finally Wendy has space to refine her artistic practice, but in this calm, all of her unresolved insecurities and fears explode at full volume—usually while hungover. What is the post-Jungian object as symbol? Will she ever understand her course reading—or herself? What if she’s just not smart enough? As she develops as an artist and a person, Wendy also finds herself in a teaching position, mentoring a perpetually sobbing grade-grubbing undergrad.

Scott’s incisively funny take on art school pretensions isn’t the only focus. Wendy, Master of Art explores the politics of open relationships and polyamory, performative activism, the precariousness of a life in the arts, as well as the complexities of gender identity, sex work, drug use, and more. At its heart, this is a book about the give and take of community—about learning to navigate empathy and boundaries, and to respect herself. It is deeply funny and endlessly relatable as it shows Wendy growing from millennial art party girl to successful artist, friend, teacher—and Master of Art.

Reviews
"Wendy’s personal life remains chaotic, hilarious, and relatable…" —Quill & Quire

Educator Information
The publisher recommends for ages 16+, but this graphic novel contains very mature content. 

Caution: Mature content

This is the third and largest book in the Wendy series.

Additional Information
276 pages | 6.52" x 9.07" | Black-and-white illustrations | Paperback