Written by Hugo Pratt (1980) -- (2017, in English)
One Man, One Adventure
(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)
I've been showing some videos in class about the History of Graphic Novels in the 20th century (and their precursors). Wil Eisner's A Contract With God gets a lot of credit at being the first graphic novel, or at least the first to use that term, or the first to popularize that term. It can be argued (and is argued) that none of that is true. Maybe the popularized part.
One video spoke of Italian artist Hugo Pratt and his early work. It then went on to talk about The Man from the Great North. It looked interesting, so I requested it from the library, and it was almost immediately available.
This edition, translated into English, has an important Foreward, which I read both before and after reading the comic. Some of what I read the first time didn't click as much as it did the second time.
Jesuit Joe is a French Metis Indian in Canada in the early 20th century. He's a killer, to be sure, but appears to be a "righteous" one, with his own code of ethics. He finds a Mountie's uniform in a cabin and puts it on. He likes the color. After that, he gets mistaken for a Mountie, despite his obvious heritage. He has answers for any questions about it. The actual Sgt. Fox will come after him, and Joe ends up saving the man's life a couple of times.
The story ends ambiguously in the middle of the book, but then continues. Pratt returned to the book after several years and wrote more of the adventure. It's included here. Also included are storyboards created for a movie about Jesuit Joe, because he was asked to expand certain parts. They look odd because of the rough nature of the story boards compared to the regular artwork.
Not included here is any sort of final ending. Did Pratt not have time? Did he lose interest? Pratt did, years later, write a novelized version of the book, and yet didn't expand upon the ending in any way. (I know this because the foreword says so.)
This was an entertaining book with a focus on the artwork, some of which is violent/grotesque. There isn't a lot of dialogue, so there's not a lot to read, but there's a lot to take in.
I'll have to see what else by Pratt I can find.
I enjoyed this book.
If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.
