Day Sixty-Nine: Franklin, My Dear
It may surprise you to learn that there are things which I am interested in that aren't comic books. I'm also a nerd about other stuff, such as music, video games, film and cult TV. I could bore for Britain on Doctor Who or, had we the time, I could recite every R.E.M. song, in album order, until you died of tedium. One of my favourite non-geeky subjects, though, is Canadian history. Being a Scot, there's a lot of interesting stuff to discover about how my forefathers went over there to harness the riches that only implementing venture capitalism in a hitherto unsullied new country can bring, and if you've ever visited the Parliament building in Ottawa and had a look at the big plaques on the walls which detail the names of the members of the various sitting parliaments since way back, you'll find that the further back you go, the more hootsish, jingsy and helpmaboabular the makeup of Canadian government becomes.
The most endlessly fascinating story in Canadian history for my money has to be that of the Northwest Passage. In layman's terms, it lets you get from the Atlantic to the Pacific by going round the top way. The problem is that the "top" is pretty far up, and the route wends its way through some pretty treacherous straits around the Arctic areas of Canada. Y'see, the northernmost areas of Canada are made up of a shedload of islands of various sizes, and explorers for many years were flummoxed by the route they would have to take in order to navigate through the slim waterways which separated these islands in order to establish a new trade route. That route would come to be known as the Northwest Passage, and it claimed the lives of many, including the British naval commander Sir John Franklin and his entire expedition. For years, nobody knew what had happened to him, until Scottish doctor and explorer John Rae found the awful truth - Franklin's men had abandoned their boats after being immobilised by ice, and had tried to make their way south. They had died in the snow, but not before turning to cannibalism.
Anyway, yes. I said it was endlessly fascinating, and indeed it is, although perhaps only for me. With that in mind, let's look at some comics instead. Hmm, what to consider today, that's the question. If I just reach out my hand and grab whatever comic I find first...
My, what a coincidence.
Northwest Passage is a graphic novel in three parts by writer/artist Scott Chantler, who was nominated in 2005 for the Russ Manning Award (given to the most promising newcomer to have made their debut in the two years preceding the award being made). It's good old-fashioned adventure comics, dealing with an explorer by the name of Charles Lord, whose life as an explorer is fairly much behind him. Now he works as a bureaucrat in a frontier trading post in Rupert's Land, an area of Canada which surrounds the Hudson Bay and beyond. He's not satisfied, though, and wishes he had one last shot at glory - one last shot at discovering the Northwest Passage. He soon learns to be careful what he wishes for, though, when mercenaries hired by the French and led by an old enemy of Lord's make their presence known. Lord has to use every trick at his disposal, including enlisting the aid of rogue trader "Quick" Jack Prince and part-English Cree tracker John Blackfoot, to defeat his foe and save his son.
Chantler's story is a call-back to what would once have been called Boy's Own adventures, being a tale of daring feats, bravery and heroism, frontier skirmishes and bold men (the lady content of this book, sad to say, is very low. Sorry, girls). His artwork is reminiscent of Oni stablemate J. Bone, whose Alison Dare is for young girls what this series would be for young boys i.e. a jolly good read that keeps your nose stuck firmly in the book. The double-crosses, flawed characters and high-speed action sequences mean that Northwest Passage is a story which rolls along effortlessly, and even the liberties taken with genuine Canadian history can be excused as artistic licence when the rest of the story is as much fun as this.
Northwest Passage is a story of pioneers and memorable, larger-than-life characters. It's a great book even if you don't have an interest in the backstory of Canada. If there's any justice then there will be more volumes on the way; as it is, what there is so far is very much worth tracking down. Unlike the case of the real Northwest Passage, though, you should be able to find this without having to eat anyone else. If not, please don't let me know.
