Louis Riel - Chester Brown

Louis Riel tells the story of the charismatic, and perhaps mad, nineteenth century Metis leader, whose struggle to win rights for his people led to violent rebellion on the nation's western frontier. Chester Brown's carefully researched, exquisitely illustrated, and much-lauded biography goes deep into the myths and the facts about this man whose place in Canadian history is troubled: Riel has been alternately vilified as a murderer and mourned as a martyr. His involvement in the Red River Rebellion and the subsequent North-West Rebellion are brilliantly and dispassionately laid out in a finely etched style, as are the Canadian government's responses to the Metis people's demands. Brown's even-handed approach makes these disastrous events all the more moving. - - When the collected book appeared in 2003, Chester Brown won widespread critical and industry acclaim for Louis Riel, including two Harvey Awards, and inclusion on countless best-of lists. Beyond that, it singlehandedly revitalised the biography genre of comics, paving the way for a new generation of artists. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Louis Riel's publication, Drawn & Quarterly is re-issuing the book as a deluxe paperback, with a new introduction contextualising the work's importance and the original pamphlet covers collected and reproduced in full colour.