Shackleton: The Voyage of the James Caird: A Graphic Account

by David Butler (Illustrator), Gavin McCumiskey

When the mighty Endurance becomes trapped in the Weddell Sea, Ernest Shackleton’s dream to cross the Antarctic becomes a fight to save the twenty-seven souls that set sail with him. With five others, he takes to the sea in the lifeboat, James Caird, and sets a course for South Georgia, 800 miles away across treacherous waters. This graphic depiction brings to life the ceaseless struggle against the harshest environment on Earth, and culminates in the most dramatic real-life open-boat journey in the history of mankind. It is the first illustrated retelling of the greatest feat of leadership and survival ever recorded.

Curious about what goes into creating a graphic novel? Illustrator David Butler put together this video about creating the cover of his book.

Genres: Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, History

96 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

About the author

About the Illustrator
David Butler, originally from Kildare, is a graduate of the Dun Laoghaire Film Institute of Ireland, Animation Production Course. He has worked on several award-winning projects,
including the BAFTA award-winning Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. He is an animator and illustrator, and lives in Laois with his wife and three children.
For further information visit his website:
http://www.anithing.ie/
https://twitter.com/anithingartist

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love nf graphic novels! This one is fantastic and I highly recommend it. The story of Shackleton is so amazing and this brings it to life in a wonderful way.

[Teresa Bateman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated by the Shackleton Expedition. it is an inspiring and suspenseful story of survival. Seeing it in graphic novel format intrigued me. However this is a mixed bag. The research is solid, and the format brings the story to life. Execution of the format, however, is lacking. The graphic illustrations are a problem, especially in the drawing of faces which at times are realistic and at other times are poorly executed and almost cartoonish. The dialog bubbles contain interesting dialog, but the use of bold print on some words is off-putting and brings nothing to the narrative. Speaking of the narrative, the font used is a typeface font and not the best choice. In other words--good information, bad execution all around. This is a great pity because the subject matter is fascinating. Perhaps this needed a better editor?

[Vi · Rating 3 out of 5]

assignment reading

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise, dramatic graphic account of the ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic led by Sir Ernest Shackleton.

[Mercy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love nonfiction graphic novels.

[Nicola Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! The epic story of the Endurance and her crew is one of my all-time favourite true stories and makes for a fantastic graphic novel. I gulped this down in one sitting, thanks to Gavin McCumiskey's storytelling and David Butler's wonderful artwork. The beauty of graphic novels is that they will appeal to adults, children and slow-readers alike. I thought I knew the story pretty well but I was wrong. That's one of the strengths of this type of book, that it is brilliant historical fiction ... it casually, almost accidentally educates the reader whilst also providing an exciting story. I had no idea that the day Shackleton and his chosen five set out for the whaling station at South Georgia, facing what McCumiskey describes as 'the most dangerous open-boat journey in the history of mankind', was Easter Monday 1916 when so much else was going on in Dublin, France and Belgium. Highly recommend!

[Lisa Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welp, I did not know the story behind Shakleton before reading this and now I do! Poor Mrs. Skippy <3