Arctic Comics

by Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak, Jose Kusugak, Germaine Arnaktauyok (Illustrator)

Tales of Myth, Adventure and humour, told at the top of the world! Written and drawn by Inuit and Northern Canadian storytellers and artists.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Indigenous, Canada, Comics

88 pages, Hardcover

Published March 1, 2016

About the author

Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak is a storyteller and a Canadian children's writer, who tells stories about Arctic and Inuit culture. He was born April 27, 1948 just north of Chesterfield Inlet, at a point of land we call Qatiktalik. That same spring of 1948 he and his family moved to Repulse Bay and in 1960 to Rankin Inlet


Inuktitut: ᐊᕐᕚᕐᓗᒃ ᑯᓱᒐᖅ

Reviews

[Barbara McEwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - A real diverse mix but the comics about traditional life and legends were my favorites because of the romanticism and magic about them.

[Roman Stadtler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great anthology of five stories, plus some one page gag strips featuring Sheldon the Sled Dog. The first two stories are beautiful, and all the stories, from mythological to modern tales of love and baseball and a thriller set in the unique isolating environment of the ice, are highly entertaining and engaging. The Sheldon the Sled Dog art is reminiscent of Herge or Barks. Great fun!

[Debbie Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bravo Nicholas Burns for his work in compiling these comics written and illustrated by writers/artists who are either from or were former residents of the Arctic. Loved the illustrations and the way they enhanced the stories. Even if you're not a comic fan, you will enjoy the various elements of this genre.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've often thought about writing stories based on Inuit legend, but lacked the sources not only to write them, but to give them the proper respect they deserve. This goes one step further, turns stories into comics, and tells not only mythology, but of daily life, and the future of the Arctic.

[Meepelous · Rating 3 out of 5]

Content notes for hunting, RCMP propaganda, and sexual assault.

A pretty diverse collection of stories, they cover a wide gamut of life in the north. From traditional stories to contemporary with a variety of art styles. That said, the overall style does remind me of European comics. Which, according to the intro by Nicholas Burns is what they were going for.

Starting things off, we have Kiviuq Vs Big Bee by Jose Kusugak and Germaine Arnaktauyok. Both Inuit creators, Jose was also a politician, a "born recounter" according to several sources; he worked for both the CBC and Inuit Broadcasting Corporation and helped standardize the syllabic writing system of Inuktitut. Germaine is a well known artist who works in lithographs, etching and serigraphs.

The next story was On Waiting by Michael Kusugak and Susan Thurston Shirley. The former is a well respected Inuk children's writer and the latter is a Detroit born dual citizen, who as of the writing of her profile on the Polar Artists Group, had been living in Rankin Inlet Nunavut for 27 years.

Thirdly we have The Great Slo-Pitch Massacre, Film Nord and Sheldon the Sled Dog by editor of the anthology Nicholas Burns. To be honest his were my least favourite entries. He apparently has also appeared in the first two Moonshot Anthologies where he is described as an author, storyboard artist, award-winning fine artist and film-maker.

And to wrap things up we have Blizzard House, which was written by Nicholas Burns with art by George Freeman. George was one of the co-founders of Digital Chameleon, a coloring and inking studio based out of Winnipeg that has come up several times on this channel.

Overall a bit of a mixed bag, but I'm really glad I finally got to it. I think I'll settle on three out of five stars for now.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across Arctic Comics on display at the local library, and was absolutely delighted. I have previously really enjoyed comics set in the far north, and was eager to see how this one would go (plus it has a hell of a cover). It honestly is a gem.

Considering that it is fairly short for a comics anthology (80 pages), it manages to offer up a variety of story types. It includes humorous shorts, sci-fi adventure about the search for clean energy, Inuit storytelling, gentle pondering, and a slo-pitch story worth a chuckle or two. Arctic Comics makes up a lot of what makes northern storytelling so great and so unique, probably because the collection is written by those who have actually lived in the north.

I definitely recommend this one for anyone looking for a good comic or looking to read great northern stories. I would definitely want to read more writing like this, and would be open to reading more work from the contributors individually.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall the art was good, but the stories really uneven. I liked the one on alternative energy, I think that was the strongest one in terms of art and storytelling. The baseball story was just weird and didn’t engage me.