Red: A Haida Manga

Publisher's Description (Douglas & McIntyre):
Referencing a classic Haida oral narrative, this stunning full-colour graphic novel documents the tragic story of a leader so blinded by revenge that he leads his community to the brink of war and destruction. Consisting of 108 pages of hand-painted illustrations, Red is a groundbreaking mix of Haida imagery and Japanese manga. Now available in paperback, the hardcover edition was nominated for the B.C. Bookseller’s Choice Award, a Doug Wright Award for Best Book and a 2010 Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding Canadian Cartoonist. It was also an Amazon Top 100 book of 2009.

Red is the prideful leader of a small village in the islands off the northwest coast of British Columbia. His sister was abducted years ago by a band of raiders. When news comes that she has been spotted in a nearby village, Red sets out to rescue his sister and exact revenge on her captors. Tragic and time- less, it is reminiscent of such classic stories as Oedipus Rex and Macbeth. Red is an action-packed and dazzling graphic novel that is also a cautionary tale about the devastating effects of rage and retribution.

Author Biography (Douglas & McIntyre):
Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas is a visual artist, storyteller and public speaker. Raised on Haida Gwaii, he melds cultural hybridity and his political experiences as an Indigenous person with contemporary graphic literature to produce a unique genre called Haida Manga. His books include Flight of the Hummingbird (Greystone, 2008), A Tale of Two Shamans (Theytus, 2001) and Red (Douglas & McIntyre, 2009). He lives in Canada with his wife and daughter, close to the Two Sisters Mountain on an island in the Salish Sea.

Resource type: Graphic novel / comic

Age recommendation: Grades 7-9, 10-12

Keywords: Fiction, Graphic Novels, Haida Manga, Series, Haida Manga, First Nation Communities Read, Teen Books, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Peoples in Canada, First Nations, Haida, Art, Visual Picture Book, watercolour, raiders, orca, trade, carpentry, fishing, canoe, whale, birds, revenge, fighting, widow

Year of publication: 2010

Publisher information: Douglas & McIntyre