Louis Riel

By Chester Brown. Published by Drawn & Quarterly. 

Softcover, 280 pages, B&W, 2003.

"It has the thoroughness of a history book yet reads with the personalized vision of a novel." –Time

Chester Brown reinvents the comic-book medium to create the critically acclaimed historical biography Louis Riel, winning the Harvey Awards for best writing and best graphic novel for his compelling, meticulous, and dispassionate retelling of the charismatic, and perhaps insane, nineteenth-century Métis leader. Brown coolly documents with dramatic subtlety the violent rebellion on the Canadian prairie led by Riel, who some regard a martyr who died in the name of freedom, while others consider him a treacherous murderer.

“If you love to read a gripping story, if you are awed by the talent of an artist, then look no further: Chester Brown's Louis Riel is comix history in the making, and with it, history never looked so good.” —The Globe and Mail Book Review

“The starkly told story . . . of a crucial figure in Canada's history--yet one whom most Americans have probably never heard of. It's a credit to Brown's plainspoken artistry and flair for narrative that it's a page-turner till the end.” —The Boston Phoenix

“This is an ingenious comic and a major achievement.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review