Comics in the Canadian Arctic

published 2024-05-15
last updated 2024-05-15

I got a copy of "Degrees of Separation: A decade north of 60" by Alison McCreesh while I was in Yellowknife last month. I didn't mean to, but once I saw an autobiographical comic in a shop there I knew instantly that I must have it. These are my thoughts after finishing it. I want to comb through and exhibit interesting panels, but I don't have time.

• Alison is a skilled comics practitioner. She uses creative combinations of word and image to great effect in both educational and personal contexts. Her sparing use of text in some parts encourage the reader to wander in the ideas and feelings presented.
• Personal experiences are woven skillfully for maximum emotional impact in a way that avoids bludgeoning the reader with the chronological sequence of events. (ie. the purpose of an excerpt is often revealed at the end, instead of through exposition).
• The book is presented as experiences across the international arctic circle, but many of them are just short personal anecdotes or simply landscape drawings (eg. all we ever see of Iceland is a one-page drawing). I was disappointed that I didn't get to see experiences from those places that are so foreign to me. However, to be fair, Alison says herself that she is shy and may have regretted not learning more of the different cultures in her travels. She was also quite overworked during those trips.
• The worldviews and lifestyles of people in northern canada are showcased here in an intimate and real way. There's a lot to be learned here about the indigenous people in arctic canada. The culture in yellowknife's Old Town specifically is truly unique and is fascinating to read.
• Alison's perspective is one of a transplant, which has some drawbacks wrt. presenting indigenous culture, but her's is also a unique life that leaves the reader with some powerful emotions about the human condition by the end of the last chapter.
• I was pleased to see the Sami peoples of Finland get a mention since I studied them in school. The Kalaallit of Greenland also receive some attention.
• The appendix is also complete with bibliographies for people wanting to learn more about various topics covered in the book.
• Overall the book made me feel rather wistful at this compacted passage of time. But I'm also grateful for it because I no longer look at the map of Canada and wonder at the mystery of the great north. It also makes me happy that even in the most remote places on earth people are making comics. Alison has three other books, "Ramshackle", "Petrozavodsk", and "Norths", that are also about northern life, so maybe I need to read those.