Moonshots: Indigenous Comics, Indigenous Voices
Detail from “Emmie and the Starweb” written by Lee Francis IV and illustrated by Dale Ray DeForest, from Moonshot Volume 3.
On the occasion of the very first Canadian National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, we here at the Butterflies & Aliens Library wondered what we could do to mark this important moment in history.
On the one hand, there is a lot of heavy but important reading and learning to be done. Some of our recommendations would include the library of reports at the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), especially the Calls to Action report, 94 in all, coming out of the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and the online Indigenous Canada course, available free from the University of Alberta Faculty of Native Studies along with bonus video discussions with Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy.
But the thing is, the whole point of the Butterflies & Aliens Library, the whole reason for our love of books and all things bookish, is that books allow us to learn about our fellow humans and the worlds that we all live in. They let us peer into other minds, other lives, other times, other realms. And the more books we can share, the more voices and the more stories we get to share.
So in that spirit and in the spirit of reconciliation, we thought we would start by sharing three graphic novels from our collection that we love, that also happen to contain an absolute wealth of stories from Indigenous voices: Moonshot, Volumes 1, 2, and 3.
Between the three volumes, Moonshot includes 41 stories, the work of almost 100 writers and artists, covering a vast range of themes and styles. First developed and published by Alternate History Comics, who released Volumes 1 and 2, all three volumes of Moonshot are now distributed through the publisher of Volume 3, Inhabit Education Books, a Nunavut-based educational publishing company.
The stories are fascinating, sometimes deeply thought-provoking, always entertaining. And the artwork is gorgeous, not only within the stories but as standalone images inserted between some of the stories as well as in sketchbooks included at the end of each volume.
Included below is a gallery of detail images taken almost randomly from all three volumes, revealing just a glimpse of the diversity of work they contain. Please click and mouseover the individual images for artist and volume information.
I highly encourage you to pick up copies of all three volumes through your local library or bookstore, not only as a small act of reconciliation and inclusion, but for the simple joy of reading some simply amazing stories.
Happy Reading!
– Winston
Find copies of Moonshot at your local Canadian indie bookseller!
