Van Camp on aboriginal comics

I briefly quoted writer Richard Van Camp in my article on the Eiteljorg comic-book event. Here's the full statement he sent me:The bottom line is there are so many great Aboriginal writers out there working right now to publish great comic books and graphic novels. Yes, you read someone's work out there who is not Aboriginal who is doing their best to tell our story, or you can come right to us and read and see and feel for yourselves what we are choosing to show the world. With publishers like Brandon Mitchell of Birch Bark Comics and their "Sacred Circles" series; with Sean Muir of the Healthy Aboriginal Network, publisher of "Darkness Calls," a comic book written and illustrated by Cree artist Steve Sanderson that deals with suicide prevention for our Aboriginal youth and "Standing Together," an anthology featuring illustrated stories by several Aboriginal youth; with Steve Sanderson and the comic books that he's about to publish like "Rosa's Journey," a story that empowers Aboriginal women as well as advocates the power that comes from learning from and using the medicines from both worlds that we live in for the purpose of returning home to help heal and strengthen our communities; with the perfect storytelling of "A Hero's Voice" and "Dreams of Looking Up" by the Mille Lacs Band of the Ojibwe, and all of the work that Timothy Truman has done and Rob Schmidt of Blue Corn Comics, there's just so much out there waiting to be discovered for lovers of illustrated literature.

And what's great is the Aboriginal storytellers of today are only going to honour their readers with some of the finest illustrated literature out there today with great art, wicked storytelling and powerful, spirit-affirming stories. Now that's good medicine for the world and for our future generations. Mahsi cho.

--Richard Van Camp