IDW’s The Man From The Great North is a great read!

Written and illustrated by Hugo Pratt (of the European Corto Maltese series), this story is gory, raw, gripping and touching, all at the same time.

The story takes place in northern Canada in 1912, where a man has stolen a Royal Northwest Mounted Police (RNWMP) uniform and is making a journey across the North through the winter. It turns out that the man is Jesuit Joe, a half Mohawk and half French Canadian (Metis).
He’s armed and taking scalps. Jesuit Joe encounters priests, other RNWMP officers, bears, bandits, brawlers, and babies.

It’s a well-crafted tale, incredibly well drawn. The visual style is bare and simple, yet very effective. The body language is exquisite, the terrain accurate. Picture comic artist Alex Toth drawing the North, with Joe Kubert inking him, and you have the basic idea.

This volume does not take long to read, but it is a wonderfully rendered collection of the original comic story, plus additional pages that Pratt added later; PLUS storyboard drawings from a film production of the story, and lots of rough pencils and wash drawings.

A very special volume from Eurocomics that will delight the historical reader, and perhaps those of us who enjoy western and wilderness stories. Recommended.

IDW The Man From The Great North 112pages $24.99

By Alan Spinney

After a career of graphic design, art direction and copywriting, I still have a passion for words and pictures. I love it when a comic book comes together; the story is tight, and the drawings lead me forward. Art with words... the toughest storytelling technique to get right. Was this comic book worth your money? Let's see!!