Histoire, histoires… Blood Upon the Rose de Gerry Hunt et Louis Riel. A Comic Strip Biography de Chester Brown

• Main Author: Valérie Morisson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Université Paris XIII 2011-10-01
• Series: Comicalités
• Subjects: colonialisme; guerre; histoire; Irlande; martyr; nationalisme
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/comicalites/603

In their historical graphic novels, focused on pivotal episodes of Irish and Manitobian history, Gerry Hunt and Chester Brown put in the limelight two heroes that are, in their countries, elevated to the status of martyrs. If the authors’ graphic and narrative choices differ, both of them question the virtues of these much-debated heroes and claim their right to provide well-grounded but daring interpretations of the forging of the nation and its myths. Blood Upon the Rose and Chester Brown are nonetheless underpinned by two diverging visions of History since the fight for independence is viewed either as the achievement of an enlightened individual or as the result of a collective rebellion.