Comic shop hosts graphic novel author
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/07/2019 (2479 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Honouring Canada’s rich socialist history, Calgarian author James Davidge has released a graphic novel commemorating the birth of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation.
Davidge was on hand at the Friendly Neighborhood Comic Shop Friday for a book signing of his latest release.
“It’s important that we share stories about Canadian history, not some of the more commonly known ones,” Davidge said.
His graphic novel “1st Legion of Utopia” celebrates the origin of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation — Canada’s first socialist party that brought together farms and labour groups.
Their first meeting was held at the No. 1 Legion in Calgary in 1932, and the party later found major success in Regina in 1933 under the leadership of Tommy Douglas, Davidge said.
The CCF party later became the NDP in 1961.
“Not many people associate Calgary, which is known for a conservative mindset, for being the birthplace of some pretty important Canadian values,” Davidge said.
The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation never formed a government federally, he said, but played an instrumental role in forming Canadian identity.
“They created the voice that got us, as Canadians, universal health care, pensions, unemployment support and all sorts of social benefits,” he said. “They were a very important party to our country.”
He was inspired to write the book after the NDP party under the leadership of Rachel Notley won the 2015 provincial election in Alberta.
“Calgary was reeling and panicking,” Davidge said.
He learned the story of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation a few days later and fell down a rabbit hole researching the political party, and wanted to turn the historic moment into a graphic novel.
He received a grant from the Alberta Foundation of the Arts and partnered with Renegade Arts Entertainment to publish the book and has been travelling across the country promoting its release.
The artists behind “1st Legion of Utopia” are Bob Prodor and Nick Johnson with lettering by Ryan Ferrier.
Davidge decided to host a book signing in Brandon after a fellow writer recommended he visit the Friendly Neighborhood Comic Shop, especially because they are known for supporting independent work.
“We can dig deeper into our history and understand that different areas of Canada aren’t as one-sided as we sometimes think. The more we understand our history, the more we can understand to hopefully work together as a society in a useful and peaceful manner.”
» ckemp@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @The_ChelseaKemp