The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 1913: Tales from the Bay, 1995

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(Edit: as I was going over the information on this comic in my personal database, I realized it was published by Co-Ed Communications, sponsored by The Bay. I'll keep it as my "H" comic though.)

Given the year of its publication, and the publisher, I was fully expecting this comic to be waaaaayyyy more racist than it actually turned out to be. Though there's definitely some trumpeting of the triumphs of HBC explorers, the first story is actually of Thanadelthur, a Chipewyan woman who fostered peace between her people and the Cree, and helped the HBC to further its trading territories. The comic was published as a learning aid for schools, to there's even caption boxes asking readers to look into the characters and languages more. Which, being the eternal student, I did. Thanadelthur is a pretty fascinating figure.

The other two stories are of William Wales and his study of the transit of Venus, and of George Simpson, a governor of the HBC. Neither story mentions Native Canadian people, really, though a little bit of research into Simpson shows that when he brought his English wife to Canada, native women who had married traders and HBC employees were no longer allowed in "society." Unsurprising, really. The British really were the worst a lot of the time.

The art is excellent all the way through, utilizing graduates of various well-known Canadian art schools, and there's definitely a desire to elucidate the fascinating history of the Hudson's Bay Company in North America, despite leaving out some of the more egregious things the company did during that time. Again, at the time this was published, settler Canada was just starting to publicly come to terms with its treatment of the Indigenous people who were here before us. I like to think that in the 25 years since this comic came out, we've made great strides in that area. Though, really, not great enough.

H is for the HBC

A Canadian institution

Blankets, pelts, and firearms

And now? Restitution?

More to follow.

Further Reading and Related Links

Finding decent representations of Indigenous peoples in comics is tough. Surprisingly, a Marvel Two-In-One annual from the 80s is really quite excellent.

And if you'd like a bit more Canadian history, The Halifax Explosion is worth a read. If, I suppose, one can find a McDonald's Happy Meal comic about Canadian history just kicking about ;D.