The Loxleys and the War of 1812

The Loxleys and the War of 1812 (preview)
Story - Alan Grant
Art - Cladue St. Aubin
Color - Lovern Kindzerski
Letters - Todd Klein

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. I'm no historian, but I do love to read about this great country of ours.  It's been a good 10 years since I've done any reading on Canada's war with the United States, so I was pretty excited to dive into a preview of the upcoming Renegade Press book, The Loxleys and the War of 1812.

Historical fiction always walks a tight rope between fact recitation and storytelling, and writer Alan Grant has done an amazing job setting up the story. This preview does an admirable job of setting up the reasons why the War of 1812 started in the first place (the British hindering the American efforts to expand west by supporting the Tecumseh's Indian tribes, impressment of U.S. naval vessels, and an appearance of British weakness due to a war against France). Somehow, Grant manages to get these points across, and still leave room to give the characters some personality and room to develop.

Claude St. Aubin does a spectacular job on the artwork.  It's lighter tone will make this book accessible to a wide audience, yet it never sacrifices it's ability to communicate pain and anxiety during moments of tension.  In particular, Eliza Loxley reading her husbands first letter home is well done.  The art isn't melodromatic or over the top, it serves the story perfectly.

Nearly every panel has a well drawn and thought out background, helping to set the scene.  The Loxley cabin is spacious and real, and the Siege of Detroit is rendered with such detail that you can imagine the weight of library books piled on St. Aubin's art table.  He's convinced me as a reader that he has done his homework, yet no panel looks like it's a verbatim drawing from a photograph in a textbook.  A sign of a true artist.

Lovern Kindzierski has applied his colouring genius to this story.  I cut my teeth colouring at Lovern's Digital Chameleon studio over a decade ago, and every time I see his work, it is a reminder of how far I am from being a real colourist.  His colour pallete separates planes nicely, and his modelling follows what St. Aubin has set up with the lineart.  Most importantly, the pages are actually COLOURFUL!  So many books published these days seem either be coloured in greyed out colours, or have hues so dark that some of the lineart is actually obscured.  Lovern is a master, and proves it every time his name is attached to a book.

Here's a great panel example of how well Kindzierski separates fore, middle and background with his colour choices.  This photo, taken with an iPhone, doesn't do it justice.

My only criticism is a single bit of dialogue uttered at the beginning of the preview - a gentleman walks into a community dance...

Laura: ...my good man here spends his time worrying about war with America!
James: Well, they have so many reasons, you see.  For example, the way the British stop and search American vessels--

Wow, this guy must be the life of the party!

It's one of my main beefs about historical fiction.  Characters that dispense historical facts that don't feel natural at all.    It's a necessary evil in the genre, and it works to communicate the details of history, but it seems so out of place.  Alan Grant only relies on this storytelling tactic once in the entire 22 page preview, so it doesn't spoil the great story.  And for all I know, James' character may be a guy who is so hip to worldly affairs that he's always rambling on about them, whether his audience is looking for a lecture or a dance on a Saturday night.

For a slightly more extreme example of how silly this storytelling technique can get, check out this Heritage Minute commercial describing Vince Coleman warning a train approaching Halifax that the biggest man-made explosion the earth had seen up to that point was about to wipe out the entire city.

I seriously doubt that anyone focused on saving the lives of innocent people is going to waste time telling the person next to him some historically accurate yet context irrelevant facts, such as "the train is coming in towards Pier 6", and that "there are 700 people aboard it!".

Anyhow, I digress.  Grant, St. Aubin and Kindzierski's talents shine telling this story, and I can safely say that this preview alone has me very excited for the full release this April.

The hardcover release of The Loxleys and the War of 1812 will also feature a 30 page essay on the war by Canadian war historian Mark Zuehlke.  Zuehlke's previous writings on the Canadian experiences at Juno Beach, Ortona and the liberation of the Netherlands during the Second World War are fantastic, well researched books, and having his comments in this volume will be a real bonus.

I invite you to like The Loxleys and the War of 1812 on Facebook!

Also, check out The Loxleys and the War of 1812 on Renegade Arts Entertainment's official site.


Currently playing: Blue Rodeo - Outskirts
Proudly in my sixth Cola free year!

I'm no Bronie.

The Care Bear painting I did for our friend's daughter's birthday last month was such a hit that we've decided to paint more cutouts for our daughter. I'm not sure where the time has gone, but she turns four this weekend.

The last week has been spent slaving over not one, not two, but FOUR paintings of her characters from her current favourite toy line, My Little Pony.

Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie and Applejack

Rainbow Dash

She's going to flip when she sees them!

I loved making these! My daughter is mostly interested in the toys, so I've never seen an entire episode of the show.

I wouldn't want anyone to mistake me for a Bronie (a male My Little Pony fanatic).

That's just, well, weird.

Currently playing: Ginuwine - Pony
Proudly in my sixth Cola free year!