Mar. 24, 2010 - Issue #753: Zion I

Prairie folk hero

Illustrator discovers the importance of making our own legends

Alberta doesn't have too many bonafide folk heroes, but you could certainly count John Ware among their smallish ranks. An African-American cowboy in the early 1900s, born a slave in America but freed after the Civil War, he eventually found the dusty trails of the cowboy lifestyle to his liking, helping herd cattle up to the prairies and pioneer the ranching industry in frontier Canada amidst all the turn-of-the-century racism and wild-west frontiering.

You might not have heard of him; neither had Bob Prodor before being given the opportunity to draw the Duchess Ranch of Old John Ware, a graphic novel collecting the frontier stories of Ware's life. But as he notes, there's a certain merit to capturing local legends. After all, few people do.
"I was on a panel with a few other comic book creators once, and one of them was Minister Faust, who is a local writer/DJ," Prodor explains. "One of the things he was saying was that it's important that we make our own legends. You read Spider-Man or any Marvel comics, and they all take place in New York. Every second Hollywood movie ... the aliens always invade in LA."

Prodor's drawings make up one-third of the collaboration which includes himself, writer James Davidge and musician Shawn Canning. Canning has recorded an entire rustic soundtrack to the novel (available for free download at bayeux.com.)

The partnership was so successful, it has spawned another locally-looking project, 13 minutes, focused on Alberta's eugenics program, Dadaist art and the Prairie Hockey League, due out later this year. And both works have Prodor thinking about crafting a folk-hero character of his own; maybe not one rooted in history, but a homegrown creation regardless.

"I think that's really important to us," Prodor says, "to not only tell the stories of real [local] people that happened, but also make [some] up. Like, 'Hey, wouldn't be it cool if Spiderman grew up in Crestwood, and used to go to Meadowlark mall?'" V

Sat, Mar 27 (1 pm)
Duchess Ranch of Old John Ware book launch
Written by James Davidge
Art by Bob Prodor
Happy Harbour Comics (10326 - 81 Ave)
104 pp, $10.99

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