Northwest Passage vol. 1

The year is 1755.  The setting is Rupert’s Land in Canada.  The place is Fort Newcastle, the home of legendary explorer Charles Lord, his son, and the many men who work under them and seek to tame the wilds in the interest of the King.  Lord is set to go back to England soon, but he finds himself yearning for the old days when he and his companions explored the countryside and sought the fabled “Northwest Passage” to India.  Naturally, he gets his wish in the most painful way possible for him, but in a way that makes for a thrilling, manly adventure for the rest of us.  Writer/artist Scott Chantler serves up an adventure that may seem familiar in its characters and direction, but is executed with such confidence and style that it winds up feeling fresh again.

Now I can see how some people might be turned off by Chantler’s style, which has a very cartoonish look to it.  However, if you’ve seen Steve Rolston’s work on “Queen and Country” (and if you haven’t, you should) then you know that this kind of approach can perfectly communicate drama without losing any of its intensity.  Plus it makes the story feel like Michael Mann’s “The Last of the Mohicans” by way of Jeff Smith, and that’s a good thing.

If I have any complaints, it’s that while this is the “first volume” there’s no indication when or if we’ll ever see any more of this series.  The three volumes that are collected here hail from 2005-2006 and while this edition was published last year, I have yet to hear if there will ever be more.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as the story here is very self contained, but it ends in a way that clearly indicates that Chantler has more of this story to tell.  Based on what we have here, I hope we get to see it someday.