Dustship Glory

Description

Elaine M. Will’s four-part adaptation of Andreas Schroeder’s 1986 novel Dustship Glory tells the story of Damanus ‘Tom’ Sukanen, a Finnish immigrant farmer who came to Canada during the economic Depression of the 1930s. Haunted by his past and devastated by the economic slump and drought conditions that laid waste to the Canadian prairies in the 1930s, Sukanen responded by building a full-sized ship in his farmyard, hundreds of miles from the sea. The complete graphic novel, Dust-Ship Glory, is now available. Will is the Xeric Award-winning Canadian author and cartoonist behind the critically acclaimed mental health drama graphic novel, Look Straight Ahead.

Reviews

“I can find the spirit of these stories in Elaine Will’s Dust-Ship Glory. Desperation. Resourcefulness. Community. Hope.”

— Splashes and Speech Bubbles

“Beautifully drawn and written, this is a wonderful character-driven story, as well as a commentary on mental illness and family.”

— Rogues Portal

“I was drawn to it because it was such a strange story and there was something eerie and magical about it.”

– CBC News Saskatoon

“Will’s stark black and white, pen and ink illustrations capture both the bleakness of the Saskatchewan landscape and personalities of the characters readers meet in the story.” Recommended.

– Canadian Materials

“Will displays here the same mastery of comic storytelling that she showed us in Look Straight Ahead. Although it’s a very different type of story, it’s one that she tells expertly. Well worth picking up for her storytelling abilities, and you’ll almost certainly learn a thing or two that you should have been, but weren’t, taught in school as well.

– Kleefeld on Comics

“Clean and clear black and white graphics tell the tale of Tom building his ship while flashback sequences are wonderfully shaded with multi-toned ink wash.”

– First Comics News

“The allegorical aspects of Will’s comic are universal, even as it’s tough to comprehend the horrors of the Depression and the drought in the Midwest (of both Canada and the United States). Dust-Ship Glory is a fascinating book, because Will doesn’t overdo the messages in it, just allows us to come to them slowly and organically. Give it a look!”

– Atomic Junkshop

“It goes to show that anything is possible, even building an ocean-going steamship in the middle of the parched prairies. Perhaps there’s hope yet for the dreamers.”

– Rocky Mountain Outlook

“[A] compelling character study delivered by a supremely confident storyteller.”

– Broken Frontier

“I am impressed with the volume, the quality and the detail of the artist’s work.”

– Prairie History Blog