Dembicki, Matt, ed. Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection. Chicago Review Press – Fulcrum, 2010. 232 pages. $24.81, ISBN 978-1555917241.
Our ancestors have passed down tales from generation to generation. Sometimes those stories get changed or altered based on the storyteller, but the messages are still clear. Trickster: Native American Tales by Matt Dembicki shows us just how true this is. Dembicki mentions in a “Note from the Editor” at the end of book, that he wanted to create something that was genuinely authentic to Native American culture, and as such, chose 21 different Native storytellers to author the variety of tales throughout the book. Each storyteller was joined by a comic artist to create the illustrations.
Each tale depicts a different trickster story through the eyes of that author and that illustrator. The tales surrounding it are not in any way interconnected or woven together, they are all simply of the same narrative, each using it’s own unique voice and characterization. By creating a graphic novel style of storytelling, it allows the readers to engage more intensely with the story being shared. Being able to see the characters, hear their own unique voices, and watch the story unfold like a movie helps draw readers into the narrative. Without the use of such vast illustrations, the storytelling would be severely lacking, as is the way of graphic novels.
Though this is targeted towards pre-teen and teen audiences, it could easily be shared with younger and older readers as well. Seeing as each story is created by a different set of authors and illustrators, they can be read independently of one another. Also because of this, it’s important for readers to know and understand each illustrator has a different style and technique, which means each story is going to look different; some use vibrant and bold colors, while others use a more monochromatic approach. Some use realistic looking creatures and others are very clearly cartoonish in nature.
Overall, the Dembicki held true to having only Native American storytellers share the different tales of the Trickster. At the end of the anthology, there are brief biographies of each author and illustrator that took part in this project and it has received positive remarks that Dembicki has created a 10th Anniversary edition of the book, with a few new tales and contributors.
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