Nova Graphica: A Comic Anthology of Nova Scotia History by Laura Ķeniņš

Nova Graphica: A Comic Anthology of Nova Scotia History Reviews

• 
  Chris

  Love these old stories, graphic style, little slices of Nova Scotia through the years. Some sweetnesses and some of its darker sides. My favourite was “Viola Desmond Had a Dream Too” by Rebecca Roher. A story I thought I knew, but Roher’s telling goes much deeper than others, and brilliantly connects the dots between then and now. She even gets into the land deeds issue facing hundreds of Black Nova Scotian families.
• 
  Katy

  A thoughtful and moving anthology, with some excellent storytelling and well presented truths from Nova Scotia's past. I laughed, I cried, I learned new things and overall, I just really enjoyed this book. 4.5/5 stars
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  Adrienne

  I picked up this little gem from a roadside community book box. What a great find! The subject matter of the pieces in this comic anthology of Nova Scotian history varies wildly and even included a few spooky local ghost stories. Jordyn Bochon's "The Daughter of the North Mountain" was a standout, as was Rebecca Roher's piece about Viola Desmond, the history of Black settlers in Nova Scotia, and the rampant racism that still casts a dark shadow on the province. Mi'kmaw history is discussed in the intro and peeks through in some of the comics, but I was kind of surprised that there wasn't more emphasis on indigenous content (the only piece dedicated to this topic is a poem by Rebecca Thomas about how someone really needs to knock down that statue of Cornwallis already).
• 
  Keisha Adams

  Collection of short comics about various parts of NS history ranging from ghost stories to Viola Desmond, black activist and entrepreneur. The intro is full of information on the colonization of the province, the immigration of various peoples, the oppression of black and indigenous people, and the ideas and attitudes that surround NS. It was interesting that the Mi'kmaw people were mentioned in the intro, but not a single comic related to them.
  
  Overall enjoyed the history of Viola Desmond and the one about the company houses in dying Cape Breton the most. Liked the artwork from the first ghost story.
• 
  Elizabeth

  Nova Graphica is a really interesting, solid graphic anthology of Nova Scotia history, offering up a variety of history and folklore, some of which is little known. As with any anthology, some of the stories stand out more than others, but they're all really solid and unconventional looks into the province's history. My personal favourite was The Daughter of the North Mountain by Jordyn Bochon, but there was plenty else to enjoy here. Recommended!
• 
  Kaitlyn Denny

  Really, really liked this “light” read. Light as in volume, not subject matter. Highly recommend to all Nova Scotians as a quick little infographic mini series of history lessons, or any one wanting to know about Nova Scotia culture.
• 
  Rao

  Not my favourite. Could have been longer to better represent the plethora of cultures we have in NS. (Also not a fan of the foreward/intro/blurb painting gaelic culture negatively and as a mere caricature.....)
• 
  Merenwen

  I feel like some of the comics have nuances that you wouldn't understand unless you're a Nova Scotian, but it's still a good read.
• 
  Chinook

  I liked this history of common and important people. I don’t know all that much about Nova Scotia, so this was interesting. I also enjoy the format of short graphic story anthologies.
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  Michael Fredericks

  I haven't read this book yet although I just purchased it. I just want to mention that that the subtitle is not correct. It should read "graphic" not "comic".