Writer Pete Brouwer and artist Claude St. Aubin collaborated on the graphic novel ‘The March on Fort Whoop-Up.’
A southern Alberta writer is promoting his comic book in conjunction with the 150th anniversary in October of the arrival of the North West Mounted Police in what is now Fort Macleod .
Peter Brouwer of Diamond City wrote The March on Fort Whoop-Up and published it as a comic book, or graphic novel, to commemorate the Mounties’ famed March West.
“The story has been told many times in traditional book form,” Brouwer said. “A comic book attracts younger readers — children are more apt to read a comic over a book. And, I’m a fan. A lot of my comics are westerns from the 1950s and ’60s.”
Originally published in 2007, The March on Fort Whoop-Up begins with the establishment of the force by Prime Minister John A. MacDonald and continues to the arrival of Col. James Macleod and establishment of the fort in his name.
Col. Macleod and his troops originally marched west to end the illegal whiskey trade at Fort Whoop-Up in what is now Lethbridge. When they found it deserted, they continued to Fort Macleod, arriving on Oct. 13, 1874.
Brouwer conceived the idea of a comic book in 1998, a year ahead of the 125th anniversary of the formation of the North West Mounted Police.
This was his first attempt at writing and publishing, although he had long nurtured the idea of a comic book if he found an idea that was both interesting and worthwhile.
Brouwer did his research in history books and the library, and obtained approval from the Mounted Police Foundation in Ottawa.
“When you see the first finished results from years of work, it’s pretty exciting,” Brouwer said. “Even now I look at it and think, wow — not bad!”
Brouwer’s effort is not the first time the Mounties have been celebrated in comics.
Famed western author Zane Grey created King of the Royal Mounted, a comic strip that appeared in newspapers from the 1930s to 1960s.
King of the Royal Mounted and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon were also published as comic books.
An eight-page story about the Mounties was also published in 1959 in the comic Classics Illustrated.
Brouwer enlisted artist Claude St. Aubin to create the art for The March on Fort Whoop-Up. The two had met at an Alberta Comic Collectors Association meeting in Calgary about five years earlier.
St. Aubin was an experienced illustrator, having worked for major comic publishers including Marvel and D.C.
Brouwer also enlisted his son Craig to help with the technical aspects of converting the paper images to digital format.
Brouwer was pleased when teachers recognized the potential to use The March on Fort Whoop-Up in their classrooms, understanding the popularity of graphic novels with young readers.
A variety of schools began using The March on Fort Whoop-Up, including Calvin Christian school at Monarch, Canyon school in Pincher Creek, Erle Rivers High in Milk River, Chamberlain school in Grassy Lake, Coalhurst elementary school, and St. Patrick’s and Galbraith schools in Lethbridge.
The March on Fort Whoop-Up was also published as a serial in two southern Alberta newspapers.
Brouwer made an interesting connection with a prominent Canadian thanks to the comic.
“Don Cherry’s grandfather was one of the original Mounties,” Brouwer said. “I didn’t know this until after my comic first came out in 2007. In 2008 I sent a comic for him to Hockey Night In Canada. He sent me a five-page handwritten letter describing his grandfather’s career as a steamship captain on the Great Lakes. ”
“Then one day at work he called me on my cell phone — wow!”
Brouwer updated the graphic novel in 2017 — to coincide with Canada’s 150th anniversary — to include a chapter on the establishment of Fort Calgary.
The March on Fort Whoop-Up is available in the gift shop at The Fort — Museum of the North West Mounted Police in Fort Macleod, and on-line through the RCMP Heritage Museum in Regina.
