Are You Willing to Die for the Cause?

Quebec-born cartoonist Oliveros (The Envelope Manufacturer), founder of Drawn & Quarterly, takes his provocative title for this scintillating, incisively drawn account of Le front de libération du Québec (FLQ) from a recruitment questionnaire distributed by the separatist guerrilla faction. Founded in the 1960s, the FLQ supported workers’ rights and socialism, and saw “rich English bastards” as their oppressors. Oliveros opens with a fictionalized discovery of a box filled with transcripts. The volume is then structured as a series of excerpts from interviews with sources—politicians, journalists, former FLQ members, and others—detailing their versions of events over a seven-year period in which the FLQ committed more than 100 violent acts. The goal, as one of the principal founders declares, was “independence or death.” Accidental killings abound; there are exploding mailboxes, many Molotov cocktails, and a plethora of idealist teen recruits and kooky leaders who imagine themselves heroes. It all makes for an electrifying firsthand history, supported by copiously detailed research notes, that captures the group’s diverse perspectives and personalities (often pitted against one another). Oliveros takes these distinct storytellers at their word, styling their tales with accessible, brightly colored art. Part one of two planned volumes, this illuminating and incisive graphic history stands as an exemplar of the genre. (Oct.)