"The Prince & the Birch Tree" is the first comic in the 15-part Seeds of Spring series. Naguset begins to learn the origin of her nickname, which means birch tree. She remembers her mother, who died when she was a child, bonds with her sister, and begins to read Kropotkin's biography, in which his family life parallels her own experience.
In this innovative serial graphic novel, Naguset, a modern Canadian Mi'kmaq teenager, exchanges books and mix tapes with her pen pal, Chris. Her imagination sparks when he sends her a biography of the 19th century Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin. The story juxtaposes Naguset's personal and political coming-of-age in her loving family home with Kropotkin's rocky upbringing in a princely palace. These two stories of eventful lives and bold hearts are interwoven with Kropotkin's theories of freedom, Mi'kmaq vocabulary and social history, and an uplifting punk soundtrack, creating a unique reading experience bound to inspire readers to think in new ways about the issues of our time.
Seeds of Spring #1: The Prince & The Birch Tree
AUTHOR: Chris Coquard is an English professor and world traveller currently living in Québec City. In his free time he is busy with many Peter Kropotkin projects, including organizing events and publishing several new writings in English for the first time. Additionally, he has also been working closely with Mi’kmaq linguists in Québec and the Maritime provinces in Canada on several language and culture-related projects.
Illustrator: Sacha Ravenda is a comic artist, illustrator, writer, and compulsive sketcher. He has been publishing print comics for two years with a few Montréal based editors and magazines. He's also done 2D art, character design, and concept art for various projects such as tabletop games and mobile games.