• Age: 13
• Grade: 8

Referencing a classic Haida oral narrative, this stunning full-colour graphic novel documents the tragic story of a leader so blinded by revenge that he leads his community to the brink of war and destruction. Consisting of 108 pages of hand-painted illustrations, Red is a groundbreaking mix of Haida imagery and Japanese manga. Now available in paperback, the hardcover edition was nominated for the B.C. Bookseller’s Choice Award, a Doug Wright Award for Best Book and a 2010 Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding Canadian Cartoonist. It was also an Amazon Top 100 book of 2009.

Red is the prideful leader of a small village in the islands off the northwest coast of British Columbia. His sister was abducted years ago by a band of raiders. When news comes that she has been spotted in a nearby village, Red sets out to rescue his sister and exact revenge on her captors. Tragic and time- less, it is reminiscent of such classic stories as Oedipus Rex and Macbeth. Red is an action-packed and dazzling graphic novel that is also a cautionary tale about the devastating effects of rage and retribution.

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas is the creator of Haida Manga, a distinctive fusion of pop graphics, Haida art and Japanese comic styles. His books include A Tale of Two Shamans; Flight of the Hummingbird, with an afterword by the Dalai Lama;Hachidori, a bestseller in Japan; and Red: A Haida Manga nominated for a BC Book Award, a Doug Wright Award for Best Book, and a 2010 Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding Canadian Cartoonist. RED was an Amazon.ca Top 100 book of 2009. Yahgulanaas is also a sculptor and graphic artist whose work is in the collections of the British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Seattle Art Museum, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver International Airport, City of Vancouver, City of Kamloops and University of British Columbia. He pulls from his 20 years of political experience in the Council of the Haida Nation and travels the world speaking to businesses, institutions and communities about social justice, community building, communication and change management. For more, see mny.ca. Yahgulanaas lives on an island in the Salish Sea, with his wife and daughter.

Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas' profile page

"Fusing the bold primary colours and geometric forms characteristic of classical Haida visual art with the emotionally expressive cartooning style of Japanese manga...the traditional Haida story, freighted with all the sombre inevitability of Sophocles, is told in 108 pages of spectacularly beautiful, hand-painted images."

Vancouver Review

"This Haida manga intriguingly blends graphic storytelling with a fine art sensibility...Yahgulanaas communicates via an arresting series of images evoking the traditional visual arts of the Haida people...A unique work with appeal both for those looking for something different in graphic novels, and for those with an interest in the expression of contemporary Native American culture."

Publishers Weekly

Red: A Haida Manga

Yahgulanaas has created a new form of writing in Red: A Haida Manga by combining the Japanese manga style layout with Haida art images and story. Red is a Haida orphan who grows up to be the chief of his village, but he also has many unhappy emotions that guide his life. Raiders kidnap his only family, his sister Jaada, and he is driven by anger and revenge to try to rescue her. In so doing, he endangers his community and destroys his sister’s new life. This manga is read in the Western not Japanese style and the order of graphics is a bit confusing at times.

Yahgulanaas is a Haida artist and author who also wrote Flight of the Hummingbird.

Caution: War, a murder and a suicide are included. It also contains some nudity.

Red: A Haida Manga

Yahgulanaas has created a new form of writing in Red: A Haida Manga by combining the Japanese manga style layout with Haida art images and story. Red is a Haida orphan who grows up to be the chief of his village, but he also has many unhappy emotions that guide his life. Raiders kidnap his only family, his sister Jaada, and he is driven by anger and revenge to try to rescue her. In so doing, he endangers his community and destroys his sister’s new life. This manga is read in the Western not Japanese style and the order of graphics is a bit confusing at times.

Yahgulanaas is a Haida artist and author who also wrote Flight of the Hummingbird.

Caution: War, a murder and a suicide are included. It also contains some nudity.