Review by Frank Plowright
This is the third graphic novel featuring Ojibwa brothers Rabbit and his larger younger brother Bear Paws and their comedy adventures in the 18th century. They’re a format for writing collaborators Christopher Meyer and Chad Solomon to pass on Native American culture and legends to a younger generation, especially the teachings of the Seven Grandfathers. These are the qualities needed to live a good life, and it’s love addressed in True Hearts.
Rabbit is the more mischievous of the brothers, keen on using his father’s magic powder to turn into animals and prone to playing tricks on others, but it seems he’s met his match in Strawberry, a young girl also attending a wedding. Before it can take place, though, it’s been determined there’s to be a competition to decide who should marry Swan. In a good twist, the plot is complicated by the return of old boyfriend Swaying Tree, who under other circumstances would easily win the contest, but accidental sabotage occurs.
Meyer and Solomon have plenty of lessons to pass on, and do this through Rabbit having his behaviour questioned. This is naturally incorporated into ongoing events, and they also address the matter of Swan having her partner chosen for her rather than being able to make her own choice, a sensitive subject considering the abiding premise is to educate about tradition.
Adventures of Rabbit and Bear Paws is aimed at young readers, and at times there’s not the necessary consideration for that, as on the sample art. Adults might have trouble figuring out Rabbit, in fish form, has been swallowed by a larger fish, never mind children. That aside, Solomon’s cartooning has improved as he becomes more comfortable with the characters and the situations. Visually, these can now raise a laugh rather than a smile, with a joke about a turkey toward the end particularly hitting the spot.
The influence of Asterix and Obelix is now embedded in the premise, so while still derivative, Adventures of Rabbit and Bear Paws is improving by book by book. The Voyageurs is the next in the series.
