Canada Post revealed a stamp drawn by a graphic novelist from Mabou.
Kate Beaton explains that her and the other talented and influential featured Canadian illustrators were asked to draw themselves reading one of their own books.
“When they asked me to be a part of the series in in 2022, Ducks had not yet come out and I said to them, I think that the book I’m working on right now will probably eclipse my other work, if you want to hold on. And so, they put me in the second series,” she shared.
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands won Canada Reads in 2023, and was featured in the New York Times, The Guardian and other publications.
It was also awarded as one of Barack Obama’s favourite books and has been translated into nine different languages.
Other popular books by Beaton include Hark! A Vagrant, The Princess and the Pony, King Baby and Shark Girl.
She also produced an animated series called Pinecone & Pony.
“I’ve had the privilege of having a career at a time when graphic novels are being sort of legitimized in the public eye as an art form and as a serious way to present stories,” shared Beaton.
“My inclusion in something like Canada Reads is another major step for Canadian comics because I remember years ago, when the first graphic novel was put into Canada Reads, it was dismissed immediately because it was a comic,” she said.
“So, for mine to take it all the way to the end shows how people are receiving comics in a different way. I’m very proud to be a part of that.”
Her stamp will be sold with five other Canadian graphic novelists, including Jimmy Beaulieu, Guy Delisle, Julie Doucet, Bryan Lee O’Malley and Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas.
