- Buddy Longway
Buddy Longway is a western
comic book written by theSwiss comic book writerDerib . It is published under theLe Lombard publishing house. The first issue came out in 1972, and 14 issues were published until 1987 until Derib restarted the series in 2002, continuing with six further issues until 2006, [http://www.buddylongway.com/albums.htm Derib biography] , www.buddylongway.com, retrieved March 13, 2008. (French)] until he announced that the 20th issue, "La Source", would be the last. Both the story arcs and the drawings are praised for the realistic portrayal of the simplistic, rough life as a trapper. [http://www3.pro-helvetia.ch/expo/comic/comic_e/schweiz.html Swiss Comic-History] ]Overview
The series is a family saga which centers around the eponymous character Buddy Longway, a
trapper who lives in the wilderness. He lives as a partner of aSioux Native American woman called Chinook. In the course of the series, they have two children, Jeremy and Kathleen. Main topics of the series, which is set in the 19th century, are living in the wilderness, interracial relationships, [http://www.evene.fr/livres/actualite/interview-derib-buddy-longway-tome-20-source-yakari-336.php Un Indien dans la ville: INTERVIEW DE DERIB] ] Native American culture, coming of age (Jeremy and Kathleen) and age (Buddy Longway).Background
Buddy Longway is described as a brooding, vulnerable character who visibly ages during the course of the series. [http://www.buddylongway.com/coeur/coeur1.htm Le coeur de sujet] , www.buddylongway.com, retrieved March 13, 2008. (French)] Derib commented: "I am someone very emotional and I believe to know how to transfer this dimension into a comic book." Derib deliberately chose this slant, which was unusual compared to contemporary Western comics like "
Lucky Luke " or "Blueberry": "I wanted to renew the narrative modes in comics, especially the notion that a hero should be perfect, invincible or immortal (e.g. "Lucky Luke" or "Blueberry"), so my idea was to write about a simple man." [ [http://www.buddylongway.com/saga/saga1.htm Le Saga] , www.buddylongway.com, retrieved March 13, 2008. (French)] Derib said he was extremely fond of Buddy Longway, so much that he almost regards him like a son.References
External links
* [http://www.buddylongway.com/ Official page] (French)
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