The first thing that hits you about Ducks is the melancholy and thoughtfulness of several simple four-panel pages which pay off with one wide panel, all rendered in greyscale, as Kate Beaton lets you know what this story is about: the two years she spent working in Alberta’s oil sands to pay off her student loans. Because many more hundred of kilometers north of here lie the oil sands, the principal setting of Kate Beaton’s autobiographical comic, Ducks – a very strong candidate for comic of the year. There have been a lot of wildfires lately as the summers have gotten more hot and dry. It was a lovely sight, marred only by the smoke from an active wildfire many hundreds of kilometers away. Not too long ago, I crested to the top of a hill and had to pause to look out over the Bow River below, its water like cast diamonds in the sunlight. I have been riding my bike a lot around the city of Calgary lately, during the summer months when things are at their warmest. Alberta is a beautiful place, despite our best efforts.
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