Celebrated cartoonist Kate Beaton vividly presents the untold story of Canada Before there was Kate Beaton, New York Times bestselling cartoonist of Hark A Vagrant fame, there was Katie Beaton of the Cape Breton Beatons, specifically Mabou, a tight-knit seaside community where the lobster is as abundant as beaches, fiddles and gaelic folk songs.
Her first full length graphic narrative, Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands is an untold story of Canada: a country that prides itself on its egalitarian ethos and natural beauty while simultaneously exploiting both the riches of its land and the humanity of its people..
Beaton\'s natural cartooning prowess is on full display as she draws colossal machinery and mammoth vehicles set against a sublime Albertan backdrop of wildlife, Northern Lights, and Rocky Mountains.
For young Katie, her wounds may never heal.
Katie encounters the harsh reality of life in the oil Sands where trauma is an everyday occurrence yet never discussed.
It does not hit home until she moves to a spartan, isolated worksite for higher pay.
Being one of the few women among thouSands of men, the culture shock is palpable.
Arriving in Fort McMurray, Katie finds work in the lucrative camps owned and operated by the world\'s largest oil companies.
With the singular goal of paying off her student loans, what the journey will actually cost Katie will be far more than she anticipates.
After university, Katie heads out west to take advantage of Alberta\'s oil rush, part of the long tradition of East Coasters who seek gainful employment elsewhere when they can\'t find it in the homeland they love so much.
Celebrated cartoonist Kate Beaton vividly presents the untold story of Canada Before there was Kate Beaton, New York Times bestselling cartoonist of Hark A Vagrant fame, there was Katie Beaton of the Cape Breton Beatons, specifically Mabou, a tight-knit seaside community where the lobster is as abundant as beaches, fiddles and gaelic folk songs
