Trickster: Native American Tales, a Graphic Collection Edited by Matt Dembicki

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Bookworm Sez: Illustrations frame each tale of tricks


By Terri Schlichenmeyer
July 25, 2010

“Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection” edited by Matt Dembicki (Fulcrum Books, 232 pages, $22.95)

“I got yer nose.”

Remember that? Some relative, usually an uncle or somebody, tucked his thumb in his fingers and somehow, you were convinced that your nose was in his hand. How many times did you fall for that when you were 3 years old?

Back then, such tricks were a harmless way of teasing a gullible kid like you. But as you grew up, pranks became sophisticated and sometimes, they felt meaner.

In the new book “Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection,” edited by Matt Dembicki, you'll read ancient tales of pranks and tricks; some nasty and some just plain funny.

While killing time one day in a library, Matt Dembicki came across a book of Native American myths and tales. Intrigued, he pooled together a group of illustrators and storytellers. This book is the result.

From Yup'ik Eskimo John Active, illustrated by Jason Copland, comes the story of Raven, who tricked the Dog into letting him go free, then tricked the Beluga into opening its mouth wide. Finally, Raven fooled the hunters into leaving their prey, and he took the entire catch.

Chief Kiha, who ruled the Waipi'o Valley, was angry when someone stole his ‘Awa. In “Puapualenalena, Wizard Dog of Waipi'o Valley” by Thomas C. Cummings, Jr. and illustrated by Paul Zdepski, the culprit is a spotted dog who took the roots for his elderly father. When Chief Kiha orders the dog to be killed, the old man spins a tale of brutish spirits and possibility.

Did you ever wonder why rabbits have puffy little tails? In “Rabbit's Choctaw Tail Tale” by Tim Tingle, pictures by Pat Lewis, Rabbit wouldn't stop talking. He almost talked Fox into giving up a tasty fish, but Fox was a fast thinker. He quickly tricked Rabbit into leaving not only the fish, but a bit of butt as well.

And from the Navajo comes the tale of Mai and the Cliff-Dwelling Birds (story by Sunny Dooley, art by J. Chris Campbell). When Coyote decides that he wants to fly, it just might be possible - until a few birdbrains trick him in more ways than one.

Years ago, civic leaders often swore that comic books would be the ruination of civilization. They never saw comics like this…

In his afterword, editor Matt Dembicki says that this book almost wasn't published.
“People I approached about the project were unsure of my intentions,” he says.

But one supporter became three became 21 storytellers from across the mainland, Hawaii and Alaska; each matched with comic artists who illustrated the stories as told to them.

While I enjoyed reading the tales themselves, what I liked best about “Trickster” was seeing how each artist interpreted the legend they were given. Some tales were made dark and foreboding, while others were given a lighthearted mien. Those differences and perceptions give each old tale a fresh, new twist.

If you think mythology and folk tales are boring, this book will change your mind. Once you open it, “Trickster” has got yer brain.

"Trickster" rounds up American Indian writers.

A Star Tribune Review
By ANDREW A. SMITH, Scripps Howard News Service
Last update: July 15, 2010 - 4:11 PM



"Trickster" (Fulcrum Books, $23) is one of those brilliant ideas that, in retrospect, are so obvious, people slap their foreheads and say, "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Trickster" editor Matt Dembicki rounded up American Indian writers from across the United States, and paired them with artists (including himself) to relate tales of American Indian trickster gods. They conjured up more than 20 tales of pure, undiluted magic.

Trickster-god stories are as varied as the tribes that told them as instructions, jokes, morality tales and more. Some trickster gods take on a specific form; others shape-shift into animals such as ravens, rabbits and foxes. The variety is amazing, and no two tales are alike.

For example, in "Azban and the Crayfish," a clever trickster takes the form of a raccoon, plays dead and allows a crayfish to take credit for "killing" him. That brings the crayfish just close enough to eat, and a lesson is learned about bragging.

Some tricksters can be helpful, as in "The Bear That Stole the Chinook," in which Coyote rescues the wind from Bear after Owl and Weasel fail. Some are selfish troublemakers, such as the egotistical trickster who ruins the order of the stars in "Coyote and the Pebbles."

But whatever form the trickster takes, and whatever his scheme, it generally results in chaos or trouble for someone -- sometimes the trickster.

Trickster gods are not unheard of in comics. For example, Loki, the Norse god of mischief, has been a constant in Marvel's "Thor" comics since the early 1960s. Steve Englehart's "Coyote" was an influential book in the 1980s at Eclipse and Epic, with art by Marshall Rogers, Steve Leialoha and others. (It's available in five trade paperbacks from Image now.) Anansi, the Spider God of West Africa and the Caribbean, has been hero, villain and supporting character in a variety of comics.

Which just goes to show that trickster gods and comics were made for each other.

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