"Chris Oliveros's Are You Willing to Die for the Cause? takes on the improbable, chaotic, rag-tag origins of the FLQ in Quebec in the 1960s. With cartooning that is at once charming, humorous and gritty, Oliveros captures the people behind this movement that began with noble ideas and descended into tragedy with high-school students delivering hand-made bombs between classes. Oliveros reconstructs these wild true events by recreating–in splendid and simple details–the street corners and tiny apartments and young revolutionaries involved. He reveals Montreal in the 1960s in all its dreamy, working class squalor and glory." –Heather O'Neill, author of When We Lost Our Heads
"Meticulously researched and beautifully delivered... Oliveros reveals fascinating details of a group that, depending on which side you find yourself on politically, was either a ragtag team of terrorists or well-intentioned freedom fighters." –
Toula Drimonis, author of We, the Others "Chris Oliveros is the most under-appreciated master-cartoonist of the last 40 years. With this new graphic novel–brilliantly told and beautifully drawn–that should all be about to change." –
Seth, author of Clyde Fans "Oliveros has crafted a beautifully drawn, gripping graphic novel about a volatile moment in Quebec History as seen through the perspective of an English Montrealer." –
Michel Hellman, author of Mile End "An illustrated look at the early years of the FLQ that investigates the birth of the militant separatist group and the beginning of one of the country's most challenging historical periods." –
The Globe & Mail "Eye-opening and quirkily appealing." –
The Globe & Mail Review "An engaging introduction to a fascinating historical and cultural flashpoint." –
Kirkus Reviews "[An] electrifying firsthand history, supported by copiously detailed research notes, that captures the group's diverse perspectives and personalities... Oliveros takes these distinct storytellers at their word, styling their tales with accessible, brightly colored art." –
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "Books like
Are You Willing to Die for the Cause remind us that, at the heart of these conflicts are flawed human beings, often with vanities, foibles, inadequacies and obsessions cloaked in the garb of higher principles." –Rob Salkowitz,
Forbes "Oliveros' use of interviews gives smooth transitions between setup and in-the-moment narrative such that readers will be surprised when they realize how many pages they have turned." –
blogcritics "Idealism meets violence in Chris Oliveros's
Are You Willing to Die for the Cause?, a thorough but approachable nonfiction graphic novel that looks beyond the headlines of the Québec sovereignty movement of the 1960s." –
Shelf Awareness "Assembled from oral histories and forgotten sources, Oliveros's latest will be essential reading for history buffs and graphic novel aficionados alike." –
Quill & Quire "An engaging example of the ways the combination of words and drawn images can engage readers both young and old in real-life events outside the confines of a historical textbooks." –
Winnipeg Free Press