Fantastic Universe of Buddy Longway

The fantastic universe of the series of Cartoon Buddy Longway , is located at the the United States at the time of the conquest of territories of the west and the arrival of the colonists Irish, in particular due to the great famine of the potato. The history proceeds between the center and the west of the country, in mountainous areas and vast plains, on the natural territory of many Indian tribes.

Characters

Buddy Longway
Chinook
Kathleen
Jeremy
Slim one-eyed the
Captain Ryan

Environment and Graphics

In the work of Derib, the environment that it natural or is conceived by the man always has an important place. In the drawing, although there remains simple and with the first little detailed access, remains actually an important part of the cartoon because, the scenarios being held in a high environment colors, it appeared logical then to the draftsman to keep this importance in its work.

The myth of the trapper

This series puts in scene the myth of the trapper active at the Conquête of the wild West. It has all the traditional attributes of the myth created by the authors of western: a rifle, an attaching horse which is clean for him, a hat in skin of beaver, an Indian jacket, boots in skin, a knowledge of the wild mediums. In that, the series enters within the traditional framework, but what differs and makes all the interest of the narration, it is the graphics which follows the seasons, the characters with the passing of years and the fact of evolving/moving.

The presence of the horses

In all the cartoons of Derib, one notes this quasi omnipresent presence of the horses. In this series, several albums have as a central axis these animals, their relationship with the white men or the Indians. One notes, as for the characters, same the concern of the graphic detail, sometimes, one can think that the horses are crunched then deferred on paper. The horses are characters with whole share: they age with their rider and one feels the sadness of the character at the time of died of his mounting.

The family

The family is a expensive topic with Derib. She appears in this series like a unit inébranlable, the logical base of life: a couple and two children living harmonize some with nature and those which surround it. The saga depicts the various adventures and peregrinations of the Longway family in various areas which will become the United States.

The conquest of the west

Buddy Longway is not the only series of comic strip to treat conquest of the west and of its repercussions, but with the difference for example of the blue Tuniques or of Blueberry , which changes largely, it is focusing on the two people, the Indians and the white, by the means of Chinook, an Indian and of Buddy Longway, which lives in mixed couple with it. It is not nor a " history of indiens" , nor a " history of blancs".

Buddy Longway and the conquest

Being wire of immigrant and immigrating itself, Buddy Longway chooses to venture in the distant and wild regions in order to become trapper. He takes natural elements as wood to build his houses, meat of animals to nourish itself and skins to haggle over. In that, it does not differ from the other trappers, but it also seeks to respect nature by using the resources only for its single subsistence and that of its family.

Relations between white and Indian men

Through the relation between Chinook and Buddy Longway

The relation between these two characters illustrates the possible agreement between opened European civilization and the native people of America. It shows that an agreement and a peace are possible between two opposite and basically different people. This relation gives rise to two children, which poses the problem of the co-education, an interbreeding which is rather well accepted by the Indian community of Chinook, but at all by the white community.

Through the other characters

If Chinook and Buddy Longway knew themselves, it is because Chinook was removed from its tribe Sioux. At the commencement of the series, one notes a conflict between the white and the red man. Throughout the albums, episodes will mark this racial conflict and xenophobe against the Indians.

One sees well with the wire of the albums that the conflicts between the white and the Indians multiply, gain in violence and frequency. A expensive topic with the author who notes the details of the genocide and the progressive metamorphosis of a wandering population in a sedentary population. The massacres of bisons for their fur and either for the subsistence, the territorial projection, nonthe respect of the inhabitants are marks of nonthe respect by the white of the habits and the lifestyles of the Indians…

The Indian fight

In the same way that Jonathan is a cartoon asserting and supporting the fight for the independence of Tibet, this series shows the various acts of resistance of the Indian populations met by the characters. One never attends Indian wars strictly speaking, but rather with skirmishes, ambushes or vendetta against white.

Bonds

On Buddy Longway, the heart of the subject
synthetic interview on Buddy Longway

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