Графический роман рассказывает о жизни священника и профессора Мозеса Коуди, создателя Антigonish-движения

Graphic novel chronicles life of Cape Breton priest, professor Moses Coady was one of the principal architects of the Antigonish Movement Moses Coady, who lived from 1882 to 1959, was one of the principal architects of the Antigonish Movement; a mix of adult education, microfinancing for farmers, fishers and small businesses, study groups, community economic development and the co-operative movement in the Maritime provinces. Sydney writer and illustrator Donnie Calabrese has been passionate about Margaree-born Moses Coady for a long time. Coady, a Roman Catholic priest and professor at St. Francis Xavier University, lead the charge with his double first-cousin, Father Jimmy Tompkins, and other priests and academics, to form credit unions and other institutions throughout the Maritimes. Ask a person under 30 about Coady or the Antigonish Movement and they’re likely to give you a blank speech balloon look on their face. Ask why a graphic novel about these Cape Breton-born characters is important or necessary and you might get the same response. Yet it is important as their work led the way for fairness in work and pay through various Maritime industries, and in our world of clicks and tik-toking, and sound bites of fake news and numerous other time wasters, a black and white graphic novel covering many less well-known aspects of Coady’s life, from travel to remote Cape Breton fishing villages to a South Carolina resort for respite, is dramatic, entertaining, and historically informative. For a movement that began 100 years ago, out of the extension department of St. F.X., much has been written in academic papers and books and general biographies of Coady, Tompkins and the Antigonish Movement as a whole. A visit to the local library will enlighten anyone interested in these traditional ways of writing. A graphic novel is something different. - PAUL MACDOUGALL: The Sydney Sooners at 50 - Then and now: The legacy of Cape Breton’s Jeux Canada Games ‘87 - Advertisement 1Story continues below A graphic novel is akin to a storyboard for a movie. Most of the mega blockbuster movies of the 21st century are based on graphic novels. They are read by tens of thousands of people and are not something just for teenagers. The partnering of visual imagery and text, which can vary from sparse to lengthy, has become an effective way to tell stories of complex people and themes. Youssef Daoudi’s 2025 graphic novel about Orson Welles, The Giant, Orson Welles, is one such example. Calabrese’s Coady brings to life an extraordinary Cape Bretoner who made his mark in the world during the 1930s and 40s. He fills the story with academics and clergy and hardworking people from the time period, which one may think might not be that entertaining a read, but in reality, is. The book is more than just about Coady, it’s also a story of how hard the world of graduate studies is and the effect tireless researching and relentless criticism can have on people. On top of the Antigonish Movement, exiled priests, and the torture of doctoral studies, Calabrese delves into the dark and often unspoken world of alcoholism, memories and interpretations of said memories, and who gets to say what about who, many years after their death. Told in a shifting time frame, with a somewhat unreliable narrator, bookended by ghostly apparitions and drawn in black and white strokes by the author, Coady is well worth your time. If you’re interested in the labour movement, Maritime history, Moses Coady and his followers and detractors, or just a well-told and beautifully illustrated story, part myth, part truth, and all good, then this book is for you, Maritimer or not. Paul MacDougall, a Sydney area writer, got his copy of Coady (2026, Conundrum Press) from On The Same Page Books on Charlotte St., Sydney.