Jesuit Joe is a mysterious character who appears in the eponymous story of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

comics creator developed specialized terminology. Several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is under di ...

Hugo Pratt Ugo Eugenio Prat (15 June 1927 – 20 August 1995), better known as Hugo Pratt, was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as '' Corto Maltese''. He was indu ...

. This

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

was initially serialised in ''

Pilote ''Pilote'' (), for a while subtitled ''the magazine of Asterix and Obelix'' (French: ''Le Journal D’Astérix et D’Obélix'' ) was a French comics magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major Franco-Belgian comics, French ...

'' magazine before it was released as hardcover albums in 1980, in France entitled ''Jésuite Joe'', and in Italy, entitled ''L'uomo del grande nord'', published by

Dargaud Société Dargaud (), doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud, publishing its first comics in 1943. ...

and CEPIM, respectively. In 2017 the graphic novel was published in English under the name ''The Man From the Great North'' by

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic ...

, in an edition where storyboards made by Pratt for the movie mentioned below have been added to the story.

Plot

The laconic, anti-heroic and unpredictable main character, a Canadian native dressed in the uniform of a Sergeant in the

Canadian Mounties The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

, travels the wilderness during late 19th or early 20th century Canada, occasionally assisting those he finds in need of help. He rescues a kidnapped child and frees an imprisoned couple, but also shoots a bird for being too happy and stabs a priest in the hand. The concerns of famed Italian cartoonist Hugo Pratt included responsibility,

humanity Humanity most commonly refers to: * Human, also humankind * Humanity (virtue) Humanity may also refer to: Literature * ''Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century'', a 1999 book by Jonathan Glover * ''Humanity'', a 1990 science fiction n ...

, and

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Skepticism Skepticism ( US) or scepticism ( UK) is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

of European ideals in colonial settings is a common theme in his stories and forms the main thrust of ''Jesuit Joe''.

The Jesuit Joe film

Jesuit Joe has been adapted into a

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

directed by Olivier Austen and starring French actress

Laurence Treil Laurence Treil (born 28 February 1967) is a French model and actress. She was a famous fashion model who was also a Revlon spokesmodel during the 1980s, before becoming an actress, featuring in several films and television programmes. Biograph ...

Sources

Pratt publications in ''Pilote''
BDoubliées

Archivespratt

Bedetheque

External links

* {{Hugo Pratt Italian graphic novels Italian comics titles 1980 comics debuts 1980 comics endings Comics characters introduced in 1980 Male characters in comics Comics set in Canada Italian comics characters Fictional Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers Italian comics adapted into films Comics by Hugo Pratt Graphic novels set in Canada Western (genre) heroes and heroines