D+Q will publish Are You Willing To Die for the Cause? Revolution in 1960s Quebec by Chris Oliveros in Fall 2023. We’re so excited to share the cover today! Foreign rights available now.
Are You Willing to Die for the Cause? is Quebec-born cartoonist Oliveros’ deep dive into a contentious and dramatic period in Canadian history—the rise of a militant separatist group whose effects still reverberate today. It all started in 1963, when a dozen mailboxes in a wealthy Montreal neighborhood were blown to bits by handmade bombs. By the following year, a guerilla army training camp was set up deep in the woods, with would-be soldiers training for armed revolt.
There are no initials more volatile in Quebec history than F-L-Q. Standing for the Front de libération du Québec (or in English, the Quebec Liberation Front). The original goal of this socialist movement was to fight for workers rights of the French majority who found their rights trampled on by English bosses. The goal became ridding the province of its English oppression by means of violent revolution.
At times humorous, other times dramatic, and always informative, Are You Willing To Die For The Cause? shines a light on just how little it takes to organize dissent and who people trust to overthrow the government.
Chris Oliveros was born in 1966 in Montreal and grew up in the nearby suburb of Chomedey, Laval. He founded Drawn & Quarterly in 1989 and was the publisher for the following 25 years. Oliveros stepped down from D+Q in 2015 to work on Are You Willing to Die For The Cause?, a graphic novel about the early years of the Front de libération du Québec.
Work in Progress is a new D+Q series to offer a sneak peek into upcoming, not-yet-announced, or previously not scheduled books. Check back often!