The Beast

A storm is gathering over Edmonton. The winds push a ceaseless stream of dark pollutant-laced clouds into the sky and away from their native smokestacks. Endless stretches of pipeline traverse the land, their presence tarring the landscape almost as much as the oil voyaging through them. Ideological factions rage alongside the elements, adding their potent energy to the fracas. Within the chaos, two figures sit upon a bench amid the industrial wreckage of modern society, ready to share their tales with the world. The stage is set – welcome to my review of The Beast.

The Beast is a graphic novel created by Nicole Burton and Hugh Goldring that is based on the work of Dr. Patrick McCurdy. According to McCurdy, the title refers to the horrendous 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire and the ongoing controversies surrounding Canada’s oil industry. The Beast is part of the recently minted “ecofable” genre. Mat Osmond, in his examination of how graphic novels have tackled environmental issues and questions in the past, describes ecofables as “the emergence, in other words, of a newly defined ambition for storytelling: ‘What if we could tell a story that made people care about what’s happening to Earth? And what if our story moved them enough that they’d go and do whatever it took to stop it from happening?’” (Osmond 1). Citing McIntosh, Osmond explains that the key aspect that differentiates graphic novels from other types of storytelling is their ability to disrupt our “cultural hubris.” Osmond states that:

“Hubris is what McIntosh sees as the ultimate source of the systemic violence behind ecocide, and he suggests that in tackling that, artists may help to ‘re-kindle the inner life’ of our culture. Fostering this process, he argues, hinges on one essential quality: empathy” (Osmond, citing McIntosh 1).

I think that for many audiences (younger ones in particular), graphic novels like The Beast serve as interesting and engaging vehicles to communicate important – and usually quite technical – information about climate change and the environment without boring readers with a quintillion pages of academic verse.

The novel chronicles the tumultuous adventures of two companions (and roommates): Mary and Callum. The pair have travelled to Edmonton from the East in search of work. Mary is employed by a marketing agency whose services are often commissioned by local oil companies. She is a pragmatic and rational individual who recognizes that certain unpleasant burdens (like creating positive PR narratives for notorious polluters) must be shouldered in order to survive and pursue happiness. Callum, as a character, functions as Mary’s foil. Callum is a photographer and nascent journalist. He is also idealistic, naïve, and content to take advantage of Mary’s generosity and financial support while ambling around town in his quest to save the planet.

The plot follows Mary and Callum’s day to day activities. Mary enjoys her work, but must tolerate her demanding boss. Callum struggles to find a good paying job and usually resorts to working pro bono. The two protagonists are very fond of each other and spend almost all of their time together. That said, tensions do arise between them. For instance, towards the middle of the novel, Callum invites friends over to his and Mary’s place without notifying his roommate. A dispute between Callum’s ideals and Mary’s job ensues, with Mary rebuffing Callum’s disdainful attitude of capitalism by telling him that “[he’s] not outside the system, [he’s] feeding off its scraps” (Burton et al. 64). Though a truce is declared, the pair’s relationship suffers a heavy blow when Callum decides to publish a video featuring a disgruntled OilCan worker, leading to Mary being fired. The novel ends with Callum on his way to Toronto and Mary helping to restore Fort McMurray.

I was initially confused by The Beast’s open-ended conclusion, but during his visit to our class, Dr. McCurdy clarified that the ending was intended to be vague in order to provoke the imagination of the readers. It certainly conjured up nostalgic and tragic sentiments in my mind. All in all, I enjoyed the time I spent reading The Beast. The graphic novel has a great art style, the characters are interesting, and each page is filled with tiny details (like posters and paraphernalia in Callum’s room on page 22) that add a tremendous amount of atmosphere to the story. These characteristics give credence to the concept of climate change in an authentic way. I never felt like I was being force-fed information by a cadre of climate activists.