1st Legion of Utopia: An Epic Tale of Killers, Queers, & the Birth of Canadian Socialism

1st Legion of Utopia is a very ambitious work. Setting the graphic novel in and near Calgary in the summers of 1931 and 1932, author Davidge and the team of comic artists, colourist and letterer produce what is described on the cover as “An epic tale of killers, queers & the birth of Canadian Socialism”. There are many storylines here, linked in that they depict social and political reform movements in Canada, with a special focus on developments in Western Canada and the young frontier city of Calgary. The most prominent storyline is the circumstances and negotiations that led to the creation of the socialist CCF (Co-operative Commonwealth Federation), the forerunner of the New Democratic Party.

In part one, the graphic novel introduces two key fictional protagonists, Holly Burnside, a young woman who admits to great discomfort with the forced sterilizations that are carried out at the behest of her employer, the Alberta Eugenics Board. Brian Mah, one of the rarest persons of the day, is a Lethbridge native of Chinese ancestry with a government job as a provincial interpreter. He is temporarily working as a legal clerk when he meets Holly on the train to Calgary in June 1931. These characters are thrown into one of the nation’s turbulent times. They encounter “a protest of silent sufferers” -- unemployed men who feel unheard, unseen, ignored and unable to get by with meagre relief available during the early period of the Great Depression. Mah is especially vocal in his awareness of racism and inequality of opportunities and wealth. A political rally at Red Square the next day features the revolutionary communist Tim Buck. When a riot breaks out, Mah, Burnside and her bisexual brother take shelter in a “pansy club”. Here they meet homosexual men and women, some indigenous people and enjoy good music suited to dancing. Violence follows them in the form of three thugs who break in and identify themselves as “good ol’ fashioned gay-bashers”. The author’s effort to provide a historically accurate depiction of gay and alternative social venues of the era is marred by his use of anachronistic terminology. The Oxford English Dictionary Online reports that terms such as pansies, faggots, queers and even gay have been used as derogatory terms as early as the beginning of the 1930s, but gay-basher really dates from about 1979.

Part two reintroduces Burnside and Mah a year later alongside a host of historical characters gathering in Calgary for a weekend of talks exploring a way to unite the energies of farmers, labour and socialists as an alternative way to the two traditional political parties, Conservatives and Liberals. As the excerpt above indicates, the various factions often did not agree. The author provides some explicatory text to inform the reader as to the identities of key political figures of the time and place, as well as using word balloons with careful wording to illuminate the situation, and, cleverly, radio announcements to fill in pertinent news facts. Apart from the three key negotiators identified in the excerpt, other influential figures of the time make appearances, including Social Credit advocate Bible Bill Aberhart, and the Saskatchewan pastor Tommy Douglas who proclaimed that universal health care is both vital and attainable. With few words, the author introduces many complex economic and political ideas. Readers will have to search elsewhere for a more fulsome understanding of the diverse groups looking for common ground at what becomes the founding meeting of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation.

Davidge takes up again the queer history storyline at the end of part two when Mah is attacked by two of the racist gay-bashers from part one, now wearing soldiers’ uniforms. In part three, Mah’s refusal to go to a hospital because of the cost is in keeping with the storyline about inequalities that the social reformers sought to address. It also offers a quick glimpse into the local Chinatown where Mah seeks out his uncle, a medicine man. Upon learning that the Jacob Twoyoungmen, of the Nakoda first nation, who was delivering sweetgrass to the uncle, is a relative of an indigenous healer, Mah insists on going with him to seek medicine native to this land. In the indigenous village in the pristine foothills, there is hope for physical recovery and suggestions of improved relations between white settlers and the indigenous people of the area. By recalling the eight principles of the CCF programme, Davidge reaffirms the theme that social change is desirable and attainable—today, as it was in 1932.

The author’s afterword discusses his involvement in the Alberta election of 2016 when he encouraged strategic voting that would make it possible for an alternative voice to win seats that otherwise might have gone to a conservative candidate who could win with a fraction of the vote in our first-past-the-post system electoral system. While there are parallels with the story of the founding of the CCF as a third political option, the lengthy piece is rather superfluous.

The artwork, lettering, and background colouring is attractively done and consistent throughout. The book has a good visual appeal. The main weakness of the work is that it has too many storylines. High school students will have studied introductory civics (Grade 9 curriculum in Alberta, Grade 10 in Ontario) but will have some challenges understanding all of the diverse historic political movements mentioned in the book. The publisher makes a free study guide available from its website: https://renegadeartsentertainment.com/product/1st-legion-of-utopia/ The guide includes a small amount of additional historical context and sample discussion questions and learning activities. Unfortunately, neither the book nor the guide includes a practical list of additional resources. Instead, Davidge acknowledges personal communications with local historians, a member of the Nakoda Youth Council and other advisors.