A Blanket of Butterflies

NOTE: A review of A Blanket of Butterflies was first published in Vol. XII, No. 25 of CM, March 4, 2016, and content from that original review appears in the following review.

The most powerful words in any writer’s tool kit are: “What if?”

A Blanket of Butterflies has a simple origin: my buddy, James Croizier - a security guard at the Northern Lights Museum in my hometown of Fort Smith, NWT – kept telling me about a suit of samurai armour at the museum. Knowing that I was fascinated with ninjas and samurai culture, he encouraged me to visit the museum and see the armour for myself. I didn’t believe him until one day, Mr. Currie – a curator at the museum – said it was true and that he’d be happy to open the boxes housing the armour for me. I still didn’t believe it until the next day when I saw the armour for myself. Then I thought what if? (Introductory pages)

That “what if?” is the first of many which inspires Richard Van Camp’s story. First published in 2016 and rendered in black and white images by Scott B. Henderson, A Blanket of Butterflies is the story of Shinobu, a Japanese man who travels to Ft. Smith to retrieve the armour, a cherished family treasure. At the museum, Shinobu sees that the armour display is missing a crucial item: the samurai’s sword. The museum’s former manager gambled the sword away to a local ne’er-do-well, Benny the Bank, and Shinobu is determined to get it back, even though he’s warned that Benny is “not our proudest achievement here in Fort Smith.” (p. 4) Undeterred, Shinobu leaves on his mission, unaware that the museum employee has phoned Benny to tell him to expect a visitor. Throughout this interaction, a young boy named Sonny has been staring at the samurai display, and he notices that Shinobu’s hand bears the same butterfly image blazoned on the breastplate of the armour. As readers later learn, that butterfly is meaningful to Sonny, and overhearing the phone conversation to Benny, Sonny sets out to warn Shinobu.

At Benny’s place, there’s an epic battle: Shinobu is met by a barrage of arrows and then by Torchy and Sven, Benny’s henchmen. Descended from generations of warriors, Shinobu vanquishes the two, only to be taken down by Flinch, a massive giant who pummels Shinobu before throwing him down a cliff. Fortunately, Shinobu is found by Sonny, who flags down a truck which transports the two of them to Sonny’s grandmother’s home. As she prepares to tend to Shinobu’s many wounds, Granny is frightened by the many tattoos on his body, and wonders, “Is this a man or a devil?” Sonny replies, “He’s my friend.” (p. 17) Shinobu drifts into a deep sleep, awakening at last to share tea and talk with Granny and Sonny. Readers learn that Shinobu is from Nagasaki, one of the two cities destroyed by the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in August, 1945. Readers also learn that the uranium fueling those bombs was mined in Canada’s north. A Dene prophet, Ayah, warned that ruin would come to his people, just as it did to the Japanese: “so much death. So much suffering. Now there is so much cancer in the north. We should have listened.” (p. 25)

Granny questions Shinobu as to his motivation for wanting the sword back – she fears that he wants it “to hunt more men.” (p. 25) His reason is honorable: he wishes to return the sword to his family before his first child is born. Readers learn that Shinobu’s great-great grandfather was a master armorer and forged the sword, heating the steel to the sheen of the August full moon before its final tempering. Coincidentally, that evening is the night of the full moon, and Granny decides that she, along with Sonny and Shinobu, will go to Benny’s place and reclaim the sword. Of course, Torchy, Sven, and Flinch are ready for another fight, but Granny is formidable, standing them down with the reminder that she brought them into the world and “used to change [their] diapers.” (p. 33)

The butterfly image appears in multiple iterations throughout the story, and it is also seen on a blanket which Granny has brought to this meeting. Lila Rose, Benny’s grand-daughter, died of cancer at the age of six, and, as she approached the end of her life, Granny asked the little girl how she might be reincarnated. Lila stated that she wanted to return as a butterfly and would signal her re-appearance to Granny by tickling the elder on her ear and flying around her three times. The butterfly re-appeared on the day that Shinobu arrived in town, and Granny has made the blanket, decorated with a butterfly motif, in the hope that Lila will re-visit her as proof that “she is not suffering and is dancing again.” (p. 39) Benny is overwhelmed by her gift and, kneeling in front of Granny, commands Torchy and Sven to fetch the sword and return it to Shinobu. In turn, Shinobu asks that his unborn daughter be named Lila Rose, and, in his making this request, honour is restored, a burden is lifted from both men’s hearts, and a true act of reconciliation takes place. Before leaving, Shinobu unsheathes the sword, brandishing it in the silver light of the August full moon. As Shinobu leaves, a butterfly appears – first, to Granny, Sonny, and Shinobu, and then, on the book’s final page, to Benny, who gazes at the blanket, thinking of Lila Rose, “my girl.” (p. 46)

Following the text and graphics of the novel are two short essays. The first essay focuses on how the Second World War affected the Dene people. Although the war, itself, was distant, many Dene worked in the uranium mines of the north, experiencing the inevitable health outcomes which result from high exposure to radioactive substances. The second essay explores the provenance of that suit of samurai armour in the Ft. Smith museum, and its possible connection to the injustices that the Japanese-Canadian community suffered during the Second World War. Both essays offer perspectives on how far-off geopolitical events have local impact.

When Blanket of Butterflies was first published, the images were rendered only in black and white. In this new revised edition, Donovan Yaciuk’s talents as a colorist take the book to an entirely new level. The story is made even more powerful by his work and in the “Introductory” pages, Van Camp acknowledges that Yaciuk’s “magnificent coloration brought a new spirit and energy to this story.”

When I reviewed the original edition, six years ago, I stated that this is a book which will appeal to a variety of readers: “young women will value Granny’s display of strength and compassion, male readers will like the ‘action’ scenes, and readers of any ethnic and cultural background will see that the values honoured by Shinobu, Granny, and Sonny are universal.” A Blanket of Butterflies will find a place in the graphic novel collections of middle and high school libraries and is a “must-have” for Indigenous studies collections.