#shackleton
RAF Shackleton MR. Mk. 3, No.WR 970, in flight over cloud. (Port, three-quarter front view, from above).
Note that WR 970, the prototype Mk.3, was first flown on 2 September 1955; it was subsequently lost in a crash in the Peak District (Foolow, Derbyshire) during operational tests on 7 December 1956. All on board were killed
Shackleton Graphic Novels
When people – especially Americans, for some reason – find out I’m devoting my career to retelling the Terra Nova Expedition in graphic novel form, often their first response is “Are you going to do Shackleton next?” I am not, for a variety of reasons including the human lifespan being finite, but another reason is that there is already a selection of Shackleton graphic novels on the market. I presume these people don’t know about them, so for their benefit, and perhaps yours, here are the ones I’m aware of:
Nick Bertozzi’s Shackleton: Antarctic Odyssey - A solid and accessible YA adaptation of the Endurance story, all in one slim quick read.
Sur les bords du monde: l'Odyssée de Sir Ernest Shackleton (Malaterre/Henry/Richez/Frasier) - Tout en français (ou espagnol), mais bien sûr il suit que les dessins sont très beaux. Deux livres: 1 - jusq'à l'entrappement de l'Endurance dans la glace, 2 - à sûreté.
Endurance (Bertho/Boidin) – aussi en français, mais seulement un livre, donc l'histoire passe plus vite que Sur les bords du monde. Aussi des dessins excellents.
Shackleton: The Journey of the James Caird (McCumiskey/ Butler) - 96pp, middle grades, from a pair of Irish comics makers. TBH I just discovered this one, can’t tell you more about it!
William Grill’s Shackleton’s Journey - Falls somewhere between picture book and graphic novel, but it’s both factually accurate and artistically beautiful, and can be appreciated by small children and serious adults alike, if perhaps in different ways.
You may have noticed that all of these are retellings of the Endurance story, specifically the Shackleton/James Caird thread. If you have a hankering to make a Shackleton graphic novel, and are dismayed by the competition, the good news is, there’s a lot still open to you. The whole Nimrod expedition, for example! Tell the Discovery story from his point of view! What about the men who stayed on Elephant Island while the South Georgia party was away? Or – heaven forbid – tell us about the Ross Sea Party, the other half of the Endurance story, who suffered such wretchedness as to put the Worst Journey in the World in the shade, but actually achieved what they set out to do?
Enough life and money has been spent on this sterile quest. The pole has already been discovered. What is the use of another expedition? Winston Churchill, then 1st Lord of the Admiralty, 23rd January, 1914 Dear Mr Winston Churchill, Do please look favourably … I am trying to do good and serious work … Death is a very little thing, and Knowledge very great … And really Regent Street holds out…