Are You Willing to Die for the Cause?

The critically acclaimed graphic novel about Quebec’s contentious history by the founder of D+Q-is now in paperback.

It 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. Then, in 1966, two high school students dropped off bombs at factories, causing fatalities. What was behind these concerted, often bungled acts of terrorism and how did they last for nearly eight years?

Chris Oliveros sets out to dispel common misconceptions about the birth and early years of a now-defunct movement whose legacy still holds a tight grip on Canadian politics and the hearts and minds of Quebec. The Front de libération du Québec (or in English, the Quebec Liberation Front), began as a socialist movement with a goal of championing workers’ rights among the province’s French-speaking majority. Their goal? Ridding the province of English business owner oppression by any means necessary-including violent revolution.

Using dozens of obscure and long-forgotten sources, Oliveros skillfully weaves a comics oral history where the activists, employers, politicians, and secretaries piece together the sequence of events. At times humorous, other times dramatic, and always informative, Are You Willing To Die For The Cause? shines a light on how just little it takes to organize dissent and who people trust to overthrow the government.

Chris Oliveros is the founder and original publisher of Drawn & Quarterly--one of the most influential comics publishers in the world.