The Lost Haida Manga: A Compendium

From internationally renowned artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, creator of the groundbreaking genre known as Haida manga, comes a landmark volume tracing the origins and evolution of an entirely new artform.

Blending North Pacific Indigenous iconography with the dynamic language of Japanese manga and graphic novels, Haida manga transformed visual storytelling and redefined what comics could be. Yahgulanaas, one of the most influential contemporary Indigenous artists working today, conceived Haida manga as a bridge between cultures. The genre draws on Indigenous knowledge, lived history, and visual traditions to create a powerful new language of storytelling.

With most of these works appearing in book form for the first time, this striking volume offers a rare opportunity to trace the development of a groundbreaking genre over the past forty years--from early experiments to fully realized visual narratives. Spanning from 1981 to 2025, this curated collection of 15 black and white ink comics showcases the remarkable breadth of Yahgulanaas's storytelling. Some works draw from Haida legends and Indigenous oral traditions, bringing ancestral narratives into conversation with contemporary graphic literature. Others confront urgent social and political realities, including the ongoing impacts of colonialism, cultural displacement, environmental destruction, and the complex relationships between people, land, and power. Throughout, humor, beauty, and visual ingenuity sit alongside profound examinations of history, identity, sovereignty, and responsibility.

Inside this collection, you'll discover:

• Fifteen black-and-white comics--mostly rare and previously unpublished works--tracing more than four decades of artistic innovation
• More than 200 striking black-and-white illustrations exploring Haida legends, Indigenous knowledge, environmental stewardship, colonialism, identity, sovereignty, and community resilience
• The work of one of the most celebrated contemporary Indigenous artists, whose art has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world
• An essential resource for readers of graphic novels, Japanese manga, Indigenous literature, and visual art, as well as students and educators in Indigenous Studies, Art History, Comics Studies, and Post-Colonial Literature

Both an artistic archive and a visual manifesto, The Lost Haida Manga documents the birth of a genre--and the vision of the artist who invented it. An essential volume for understanding one of the most original artistic innovations of the 21st century, The Lost Haida Manga captures the moment a new artistic language came into being.

Author: Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre
Published: 10/06/2026
Pages: 276
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 2.25lbs
Size: 11.00h x 7.90w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781771624671


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 10/01/2026

About the Author
Davis, Wade: - Wade Davis is Professor of Anthropology and the BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. Between 1999 and 2013 he served as Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society and is currently a member of the NGS Explorers Council and Honorary Vice-President of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Davis is the author of nineteen books, including One River, The Wayfinders, The Sacred Headwaters, Into the Silence and River Notes. His photographs have been widely exhibited and have appeared in thirty books and a hundred magazines, including National Geographic, Time, Geo, People, Men's Journal and Outside. His recent book Into the Silence received the 2012 Samuel Johnson Prize, the top award for literary non-fiction in the English language. In 2016 he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.Yahgulanaas, Michael Nicoll: - Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas is a visual artist, storyteller and public speaker, born and raised on the North Pacific islands of Haida Gwaii. His recent Haida manga books include Red (2010), Carpe Fin (2019) and JAJ (2023), all designed to be dismantled and the pages arranged as a mural. His art has been shown in institutions like the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian, as well as museums in Paris, Berlin, Japan and Canada. Yahgulanaas lives with his wife and daughter on an island in the Salish Sea, and has a studio in West Vancouver, British Columbia.