Chimo

by David Collier

Chimo is an autobiographical graphic novel from David Collier, who decided, in his early 40s, to re-join the Canadian military, with the goal of traveling to Afghanistan.  Collier was in the army as a young man, and achieved his first brush with success as a cartoonist during that time.

Now, married with a child, he wants to be involved in the Canadian Forces Artists Program, a successor to the glorious Canadian War Artist Programs of the first and second World Wars.  In its original form, the Canadian War Records, under the control of Lord Beaverbrook, sent Canada's best artists (including the various members of the Group of Seven) into the trenches and along the front lines to paint what they saw.  This led to some incredible artwork.

The participants in the modern iteration of this program are not actual soldiers, and therefore are restricted, for insurance reasons, from going anywhere that is actually dangerous.  In order to get to Afghanistan, Collier re-enlisted, and almost immediately blew out his knee in a training exercise.

The bulk of this book is about a man fighting against time, and striving to live life on his own terms, albeit within a highly structured and regimented environment.  The text digresses all over the place, as we learn about the history of skipping rope, and the life story of Jackrabbit Johannsen, Collier's childhood hero and pioneer of cross-country skiing.

I found the book to be very readable, and worked my way through it quicker than I expected.  That no part of this book ever took place in Afghanistan was not the disappointment I would have anticipated it to be.  Good stuff.