Zeb Larson reviews Rebels #1…

In a rush of great public resistance to an oppressive and excessive government, a homegrown militia movement is formed in rural America. This is not 2015, but 1775. With the war for independence playing out across the colonies, young Seth and Mercy Abbott find their new marriage tested at every turn, as the demands of the frontlines and the home front collide.

Rebels is a comic about the American Revolution with a very interesting twist. Rather than focusing on the Founding Fathers or familiar locations, Brian Wood takes us what was then a frontier in the United States: the New Hampshire grants, destined to become the state of Vermont. Wood aims to retell the story of the country’s founding through an area which has traditionally received less attention, and what he has created is a fascinating take on American history. I will not be discussing any spoilers in this issue, so read on.

In 1768, colonists living in the New Hampshire Grants are fighting against British soldiers sent to remove them from the land. Seth Abbott, a young son of one of the militiamen, participates in a skirmish. Seven years later, with New York still claiming the territory as its own, the region is still in open rebellion. While it fights against New York and British authority, the other colonies are also considering open rebellion. Seth and his friend Ezekiel witness the farmers occupying a courthouse to stop impending deed forfeitures designed to drive the farmers out, which rapidly turns violent. Seth also turns his attention to a farming girl, Mercy Turner. Meanwhile, a local landowner named Ethan Allen brings news of the impending disturbances in the south.

Not to downplay the importance of the Founding Fathers, but it’s refreshing to see a story about the Revolutionary War that will focus on neglected participants in an overlooked region. The standard narrative takes place in Massachusetts, eastern Pennsylvania, or possibly Virginia, and then immediately jumps to the various battles of the war. Vermont and New Hampshire aren’t usually a part of this narrative, partly because the major historical actors were farther south and because the Ohio Valley was the more important frontier. I’m glad to see this story bring Ethan Allen into the mix.

This comic also raises all sorts of interesting questions about history and the way that American narratives are created. For example, in 1756 the vast majority of American colonists thought of themselves as English subjects and citizens. Twenty years later, that consensus was collapsing into divisions between loyalists, revolutionaries, and people who were just in the middle. How did this happen in a relatively short span of time? The answer is more complex than tyrannical Brits imposing unfair taxes. There were also strong regional divides between the middle Atlantic and the South, between the South and Upper Atlantic, and then even in New England. Seth doesn’t see the British as the bad guys in this issue, but rather the colonial legislature in Albany. This comic brings a nuanced perspective that is sorely needed but rarely present.

The presentation of the comic is also a success. Seth Abbott writes his narration in the manner of a veteran leaving memoirs to posterity, and Wood does a good job in recapturing the authorial style of an eighteenth-century American. Andrea Mutti’s art does a good job in capturing upper New England’s greenery and the characters. This was an excellent opening issue for a series with a lot of promise.

Zeb Larson