Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All: A New Zealand Story by Christina Thompson

Abstract

NATIVE AMERICANS 111 (OMK BOOKS MICHAEL A. SHEYAHSHE Michael A. Sheyahshe.Native Ameri cans inComic Books: A CriticalStudy. Jefferson, North Carolina. McFarland. 2008. vii+ 215 pages, ill.$49.95. isbn 978-0-7864-3565-4 Michael A. Sheyahshe's Native Americans in Comic Books: A Criti cal Study is a substantively useful compendium of indigenous charac ters in comic books as seen through theperspective of a lover of comics who also is a member of theCaddo Nation ofOklahoma. In his preface, Sheyahshe explains that the study "centers on identifying particular stereotypes, generalizations, and misrepresentations that dominate the specific genre of comic books." In thirteen chapters, Sheyahshe charts the ways in which indigenous characters have been depicted in terms of well-known stereotypes. In the firstchapter, "The Mohican Syndrome and Super 'Wannabes': Ain't Nothin Like theReal Thing," Sheyahshe shows how the "Cooper esque idea of a non-Native becom ing a better 'Indian' than the real As a groundbreaking work inthe study of thedepiction of NativeAmericans inthemedium of comics,Native Americans inComic Books isa welcome additionto thefields of NativeAmerican studies and popular culture studies. ones" infuses early comics such as White Indian (1949) and Straight Arrow (1950). Subsequent chapters focus on mixed-race identity, the Indian sidekick, theNative Ameri can as shaman, and the ubiquitous depiction of the indigenous hero as a tracker, among others. Sheyahshe foregrounds each chapter with a short commentary that offers a context for understand ing itsparticular critical focus, but themajority of his insights come in the synopses of comic books and comic book series that form each chapter. Examining works from the 1940s to thepresent, Sheyahshe evaluates the cultural representa tionof indigenous characters ineach comic, determining towhat extent they demean indigenous people and conform to cultural stereotypes or break rank and depict modern and historical indigenous characters with the complexity they deserve. E Interviewswith several comic book E authors offer insight into theworld E of comic book production. E As a groundbreaking work in E the study of thedepiction ofNative E Americans in the medium of comics, E Native Americans in Comic Books is E a welcome addition to the fields of E Native American studies and popu- E lar culture studies. Scholars and lay E readers alike will find thework an E important sourcebook for Native E Americans in comics. Sheyahshe's E book is not a scholarly work, but a E collection of the candid insights of E one comic book enthusiast and his E understanding and reaction to the E representation ofNative Americans E in comics. His text should be eel- E ebrated as an introduction to this E much-neglected area of study. E Chris Teuton E UniversityofDenver E ChristinaThompson. Come On Shore E and We Will Kill and Eat You All: | A New Zealand Story. New York. E Bloomsbury USA. 2008. 270 pages. | $24.99. isbn 978-1-59691-126-0 | In Come On Shore and We Will Kill 1 and Eat You All, Christina Thompson E tiptoes on the boundaries of trav- E elogue, anthropology, and cultural E history, but mostly settles on mem- E oir to explore her experiences and E research concerning New Zealand. E The book begins with Thompson, E a student at theUniversity ofMel- E bourne, on vacation in New Zea- E landwhere shemeets Seven, a hulk- E ing but easygoing Maori man she E encounters in a bar on her lastnight E in the country.As theybegin their E friendship?fueled by the writer's E inquisitive nature concerning both E Polynesian culture and the tall,dark E man she'd just met?Thompson E May-June 2009 i77 parallels this firstcontact with the Maori's first contact with Captain JamesCook, an English explorer in the Royal Navy, and the cultural misunderstanding between the two societies. And this is how the book is structured: Thompson will offer a personal story?the death of an older Maori woman, the birth of her firstchild, the anxieties of rais ing American and Maori children inAustralia?and will relate it with in a historical or cultural context. The technique is effective, and the strongest chapters in the book are "Turton's Land Deeds," "Smoked Heads," and "Hawaiki," where...