In the Land of the Lacandón: A Graphic History of Adventure and Imperialism

In the mid-1930s Bernard de Colmont ventured into the borderlands of Mexico to study the Lacandón people, considered to be the closest living relatives of the Maya. In the Land of the Lacandón transforms de Colmont's narratives and images into a 1930s adventure comic, accompanied by a historical essay and a poem by Tsotsil writer Manuel Bolom Pale.

Publisher Marketing: Richard Ivan Jobs is professor of European history at Pacific University. Steven Van Wolputte is professor of anthropology at KU Leuven. Manuel Bolom Pale is a translator, researcher, and Tsotsil poet from Huixtán, Chiapas, Mexico. Review Quotes : "In the Land of the Lacandón brings us into the world of the 1930s adventurer and amateur anthropologist. It does so creatively as well as critically. Its intertextual strength lies in the comic genre, the historical analysis, and the Indigenous contributions." Bernard Perley, author and illustrator of Going Native Review Quotes : "I've seen very few graphic novels that cover this space. Its story is notably transnational and touches on themes related to colonialism in a clear way. It is an excellent addition to the teaching toolkit for this subject." Samuel J. Redman, author of Prophets and Ghosts: The Story of Salvage Anthropology Review Quotes : "An innovative and enjoyable project that enriches our understanding of the popular impact of European ethnographic discourse." Brian Gollnick, author of Reinventing the Lacandón: Subaltern Representations in the Rain Forest of Chiapas Review Quotes : "This captivating graphic history is a wonderful teaching tool, showing how historians today can work with unpalatable materials inherited from colonialism." Alice Conklin, author of In the Museum of Man: Race, Anthropology, and Empire in France, 1850-1950 Publisher Marketing : In the mid-1930s the amateur French ethnographer and filmmaker Bernard de Colmont ventured into the mountainous state of Chiapas to study the Lacandón people and broadcast their way of life to a curious European public. Considered a "lost tribe," the Lacandón were thought to be the closest living relatives of the ancient Maya. De Colmont became a celebrity explorer whose adventures generated considerable attention. The Lacandón themselves, however, were silenced in his tale. Nearly a century later, Richard Ivan Jobs and Steven Van Wolputte have taken up this story in all its complexity, creating a graphic history from de Colmont's narratives and images in the form of a heroic adventure comic. An essay contextualizing and historicizing the tale follows, as does an evocative, reflective poem by Tsotsil writer Manuel Bolom Pale, which offers an Indigenous perspective on the encounter. A captivating experiment in form, the book puts an immersive new spin on studying the past. In the Land of the Lacandón illuminates de Colmont's expedition against the backdrop of late imperialism on the eve of the Second World War in Europe. It investigates the history of exploration, science, and media, revealing how these narratives represented and constructed Indigenous Peoples for the public - and how such representations continue to resonate.

Format: Paperback | Pages: 168 | Publication Date: 2025-05-20