Jay Odjick

Jay Odjick
Born9 September
Rochester, New York, US
NationalityAlgonquin
Area(s)writer, artist, producer
Notable works
Kagagi
https://jayodjickshop.com/pages/about-us

Jay Odjick (/ˈoʊdʒɪk/ OH-jik[1]) is a writer, artist and television producer from the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg community in Québec, Canada.[2] He is best known for his creation Kagagi (the raven), part of a growing number of Indigenous superheroes created by Indigenous writers and artists.[3] In 2015, Kagagi was adapted into a 13-episode, half-hour animated series broadcast on APTN.[4]

Early life

Odjick was born in Rochester, New York, but as a child, he moved to the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg community, where his father was from,[5][6] located east of Maniwaki, Quebec.[7] He developed an interest in heroes and comic books early on and began writing stories at age 5.[3] At age ten, he received his first rejection letter from a comic publisher, Marvel Comics.[5]

Career

Odjick began in comics by self publishing a three issue black and white limited series called The Raven that he wrote and illustrated in 2004.[8] Odjick is also the author and artist of the graphic novel Kagagi: The Raven, published by Arcana Studio in 2011.[9] The titular character, Kagagi, is a hero loosely based on the trickster/hero character "Raven" from the Anishinabe. In the comic series, a young man named Matthew Carver inherits supernatural powers and uses them to keep an ancient evil known as Windigo at bay.[10] A television 13-episode series based on the graphic novel called Kagagi[11] began airing on Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) in Canada on October 5, 2014,[12] and later on FNX[13] in the United States and in Australia.[2][11] The half-hour animated series, produced by Odjick and Arcana's Sean Patrick O'Reilly, aired in English, in Algonquin, and in a format that combines English with 20 percent Algonquin.[14] According to scholar Michael Sheyashe (Osage), Kagagi is part of a trend by Native American writers and artists to create relevant heroes that are not confined to the tropes associated with dated stereotypes and romanticism.[15] Odjick uses the character of Kagagi to entertain, but also to teach Anishinaabe culture and language.[5] His artwork and the Kagagi graphic novel were used as the centerpiece title and branding of Mazinbiige, The Indigenous Graphic Novel Collection, a permanent collection at the Elizabeth Dafoe Library at the University of Manitoba.[16]

In 2014, Odjick was the Media Guest of Honour at Can-Con Archived 2015-03-25 at the Wayback Machine: The Conference on Canadian Content in Speculative Arts and Literature.[17][18]

Odjick's short story "First Hunt", co-written with his brother Joel Odjick, appeared in Moonshot: The Indigenous Collection Volume I,[5][19] which was recognized as the Best Book of 2015 in the young adult category by the School Library Journal.[20] "First Hunt" has been added to the curriculum of Queen's University's Comics and Graphic Novels Course, while the collection itself is being taught at the University of Ottawa's Comic Books and Graphic Novels Course.

In 2015, Odjick's work was part of the exhibit "Super Heroes: Art! Action! Adventure!"[21] at the Heard Museum, in Phoenix, Arizona.

In 2017, Odjick illustrated a children's book called Blackflies, which was written by the legendary children's author Robert Munsch. In the book, a girl named Helen must save her little sister after she is carried away by blackflies. Odjick and Munsch teamed up once again with the 2019 children's book Bear for Breakfast. In this tale, a boy named Donovan decides to catch a bear to eat for breakfast, just like his grandfather used to. In addition to illustration, Odijick also provided English-Algonquin and French-Algonquin translation.

Television

Odjick serves as the lead writer, executive producer as well as lead designer on the television series Kagagi.[22] In addition to his work on that series Odjick has also worked as a designer for and provided illustrations for the APTN series Mouki.[23]

Odjick and his production company created three audio versions of Kagagi — one in English, one in Algonquin, and a broadcast version — primarily English with 20 percent of the dialogue in Algonquin. For Odjick, the goal was to give First Nations children "an entryway into the (Algonquin) language because the language is dying." He also sought to represent the language for older viewers; an elderly man told Odjick that he watches the program every week because, "it's the only chance I get to hear my language."

Publications

Year Title
2004 Graphic novel KAGAGI: The Raven (Arcana Studio) Creator, writer, artist
2004 Power Hour webcomic (Kevin Smith/View Askew Movie Poop Shoot website) Creator, writer, penciller
2007 The Odyssey Presents (Blue Water Productions) Penciller
2008 Clive Barker's The Midnight Meat Train (Doorways Magazine) Illustrator
2009 Collection Zone Frousse (Éditions Z'Ailées) Cover illustrator
2012 The Dreamer's Legacy (Kegedonce Press) Cover illustrator
2013 The Thunder's Nest - Native American Classics (Graphic Classics) Illustrator
2013 The Ocean Goes on Forever - Munsch Mania! Robert Munsch Illustrator
2014 Emma's Gift (Kegedonce Press) Illustrator
2014 Anishinabe Nigamodà (n) (Algonquin Tribal Council) Illustrator
2015 First Hunt - MOONSHOT: The Indigenous Comics Collection (Alternate History Comics) Co-writer, illustrator

Activism

Odjick has been cited for his use of graphic novels and television as modern mediums to facilitate the retention of the Anishinaabe language.

References

  1. ^ "Jay Odjick on how reading sparked his imagination". YouTube. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b Laskaris, Sam. "Jay Odjick - Quebec: Multi-talented Odjick makes second appearance on Cando Conference Panel". www.edo.ca. Archived from the original on 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  3. ^ a b Jung, Carrie (2015-06-28). "Native American superheroes take comic books by storm". Aljazeera America. Retrieved 2025-10-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  4. ^ Sapurji, Sunaya; Karapita, Mike; Alex, Cathy (2017). "Jay Odjick". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 2017-10-06. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
  5. ^ a b c d Burton, Nicole Marie (2015-04-25). "The Rise of Kagagi! Talking with Algonquin Comic Artist & Writer, Jay Odjick". Ad AstraComix. Archived from the original on 2015-05-25. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  6. ^ Odjick, Jay (2018-06-30). "Odjick: Canada needs to be more than an ideal if reconcilliation is possible". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 2018-07-04. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
  7. ^ Canada, Natural Resources (2013-07-31). "Indian lands history in Quebec". natural-resources.canada.ca. Retrieved 2025-10-18. Kitigan Zibi: Description
  8. ^ "Native American Comics Creator Showcase: Jay Odjick and Kagagi - ICTMN.com". indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26.
  9. ^ "Arcana - Home". www.arcana.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22.
  10. ^ Pabico, Jonathan (2021-07-01). "An Indigenous superhero fighting to save the world". The Other Press. Archived from the original on 2021-07-02. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  11. ^ a b Montgomery, Brendan (2021-09-30). "The Past, Present, and Future of Indigenous Canadian Comics with Jay Odjick, Teiowí:sonte Thomas Deer, Cole Pauls & Highwater Press". Sequential. Archived from the original on 2025-02-18. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  12. ^ "Kagagi | APTN". aptn.ca. Archived from the original on 2014-12-27.
  13. ^ "KAGAGI Animated TV Series Executive Producer - Jay Odjick - Native Trailblazers - Podcast on iVoox". iVoox. 2016-03-26. Archived from the original on 2025-10-26. Retrieved 2025-10-26. You can find Kagagi on APTN Sundays at 10AM or at aptn.ca/Kagagi and on FNX in the United States.
  14. ^ Norman, Pippa (2024-01-26). "First he helped unmask a superhero. Then he created his own". Canada's National Observer. Archived from the original on 2024-02-03. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  15. ^ Sheyahshe, Michael A. "Native Americans in Comic Books: A critical study". McFarland & Company, Inc. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4766-0000-0
  16. ^ Linklater, Kevin (2013-11-19). "Elizabeth Dafoe Library houses extensive indigenous graphic novel collection". The Manitoban. Archived from the original on 2013-11-23. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
  17. ^ Kunsken, Derek (2014-09-15). "Can-Con brings a host of alternate worlds to downtown Ottawa". centretownbuzz.ca. Archived from the original on 2025-11-15. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
  18. ^ Lavigne, Nicole (2014-08-13). "CAN-CON 2014". CAN-CON 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2025-11-15. Can-Con is pleased to announced that Jay Odjick will be joining us for 2014 as our Media Guest of Honour.
  19. ^ Odjick, Jay; Odjick, Joel (2015). "First Hunt". In Nicholson, Hope (ed.). Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection. Vol. 1. Toronto: Alternate Comics Inc. pp. 139–145. ISBN 978-1774503690.
  20. ^ "Library Journal".
  21. ^ "Super Heroes: Art! Action! Adventure!".
  22. ^ "Kagagi | APTN". aptn.ca. Archived from the original on 2014-12-27.
  23. ^ "Mouki | APTN". Archived from the original on 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
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