BalAnce, Volume 1: The First 96 Pages – Giiwedanong

BalAnce: The First 96 Pages – The Legend of Giiwedanong (Volume One)

BalAnce is the first major series released under Ded-C Comics, the comic book imprint of Eastern Woodland Art, both created by me, James Darin Corbiere (Waabi Makoohns, Bear Clan). Through Ded-C Comics, I bring Indigenous stories to life in full colour, combining visual art, language, and spirit on every page.

This full-colour comic book introduces BalAnce, a four-part series rooted in the Anishinaabe creation story and worldview. The First 96 Pages gathers Parts 1, 2, and 3 of The Legend of Giiwedanong, the northern direction of the medicine wheel, and opens the path into an expansive, 1,000-page vision that I’m bringing to life, one page at a time.

Written and illustrated entirely by me, these pages carry not just a story, but a spirit, a record of ancestral knowledge, land-based teachings, and cosmic connection. They weave together traditional storytelling with visual art, speaking to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous readers ready to journey deeper into the truths and teachings held within Anishinaabe culture.

As a survivor of church-run residential trauma, a former peacekeeper (police officer), and now an Indigenous language teacher and artist, I’ve poured everything into this series. This is not just a comic, it’s part of my healing, and part of our collective remembering.

The BalAnce series will unfold in four volumes:

• Volume 1: North – The Legend of Giiwedanong (in progress, first 96 pages available now)
• Volume 2: East – The Legend of Waabanong
• Volume 3: South – The Legend of Zhaawanong
• Volume 4: West – The Legend of Epangishmook

When you purchase The First 96 Pages, you’re helping me carry these stories forward and to finish the work still inside me before it fades. You’re supporting an independent Indigenous artist reclaiming story, voice, and vision, one page at a time.

Miigwetch, Miigwetch, Miigwetch for your support!
— James Darin Corbiere (Waabi Makoohns, Bear Clan)