By Jeff Outhit / Waterloo Region Record
Artists Alaire and Toben Racicot are stepping outside the world of fantasy to create a graphic novel about something true: the story of a soldier who died in the Second World War.
Ernie Phair was a machine operator, husband and new father who enlisted in 1941. By 1944, he was an infantry lieutenant, aiming to lead his men as best he could to help liberate Europe from Nazi tyranny.
“I didn’t want to do a typical story of him being this kind of Captain America figure because I don’t believe that is what soldiers do. They all kind of contribute to one another’s success,” said Toben, a writer.
“We don’t want to focus on the pain and suffering that these soldiers went through. We want to focus on the characters,” said Alaire, an illustrator.
The Waterloo couple hopes their 32-page graphic novel will connect in a fresh way with students and others, to help them explore the cost of freedom and what it means to remember.