White Rapids

Set against the stark, wintry landscape of 1950s Quebec, White Rapids is a poignant, wordless graphic novel from Drawn & Quarterly that chronicles the rise and fall of a small company town built around a hydroelectric dam. Through Pascal Blanchet’s evocative, retro-styled art and meticulous period detail—with no dialogue or captions—the story quietly observes the rhythms of daily life, from the workers’ routines to the town’s gradual decay. First published in 2007, this single-issue work is a masterclass in visual storytelling, with Blanchet (who also wrote, with translator Helge Dascher) crafting a haunting meditation on progress, isolation, and memory. It stands as a distinctive, atmospheric entry in Canadian comics, celebrated for its elegant design and silent narrative power.