Hark! A Vagrant
{{Short description|Webcomic by Kate Beaton (2007–2018)}}
{{Infobox Webcomic
| title = Hark! A Vagrant
| image = File:Hark A Vagrant.png
| caption = Cover for the 2011 print collection
| author = Kate Beaton
| url = [http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php Hark, a Vagrant]
| status = Completed{{cite web|title=Hark, a Vagrant|last=Beaton|first=Kate|url=http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=404|quote=Hark! A Vagrant, such as it is, is an archive website now.}}
| began = 2007
| ended = 2018
| genre = Comedy
}}
Hark! A Vagrant is a webcomic published by Canadian artist Kate Beaton between 2007 and 2018. It discussed historical and literary topics in a comedic tone and was drawn in black and white.
Recurring themes
Hark! A Vagrant is best known for its humorous treatment of historical figures and events. Beaton began drawing history-themed comics for her student newspaper while studying History and Anthropology at Mount Allison University.{{cite web|last1=Drevitch|first1=Gary|title=Eccentric's Corner: Drawn to History|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201505/eccentrics-corner-drawn-history|website=Psychology Today}} Historical personages that have made appearances in the comic include Napoléon Bonaparte,{{cite web|last1=Beaton|first1=Kate|title=Hark, a Vagrant: 320|url=http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=320}} Ada Lovelace,{{cite web|title=Hark, a Vagrant: 298|url=http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=298}} Marie Antoinette,{{cite web|title=Hark, a Vagrant: 2|url=http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=2}} and the Founding Fathers of the United States.{{cite web|title=Hark, a Vagrant: 375|url=http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=375}} Literary figures feature prominently, such as the Brontë sisters,{{cite web|title=Hark, a Vagrant: 202|url=http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=202}} and several strips parody classic literary works such as Robinson Crusoe and Sherlock Holmes. The humour in Beaton's historical and literary strips often derives from anachronisms, such as historical characters expressing modern colloquialisms and sensibilities.{{cite news|last1=Randle|first1=Chris|title=Book Review: Hark! A Vagrant, by Kate Beaton|url=https://nationalpost.com/afterword/book-review-hark-a-vagrant-by-kate-beaton|website=National Post}}
Other recurring subjects in the comic include superheroes, Nancy Drew stories, and autobiographical topics.
Hark! A Vagrant has been noted for its feminist themes,{{cite web|last1=Sneddon|first1=Laura|title=Kate Beaton on refusing to let women be forgotten and increasing audience diversity of a comic convention|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/kate-beatons-comics-are-refusing-to-let-women-be-forgotten-a6715486.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220509/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/kate-beatons-comics-are-refusing-to-let-women-be-forgotten-a6715486.html |archive-date=2022-05-09 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|website=Independent|date=2 November 2015}} and Beaton has described herself as "naturally drawn to women’s history". She is particularly well-known for her series of "Strong Female Characters" strips, which satirise sexist depictions of female characters in comics and movies.{{cite web|last1=Robinson|first1=Tasha|title=Interview: Kate Beaton|url=https://www.avclub.com/kate-beaton-1798228099|website=AV Club|date=14 October 2011 }}
Style
Hark! A Vagrant is drawn in black and white with pens, watercolours, brush pens, and a Wacom tablet in later comics.{{cite web|title=Hark, a Vagrant: About|url=http://www.harkavagrant.com/about.php}} Beaton's distinctive drawing style is loose and light, and has been compared to the illustrations of Quentin Blake. Reviews have remarked on her mastery of facial expressions in particular.
Most strips are short, about three to eight panels long. Beaton often eschews punctuation in her dialogue, and the tone of the comic has been described as "conversational".
Reception
The 2011 print collection of Hark! A Vagrant was named one of the top ten fiction books of the year by Time magazine,{{cite magazine|last1=Grossman|first1=Lev|title=7. Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2101344_2101086_2101094,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107191406/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2101344_2101086_2101094,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 7, 2012|magazine=TIME}}
and Rolling Stone magazine placed the same collection on its list of 'The 50 Best Non-Superhero Graphic Novels'.{{cite magazine|title=Drawn Out: The 50 Best Non-Superhero Graphic Novels|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/lists/drawn-out-the-50-best-non-superhero-graphic-novels-20140505/hark-a-vagrant-kate-beaton-19691231|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=16 November 2019}} Maria Popova, in The Atlantic, called the book "a witty and wonderful collection of comics about historical and literary figures and events", and praised Beaton's "truly special gift for simple, subtle, incredibly expressive caricature".{{cite web|last1=Popova|first1=Maria|title='Hark! A Vagrant': Witty Comics on Historical and Literary Figures|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/10/hark-a-vagrant-witty-comics-on-historical-and-literary-figures/246291/|website=The Atlantic|date=7 October 2011}} Alex Manley, writing for Maisonneuve, wrote that "the collection reveals Beaton's flair for marrying dry historical facts of varying arcanity with cheap, childish gags in a way that never seems to get old."{{cite web|last1=Manley|first1=Alex|title=Kate Beaton's Revisionist History|url=https://maisonneuve.org/article/2011/10/3/kate-beatons-revisionist-history/|website=maisonneuve.org|date=3 October 2011}}
Awards
Collections
- Never Learn Anything From History (2009)
- Hark! A Vagrant (Drawn & Quarterly, 2011)
- Step Aside, Pops (Drawn & Quarterly, 2015)