Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands

Why did Kate Beaton choose to tell this story using the comic medium? What is gained or lost through images versus prose?

How does the subject matter in Ducks compare to Beaton’s work on Hark! A Vagrant? Does she represent these differences visually? What links do you see between the two?

Beaton’s webcomics were published serially. What is the effect of presenting Ducks as a single graphic novel rather than publishing strips or pages separately? How might the story change if it were published serially?