Oil Patch Insider: Alaska history jumps off page in Hurst’s graphic novel; Miller’s book examines value of Alaska oil

Sarah Hurst, former editor of North of 60 Mining News and, more recently, author of Petroleum News’ Arctic Neighbors, has just released a 148-page graphic novel about the modern history of Alaska; specifically the major events and people who shaped the state’s history.

Publisher Greatland Graphics describes “A Native Lad: Benny Benson Tells Alaska’s Story” on Amazon.com as “history jumping off the page.”

Written for older children and adults, Alaska-based Greatland says “this is no gentle history. There are winners and losers and the result is not always fair. This is history the way it really happens.”

The novel features 16 scenes from different “big impact” episodes in Alaska history, including one on Tom Marshall and the selection of the Prudhoe Bay area as state land, followed by the Prudhoe Bay discovery and the 1969 oil lease sale.

Most of the historical figures in the novel have passed away, but Marshall, Charlie Edwardsen Jr., Emil Notti and Sarah Palin are still with us.

Why a graphic novel versus a traditional format?

According to Hurst the idea for a graphic novel of the play she had written came from a question she asked her husband: “When I asked my husband Jon if he would read the play about Alaska history I’d just finished writing, his reply was, ‘I’ll read it when it comes out as a comic book.’ Instead of snarling at him for being so dismissive, I started thinking about his suggestion. Graphic novels — as the slightly longer and more serious comic books are usually called — are all the rage these days. I immediately stole Jon’s idea and started working on a grant application (to the Alaska Humanities Forum) to turn my play into a graphic novel.”

The 16 scenes in the novel, which carries a price tag of $19.99, are drawn by nine artists, making “A Native Lad: Benny Benson Tells Alaska’s Story” a showcase for comic talent in Alaska.

Their styles range from Lance Lekander’s cartoony technique, to Evon Zerbetz’s and Shanley McCauley’s very realistic renderings, and include the unique style of Peter Dunlap-Shohl, former editorial cartoonist for the Anchorage Daily News, who illustrated the Prudhoe Bay scene.

It’s a good read for pre-teens, teens and adults.

For more information go to these websites:

Graphic novel at Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/dcpGUH

The play: http://bit.ly/avfDwm

Teacher/student guide: http://bit.ly/dpmLWj

—Kay Cashman

Miller’s book examines the value Alaska oil development for companies, stakeholders

The book is a case study that calculates the profit from the largest petroleum development in North American history — i.e. Prudhoe Bay — and explores how it was shared by Alaska, the federal government and the oil companies.

Miller says he sought to determine whether the reward from development of Alaska oil over the past 50 years was worth the investment risk.

Despite billions in profits over the years, per a Sept. 14 press release from Miller, his book shows “how the unexpected low oil prices, unforeseen high costs and creeping taxes associated with Alaska oil would have kept oil companies from getting involved if they could have foreseen the future,” getting at what he feels is the “real economic story of Alaska oil.”

Miller said his book “chronicles the exploration of the Arctic and the discovery of oil near Prudhoe Bay. While it was first believed that the area was swimming with cheap crude oil, a federal study, done just two months before production, contradicted this assumption. Over the next several decades, low oil prices, high development costs and tax increases all ended up generating much smaller profits from Alaskan oil than ever expected. Meant to be thought-provoking, The Last Alaskan Barrel studies the past of Alaskan oil and takes a glimpse at its future.”

About the author, per the press release: “Miller managed Alaskan projects for more than a decade, including the world’s largest natural gas facility. He led an international team through the first natural gas project in China and was managing director of an exploration company in Norway. During his career with a major oil and gas company, he handled long-range planning, business development and project management in the western United States, Norway, Japan, Korea, China and Indonesia. He was chairman of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Owners Committee, a board of directors that oversees the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering and a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas. He lives in Anchorage, Alaska with his wife.”

The Last Alaskan Barrel is available for sale, among other places, at Amazon.com.

To contact Miller by email: [email protected]

To look at his website: www.thelastalaskanbarrel.com

—Kay Cashman