We See Stars Only At Night, second edition

Iłēge zedle s̱on nes̱it’īn (Tahltan for We See Stars Only at Night) is a surrealistic landscape of Tahltan shapes, culture and motifs. Originally created for the Nanaimo Art Gallery’s group show “Gutters are Elastic” between July 15 – September 23, 2023, Pauls decided to expand the work into a full length book. Playing with the connection between land, regalia, performance and heritage, Pauls follows in the footsteps of Tiger Tateishi, Hironori Kikuchi and Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas with his dream-like narrative. This is a second edition new format reprint of the original Conundrum 25 book, printed in duotone and in landscape format to better highlight the art.

“I see these illustrations as a way of honoring our Culture, showing how our people lived off the land as a way of survival. Illustrating how our traditions evolved into a way of demonstrating our culture and ways of being. The importance of keeping our traditions alive and passing them onto our future generations. The strength of our families working together to harvest, hunt and gather to celebrate. Showing who we are, by our Regalia that reflects the symbolism of our traditional territory.”
— Una-Ann Moyer, Tahltan/Tlingit Painter, Carver and Regalia Maker

“This latest book by Cole Pauls, like the trail blazing work of Lynd Ward, Laurence Hyde  and other masters of the Wordless graphic stories, is an eloquent reminder that sometimes words just get in the way.”
— Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, (Human) Author of Red, War of the Blink, Carpe Fin, Jaj: A Haida Manga

“This book feeds a place in my heart that hasn’t always been well fed. Cole shows that we don’t have to feel like we live in two worlds by showing us his.”
— Bear Witness, Cayuga DJ from Halluci Nation

 “Pauls provides us with a flowing series of illustrations that highlight Tahltan symbolism and motifs. Swirling patterns and shapes bring a sense of something otherworldly converging with reality, beginning with a starlit night and progressing through celestial representations of entities juxtaposed with the lives of indigenous peoples. It’s hypnotic and starkly beautiful in both construction and presentation.”
— Broken Frontier

About the Author

Cole Pauls is a Champagne and Aishihik Citizen and Tahltan comic artist, illustrator, and printmaker hailing from Haines Junction (Yukon Territory). He holds a BFA in Illustration from Emily Carr University. Residing in Vancouver, Pauls has created four graphic novels: Dakwäkãda Warriors (2019), Pizza Punks (2021), Kwändür (2022) and We See Stars Only At Night (2025). In 2017, Pauls won Broken Pencil Magazine’s Best Comic and Best Zine of the Year Award for Dakwäkãda Warriors II. In 2020, Dakwäkãda Warriors won Best Work in an Indigenous Language from the Indigenous Voices Awards and was nominated for two Doug Wright Awards. In 2022, Artspeak Gallery, in Vancouver BC, held the first solo exhibition of Pauls’ work, “Dazhän Kwändür Ch’e (This is a Story)”. In 2023, Kwändür won the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize from the BC & Yukon Book Prize.

Production Details

ISBN: 9781772621273
64 pages, 8.5 x 4.25 inches
duotone, trade paper
September 2026