Brown originally meant "Louis Riel" to be published in book form, but his publisher, Chris Oliveros, convinced him to serialize it first. Drawn & Quarterly published the ten comic-book instalments from 1999 until 2003. Brown was granted CA$6000 by the Canadian Council for the Arts in 2001 to assist in its completion. The full volume appeared in hardcover in 2003 and softcover in 2006. The book sold out its first printing in two months, went through multiple printings, and had sold fifty thousand copies by the beginning of 2011. The original serialization sold poorly, which made the book's success a surprise.