Graphic novels are one of my favorite genres because they can convene such a diverse range of topics and information in a very concise and visual way. For the end of the year, I make a round up of my latest reads and recommendations.
They called Us Enemy by George Takei
The famous Star Wars actor George Takei offers an unique testimony of the situation of the Japanese living in the US during WWII. The Executive Order nr. 9066 from February 19th, 1942 considered them enemies, their properties seized and they were forced to live in precarious conditions. Deemed ´nonassimilable´, the principle of the order was that: ´You don´t know what they´re thinking, so it would be prudent to look them up before they do anything´. Takei, at the time a child, experienced it alongside other 120,000 Asian Americans. President Ronald Reagen apologized for it only 40 years ago.
The illustrations - the work of Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott and Harmony Becker - are suggestive and the text is written in the voice of a young child experiencing the hardship of uprootnesness and the sudden destitute situation of his family.
A recommended read for those interested in history, particularly of Asians in the US.
Liebe auf Iranisch by Jane Deuxard
Iranian Love Stories by Jane Deuxard, illustrated by Zac Deloupy is a collection of stories of love and hate (by the government and its corrupt representatives) told by women and men living in Iran. It may have some stereotypical interpretations but it also offers insights of the everyday life challenges the young people are forced to experience.
Identikid by Moa Romanova
Identikid by Swedish author and artist Moa Romanova, translated into German by Katharina Erben is my least favorite comic novel of the year, maybe of the last 5 years. Although I understood the message, the kind of grotesque the book is sinking into does not make too much sense for me. It´s a matter of taste, I know, which I fully assume it.
The Colour of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa
The first installment of the Colour trilogy, The Color of Earth by the revered Korean comic artist Kim Dong Hwa is a timeless story of learning to love again. I loved the illustrations but also the cultural and linguistic references, offering a full immersion into the local ambiance.
Yallah Bye by Joseph Safieddine, illustrated by Kyungeon Park
Inspired by real facts that took place in 2006, this graphic novel recreate the everyday life of people affected by the political games of military movements, that do not have anything to do with the local population. The texts, written by Joseph Safieddine, Lebanese himself, and illustrated by the South Korean artist Kyungeon Park, may offer sometimes exactly what people expect to read and hear from Lebanon, and does miss some important pieces of the puzzle, but are nevertheless relevant for the representations of the recent Lebanese history.
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Piano Oriental by Zeina Abirached
Not living Lebanon yet, as Piano Oriental by Zeina Abirached tells a more interesting story rendered in an excellent graphic format. Inspired by a personal history, it reflects the diversity and complexity of the Middle East, particularly Lebanon, through sounds and colours. A Lebanon that nowadays is mostly lost, thus the importance of sharing such testimonies that maybe one day will help to build a new cultural awareness again.
Yasmina et les Mangeurs de Patates/Yasmina and the Potato Eaters by Wauter Mannaert
This book that I´ve read in French, by Belgian cartoonist Wauten Mannaert, belongs rather to the domain of food history. Yasmina, a brave girl who wants to save the world is involved in a conspiracy whose stake is to feed the planet. It sounds more for a middle grade audience but in fact it makes a couple of smart points relevant for the food history, wrapped in an adventurous story.
The World of Mana Neyestani
Mana Neyestani is a talented Iranian cartoonist that had to leave the country after a kafkaesque encounter between arts and politics.
An Iranian Nightmare/Ein iranischer Albtraum is inspired by this experience that changed completely his life, only due to an interpretation of some paranoid bureaucrats. Dictatorships of all colours may offer a lot of inspiration for absurd works, but brings so much pain to the soul and body of individuals.
His latest work that I had the chance to read as a graphic novel is built around a serial morder who operated in the city of Mashhad, considered one of the most religious cities in the world, who killed 16 sex workers. When does someone has the right to kill another person? Or, in other words, is there any such right, or is just an invention for the sake of the religiously intoxicated?
Quai d´Orsay by Christophe Blain and Abel Lanzac
Quai d´Orsay by the duo Christophe Blain and Abel Lanzac is an example that graphic novels can be made about every single topic in the world. Named after the address of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was turned into a movie. Lanzac himself is a diplomat, familiar with the ways in which foreign policy is built, hence the authenticity of both the vocabulary and the mechanisms that put into motion a diplomatic office, no matter the country. It displays the conflicts that usually exist between political appointees and diplomatic personnel and what happens when diplomats are at war - in the book, the last Iraq War.
That´s my latest 2021 post dedicated to graphic novels. I don´t have any interesting titles yes on my TBR but hopefully will have many opportunities to discover new voices and cartoonists, that will be happy to further share with my readers. I can´t wait!
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