Recommended Read



(image via comicbookbin)
Have you seen the "Aya of Yop City" graphic novels? It was a pleasant surprise, the story of the daily life of young people in the Ivory Coast. They are absolutely absorbing, like a really good African soap opera. The best way to make an afternoon dissapear, really and truly. From the WSJ:

"The first volume of the series, 'Aya,' was published in the U.S. in 2007 by Drawn and Quarterly, a Canadian publisher that distributes many prominent graphic novelists in the U.S., like Chris Ware and cartoonist/war-reporter Joe Sacco. Ten thousand copies have been printed, a significant number for a debut graphic novel. The second volume, 'Aya of Yop City,' is due out in the U.S. this month.

"'Aya' comics have sold more than 200,000 copies in France, where four volumes of the series have been published. Marc Szyjowicz, the owner of BDNet, a busy graphic novel shop near the Bastille in Paris, says the comics appeal to a wide range of readers, but especially to African immigrants. "There are not many graphic novels on Africa," says Mr. Szyjowicz."