Word: satrapies
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...traditional memoir publishing recovers from the scandal of partly or wholly fabricated tales of self-inflicted horror, two new graphical memoirs put such phony sensationalism to shame. Notably, both are by women, whose childhood stories have become increasingly visible in this medium thanks to the popularity of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, a two-volume remembrance of growing up in post-revolution Iran. We Are On Our Own by Miriam Katin recalls the author's early childhood living secretly as a Jew in Nazi-occupied Hungary. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, by Alison Bechdel takes place in suburban Pennsylvania, where...
...Delisle's Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea (176 pages; $20), giving it one of the largest initial printings in the publisher's history. D&Q's ambitions seem justified given the surprising commercial success of other graphical memoirs set in dangerous or mysterious locations, such as Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis books, about growing up in revolutionary Iran, and Joe Sacco's Balkan war series, including the recent War's End. Those books combine the personal detail of autobiographical literature with you-are-there visuals in an altogether new kind of non-fiction. Pyongyang clearly belongs in this class...
...During one short sequence, Delisle asks himself the crucial question: "Do they really believe the bullshit that's being forced down their throats?" Unfortunately, it's a question that Delisle never answers. Unlike the work of Satrapi and Sacco, who can present full, rich characters that bring the complexities of distant cultures to life, Delisle remains at a constant distance. Of course the blame for this cannot be put entirely on the author. North Korea's culture of fear systematically and deliberately prohibits foreigners from gaining any kind of truthful access to its citizens. Yet one still cannot help...
...What emerges over the course of this slim novella is a sort of chamber work on the way women talk to each other and experience their place in the world. Satrapi reflects the way the conversations dovetail with each by having the images do the same. Eschewing panels altogether, most pages contain only two or three images or one full-page image, removing the rigid linearity of a grid layout. Even with the greater amount of space this affords her, Satrapi sticks with the simple illustrative style of her previous works. Clearly something of a "make-do" cartoonist, her artwork...
...With "Embroideries" Marjane Satrapi has created a great "woman's" comic, and I mean that without the slightest hint of derision. It focuses exclusively on female characters, examining the way they talk and the aspects of their lives unique to their sex, and then presents their stories in a way that reflects the ebb and flow of women's talk. Yet, unlike what would be labeled a "men's comic," it feels inclusive rather than alienating. "Embroideries" is as funny, opinionated, controversial and surprising as any good comic or conversation should...