A review by morebedsidebooks
The Complete Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi

dark emotional funny reflective

4.0

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a candid an immensely successful graphic memoir detailing coming-of-age amid revolution, war, and migration. A title with such influence reaching great heights that Persepolis might need little introduction. It certainly is easy thinking about francophone writers or comics in French for the Iranian creator Marjane Satrapi and Persepolis to come to mind.  For my part I am surprised even over twenty years later how I again can pick up the comics and a new part will jump out at me. It’s black/white aesthetic and paneling, sometimes overflowing with text or quietly speaking silently yet powerfully on their own engages the reader. No wonder it has subsequently inspired others (such as Marguerite Abouet) to tell their own stories through the medium of sequential art. Too as a title that has continued to be a subject of controversy, it is worth highlighting the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s resources on Persepolis . In addition to the two volume or single omnibus editions of the comic, (in English translated by Mattias Ripa and Blake Ferris, lettering Eve Deluze with additional hand lettering Céline Merrien) I’d also encourage people to search out the 2007 animated film adaptation. Using traditional animation techniques that give beautiful results. 

Persepolis reminds us not only of the liveliness, cruelty, and efforts to make sense of the world, but identity, transitions, and resilience in the face of fundamentalism and crossing foreign cultures. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings