Comics by Women: Persepolis

For the first time, I read Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and I loved it.

I had always heard that it is considered one of the greatest graphic novels, and it was one that I also happened upon in the past. I took a quick look at Satrapi's style: flat and almost child-like. It was because of this style that I passed it up before, but now I think its one of the many charming qualities of this work. Satrapi discusses growing up in Iran after the Islamic Revolution, and I found Satrapi's style very appropriate for the story; it is simple and transparent which gave a sense of innocence. As a reader I felt like a child trying to understand the complicated world and events that are occurring. Thinking about it, its brilliant how the simple aesthetic of the work juxtaposes the complexity of Iran's situation.
I am not familiar or educated about the conflicts in the Middle East, and I was young when 9/11 happened, and sometimes fell into the fear propaganda that sprang up. I am always looking to educate myself about Islamic culture and what has happened the past couple of decades. It was nice reading this story from young Satrapi's perspective was a way to guide the novice reader into some of the events that occurred and understanding a new perspective.

Dr. Steiling had pointed out how Satrapi's compositions sometimes reflected patterns. I thought that was an interesting point, considering how prevalent patterns are in Islamic culture. I thought that was a nice way to subliminally tie together some qualities of the story with the aesthetic of the comic.