Persepolis 1 & 2

by Marjane Satrapi

If you have been around the block, you have probably heard about Persepolis by now. It is one of those comics that was welcomed by critics far outside of the normal comic book sphere of influence. Biographies are the "it" right now in comics, and after the success of Maus, it isn't any wonder that Persepolis is noticed and lauded left and right. This comic didn't need to piggyback on anyone though, it easily stands on it's own as a superb work.

Story: Persepolis is Satrapi's autobiography of her life growing up Iranian. The first book begins with her at age ten in 1980. It is a time of revolution in Iran. Though the old regime is corrupt, the government that replaces it is founded on fundamentalist Islam and proves to be far worse. What liberties people used to enjoy are stripped away; freedom is thrown out the window. Then there is war with Iraq. It is dangerous times... death from outside, death from within. What a time to be growing up in!

The second book deals with her life after being sent to Austria by her parents to keep her safe. She is getting older, learning to be an adult, and struggling to hold on to her identity and sanity.

Themes: The first book seems to carry the fruits of youth: innocence, idealism, and hope. By contrast, the second book is one of loneliness, aimlessness, and crisis. What? Crisis?!? How could things be worse? She escapes war, but looses everything in the process: Family, friends, community, culture... all gone. The bombs and rockets of the outside world never came close to killing her compared to the results of her internal struggle. Realities are harsh. Gone are the optimisms of her youth.

As all of her tenuous supports in Austria come crashing down she finds herself living on the streets--a testimony to how easily homelessness can grab hold of one's life. Even while watching her put her life back together through the later parts of book two, there is a sense of pessimism about life and the future. It almost feels like "so what?", and her life looks more like a cruel game than anything. One would have hoped that her experiences would have turned her into a great political activist, fighting against tyranny like her uncle Anoush. Life isn't as neat and tidy as our storybooks, is it? That is when you realize the book that you're holding in your hands is the testimony that something amazing has come out of all this. I think that is the greatest post-script to Persepolis.

Art: Satrapi's art is wonderfully black and white, and very simple. That is not to say that it is simplistic. She is very intelligent, whether using silhouettes running down to the basement during an air-raid, or God and Karl Marx floating in a dream world's clouds. The style is clear (vs. some manga, for example, where battles scenes look more like abstract renderings), and emotions are often larger than life. The cartooniness of the graphics sometimes made death disturbingly easy to swallow for me. Contrast this with Maus, which threw death in my face over and over, willing me to come to terms with it's harsh realities.

Bottom line: the art serves the writing well. Even if it is not your favorite style, I'm sure it will grow on you until you look upon it fondly.

After-Effects: Much like Sacco's Palestine, Persepolis is going to bring a lot of insight for the average reader of another world. An intimate tour of Iran is timely. As Iran seeks nukes, the "war on terror" persists, and repressive Islamic governments furrow the brow, what better time to put a human face on the people? Fear, hope, love--we're all human. It is a good thing to remember. For whatever reason Iraq and Iran go to war, even Satrapi's politically dissident parents get caught up in the nationalism that sweeps the people. We really are all the same. Hopefully comics and books like these will get into the hands of the average American and start changing the way we think and act.

Btw: Did I mention that she has a wicked sense of humor? Admittedly, this really did happen to her...

The Complete Peanuts: 1950-1952

by Charles Schulz

These Peanuts collections have been catching my eye for a time--seriously, whoever designed the covers did a great job (Fantagraphics). Anyway, 1950-1952 is the first in the collection, meaning this is the very beginning. That's right, the first time anyone ever saw this kooky kid called Charlie Brown, and a lovable beagle named Snoopy.

The Art: Getting right to it, one of the most striking things about this hefty collection, 287 pages of two years of a daily published comic strip, is to see the shift in Schulz's artwork. It is not a change from bad to good, but rather one of style. If you thought these kids had big heads, you need to see the first few months; in comparison, the later head designs look like golf balls . By the end of the book you realize that he was someone who constantly was revising and improving as an artist. On the last page there is still a lot of difference between the Snoopy that you're seeing and the one we are familiar with.

No arguing about it, Schulz's technique is superb; he is a master of the pen like few are anymore in our computer age. You can expect to see beautiful work on every page. He admits in the interview at the end of the book that he has made choices with Peanuts that he realized later were mistakes. My only issue with the art in this collection is probably one of those: for first several months after Lucy's appearance her eyes are rendered differently than the other characters. It is very off putting and even tempted me to skip some of the strips.

Minor complaints aside, Schulz can do more than make a pretty picture. He is just as good at using his artwork to tell a story as he is his words. Most of the time to two are working in tandem, but as the months go by there is an increasing number of strips that contain no dialogue. In one strip, Charlie Brown and Patty are playing cards. The first panel has Charlie lean over to peek at hers, then in the next she at his. In the third they both look at the same time, and in the fourth they both are looking quite embarrassed, their eyes downcast on their own cards.

Themes: Tackling all the themes that appear in this book would be ridiculous, besides, the book's afterword did a great job at it. Schulz does well at revealing the truths, often ugly, of human interaction in a meager four panels. He manages to be funny and relevant, which is not always easy.

These strips were written in the early 1950's but they rarely feel like it. Schulz is general enough, that his work was timeless from the beginning. He tapped into the basics of humans living in the ups and downs: fear, anger, and how our mood is so susceptible to changing circumstances. For example, Charlie Brown turns on Snoopy saying, "Stop following me!! All day long you've been following me around like a dog!" Snoopy is first shocked and then angry. Charlie Brown realizing what has has done continues, "Whoops! What have I said?!" Pleadingly he follows Snoopy, "I'm sorry, Snoopy... I spoke hastily! I'm sorry... it was just an expression..." Who hasn't been in a situation like that? These strips can function on two levels: you read them, you laugh, you move on, or, after laughing you pause and contemplate, learning a thing or two about yourself and others.

The Extras: As I mentioned above, the collection has a great afterword, titled, "The life and times of Charles M. Schulz," which helps the reader put a funny kid and his gaggle of cohorts into the perspective of what was going on at the time of writing, and the impact they made. The picture is painted that these sullen, struggling characters were like sweet relief in the choking, over-the-top optimism of the 1950's. The afterword's writer describes the 50's as being a time when it wasn't okay to feel any other way. Peanuts was a comforting jolt of realism for anyone who felt differently.

There is also a very intelligently conducted interview with Schulz done in 1987. It gives innumerable insights into the man and the reason behind his work. Interestingly enough, he never intended the strip to be a communication tool for spreading his philosophies of life. Schulz just focused on keeping it funny. He also hated the title Peanuts; he didn't choose it and felt it was undignified and made no sense. There is an introduction too, but I didn't read it so... no comment.

Recommended: You betcha.

P.S. Who ever heard of the character "Shermy"?