Pyongyang

I have just finished reading a fantastic graphic novel called Pyongyang, by Guy Delisle. I would recommend the book for anyone age 12 or over.

Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea -- one of the most secretive countries in the world. Not many people are allowed to visit, and if you do go, you have very little freedom to travel while you are there.

The book tells the story of Guy Delisle's stay of a few months in North Korea. He was in there working on an animated TV series. (A lot of people don't realize that much of the animation they see on TV is done in Asia where hiring animators is cheap.)

What I really like about Pyongyang is that it doesn't try to make any big political statements. It's almost like a diary. But in writing and drawing about what he saw and felt. Delisle gives us a portrait of North Korea that's different from anything else I have read. He spends a lot of time with his guide, driver, and translator, without ever really getting to know them -- and trying to figure out if they really believe the outrageous things they tell him about the Korean regime. At the same time, there are some funny sequences of cultural misunderstandings in which Delisle is trying to get across to his animators what changes he needs made to scenes.

I realized that comics was the perfect form for this book. Delisle would not have been allowed to photograph a lot of the places he visited. Comics are great for doing journalism (like Joe Sacco's books) and for memoirs (like Persepolis). Pyongyang is a bit of both.

The book also reminded me of the Tintin comics (and not just because it mentions Tintin). It is clearly influenced by Tintin creator Hergé's clear-line style, and Delisle draws himself with a bit of a quiff -- hair sticking up at the front of his head -- which cannot be a coincidence.

(Cross-posted from Daisy Chains.)