Our trip to Burlington, Vermont was chronicled in the ‘American Elf‘ comic series by James Kochalka. If you’re not famliar with James’ work, ‘American Elf’ is a daily webcomic of James’ life transcending the past 13 years. James starred in Geoff’s movie Mars– which was screening at the Vermont Film Festival. Geoff is the guy who looks like a hairy muppet. I didn’t make the comic. Actually I may be one of the vapid ghosts in the background of the bar scene.
Bitch.
My boyfriend is an animator which means his bookcases are filled with animator stuff.
One day I was bored and pulled down his copy of Persepolis.
I thought graphic novels were for kids and nerds, so I wasn’t expecting much from it.
Boy, was I a dumbass.
By the second page I was sucked into the book like James Spader into the Stargate. I was transfixed. A heartbreaking coming-of-age tale set during a time of historical significance had this history nerd gobbling up every word. For those of you not familiar with Persepolis (and live a sad, sheltered life like I do), it is the autobiography of Marjane Satrapi, a young woman growing up in Iran in the 1970’s. The book takes us through her childhood, which intersects with the Iranian Revolution, her escape to Europe as a teenager, and then back to Iran as a twenty-something and the dramatic changes within her country.
Satrapi writes of a life that was once simple and carefree, how women didn’t have the adhere to strict Islamic (more…)