Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi has a gift for exposing frail, laughable humanity in very bold drawings. She packs humor and tragedy into her books, throwing witty punches and allowing for sympathetic pauses. I cannot express the gargantuan importance of this book, nor my infinite gratitude that it exists. In this tale of her childhood during the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Satrapi offers the comic book equivalent of a symphony. The drawings are vivacious, ascending and descending, ever changing, like a complex piece of music.

Being a good drawer doesn't necessarily make you good at drawing comics. Readers of Marjane Satrapi’s books will appreciate the clarity, how their eyes glide easily across the page, from beginning to end. Each box is a different lens, giving readers a fresh take on this historic time, which happened to coincide with Satrapi’s childhood.

Most importantly, people worldwide have an opportunity to look into a mysterious, often misunderstood country. Instead of seeing Iran as a demonic nation in the Axis of Evil, we can see that the people of Iran have suffered greatly. Rather than only learn about Iran from biased media, we can focus on our shared humanity through art. We need more creative visionaries like Marjane Satrapi to deepen human understanding.