There are many aspects of our lives that influence our personalities, including where we are from and where we finally decide to live. At first glance, Kay Sohini’s book, This Beautiful, Ridiculous City, seems to be a love letter to New York City, where she immigrated to in her twenties, and how it made her into the person she is today. While she does show a lot of love for the Big Apple through the graphic novel format, Sohini also delves deep into her own past, including some of the uglier moments, to create this biographical work that also happens to reveal the beauty of her adopted city.
When Sohini landed at JFK (a point in time that she references throughout her story), she was looking for an escape from her grief and her past. While most people would experience trepidation moving to a new country with little money to their name, Sohini felt excitement, even relief, at this chance to rediscover herself. However, looking back to the moment of her arrival in New York has also forced her to confront the good and the bad of her past, as well as some uncomfortable truths about her family.
Sohini tells her story but does so through a series of tangents, including a discussion of what India was like in the 90’s and the early 2000s and all the food that her family used to serve when she was young. These different tangents ultimately come together to show how Sohini’s book is about community, from the family you are born into to the one you adopt. When she discusses a serious but abusive relationship she had as a young woman, it’s a harrowing account of how she was manipulated by her partner, but it’s also a story about leaving a relationship that was toxic and discovering a more supportive one (that relationship being with New York).
Though this is a text-heavy graphic novel, Sohini’s artwork contributes to the story about her relationship with New York. This graphic novel is like a travel guide showcasing the beauty of New York and the nostalgia for her native India. She paints these scenes in vivid colors that might stir one’s longing to visit New York or live there. Sohini also uses graphic storytelling to talk about emotions and events in her life that might prove difficult to talk about in just text. An excellent example of this is the symbolism she evokes when she’s standing on the words she’s truly thinking while saying the opposite. Sohini actually stands on the words she’s thinking and that thought looks as tall and as imposing as a skyscraper.
Sohini’s work does an interesting balancing act by framing her emotional and physical journey through her immigration to New York and her understanding of Western culture. The complexity and maturity of ideas, along with the subject matter, puts it within most library’s adult graphic novel section, but this book also holds up as an example of what the format is capable of when it’s put in capable hands.
This Beautiful, Ridiculous City By Kay Sohini Ten Speed Graphic, 2024 ISBN: 9780593836156
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Indian, Character Representation: Indian,
The God of Death explores the meaning of life in The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, a beautiful and rich comic written by Ram V and illustrated by Filipe Andrade.
The story opens in the chaos of life and death. In a hospital in Mumbai the young baby Darius is born, and Laila Starr, an orphan girl, dies from injuries after a fall.
Amidst this chaos, the God of Death is called to the corporate office of the Purveyor of All Goodness. It seems the newborn, Darius, will one day invent immortality. Death is fired. Her services are no longer necessary. Feeling scorned, Death returns to earth in the mortal body of recently deceased Laila Starr.
The Many Deaths of Laila Starr was recently published as a trade volume of 5 single issues originally published in 2021. In each of the 5 issues, Death is reincarnated in the body of Laila Starr. During each reincarnation, she finds herself by Darius’s side as he navigates life after the death of a loved one. Unfortunate accidents haunt Death, and her stays on earth are never long. However, the God of Life takes pity on his friend, reincarnating her after each death. Death gives Life meaning, and he does what he can to aide her on her journey..
The concept of the comic is fascinating—filled with deep subtext and meaning. Death, threatened by immortality, desperately tries to remain relevant, and in the process, experiences the human cost of death. The art by Filepe Andrade brings magical realism to Mumbai with a pallet saturated with warm tones. The illustrations capture the chaotic and beautiful realities of life and mirrors the lyrical text it accompanies.
The text blew me away. It is filled with poignant observations about the cycle of life. Over the course of the comic, both Death and Darius grasp for deeper understanding of life lost to death and the lives death leaves behind. The magnitude and our understanding of death evolves as we age. Over the course of the series, Darius grows from a child to an old man, and his experiences with the death of those around him affect both him and Laila Starr in meaningful and different ways. The lyrical text beautifully captures the rich complexity. For instance, the third issue is narrated by a cigarette in text boxes partially outlined in a cloud of smoke. While musing on the burning embers of a fragile life, it observes three teens “engrossed in the great rituals of youth. Writing their own dreams onto peeling walls. And negotiating vulnerabilities with the unspoken language of laughter, confessions, and stolen cigarettes.” These words by V paired with illustrations from Andrade beautifully explore the intricate balance between life and death.
Over the course of the last month, I picked up this book a number of times, and each new reading brought greater appreciation as I explored the depth of the illustrations and text.
I am excited to put this into the hands of my students, especially those who love philosophical explorations and beautiful stories. And it is sure to sway those who are hesitant to appreciate the literary value of the comic format. While the book is intended for an adult audience, I know that many high school students and teens, who are on the precipice of exploring life on their own, will also appreciate The Many Deaths of Laila Starr.
The Many Deaths of Laila Starr By Ram V Art by Filipe Andrade BOOM! Studios, 2022 ISBN: 9781684158058
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Indian, Character Representation: Indian,
At the start of Woman World, a genetic defect wipes out all male humans within a few generations. Then a series of natural disasters devastates the planet. From the ashes rises a new civilization: one made up only of women.
Then: wacky hijinks!
Despite its grim beginnings, this is a silly, sometimes sweet look at a post-apocalyptic—and post-man—world. Here, a village bands together under a flag bearing an image of Beyoncé’s thighs. (As we later discover, the neighboring villages also chose parts of Beyoncé’s body as their standards.) Within that village live women of a variety of ages, races, and body types. There’s the grandmother who is the only one who can remember real live men, and her granddaughter who scavenges through the ruins for pieces of the old world. (Her most prized discovery: a DVD of Paul Blart: Mall Cop.) There are single women and women in relationships, women writing poetry and women who have decided to be naked all the time. Together, they live a cooperative, generally peaceful existence.
In Woman World, men are remembered with a fond wistfulness, a lost part of human culture. But women don’t spend too much time missing or wondering about them: they’re busy living their lives. (That said, a lot of the jokes do involve people making incorrect assumptions about what the old world was like.)
The stakes are generally low in this slice-of-life comic. Conflicts arise from arguments, anxiety, and the occasional unrequited love. There is also concern about the future of the human race: surviving sperm banks are an option for women who want to have children, but they won’t last forever, and other methods are still experimental. But in the meantime, everyday concerns revolve mostly around relationships, romantic or platonic.
The book Woman World is a print collection of the popular Instagram webcomic of the same name. The art is grayscale, with a few full-color pages sprinkled through the book. There are usually three to five panels per page. Some pages can stand alone as one-off jokes, while others are part of continuing plot arcs. The characters’ faces are simple but expressive, while their distinctive body shapes, hairstyles, and outfits make them easy to tell apart. Shading indicates different skin and hair colors. One character has a prosthetic leg, and one has surgical scars; some have piercings or wrinkles or other visible differences that make them easy to distinguish while also making the world of the comic richer and more interesting.
As far as content, there is no violence and no on-page sex, just some kissing. There is frequent nudity, but it is never sexualized, and no genitals are drawn in, just triangles that are understood to be pubic hair. A small number of swear words appear, generally as part of a joke.
Woman World may portray a post-apocalyptic civilization roughing it in the wilderness among the ruins of our world, but it’s actually a rather relaxing read. The characters usually mean well, and no one gets hurt. Just women of all kinds supporting each other and going about their business, with some jokes thrown in. Hand it to anyone looking for a gently funny stand-alone read.
Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal ISBN: 9781770463356 Drawn & Quarterly, 2018
Indian-American Priyanka, also known as Pri, is a comics-loving teenager who has important questions. She wants to know why her mother left India and who her father is, but her mother remains tight-lipped. After Pri discovers a pashmina (a kind of shawl) in an old suitcase, she finds herself transported to a bright and magical India. Convinced that she needs to visit the real place, Pri travels to India to discover the origins of the pashmina and herself.
Nidhi Chanani weaves together a story full of magic and realistic situations to form a charming narrative of identity and growth. Pri is a compelling protagonist, whose struggles to fit in are relatable. Pri’s determination, demonstrated through her persistent questions and decision to use her own prize money for airplane tickets, helps her to reach her goals. Chanani also includes a greater conversation about injustice and the importance of choice for women. As Pri comes to understand her identity and her mother’s story, she finds her strength.
Chanani conveys a setting filled with Pri’s close family and friends, school drama, the goddess Shakti, and magic. Because the main character and her family are Indian-American, the story naturally includes elements of Indian culture. The characters also use some Hindi words, and although the words are not explicitly translated, there is usually enough context for non-native speakers to get the gist.
Chanani’s artwork captures movement and body language well, and her ability to draw strong scenes add to the emotional power of the work. She also includes little details, such as posters of Sailor Moon in Pri’s room, to give a sense of the characters’ identity. Many of the illustrations are in black and white, and so Chanani’s judicious use of color effectively symbolizes idealism and packs a big punch at key moments.
Pashmina is a rich, sweet graphic novel about understanding your identity and finding your purpose. There is no gore or sexual content, but, given some of the more emotionally mature topics, this comic is ideal for readers ten and older. Readers looking for a work with a great feminist message will gravitate toward this one. I, for one, hope to see more work from Nidhi Chanai.
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani ISBN: 9781626720879 First Second, 2017 Publisher Age Rating: 10-14
At first glance, Kay Sohini’s book, This Beautiful, Ridiculous City, seems to be a love letter to New York City, where she immigrated to in her twenties, and how it made her into the person she is today. While she does show a lot of love for the Big Apple through the graphic novel format, Sohini also delves deep into her own past, including some of the uglier moments, to create this biographical work that also happens to reveal the beauty of her adopted city.
he God of Death explores the meaning of life in The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, a beautiful and rich comic written by Ram V and illustrated by Filipe Andrade.
At the start of Woman World, a genetic defect wipes out all male humans within a few generations. Then a series of natural disasters devastates the planet. From the ashes rises a new civilization: one made up only of women.
Indian-American Priyanka, also known as Pri, is a comics-loving teenager who has important questions. She wants to know why her mother left India and who her father is, but her mother remains tight-lipped. After Pri discovers a pashmina (a kind of shawl) in an old suitcase, she finds herself transported to a bright and magical India. Convinced that she needs to visit the real place, Pri travels to India to discover the origins of the pashmina and herself.
