Aya of Yop City
Aya of Yop City is a series of graphic novels written by Marguerite Abouet and drawn by Clément Oubrerie.
Marguerite Abouet was working as a legal assistant in Paris when she conceived the idea of Aya of Yop City, inspired to create the series by her friends who encouraged her to write stories from her childhood in her native Ivory Coast.
[citation needed] Inspired by French graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi, Abouet has created a story that depicts the normality of life in the Ivory Coast.
The quotidian nature of the stories in Aya of Yop City counters heavily with common conceptions and representation of African life, such as famine, civil war and unhinged wilderness.
Abouet's depiction of everyday African life through humor gave western viewers a very different viewpoint of Africa that they are not accustomed to seeing.
Through this depiction, Aya of Yop City subverts negative stereotypes that plague Côte d'Ivoire and Africa in general.
Nevertheless, Aya also has some problems of her own - a secret her father Ignace has been hiding for a long time has the power to destroy her family.
On the other hand, the other women in the novel do not seem to be as concerned as Aya with changing their roles in society through pursuing an education and a professional level career.
This communal idea of nationalism serves a different purpose than the Eurocentric norm, in that it is focused on obtaining a collective identity that speaks to the shared history of the African people living in a post-colonial era.
This shows how a distinct identity is formed for the dwellers of Yop city, as they navigate their lives in a post-colonial society.
For instance, when Adjoua, a teenage girl in the novel, becomes pregnant the community rallies behind her to offer support.
His pencil strokes often go a step beyond reality to express strong emotions and to give his characters a distinct personality.
For example, Bonaventure Sissoko is caricatured as a bully archetype: his eyes are completely masked by his bushy eyebrows and his huge bald head is attached directly unto his massive body.
[7] This exaggeration technique is used for comic effect and it also gives the readers an immediate impression of Bonaventure's obnoxious personality.
He uses a great amount of detail in his backgrounds to depict with accuracy the social and economic environment of post-colonial Ivory Coast in the 70's.
Every scene, from the modern Ivorian cityscape to the small-town marketplace, is drawn in minute detail and vibrant colors that give the readers an immersive experience.
For example, Bonaventure's pink mansion stands out from all the other houses like a sore thumb in the same way that his body towers over the other characters.
[1] Aya of Yop City debuted to much critical acclaim, receiving a Quill Award nomination, and praise for its accessibility to audiences and for the rare portrait of a warm, friendly, and rather modern Africa.
In Abouet's native country of Ivory Coast, more affordable copies of the book were made available which contributed to its popularity.
