Marguerite Abouet

Clément Oubrerie

“Aya is an irresistible comedy, a couple of love stories and a tale for becoming African. It’s essential reading.” —Joann Sfar, cartoonist of The Rabbi’s Cat Ivory Coast, 1978. It’s a golden time, and the nation, too—an oasis of affluence and stability in West Africa—seems fueled by something wondrous. Aya is loosely based upon Marguerite Abouet’s youth in Yop City. It is the story of the studious and clear-sighted nineteen-year-old Aya, her easygoing friends Adjoua and Bintou, and their meddling relatives and neighbors. It’s a wryly funny, breezy account of the simple pleasures and private troubles of everyday life in Yop City. Clément Oubrerie’s warm colors and energetic, playful line connect expressively with Marguerite Abouet’s vibrant writing. This reworked edition offers readers the chance to immerse themselves in Abouet’s Yop City, bringing together the first three volumes of the series in Book One. Drawn & Quarterly will release volumes four through six of the original French series (as yet unpublished in English) in Book Two. Aya is the winner of the Best First Album award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, the Children’s Africana Book Award, and the Glyph Award; was nominated for the Quill Award, the YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels list, and the Eisner Award; and was included on “best of” lists from The Washington Post, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.

Aya: Life in Yop City

For the residents of Yopougon, everyday life is good. It is the early 1970s, a golden time - work is plentiful, hospitals are clean and well equipped, and school is obligatory. The Ivory Coast is as an island of relative wealth and stability in West Africa. For the teenagers of the town, though, worries are plentiful, and life in Yop City is far from simple. Aya tells the story of its nineteen-year-old heroine, the clear-sighted and bookish Aya, and her carefree and fun-loving friends Adjoua and Bintou. Navigating meddling relatives and neighbours, the girls spend a last summer of their childhood on the sun-warmed streets of Yop City - sneaking out for dancing at open-air bars, strong solibra beer, chicken in peanut sauce and avoiding at all costs the scandal pages of the Calamity Morning.... Aya is a captivating, colourful and hugely entertaining portrayal of an Africa we rarely see, spirited and resilient, and full of the sounds, sights and smells of a prosperous town and its varied inhabitants.

Aya of Yop City

Aya has captured the hearts of North American readers of all ages for the rare portrait it paints of a vibrant, happy, bourgeois Ivory Coast in the 1970s, based upon Marguerite Abouet's youth in Yop City. Not only is Aya complemented with Clément Oubrerie's gorgeous artwork, but the volumes also offer a slice-of-life peek into African culture: complete with recipes, glossaries, and wardrobe instructions for turning one's pagne (brightly colored fabric) into a skirt, head wrap, or baby carrier. Engaging and fun, the universal stories in Aya provide a much-needed context for today's heartbreaking news stories. Aya is the winner of the Best First Album award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, the Children's Africana Book Award, and the Glyph Award; was nominated for the Quill Award, the YALSA's Great Graphic Novels list, and the Eisner Award; and was included on "best of" lists in The Washington Post, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.

Volume Three

Aya: The Secrets Come Out

Akissi: Tales of Mischief brings together all the hilarious and heartfelt Akissi comics by Marguerite Abouet, the award winning author of Aya of Yop City. Poor Akissi! The neighborhood cats are trying to steal her fish, her little monkey Boubou almost ends up in a frying pan and she's nothing but a pest to her older brother Fofana... But Akissi is a true adventurer, full of silliness and mischief and nothing will scare her for long!

Tales of Mischief

A continuation of the Quill Award-nominated graphic tale returns to Africa's Ivory Coast in the late 1970s, where the community is challenged by a questionable paternity situation, Adjoua employs Aya's frequent help with a new baby, and Bintou forsakes friends and responsibilities for a new romance.

For the residents of Yopougon, everyday life is good. It is the early 1970s, a golden time - work is plentiful, hospitals are clean and well equipped, and school is obligatory. The Ivory Coast is as an island of relative wealth and stability in West Africa. For the teenagers of the town, though, worries are plentiful, and life in Yop City is far from simple.AYA tells the story of its nineteen-year-old heroine, the clear-sighted and bookish Aya, and her carefree and fun-loving friends Adjoua and Bintou. Navigating meddling relatives and neighbours, the girls spend a last summer of their childhood on the sun-warmed streets of Yop City - sneaking out for dancing at open-air bars, strong solibra beer, chicken in peanut sauce and avoiding at all costs the scandal pages of the Calamity Morning....AYA is a captivating, colourful and hugely entertaining portrayal of an Africa we rarely see, spirited and resilient, and full of the sounds, sights and smells of a prosperous town and its varied inhabitants.

Aya de Yopougon

THE DRAMATIC CONCLUSION TO THE AYA SERIES Aya: Love in Yop City comprises the final three chapters of the Aya story, episodes never before seen in English. Aya is a lighthearted story about life in the Ivory Coast during the 1970s, a particularly thriving and wealthy time in the country's history. While the stories found in Aya: Love in Yop City maintain their familiar tone, quick pace, and joyfulness, we see Aya and her friends beginning to make serious decisions about their future. When a professor tries to take advantage of Aya, her plans to become a doctor are seriously shaken, and she vows to take revenge on the lecherous man. With a little help from the tight-knit community of Yopougon though, Aya comes through these trials stronger than ever. This second volume of the complete Aya includes unique appendices--recipes, guides to understanding Ivorian slang, street sketches, and concluding remarks from Marguerite Abouet explaining history and social milieu. Inspired by Abouet's childhood, the series has received praise for offering relief from the disaster-struck focus of most stories set in Africa. Aya is the winner of the Best First Album Award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival; was nominated for the YALSA's Great Graphic Novels list; and was included on "best of" lists from The Washington Post, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.

Aya: Love in Yop City

Aya de Yopougon, Tome 1

Mathieu Sapin

Akissi, a young West African girl, is always getting in trouble, whether it be saving her pet monkey from a disastrous end or babysitting for the neighbors.

Akissi

Denne tegneserieromanen handler om ungdomslivet i Elfenbenskysten, før korrupsjon og vold strammet grepet om landet. Vi møter den ambisiøse 19-åringen Aya, som ønsker å bli lege. Venninnene hennes vil helst bare feste og danse, og en av dem får livet snudd på hodet da hun finner ut at hun er gravid. Dette får konsekvenser for flere av familiene, og jentene lærer at livet er mye mer komplisert enn i en brasiliansk såpeserie. Det er til utgitt seks bind av «Aya»-serien i Frankrike, denne utgaven er en samling av de tre første. Med forord av Anna Gavalda.

Aya fra Yopougon

Scénario de Marguerite Abouet. Dessin de Clément Oubrerie

Aya de Yopougon - L'Intégrale 1 (Tomes 1 à 3)

Aya de Yopougon Tome 6

Ivory Coast, 1978. It’s a golden time, and the nation, too—an oasis of affluence and stability in West Africa—seems fueled by something wondrous. Aya is loosely based upon Marguerite Abouet’s youth in Yop City. It is the story of the studious and clear-sighted 19-year old Aya, her easy-going friends Adjoua and Bintou, and their meddling relatives and neighbors. It’s wryly funny, breezy account of the simple pleasures and private troubles of everyday life in Yop City. Clément Oubrerie’s warm colors and energetic, playful line connect expressively with Marguerite Abouet’s vibrant writing. This reworked edition offers readers the chance to immerse themselves in the lively world of Aya and her friends, bringing together the first three volumes of the series in Book One. Drawn & Quarterly has release volumes four through six of the original French series (as yet unpublished in English) in Aya: Love in Yop City. Aya is the winner of the Best First Album award at the Angouleme International Comics Festival, the Children’s Africana Book Award, and the Glyph Award; was nominated for the Quill Award, the YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels list, and the Eisner Award; and was included on “best of” lists from The Washington Post, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal. Aya: Life in Yop City has been translated from the French by Helge Dascher. Dascher has been translating graphic novels from French and German to English for over twenty years. A contributor to Drawn & Quarterly since the early days, her translations include acclaimed titles such as Hostage by Guy Delisle and Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoët. With a background in art history and history, she also translates books and exhibitions for museums in North America and Europe. She lives in Montreal.

Life in Yop City

Aya de Yopougon - L'Intégrale 2 (Tomes 4 à 6)

Akissi l'intrépide a peur de la rentrée ! Pour se changer les idées, rien ne vaut les allocos de tantie, accompagnés d'une course effrénée contre Edmond, alias Spectreman ! Et si elle achève son parcours un clou planté dans le crâne, le petit piment d'Abidjan n'y perd pas la tête pour autant. Car quoi de mieux qu'un petit accident pour éviter la rentrée des classes ?

Marguerite Abouet

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