“It’s like a mini Google”. That is what one of our course attendees said about our Story Studio.
Used as a creative space, the room is colourfully decorated with graphic novels brought in from home by our CEO Jack Murray. It also houses a whiteboard wall, perfect for our own illustrations.
The graphic novels range from classics to the more unique. Some have come from our CEOs travels around the world, while some have been bought at our local book store.
Every few weeks we’ll be focusing in on one of the graphics novels which line the shelves of our Story Studio. You can catch the latest instalment which looked at ‘Habibi’ by Craig Thompson here.
‘Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea’ by Guy Delisle.
If you have been following this series you will know this is not the first Guy Delisle novel we have featured. ‘Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea‘ is another travelogue from the acclaimed graphic novelist.
As the title suggests, this time Delisle is visiting the notoriously secretive state of North Korea. The 176-page novel takes his readers through the two months in spent in the country, working as the liaison between a French animation producing company and the SEK Studio company.
During his time Delisle could only explore the city and the surrounding countryside under the watchful eye of his translator and guide. What he sees and what he is told is described in black and white in the novel. Delisle’s own musings about his experiences are also documented in the novel.
Despite being shown all of the statues and propaganda by his guide, Delisle was able to observe more than what he was meant to. At one point questioning his guide about the lack of disabled people, only to be told they simply don’t exist.
Delisle pushes his boundaries as far as he can and describes these thoughts and boundaries throughout the pages.
‘Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea’ is a remarkable graphic novel. It is an informative and personal look at an infamous and secretive country.
