Review: Djeliya TPB

One of the things that I love about comic books is that there is no standard way of telling a story or the type of story.  Djeliya is one of those examples.

Inspired by West African folklore, Djeliya tells the story of Prince Mansour and his storyteller Awa, a person not the comic company! as they journey to reach the mysterious Wizard Soumaoro who guards a fearsome power that he once used to destroy the world.  Sounds a bit like the Wizard of OZ without Dorothy and Toto!

Juni Ba delivers a book that is colorful, expressive and a tad difficult to read, if like me you prefer things a little less abstract.  Ba pulls all the creative duties; from Sengal and France, Ba displays a unique perspective to the art chores.  The dialogue can feel a tad choppy and there are a number of little context additions to panels.  The abstractness of the art is also distracting at the start, but its surrealism will win you over. Ba colors the book in hues of blacks browns and red, making any deviation form that style stand out.  This comes into the fore later in the book.  Finally the letters are a style that fits with the overall feel and vision of the book.  With this being of West African descent, of sorts, Ba does a great job of bring that ethnicity to every aspect of the book.

This review may seem shorter than most of the reviews you may normally read.  This is mainly in part to that this is the sort of book you have to experience with an open mind to fully enjoy.

Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars

Overall – 5 Stars

Created, written, art and letters by; Juni Ba
Published by TKO Studios