Barly Baruti (illustrator)
Books by Barly Baruti (illustrator)
“This is an unusual story. Part of the reason that I love it so much is because, although influenced by that Francophone bande dessinée style, it comes out of the mind of an African comic genius, Barly Baruti. It’s in the Francophone tradition, but very much Congolese. He creates an amazing story, loosely based on historical fact. The loosest thing is that it seems like the German ship that they’re all hunting gets blown up by our heroes, but that is not what really happened. It wasn’t sunk but was eventually abandoned by the Germans. I’m completely willing to forgive that detail. It’s about a real person named Madame Livingstone—a local man who was a scout for the Belgians. He dressed in a kilt, which is why he was sometimes called Madame. He claimed to be descended from Livingstone, the great explorer and philanthropist, who allegedly had a relationship with a local woman. There are two tiny pieces of evidence that this might be true, but it doesn’t matter, because it’s not Barly Baruti who makes up that story. He is this stunning figure, who guides Belgian pilots to attack this German ship.” Read more...
The Best Comics on African History
Trevor Getz, Historian
Interviews where books by Barly Baruti (illustrator) were recommended
-
1
Crossroads: I Live Where I Like
Koni Benson, André & Nathan Trantraal (Illustrators), Ashley Marais (Illustrator) -
2
Aya
Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie (illustrator) -
3
All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa
by Richard Conyngham (editor) -
4
Madame Livingstone: The Great War in the Congo
by Barly Baruti (illustrator), Christophe Cassiau-Haurie & Ivanka Hahnenberger (translator) -
5
Kariba
by Daniel Clarke, Daniel Snaddon & James Clarke
The Best Comics on African History, recommended by Trevor Getz
The Best Comics on African History, recommended by Trevor Getz
Graphic narratives can be a great way to learn history but they need to be both good history and good comics. That’s a combination that can be hard to find. Trevor Getz, a professor of history at San Francisco State University, picks out his top comic books on African history.