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snowhite197's review
Didn’t like the artwork, surprisingly since I love some of Ba’s work, and the story was a little muddled.
larakaa's review
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Stunning, exciting, thought provoking
geekwayne's review
2.0
'Djeliya' with story and art by Juni Ba is a graphic novel inspired by West African folklore.
Mansour Keita, the last prince of a dying kingdom, is going to meet a great wizard with his Djeli, or storyteller. As they travel, they meet others in person and in story.
I like the concept of this, but the execution left me flat. The story is a bit hard to follow as it jumps around. The art felt a bit too cartoonish and the coloring was kind of flat and dimensionless.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from TKO Studios and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Mansour Keita, the last prince of a dying kingdom, is going to meet a great wizard with his Djeli, or storyteller. As they travel, they meet others in person and in story.
I like the concept of this, but the execution left me flat. The story is a bit hard to follow as it jumps around. The art felt a bit too cartoonish and the coloring was kind of flat and dimensionless.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from TKO Studios and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
indeedithappens's review
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Grief, Blood, War, Classism, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Child abuse, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Child death, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
psantic's review
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
rnfortier's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Beautiful art but too short! I wanted to read so much more about the adventures of Awa and Mansour.
The ending was very fitting and I loved that it was based on African folklore.
The ending was very fitting and I loved that it was based on African folklore.
annemaries_shelves's review
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“A West African fantasy epic” is the subtitle/tagline to Djeljya by Juni Ba, and I think it’s very accurate!
This comic is a mix of West African folktales (especially from Senegal and the Asante region of Ghana) reimagined into a new fable about power and storytelling and community.
While the art wasn’t my personal favourite, it’s quite intricate and has an effective use of the colour palette.
For me, I needed to trust the first three chapters because I was a little confused when first starting it (I went into it completely ignorant to the plot so that’s on me) but I really loved the last two chapters. And the bonus content at the end, giving some historical context, was really helpful. If you don’t mind spoilers and aren’t familiar with the source material, I’d read that first.
Overall, entertaining and unique in terms of what I’ve read previously!
This comic is a mix of West African folktales (especially from Senegal and the Asante region of Ghana) reimagined into a new fable about power and storytelling and community.
While the art wasn’t my personal favourite, it’s quite intricate and has an effective use of the colour palette.
For me, I needed to trust the first three chapters because I was a little confused when first starting it (I went into it completely ignorant to the plot so that’s on me) but I really loved the last two chapters. And the bonus content at the end, giving some historical context, was really helpful. If you don’t mind spoilers and aren’t familiar with the source material, I’d read that first.
Overall, entertaining and unique in terms of what I’ve read previously!
rafacolog's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Death
cozy_reading_times's review
4.0
Thank you to Netgally and TKO Presents for giving me the chance to read this in advance in exchange for an honst review.
I really enjoyed this comic, which showed in how quickly I read it and that while still taking my time to admire the beautiful art.
Because that was the first thing that drew me in: the art. It has a very unique and stylized look that's immediety capturing. Very dynamic and distinct in it's colour choices.
The story itself I liked as well, although there could have been a few scenes added just to deepen the character relationships - which doesn't mean they were bad but I simply wanted even more of them.
What I did love where the themes about responsibility and building something out of nothing, survival and joy even in a destroid world - hope.
The world building as a whole was very fascinating, combining West African mythology with modern to futuristic technology. The appendix increased the feeling in me that this is a graphic work that's definitely suited for rereads as there's a lot of eastereggs and subtle mentions about culture and lore that only deepen the meaning of the story.
For me, it was fun recognizing things from other (west) African inspried books I'd read and broadening my understanding of those aspects of African storytelling. Also loved the use of oral storytelling.
For sure an interesting read and worth checking out.
I really enjoyed this comic, which showed in how quickly I read it and that while still taking my time to admire the beautiful art.
Because that was the first thing that drew me in: the art. It has a very unique and stylized look that's immediety capturing. Very dynamic and distinct in it's colour choices.
The story itself I liked as well, although there could have been a few scenes added just to deepen the character relationships - which doesn't mean they were bad but I simply wanted even more of them.
What I did love where the themes about responsibility and building something out of nothing, survival and joy even in a destroid world - hope.
The world building as a whole was very fascinating, combining West African mythology with modern to futuristic technology. The appendix increased the feeling in me that this is a graphic work that's definitely suited for rereads as there's a lot of eastereggs and subtle mentions about culture and lore that only deepen the meaning of the story.
For me, it was fun recognizing things from other (west) African inspried books I'd read and broadening my understanding of those aspects of African storytelling. Also loved the use of oral storytelling.
For sure an interesting read and worth checking out.
tmeysenburg's review
5.0
Amazing stylish art and plot that is woven into a rich tale. I would love to see this made into a cartoon.