Nicolas Wild

Recommended by a pal—this probably would have never shown up on my radar otherwise.
Based on the author’s experience as a comic book artist and graphic designer in Afghanistan in 2005, this was an interesting look at the country through a French expat’s eyes. I liked Wild’s observational humor, and the artwork was really good.
Even though my own experience living abroad was quite different—I taught English in Bogotá in 1994—there were elements of the narrative that resonated and made me nostalgic. Living in another country has such surreal moments, and Wild captured that several times in the midst of his larger story.
I was glad he included the excerpts at the end from his first assignment, a comic book series designed to teach lessons about the country’s constitution. It was neat to see.
I was left a bit unsatisfied by his abrupt ending, and also because there was no real explanation why he stayed on with Zendagui Media when they started doing propaganda art for the Afghan army. It was clear he wasn’t comfortable with it, but he still stayed, presumably because he wanted to lengthen his stay.
If you’re a fan of autobiographical graphic novels and travel narratives, you should take this one for a spin.… (más)

Nicolas Wild continues his comic diary about working for a communications company producing government propaganda in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2005. It's mostly boring anecdotes about co-workers who are barely named, much less given personalities, with the only intrigue coming from the fact that it's Dilbert happening in what is basically a war zone. He spends soooo much of his time sitting in cafes eating and having drinks, but the fun and games screech to a halt when a riot breaks out. But even that can't really lift this book out of its flat groove for long.… (más)

With few options available to him, Nicolas Wild decided to accept a job offer to travel from France to Afghanistan and work for a private company making educational cartoons explaining the new Afghan constitution. Somewhere in the middle, the job swings around to creating recruitment propaganda for the Afghan army.

Wild treats life in a war zone as a lark -- tossing off a string of vaguely interesting anecdotes about the vaguely colorful people he encounters -- until he finds himself locked down at home and work due to a kidnapping and concerns about impending attacks. Even then though, his tone remains more "check out this weird trip I took," with the impact of of his time in Afghanistan leaving him seemingly unchanged from the first page to the last.… (más)