Guy Delisle –Quebec, 1966– is a humble and magnificent story teller. A drawer since his early ages, Guy  he gives us the opportunity to dive into his daily life in China, Burma and North Korea. 

The stress of keeping his son safe and away from unprotected power sockets in Burma, the drama of North Korean families and the struggle of Chinese peasants in Shenzhen are all treated by the Canadian drawer with blissful humor and a tremendous capacity for positiveness and criticism. On a big effort to take things as they come, Guy is that kind of artist who can transmit both joy and sadness in the same vignette, showing the bright side of human stupidity and the hidden evilness of daily actions.

Shenzhen, Pyongyang and Burma Chronicles put you on the skin of a graphic animator, drawer and house dad. Hand to hand with his wife, Delisle travels to the heart of Burma on a MSF mission, to China as a graphic supervisor, and to North Korea as a comic revisor. Staying home to take care of his recently-born baby, setting up duck tape covers on every pointy table-edge, walking the streets and being part of the daily breeze of these three Asian countries, Guy Delisle keeps his eyes wide open to capture every single detail. From local celebrations to the impact of national figures as Aung San Suu Kyi, everything is stored in his brain and put into paper to let us visit the daily times of life styles too often neglected or misunderstood. These comics speak of daily life, but they also speak of injustice, military oppression, censorship, poverty and, obviously, the cultural clash Guy experiences.

The three comics are available in English, French and Spanish (and probably more languages!) and suppose an enormous asset to the libraries of those of us who want to learn a bit more about the world that surrounds us.