Page 45 Review by Jonathan
"Akissi! What on earth happened to you!?"
"Er... Mum, Auntie Victo says to thank you but she's not a fan of fish head. Here you go!"
There is, of course, a very good reason as to why the mischievous, impish Akissi has failed to deliver an intact fish to Auntie Victo who only lives around the corner, as her mother instructed her to do several hours ago. She simply wasn't paying attention when listening to the directions she was carefully given by her mum, but I don't think that would be the excuse Akissi would come out with. No, it's when the stray cat gets in on the action that it all got out of hand, in Akissi's mind at least...
AYA: LIFE IN YOP CITY and AYA: LOVE IN YOP CITY's Marguerite Abouet returns, sadly not with collaborator Clément Oubrérie this time around, though artist Mathieu Sapin manages to capture the madcap goings-on of a vibrant small town in the Ivory Coast with equal aplomb, as feisty Akissi and her bunch of ragtag chums run riot and cause their parents and teachers immense trouble, repeated headaches, and indeed even one epileptic fit!
There's a joyous rambunctiousness to Sapin's art which is immensely captivating. You can practically feel the energy these kids are perpetually vibrating at near-light-speed with, imbued by Abouet's warm and witty writing, and therefore their parents and teachers' consequent mental and physical fatigue from trying to keeping up with them.
The more I stared at even just at the cover with a wild-eyed, rictus-grin-endowed Akissi, arms thrown wide, seemingly bursting out of the book like a motorcycle stuntman crashing through a paper target ready to start some serious mayhem, I thought, "Yeah, I've got a lunatic exactly like that at home..." If Akissi and her chums could be wired up to the grid, they'd solve the world's energy crisis overnight.
Absolutely everything about this book is lively on the eye! Even the title page background for each story is a different solid block of strong colour which, when I rapidly flicked through the book, gave me a weird childhood flashback to the plastic ribbon curtains you used to see in the entrance to butchers' shops to keep flies out! Comics, eh?
Often Akissi and her cheeky friends are very well aware that they're up to no good, such as when she's craftily charging all her friends to watch the adventures of Spectreman, who is basically Megaman, on her parents' TV whilst her parents are out. When her Dad comes home from work feeling rather unwell, for some peace and quiet and a much needed lie down, this obviously causes a stampeding exodus of panicking kids heading for any and all possible exits. Except for the idiot who decides to hide under her dad's bed...
Other tales do feature what the privations of their little lives are all about, though, albeit very comedically, such as Akissi's horrific issues with lice, and even worse, worms. Which she thinks are quite cute!?! Then, when Akissi's parents have had just about all can they take of their beloved offspring, she's shipped off to the bush to cause chaos - I mean stay, with her Nan and her family. But where Akissi goes, madness for her family and merriment for us is sure to follow. So, it's not long before she's setting her cousin's hair on fire and getting bitten by a snake.
Much like the AYA material, these hilarious, frequently uproariously ludicrous tales, are an uplifting breath of fresh air, whilst still managing to shine a light on the cultural peculiarities and wonderful people of the Ivory Coast setting. The happy-go-lucky nature of Akissi and her mates show us that kids can be just as daft the world over, and the less they've got materially, the more trouble their hyper-active imaginations can get them into! Especially via the pen of such a talented writer who can bring her creations so vividly to life.
