We are taking a break from posting comics from the Graphic History Project to bring you a comic from Josiah Neufeld, a student in the MFA creative writing program at the University of British Columbia. We’re excited to share Josiah’s work!
Often called Africa’s Che Guevara, Thomas Sankara was a Marxist revolutionary who was president of the West African country of Burkina Faso for four years in the 1980s. This comic, written and illustrated by Josiah Neufeld, is a short homage to a passionate and controversial leader. Josiah writes fiction, essays and long-form journalism and occasionally dabbles in comics. He spent 13 years of his childhood in Burkina Faso and is currently working on an MFA in creative writing at the University of British Columbia. His writing can be found at josiahneufeld.com.
Direct quotations attributed to Thomas Sankara in this comic are drawn from Thomas Sankara Speaks, a collection of Sankara’s speeches translated from French by Samantha Anderson and published by Pathfinder Press.
Have you been working on a comic that you think we would be interested in? Drop us a line at graphichistorycollective@gmail.com
This is excellent. The history was unknown to me.
Your graphics are so much more succinct than my long-winded essay [http://joanbaxter.ca/burying-africas-hopes-remembering-thomas-sankara-and-how-blaise-compaore-came-to-power-27-years-ago/, and tell the same tragic story. Thanks!
This is the best political cartoon i have read. i love Thomas Sankara he was a messiah . i named my son after him
Inspirational leader, inspiring story, and great graphics. Many thanks!