Iraq, 2014. Life couldn't be better for 16 year-old Yasmeen as her family is able to buy a big new house. Then ISIS invades Mosul. Yasmeen's Shia family barely escapes, while Yasmeen us captured by terrorists and sees her uncle executed. Yasmeen is sold to an ISIS fighter as a slave and must relinquish her innocence in order to save her three new Yazidi friends who are punished with starvation. Two years later, Yasmeen is reunited with her family in the United States. Her parents are so happy to be reunited with Yasmeen that they fail to see the state of depression that she has fallen into after two years of slavery and torments. Now faced more
Yasmeen #1 does both of those things, inviting us to see a world we only know from half-accurate, sound bite-ready news, a world we can easily wave a way as "not ours," and it forces us to see that there is more to every story and every event than we allow ourselves to see and hear. It's a comic that serves as both a window and a mirror, and we cannot look away. Read Full Review
Powerful story and gorgeous art. Read Full Review
A first issue that is rife with humanity, loss, and a perspective seldom seen in the Western world. Read Full Review
This unique new title from Scout Comics sets itself apart from standard monthly comics with art that evokes autobiographical comics and an unconventional narrative. Read Full Review
Yasmeen #1 is a hell of a start. It brings a relatable narrative to an inhumane situation. It dips it toes in as a start to show us the horror that is yet to come and put a human face to those who suffered from it. It's a perfect example of using comics to capture the real world around us and attempt to have us never forget the worst of our actions. Read Full Review
A story in the tradition of Marjane Satrapis Persepolis or the excellent Hostage by Guy Delisle, Yasmeen #1 follows a girls experience surviving slavery in ISIS-held Iraq. Read Full Review
Wow. This a must read book. It was hard not to tear up for Yasmeen, her family and the refugees they represent that we never get to know like this book illustrates it. It does so many things right. Saif Ahmed decisions about what to include and omit and leave Fabiana Mascolo the freedom to draw it on the pages is great. Mascolo's faces and their expressions especially with Yasmeen are fantastic. The only downside I had was being lost a few times between the past and present to figure out which portion of the story I was reading. Small matter that takes away from some of the narrative but I hope they can make it easier in the future.
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