Marjane Satrapi captured the heart of a man – and paved the way for a generation Marjane Satrapi

Ohon the morning of June 4, when I heard the news of Marjane Satrapi’s death, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it. Although I only met him a few times in person – although I lived in Paris for 16 years and I contributed his book. Woman, Life, Freedom – I felt a strong connection to his work and legacy.

Our collaboration on the book was mostly through correspondence, but I always had a lot of respect for him. I admired his intelligence, his sense of humor and, most of all, his incredible gift for vivid storytelling.

What he found through the seemingly simple art was very difficult. The black and white spaces of his pages, the richness of his lines, the simplicity of his music – all this helped to express human feelings with a clarity that few artists ever achieve. As an artist myself, I know how difficult it is to get to a level of precision and make it look easy.

Marjane not only opened the door for me, but also for many Iranian comic book artists, such as Parsua Bashi, Mansoureh Kamari, Majid Bita and Shaghayegh Moazzami, among others. More importantly, he paved the way for artists from smaller and less visible countries in the world of comics – artists who had their own stories to tell but whose voices were often ignored. I am Persepolishe gave western publishers an incentive to invest in our work. Many of us owe part of our jobs to the environment they created.

As soon as I heard about his death, my thoughts returned Chicken And PlumI like most of his books. I remembered his protagonist, Nasser Ali Khan, whose beloved instrument is broken and he chooses to stay in bed until death overtakes him. In his final days, he even refused his favorite dish, chicken with plums. Looking back now, the artist feels like he was amplifying the author’s sensitive spirit, perhaps even an unconscious knowledge.

I find myself thinking about Marjane, about her last days, and whatever weapon may have been broken inside her. And every time I do, my eyes well up with tears.