Habibi – Craig Thompson
December 2nd, 2011 | Posted in Books
I finished reading the graphic novel "Habibi" by Craig Thompson today. I picked this book because I was intrigued by the artwork on the cover and how potentially blasphemous it seemed. The book turned out to be a heavy 650+ graphic novel that told the story of two Arab slaves in a current imaginary modern world where there are still villages in the Arab world where slaves are publicly traded and a Sultan rules over the country from his ancient palace with harem full of women. To my surprise the book wasn't blasphemous at all, instead it seemed to explore Islam through a fantastical lens that focuses on the charm of the stories mentioned in the Quran, all done through breathtaking illustrations and Arabic calligraphy. The story wasn't exactly epic, but it was amazing how it wasn't only told through actual words, but also through the delicate transformations of the characters of the Arabic script. The attention to detail in this book is unreal with amazing artwork and background references to Quranic phrases and Arabic poetry written both in Arabic and English. It made me feel special for being able to understand such a beautiful script that is so full of mystique.

