Displacement’ is the Timely and Necessary Graphic Novel You Needed To Read Yesterday

Published in August, Kuku’s Hughes’ Displacement caught my eyes: “A teenager is pulled back in time to witness her grandmother’s experiences in World War II-era Japanese internment camps.” I was intrigued and wanted to read more. Soon, I found myself immersed into a narrative about family ties, the stories that don’t always get shared, and the immense power that both memory and trauma can hold in life–over generations.

As one of the best graphic novels published this year, Hughes’ debut carries so much depth, so much weight. I cannot wait to start seeing this work in classrooms and on syllabi across the country. What I know for sure is that Hughes’ Displacement is a deeply personal, thoughtful, and careful work that has been in the works for a long time. In the afterword, the author writes that this book is a work of fact, fiction, history, and memory…so there were people and events she wrote and illustrated to flesh out the pages of this powerful read. 

What was on the minds of the youth in these camps? How did people respond to democracy and having a say in how they were treated? Where there queer people existing in these places? How did the people make life just a little more bearable during these times? Hughes’ artwork fills the pages recreating this time period and there are scenes that could light up the night sky with the depth of emotion she places on the page.

Scenes like when receiving a small and unexpected gift that inspires a well of gratitude and connection to the people around her to scenes of being conflicted about a “loyalty questionnaire” passed across the camps that terrified and split whole generations and communities because of the uncertainty of the times were brilliantly places for bookmarks and, sometimes, tears on my end.

Read my full review here: https://blacknerdproblems.com/displacement-is-the-timely-and-necessary-graphic-novel-you-needed-to-read-yesterday/