After the Rain: A Graphic Novel

After the Rain is a graphic novel adaptation of Hugo and Nebula award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor’s short story “On the Road.” During a violent and unexpected storm in a small Nigerian town, the destiny of a Nigerian-American woman named Chioma is revealed . . . and her life is changed forever. She answers a knock at her door and is horrified to see a boy with a severe head wound standing at her doorstep. He reaches for her, and his touch burns like fire. Something is very wrong. Haunted and hunted, Chioma must embrace her heritage in order to survive. John Jennings and David Brame’s graphic novel collaboration uses bold art and colors to powerfully tell this tale of identity and destiny.

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Nigerian American Chioma's first mistake was not trusting her instincts; her second was opening the door. While she is visiting her Igbo relatives in Nigeria, a wounded child knocks on the door. She's horrified; she's never seen anything this gruesome, not even in five years working as a cop on Chicago's South Side. The boy passes something on to her, a dark energy that she can't quite articulate. Its sulfuric stench lingers in every room of her grandmother's house and seeps into the dark corners of her mind. Chioma turns to her relatives for help, but they tell her what comes must come. In Jennings's adaptation of Nigerian American author Okorafor's short story "On the Road," a woman haunted by her past finds healing in her ancestral home. Brame's artistry is bold; no space on the page is left untouched. Vines and flowers weave menacingly around the minimal panels, heightening the suspense. Jennings and Brame draw attention to the margins and backgrounds, where Chioma's spiritual transformation evolves in a brilliant showcase of West African traditional folklore. VERDICT Jennings paints an initially terrifying reality, highlighting the vulnerability of self-discovery and the tension of being from two different worlds and cultures. Part horror, part magical realism, this #Own­Voices story is a worthwhile addition to any collection.-Elise Martinez, Racine, WIα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly

“Brame’s bold and arresting use of color and shading lends an unnerving atmosphere to the setting, while his attention to facial expressions injects the panels with emotion. This mostly faithful adaptation honors Okorafor’s voice and paints a potent portrait of Nigeria and its folklore.”

Booklist

“This exploration of trauma and family history through the body is perfectly adapted to the graphic medium.”

NPR Books

“After the Rain is far more than a well-rendered tribute to a trailblazing black female writer. In this case, it's also a kind of visual incarnation of the story's theme… You don't simply observe Chioma's unwilling confrontation with the world her ancestors mythologized, you experience it.”

Comic Book Resources

“…a phenomenal and haunting story…”

School Library Journal STARRED review

“Jennings paints an initially terrifying reality, highlighting the vulnerability of self-discovery and the tension of being from two different worlds and cultures. Part horror, part magical realism, this #OwnVoices story is a worthwhile addition to any collection.”

Book Riot

“After the Rain explores the boundaries we draw within ourselves, the way we seek to compartmentalize to fit in, and the remarkable people we find within ourselves when we break those barriers down.”

Comics Beat

“After The Rain is an intense realization of Okorafor’s short story and uses the horror elements to thematic effect in a visceral and important way, and as a statement of intention for what will follow at Megascope, it hints at exciting work to come.”

Multiversity Comics

“…the story is best experienced rather than described, since its force is in its lush visuals and destabilizing twists. Okorafor’s original language gets heavily employed in swathes of text boxes and Damian Duffy’s kinetic lettering. That text from Okorafor’s story conveys the fearsome uncertainty in being carried into this frightening sequence of otherworldly trials.”

About the Author

Nnedi Okorafor, PhD, is a Nigerian-American author of African-rooted science fiction and fantasy. Her works include Who Fears Death, the Binti trilogy, and the Akata series.John Jennings is the curator of the Megascope list and illustrator of the graphic novel adaptations of Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred and Parable of the Sower. He is a professor of media and cultural studies at the University of California, Riverside.David Brame is a talented comics artist who has worked on titles such as Box of Bones and Necromancer Bill. He lives in Mexico.

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