Welcome to the New World
––– GUARDIAN GRAPHIC NOVEL OF THE YEAR –––
––– OBSERVER GRAPHIC NOVEL OF THE MONTH –––
THE GROUNDBREAKING GRAPHIC NOVEL
A story about ordinary people navigating a strange land, in even stranger times.
On the eve of the US elections, a Syrian family leave their world behind for a chance at the American dream. But as the first day of their new life dawns, they are greeted by the news of Donald Trump’s victory. It’s as if they arrived in one country, and woke up in another. What does that mean for their past, their future... their home?
Welcome to the New World began as a ground-breaking comic strip in the New York Times. Every week, the Aldabaan family’s experiences would be retold as a cartoon strip – keeping step as events unfolded in real life. One Pulitzer Prize later, this stunning graphic novel fills in the gaps, gradually revealing an America which is full of contradictions: foreign yet familiar, ignorant but kind, cruel yet generous. It's also an intimate portrait of family dynamics and everyday fortitude, from the first day at a new school to getting a new job (any job!) against the clock. It seems that if you can’t turn back, the only way to go is onwards.
Jake Halpern is a commentator and novelist whose books include Bad Paper and the bestselling Nightfall (which he co-authored). His journalism has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Atlantic. Jake is a contributor to NPR’s All Things Considered and This American Life – his hour-long radio story “Switched at Birth” is one of their ten most popular shows of all time. jakehalpern.com
Michael Sloan is an award-winning printmaker and illustrator whose work is regularly featured in the New York Times, and many other newspapers, magazines and books. He is also the creator of Zen of Nimbus, a comic that follows the adventures of a quixotic cosmic contemplator. michaelsloan.net
In 2018, Jake and Michael received a Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Cartooning for their shared project, Welcome to the New World.