The military’s used the comic book artform in the past, but now a full-fledged graphic novel is being used to train West Point cadets. Even better, the book in question, “Persepolis,” is being used to educate the students on the Iranian people and culture, not just on how to best shoot and kill the enemy.

If you have any doubt about the power of comic books, consider that they are now required reading for the future military leaders of America. In order to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, cadets from the class of 2006 must study Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel “Persepolis,” a coming-of-age tale set during the Iranian revolution. It’s a wise choice for the syllabus, not only because it is such a compelling read but because the simple black-and-white frames of Satrapi’s family saga will likely give the cadets a better understanding of Iran than any academic text, newspaper report or strategy paper ever could. “Persepolis” shows Iranians not as banner-waving fanatics or higab-covered shadows, but as individualsâ€â€?funny, fraught and often fearful of the strange, powerful forces unfolding around them. “I’m not a politician or a sociologist or a historian, but I witnessed a lot of things that happened in a place that many people are concerned about right now,” says Satrapi, speaking from her Paris studio. Comics, she adds, are particularly well suited to telling her story to a global audience: “Images are an international language.”

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