Aya: Claws Come Out

Long-time creative team Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie make a stunning comeback after a lengthy twelve-year hiatus. The seventh installment in the Aya series takes us all back to Yop City—home to the hustle and bustle of the Ivory Coast. As Solibra’s newest intern, clear-eyed college student Aya finds an unexpected adversary in the beer giant’s brand-new head of HR. Her friend Moussa, heir apparent to the company’s CEO Mr. Sissoko vies for his father’s attention while struggling to tone down his tendency to party. After being outed, Albert must find a new place to stay and grapples with the realities of insufficient student housing. His old flame Inno discovers first-hand how difficult life can be for undocumented migrants in France. Back at home, Bintou navigates the ups and downs of newfound soap opera stardom. All the while, Didier just wants to take Aya out to dinner—if she can ever find the time. Now translated from the French by Edwige Dro, Aya and all her friends greet the bigger, bolder world of the 80s in true Abidjan style, delighting fans both old and new with vibrant but too often unseen depictions of middle-class life in Africa.