Canizales

Amazona was published on May 3, 2022. It is a graphic novel by Canizales that concerns an indigenous group in Colombia. Andrea, a young Indigenous Colombian woman, has returned to the land she calls home. Only nineteen years old, she comes to mourn her lost child, carrying a box in her arms. She also comes with another mission. Andrea has hidden a camera upon herself. If she can capture evidence of the illegal mining that displaced her family, it will mark the first step toward legally reclaiming their land.

Amazona is advertised as a socially conscious thriller from graphic novelist Canizales. I wouldn't call it a thriller but it was definately written to get the attention of readers who like socially conscious books. I thought it was a little dull, though. It could have been written as a reportage comic, a la Joe Sacco, but it was written as fiction.

The story shows the indigenous people being taken away from their beautiful rainforest to live in tiny apartments. Andrea's family of 38 people all lived in a one room 600 square foot apartment. The illustrations were done expertly here. We see the apartment in the eyes of an Ikea decorated home. Where you would see an Ikea lamp are 5 people on the floor. In an other part of the home where you might see an Ikea rug, are 8 people lying on the floor. This analogy to Ikea was fantastic. It helped me to see what the real situation was for these indigenous folks. The pages were colored in either reds or graphic pencil. The pages showing Andrea in the rainforest are done in shades of red. The pages showing her in her apartment are done in shades of black. The purpose for the coloring is obvious.

Illustrations aside, the story was not very suspenseful and is definitely not a thriller. I am rating it 3 out of 5 stars.… (more)