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Over the last ten years graphic novels have undergone a transformation in the collective literary consciousness Readers, editors and publishers alike have evolved their understanding of the form and its production from that of speedily consumed, largely superficial juvenilia to a serious-minded and technically complex undertaking Groundbreaking titles such as Art Spiegelman’s Mausand Joe Sacco’s Palestineearned the format a privileged place in the critical mindset by offering new representational possibilities for treating autobiographical accounts of conflict, war and trauma Their work paved the way for a new generation of graphic novelists whose success in addressing these topics has raised the profile and standing of the graphic novel in the global literary arena   The most prominent of this new generation is the Iranian artist Marjane Satrapi, whose autobiographical work on the 1979 Islamic Revolution has sold over two million copies, been translated into twelve languages, and prompted a film featuring Catherine Deneuve Given its subject matter, such stratospheric success was unanticipated by its author, who has described how she had imagined simply distributing a few copies of the finished product among friends Yet, in 2000, the first instalment of her four-part work Persepoliswas published in France by the alternative comic press L’Association to critical acclaim and commercial success Three further instalments were published annually, and by 2003 the work had been picked up by Pantheon Books, translated into English, and went on to achieve global fame But how is it that this individual story of conflict could have such universal appeal? And why are graphic novels so adept at conveying stories like Satrapi’s?   In order to understand the form today it is necessary to briefly reflect on its history and appreciate the vast development in the philosophy behind conflict illustration since World War II Drafted artists such as Will Eisner and Jack Kirby were enlisted (with varying amounts of enthusiasm) to depict archetypal heroes who represented and validated the policy of the nation-state, whilst also serving the more practical function of instructing the troops in everything from weapon care to safe sex In the post-war period, the mood inevitably developed into one of