A Kinshasa Star
Papa Mfumu'Eto, Street Comics and the Popular in Congo's Long 1990s
Will be published approx. on 15. November 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
380 pages
978-94-6270-540-1 (ISBN)
Description
A groundbreaking set of interventions about the legendary comic artist Papa Mfumu'Eto 1er.
The audacious and unsettling comic zines of Papa Mfumu'Eto 1er are the central subject of this volume. This Congolese artist sold his comics on the streets of Kinshasa in the 1990s. A diverse group of scholars and artists-including Mfumu'Eto himself-engage with the found vernacular archive of this legendary cartoonist. The authors analyze his sequential art, unique framing techniques, copious use of Lingala, as well as vivid scenes of troubles, dreams, and the everyday. Combining anthropology, linguistics, and visuality with history and autobiography, A Kinshasa Star offers a wonderful mixture of interventions into Mfumu'Eto's oeuvre and well beyond. Included are contrapuntal forays into colonial and postcolonial comics, Kinshasa lives and afflictions, the occult, Kongo shrines, domesticity, and the political turmoil of the last years of Mobutu's twisted regime.
This book will be made open access within three years of publication thanks to Path to Open, a program developed in partnership between JSTOR, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), University of Michigan Press, and The University of North Carolina Press to bring about equitable access and impact for the entire scholarly community, including authors, researchers, libraries, and university presses around the world. Learn more at https://about.jstor.org/path-to-open/
The audacious and unsettling comic zines of Papa Mfumu'Eto 1er are the central subject of this volume. This Congolese artist sold his comics on the streets of Kinshasa in the 1990s. A diverse group of scholars and artists-including Mfumu'Eto himself-engage with the found vernacular archive of this legendary cartoonist. The authors analyze his sequential art, unique framing techniques, copious use of Lingala, as well as vivid scenes of troubles, dreams, and the everyday. Combining anthropology, linguistics, and visuality with history and autobiography, A Kinshasa Star offers a wonderful mixture of interventions into Mfumu'Eto's oeuvre and well beyond. Included are contrapuntal forays into colonial and postcolonial comics, Kinshasa lives and afflictions, the occult, Kongo shrines, domesticity, and the political turmoil of the last years of Mobutu's twisted regime.
This book will be made open access within three years of publication thanks to Path to Open, a program developed in partnership between JSTOR, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), University of Michigan Press, and The University of North Carolina Press to bring about equitable access and impact for the entire scholarly community, including authors, researchers, libraries, and university presses around the world. Learn more at https://about.jstor.org/path-to-open/
Reviews / Votes
This edited volume offers a vivid and multifaceted exploration of Papa Mfumu'Eto 1er's work and life trajectory. The contributors to this original volume showcase Mfumu'Eto's formidable inventiveness and capacity to capture Congo's rich cultural and linguistic landscape. - Pierre-Philippe Fraiture, University of WarwickMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Leuven
Belgium
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Illustrated, 65 pages in colour; 125 Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 230 mm
Width: 170 mm
Weight
386 gr
ISBN-13
978-94-6270-540-1 (9789462705401)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Nancy Rose Hunt is an independent scholar, editor, and prize-winning ethnographic historian of the Congo. She has been Papa Mfumu'Eto 1er personal archivist since 2001.
Pedro Monaville is Associate Professor of African History at McGill University. A specialist of postcolonial Congo and the global 1960s, he regularly collaborates with artists on projects that connect history and visual culture.
Pedro Monaville is Associate Professor of African History at McGill University. A specialist of postcolonial Congo and the global 1960s, he regularly collaborates with artists on projects that connect history and visual culture.