Illustrator Anne Simon's new comic book is a sinister ode to a Chinese Empress

Date
25 November 2014

French illustrator Anne Simon first came to our attention this time last year when she teamed up with psychoanalyst Corinne Maier to bring us an informative, witty and thoroughly charming graphic guide to Freud. She’s back, to our delight, with a new and somewhat more sinister tale, Cixtite Impératrice which is no less brilliant.

The comic follows Empress Cixtite of Tchitchinie (based on a real life Empress Cixi, who effectively controlled the Chinese government for 47 years) who, having kidnapped and castrated the entire male population of Suffragette City, steals them away to her palace to serve her for the rest of their days. In theory. In practice, of course, her plan is thwarted by a host of fantastical characters. It may only be a thinly-veiled version of true events, but Anne’s depiction of the characters who populate Suffragette City is completely enchanting, making Cixtite Impératrice one of the best original graphic novels we’ve come across in a long while.

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Anne Simon: Cixtite Impératrice

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Anne Simon: Cixtite Impératrice

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Anne Simon: Cixtite Impératrice

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Anne Simon: Cixtite Impératrice

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Anne Simon: Cixtite Impératrice

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Anne Simon: Cixtite Impératrice

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Anne Simon: Cixtite Impératrice

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Anne Simon: Cixtite Impératrice

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Anne Simon: Cixtite Impératrice

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About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

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