HostageHostage

In the middle of the night in 1997, Doctors Without Borders administrator Christophe Andre ́was kidnapped by armed men and taken away to an unknown destination in the Caucasus region. For three months, Andre ́was kept handcuffed in solitary confinement, with little to survive on and almost no contact with the outside world. Close to twenty years later, award-winning cartoonist Guy Delisle recounts Andre'́s harrowing experience. Delisle tells the story through the perspective of the titular captive, who strives to keep his mind alert as desperation starts to set in. Working in a pared down style with muted colour washes, Delisle conveys the psychological effects of solitary confinement, compelling us to ask ourselves some difficult questions regarding the repercussions of negotiating with kidnappers and what it really means to be free.