It is not uncommon for us here at Broken Frontier to revisit self-published projects when they are picked up by publishers to provide commentary that both repurposes previous reviews and tries to add some fresh insights as well. The first collected volume of Shazleen Khan’s Buuza!! webcomic is an excellent example of this. First appearing in digital form Khan would go on to crowdfund print editions of the story before it was recently taken on by Abrams. A much deserved development, especially given this comic’s history as a multiple Broken Frontier Award winner/nominee.
Buuza!! is set in the 1990s in a version of the world that has fantasy elements inserted into an otherwise realistic setting. Taking place mainly in Dawlat Al-Harir it involves a large, sprawling cast of players whose connections to each other are revealed to be more intricate and interweaved as events progress. Firstly we meet grifter Zach when Sam, whose mysterious links to the area’s ruler will be an important plot point later, catches him out operating a fake charity collection scam. These two unlikely soon-to-be friends will be thrown together again when they become unexpected flatmates.
Also part of this mix of characters are siblings Miriam and Musa Faris, from a family who have worked their way up to a position of political influence, and their lost brother Zhen who himself has forged a fragmented telephonic relationship with Zach after a mistaken phone call. There’s a wide role call of supporting characters too, some of whom (like a number of the main players) are magical beings known as Rasul who can take on the attributes of birds, animals and arachnids. Those fantasy elements are used sparingly, though, which makes them all the more beguiling when they do appear,
This initial Abrams Buuza!! volume is subtitled ‘Good Morning, Salwa’ and compiles the first third of the story. In some ways it’s a slow build but that’s actually one of its key strengths as its pacing deliberately gives us time and space to become intimately connected to the cast. Buuza!! is about lives coming together both tangentially and directly, with a stated aim of exploring themes of found family, diaspora and religion. To this end Khan prioritises establishing characters while pointing to a bigger picture with their teasing world-building hints.
What has always impressed about this project is how deftly Khan has balanced the needs of webcomic delivery and print to create something which perfectly fits the requirements of both. No mean feat. Indeed, In that regard, their dreamy art and confident visual storytelling will be what initially grabs many readers’ attention. Atmospheric colouring creates a defined sense of place with the considered pacing of pages and use of perspective giving the comic a deeply sensual quality. It’s also a beautifully designed piece of work too, rooted in Islamic mysticism, with a visual language all its own.
There’s a profound humanity to Buuza!! that is a central part of its appeal. With its engagingly realised queer POC cast, and its explorations of identity and belonging, it’s also clearly a very personal piece of work with Khan telling me in a 2021 interview here at Broken Frontier that “making this comic also helped me slowly get more comfortable with my own identity.” If you have already been following Buuza!! in its other iterations online and in print then it’s worth noting that this new volume is absolutely bursting with extras as back matter.
Relevant, stunningly presented, and one of the finest genre comics of the 2020s, Shazleen Khan’s Buuza!! is about to find a whole new audience. No contemporary comic deserves it more.
Shazleen Khan (W/A) • Abrams, £19.99
Review by Andy Oliver
