Book · 2000
Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi
A ten-year-old watches the Islamic Revolution take over Tehran from her bedroom window, then gets smuggled out the same way generations before her never could.
What does Reddit think of Persepolis?
All 747 mentions come from one subreddit, r/graphicnovels. The excerpts don't read like debate. They read like a syllabus repeating itself. Three separate list posts put it in the same company: one names Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Maus, Ghost World, Black Hole, Persepolis, Blacksad, Akira, 20th Century Boys, Nausicaa, and Batman Year One in a single breath (↑63); another runs Bone, Saga, Hellboy, Watchmen, V For Vendetta, Maus, Persepolis, Usagi Yojimbo, TMNT (↑56); a third groups it with Fun Home, Black Hole, and Jimmy Corrigan as post-2000 classics (↑59). Maus turns up alongside it twice, the closest thing to a recurring pairing in this data. Nobody in these threads argues the case for Persepolis specifically. The lowest-effort entry is just the title and author, no context, at ↑46. That's not a knock. The book has cleared the argument stage in this subreddit and moved straight to reference material, the kind of title a list just isn't complete without.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · coming of age during the Iranian Revolution
- · memoir told in comics form
- · political upheaval seen through a child's eyes
- · exile and displacement
- · canon status among graphic-novel readers
Common praise
- + Three different r/graphicnovels list-builders reach for it independently, in three different framings (all-time classics, post-2000 classics, a diversify-the-canon call), without any of them needing to justify the pick.
- + One commenter skips the pitch entirely and just writes 'Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi' at ↑46, the way you'd cite a source rather than sell one.
- + It shows up paired with Maus in two separate lists, the two books redditors reach for when the category is graphic memoir about surviving history.
Common criticism
- − None of the eight displayed excerpts actually argue for the book; they cite it. If you wanted to know why it's good, this data doesn't say.
- − All 747 tracked mentions sit inside one subreddit, so there's no cross-community read on it, just r/graphicnovels talking to itself.
- − The list format means Persepolis gets credit by association here. Nothing displayed separates what it does well from what Maus or Fun Home do well.
Who it's for
Start here if graphic memoir is a genre you're testing out and you want the book that keeps landing next to Maus on other people's shelves, per three separate r/graphicnovels lists. Building a canon collection instead of picking one book? The sub's habit of citing it without commentary, just the title and author at ↑46, suggests it's treated as a given rather than a discovery. If you came in wanting arguments and counterarguments about the book itself, this particular data won't supply them; it supplies inclusion, repeatedly, in other people's lists.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for Persepolis?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“A growing library collection is such a fun project. Here's where I might start. I've roughly categorized by sections. I've tried to list only items that are in print but I didn't check everything I listed. And this is FAR from an exhaustive list; I aimed for breadth as well as generally not going fo…
“There's a lot of good stuff on that shelf. Here is this sub's top 100 graphic novels list put together earlier this year by /u/MakeWayForTomorrow you can use to ref…
“**Watchmen** **V for Vendetta** **Maus** **Ghost World** **Black Hole** **Persepolis** **Blacksad** **Akira** **20th Century Boys** **Nausicaa** **Batman Year One**
“Hey 👋! I’ve been thinking about this for a while and here are my favorites: 1. “Monsters” by BWS - A profound portrayal of the horrors of war, human experimentation, deeply impactful and emotionally scarring. 2. “They Called Us Enemy” by George Takei - Real-life experiences of internment and rac…
“Since 2000? Lots, some that already I'd say are classics. Some I'd highlight:. Black Hole by Charles Burns. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris. On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden. Jimmy Corrigan by Chris Ware
“Bone. Saga. Hellboy. Watchmen. V For Vendetta. Maus. Persepolis. Usagi Yojimbo. TMNT.
“Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.
“Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
“Barefoot Gen is an awe inspired story by a survivor of Hiroshima. You won't believe what you are reading. It should be required reading in schools. Persepolis is an incredible first hand account of life in Iran just before the overthrow of the Shaw of Iran. It's utterly fascinating to learn from s…
“Persepolis taught me a lot about the worst in humans. Worryingly, I have friends who can relate to the orotagonist's childhood
“Blankets Fun Home [Persepolis](
“Maus Watchmen The Dark Knight Returns The Sandman From Hell Persepolis V For Vendetta Akira Saga Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic The Adventures of Tintin
“Maus March Persepolis Epileptic
“Off the top of my head I’ll give you: Watchmen. Maus, Persepolis, Charlie’s War, Preacher
“Maus, Persepolis, Fun House, Understanding Comics, Buddha (series)
Convinced? Pick up Persepolis
What else does r/graphicnovels read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
Guides featuring Persepolis
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
Persepolis — frequently asked
Is Persepolis considered a graphic novel classic on Reddit?+
By citation, yes. Three separate r/graphicnovels list posts include it: one groups it with Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and Maus (↑63); another with Bone, Saga, and Hellboy (↑56); a third calls out post-2000 titles including Fun Home and Black Hole alongside it (↑59). None of the three argues the case, they just include it, which is its own kind of verdict in a subreddit that runs Top 100 polls.
What does Reddit actually say about Persepolis, beyond just listing it?+
Not much, in what's displayed. All eight top-upvoted excerpts here are from r/graphicnovels, and the lowest-effort one is literally just 'Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi' at ↑46, no elaboration. If you want a defense of the book rather than a citation of it, this particular sample of quotes doesn't supply one.
Is Persepolis often compared to Maus?+
The data suggests so, loosely: two separate r/graphicnovels lists place Persepolis and Maus next to each other, once alongside Watchmen and V for Vendetta (↑63), once alongside Bone and Saga (↑56). Neither excerpt explains the comparison directly; both books just keep landing on the same lists, which is as close to a pairing as this data shows.
Is Persepolis only popular in one Reddit community?+
Based on the tracked corpus, yes: all 747 recognized mentions and every displayed excerpt come from r/graphicnovels specifically, with activity stretching from 2019 through the end of 2025. There's no visible discussion of it in broader subs here, just one community's recurring habit of putting it on best-of and diversify-the-canon lists.