This episode of Lyfeblerd brings us back to the motherland Africa, to the island city of Antananarivo, Madagascar. Handrava is a slice-of-life Tapas webcomic created by Rado R.

It is the story about a young woman named Voanio, her friends and their every day life. She works during the day in the market and at night pulling a cart, whether as a mode of transportation for her friends or for hauling her client's goods. A hard worker, she's often accompanied by her cousin and probably best friend, Papango. The two are virtually inseparable but very different people. 

Voanio is a bit naive; big and strong with a soft heart. Papango is charismatic, street smart, a pop culture fan and tomboy. Together they have adventures that become increasingly wilder and dangerous, spreading across multiple genres. 

The Webtoon began its publishing run in 2017 and is still ongoing, but Rado has a bit of an erratic schedule. Handrava went on hiatus after the close of chapter 2, and returned in 2022 for the third but to my knowledge, there has been no new update since June. 

One can only assume that Rado will be back with new issues at some point in the future, but the story leading up to chapter three was great and didn't end on a cliffhanger. 

Reading List 

If you like Handrava, then try one of these books; 

• Solanin - https://amzn.to/3F2Jsm6
• Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki (Hardcover) - https://amzn.to/3eInytT

If you aren’t a fan of slice-of-life but looking for some other African comic books, try these;

• Avonome - http://thecomicrepublic.com/2020/Avonome.html
• E.X.O. – The Legend of Wale Williams - https://amzn.to/3SkGvAu

Purchasing any of these books via the links provided will go a long way in keeping the lights on. Thanks in advance.

I hope you enjoyed this episode of Lyfeblerd. If you did, please subscribe and review on iTunes or anywhere else you get your podcasts. The theme song is Dreams by Rewayde.

Don’t forget to support your local comic book scene and keep reading the things you love.

See you in the next one. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.