Pyongyang: A Journey In North Korea

This memoir is Guy Delisle's account of his time spent in Pyongyang, North Korea as an employee from a French animation company.  He ended up spending a little over two months overseeing a child's cartoon project that was outsourced to North Koreans.  Right off the bat, he describes a couple of rules that he is told as soon as he steps off the plane, one of which is that cameras are allowed, but will be immediately confiscated if any "illegal" photos are taken (which could be anything - his friend's camera was taken away after he took a picture of a garbage can, and was returned with the film blacked out).  Being the "graphical memoirist" and badass Frenchman that he is, Mister Guy recorded his daily moments of cultural confusion, anger, and humor in the form of comic strips and published them upon his return.
First of all, I loved this book because it was in the form of a graphic novel, so it didn't feel like I was reading such a heavy topic.  Actually, it wasn't even too somber of a book because Delisle intersperses lighthearted humorous moments here and there.  However, the gentle humor barely balances out the immensely heartbreaking instances of government depravity portrayed in his drawings:

• gaunt women "volunteers" manually sweeping the streets with tiny brooms
• young girls playing North Korean anthemic music on their accordions, sweating from the stress of maintaining the phony smiles plastered on their faces and scared of missing a single note
• a visit to the war museum depicting artifacts, photos of torture session, and a shrine - all in the name of their "glorious leader" 
• desolate stores in a mall, stockpiled with product that no one can afford to buy
• and the saddest part for me: Guy being reassured that all North Koreans are born perfectly healthy and intelligent, which makes him wonder what happens to all that are born handicapped

Thumbs-up:  Yes.  Illustrations are simple and 'cute' for the funny moments yet deeply effective for the more somber moments.
Buyability: Worth buying. 
Re-readability:  Highly re-readable for a second and third read for it all to sink in.