Ancestral healing. [After the Rain by Nnedi Okorafor]

During a furious storm a young woman’s destiny is revealed... and her life is changed forever
 
After the Rain is a graphic novel adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor’s short story “On the Road.” The drama takes place in a small Nigerian town during a violent and unexpected storm. A Nigerian-American woman named Chioma answers a knock at her door and is horrified to see a boy with a severe head wound standing at her doorstep. He reaches for her, and his touch burns like fire. Something is very wrong. Haunted and hunted, Chioma must embrace her heritage in order to survive. John Jennings and David Brame’s graphic novel collaboration uses bold art and colors to powerfully tell this tale of identity and destiny.

I love stories that blend the supernatural in a way that affirms, yes, this element is real, but also pushes a metaphor that makes you ask, is it though? After the Rain is a graphic novel of Nnedi Okorafor's short story, On the Road. The graphic novel explores the strange supernatural happenings the Nigerian-American protagonist suffers through visiting family in Nigeria.

An exploration of trauma, its lasting effects, and how healing comes, after the rain, After the Rain is a wild ride. However, I finished my read somewhat confused. Ambiguity in the supernatural, while a given for it being the supernatural, is not something I care for in stories about the supernatural. Spell it out as much as you can. I don't get the metaphor, I want it explain, to be beat over the head with the exposition. But I got enough that I can say I enjoyed the story.

Whether it's the file I got or the program I can't say, but I could barely read some text bubbles. And I'm learning towards blaming the file because I had the same issue in different programs. The story was short, but I don't really have a clear takeaway of what the story was, what the real message of it all was. But I still feel I connected to it. 3 stars from me.

After the Rain is set for publication January 2021.