Exclusive Preview | Jessica Oublié  + Nicola Gobbi’s ‘Toxic Tropics’

Jessica Oublié and Nicola Gobbi look at the impact a pesticide has had on life in the French Antilles in their new graphic novel.

Courtesy of Street Noise Books, today we have an exclusive preview of Toxic Tropics, the upcoming graphic novel by writer Jessica Oublié and artist Nicola Gobbi.

The graphic novel explores the use of the chemical Chlordecone on the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe, even after it was discovered to be toxic to people and wildlife. Originally produced by a company called LifeSciences in Virginia, the chemical was used in pesticides in the 1960s and 1970s, until the company shut down after it was found they were poisoning the James River. But in the French Antilles, farmers continued to use the pesticide even after it was banned there in 1993. Oublié learned of the chemical’s impact when she moved to Guadeloupe and has interviewed scientists, government officials and locals about the decision to keep using it.

Check out the preview and more information provided by the publisher below, along with a video featuring Oublié discussing her work. Toxic Tropics will arrive in stores on Dec. 10.

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