Mongrel

“Mongrel is an impressive and assured debut work from a new voice with a keen understanding of the singular opportunities and intricacies of comics narrative.” –Andy Oliver, Broken Frontier “A magical story and a stunning debut, Mongrel is book you must read and share.” –Win Wiacek, Comics Review“Deceptively innocent, at once both simple and astounding, Mongrel is an endearing story of struggle told with an intensely honest and vulnerable voice.” –Super Serious Comics“Family and people are family and people, no matter where we come from or travel to, after all. The cultural imperatives and strifes may be different but the song remains the same. A beautiful and emotionally honest work.” –Joe Gordon, Down the Tubes“Intimate, candid and powerful, Mongrel seamlessly incorporates the all too real difficulties people are forced to deal with and overcome into a story of loss and love. Recommended” –Tim Cundle, Mass Movement “Sayra Begum’s Mongrel is one of those graphic novels that will become utilized in classrooms across the world. This as a must-read for anyone wanting insight into life as a young Muslim in a Western society.” –Fanbase Press“These kind of gems only come around every so often. I think of Blankets, by Craig Thompson, and Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, the last great books to take a look at religion in a significant graphic format.” –Comics Grinder “This is Begum’s first book but she has emerged as a fully-formed comic talent. Where the art really shines is in the layouts, which are bold and inventive. A powerful, deeply-personal outlook on a life.” –Andy Shaw, Grovel“Told both by the hand and by the heart, Mongrel invites us behind closed doors and deep into the emotional and spiritual tumult dividing her family. In her exquisite, pertinent debut, Sayra Begum shares her singular, first-person intimacies to enable us all to experience and empathise with the world through a thoroughly modern Muslim’s eyes.” –Paul Gravett (Author of Graphic Novels: Stories to Change Your Life, 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die and Comics Art)

Sayra Begum is an artist based in Nottinghamshire (UK) with a BA in Illustration from Plymouth College of Art and an MA in Illustration: Authorial Practice from Falmouth University. Begum’s work focuses on female and marginalised voices. Her style is inspired by Islamic miniatures and Surrealism. Mongrel started life during Begum’s time at Falmouth and was at the centre of her creative practice until its completion in 2020. Mongrel is her first published work.