Baruti Kandolo LilelaIn 2023, Barly was named Facilitator of Partnerships and Cultural Relations in Europe by the Congolese Ministry of Culture. Thierry Bellefroid ; he has been a member of Groupe d'Experts sur la Bande Dessinee pour la Communaute Francaise de Belgique since its creation in 2001 and a commissioner for the Commission for Aid to Comics of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation of Belgium until 2015; he coordinated comic strip animations for eight years for the Brussels Book Fair; and has participated in the catalogs of many comics exhibitions. Ivanka Hahnenberger has translated over 60 comics and graphic novels, including several highly acclaimed titles such asClimate Changed,Blue is the Warmest Color,Madame Livingstone(a 2021New York TimesGlobetrotting title) andCatherine's War, which won her the Silver 2021 Batchelder Award. She has lived in Europe since 1983, primarily in France and Germany but with several short stays in other European nations, and presently lives in London.
" ""Mixing real people and events with fictional Cold War–era espionage, Barly Baruti and Thierry Bellefroid’s Chaos in Kinshasa is a lively graphic thriller that uses the“Rumble in the Jungle”—the famed 1974 Muhammad Ali–George Foreman heavyweight boxing title bout—and the vividly rendered capital city of Kinshasa as its backdrop and setting."" - Publishers Weekly ""[Chaos in Kinshasa] is really great. I totally recommend it. If you didn’t have any idea of the intrigue and politics behind the Rumble in the Jungle, you have to read this."" - Ivanka Hahnenberger, Five Books ""Baruti’s art in Chaos in Kinshasa fits its thematic storytelling well. His characters are realistic and feature vivid expressions, almost photographic in capturing the strong emotions of the moment. The backgrounds are intricately detailed with complexities that hint at all the same complexities in the Cold War era. The watercolor-style colors show that the world can be at once beautiful as well as haunting with blurred lines behind the inked borders."" - Jeff Provine, Blogcritics ""In this intense graphic novel, a Harlem street thug at the Ali-Foreman 'Rumble in the Jungle' in 1974 gets mixed up in a lethal coup attempt."" - Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ""Fans of the Rumble in the Jungle will enjoy reading this creative account of the iconic 1974 fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman brought to life with brilliant illustrations and a riveting storyline. Highly recommended!"" - Michelle Sikes, Associate Professor of Kinesiology, African Studies & History at Penn State"