A SPORTS LEGEND Chaos in Kinshasa centers on the historic 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali in the Republic of Zaire (now Congo). The Rumble in the Jungle is widely considered to be one of the greatest sporting events in history, with an estimated one billion people watching via televised broadcast (a world record at the time). 60,000 people attended the event in person. The fight, which ended in a major upset with 4-to-1 underdog Muhammad Ali knocking out an undefeated Foreman in the eighth round, has since been the subject of an Academy Award winning documentary, When We Were Kings. Accompanying the fight was a companion concert, which would later serve as a model for other African arts festivals like FESTAC in Senegal and Soul to Soul in Ghana. 

A BELOVED FIGHTER Still to this day, books about Muhammad Ali are in steep demand, whether it’s the bestselling Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander, Dark Horse’s Muhammad Ali graphic novel in 2016, or Bill O’Reilly’s Killing the Legends just this year.

BLACK POWER .

BLAXPLOITATION ERA The Blaxploitation era began as a film movement in the 1970s where Black characters were featured in high-thrill, gritty crime movies as rebels, hustlers, cops, pimps and vigilantes. What began as a negative connotation quickly became a wildly popular ethnic sub-genre which brought sexy, bad-ass Black characters with great style to the screen—and eventually into literature, comics, and pop culture—typically surrounding themes of fighting back against oppression and corruption. This genre has gained a cult following in recent decades and many Black readers actively seek out references to the Blaxploitation era. Chaos in Kinshasa leans heavily on Blaxploitation-style characters and themes and will be a perfect fit for readers of that era.

COLD WAR HISTORY Zaire was one of the most pivotal ideological battlegrounds in Africa during the Cold War. Then-president Mobutu Sese Seko, now notorious for plunging Congo into economic and political disarray, was generally an ally to the United States during his three-decade presidency, but in 1974, he accused the American government of a plot to overthrow his regime, forcing the tensions between Eastern and Western powers in Zaire to a critical breaking point. So, while a billion people were placing bets on who would win the fight between Ali and Foreman in Zaire, governments around the world were placing bets on who would win the fight between capitalism and communism in a newly liberated Africa. 

SEX, SPIES & SPORTS With sexy, punchy dialogue, full-color illustrations, and plenty of thrills, Chaos in Kinshasa brings all the best parts of a fictional gangster story to the true history of Congo's 1970s Cold War crisis and Ali-Foreman's legendary fight.

“SEQUEL” TO SUCCESS In June 2021, we published another Barly Baruti graphic novel, Madame Livingstone, which Ivanka Hahnenberger also translated to English. The book received rave reviews from Publishers Weekly and Foreword Reviews, and was included in The New York Times' 2021 Globetrotting edition. 

CONGOLESE TO ITS COREIn 2023, Barly was named Facilitator of Partnerships and Cultural Relations in Europe by the Congolese Ministry of Culture.

A CROSS-SERIES RELEASEChaos in Kinshasa will be published under our newly launched Panel & Page African Graphic Novel series, which we kickstarted in 2022 in response to heightened demand for comics from Africa. It will also be marketed as part of our popular African Crime Reads series, our flagship series.

EDUCATIONAL INSERTS The book includes a detailed preface, postface, and several back-pages of educational information about President Mobutu, Zaire, the Cold War in Africa, and Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.