Me, Mikko and Annikki

Autobiographically inspired, this very endearing comic book is the story of the installation of a young couple in the district of Annikki, one of the very few historical islands still preserved in the city of Tampere, in Finland. Tiitu Takalo recounts the fierce fight that the inhabitants of these wooden houses lead together against the limitless voracity of real estate developers, often in cahoots with local councilors. This sensitive chronicle is punctuated by the story of the highlights of the history of Tampere, since its foundation at the end of the 18th century, and in particular its rich industrial and working-class past. This narrative choice makes it possible to broaden the framework of the story, to show that the richness of a district or a city lies in its heritage, and that its preservation is the key to our collective identities as well as our possible futures. Alternately intimate, historical and social, Me, Mikko and Annikki is the journal of a community in resistance, in direct contact with contemporary environmental issues: renovating rather than erasing, maintaining rather than destroying - which gives it a natural its place within Rue de l'échiquier BD. It addresses universal questions: what is a city, basically? How do you preserve your soul? How can we resist the real estate pressure and the political manipulations that go with it? Published in 2014 in Finland, Me, Mikko and Annikki won the Cartoonia prize in 2015, the most prestigious award that a Finnish comic can win. An English translation appeared in August 2019 from the American publisher North Atlantic Books. Translated from Finnish by Kirsi Kinnunen With the support of FILI The compelling tale of a community's struggle to save a historic neighborhood in a Finnish city.