Replay

A graphic memoir by Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner, recounting his own family story of war, exile and new beginnings.

In 1938, seven-year-old Franzi is separated from his parents when they flee Austria to escape Nazi persecution. 80 years later, his dangerous odyssey as a child refugee through occupied France is movingly recounted and drawn by his son, Jordan Mechner, in a powerful multi-generational tale about the enduring challenge of holding a family together in an unstable world.

Delcourt/Shampooing
320 pages, color, paperback

French edition available now:

Delcourt (French)

Bookshops (French)

Live Preview

Pre-order English edition (release date 19 March 2024):

Macmillan (English)

English edition personally signed by Jordan, with bonus collector's postcard set (shipping March 2024):

Signed Edition

The signed edition package includes the Macmillan hardcover edition of Replay: Memoir of an Uprooted Family, signed by Jordan, and a set of two collector's postcards of Jordan's art, with premium packaging (bubble wrap and cardboard box). We may limit quantities or stop taking orders after a cutoff date. Books will be signed and shipped worldwide from the U.S. in March 2024. For more details, see Jordan's blog post about the signed edition.

Replay's English edition will be released by First Second Books on March 19, 2024, and is now available for preorder. Follow Jordan's social media, e-mail newsletter or RSS for updates.

Visit the Replay Annex for Jordan's chapter-by-chapter commentary on the personal and historical events, documentation, and creative process behind Replay.

"A beautiful, moving graphic novel. Through simple, yet incredibly evocative art and naturalistic dialogue, it examines the universal struggle of balancing living, loving, and finding purpose in one's life. Replay is a masterclass of narrative structure, expertly weaving multiple timelines, creating an emotional experience that is more powerful than its individual tales. I can't recommend it enough."

— Neil Druckmann, co-creator of The Last of Us

"Touching, funny, and sad at the same time, this graphic novel is a splendid work by the creator of Prince of Persia. Despite its 300+ pages, one reads it in a single sitting and is almost sorry that it doesn't continue further."

— Anthony Cocain, Insert-coin.fr

"A gripping and touching family saga that spans the century."

— Guy Delisle, author of Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea

"The author manages to juggle time quite fluidly, delicately linking past to present without falling into the anticipated trap... These are 300 pages to put in the hands of every lover of biographical and genealogical stories."

— Damien Boone, ActuaBD

"Mechner delivers a grand tale of the 20th century on the themes of uprooting and exile. He also offers a fascinating look at the evolution of video games, from the days when a kid could code a worldwide hit in his bedroom, to today's industry when a game mobilizes a team of hundreds of people. Drawing his first comic book (with talent), Jordan Mechner continues to make his mark on the history of the graphic arts, and surprises us with the ambition of a work as universal as the family narratives of Marjane Satrapi or Riad Sattouf."

— Jean-Samuel Kriegk, dBD

"An Austrian soldier in World War I, a Jewish child separated from his parents in World War II, and a video game designer, all in one book?... Jordan Mechner, author of the acclaimed Prince of Persia, opens up for the first time in a graphic novel that links his own story with his father's and grandfather's. These three stories are actually interconnected by big themes: escape, difficult life choices, and above all, family. And as in a good game, you find yourself captivated by a tale brimming with humanity."

— Gamatonic

"Replay takes us on a journey through a century of lives, love and hate, dreams and torments, creation and destruction, via Jordan Mechner's epic family story in his graphic novel debut. A first outing that reveals the hand of a master... Fascinating from start to finish, Replay is also an opportunity to follow the ups and downs of the behind-the-scenes creation of a classic video game like Prince of Persia, all executed with a drawing style of great finesse. Magnificent!"

— Eric Guillaud, FranceInfo

"Thrilling... subtle and intimate... The story is moving, the narrative complex and very cleverly managed... It's simply impossible to stop reading. Beautiful first foray into comics by this inspired creative. Replay will appeal to video game fans wanting to know the behind-the-scenes story, to history fans, and also to those who love family sagas."

— Nathalie Z, Scifi Universe

"Jordan Mechner tackles his most personal and introspective story yet in this touching Replay... A magnificent personal testimony that transcends the simple framework of a family."

— Arnaud Gueury, La Ribambulle

"If you haven't already, read "REPLAY: Mémoires d'une famille" by Jordan Mechner. As Wendy Lower and other recent historians urge us to substitute the notion of family for an anonymous tally of victims, testimonies like Jordan's take on a particularly shattering meaning. This is a great book that couldn't have existed in any other form than comics."

— Joann Sfar, author of The Rabbi's Cat

In Jordan's Words: Rivers of Time

Creating Replay has been an adventure different from anything I've done before. It unites in a new way three crafts and lifelong passions that have animated my work: storytelling, visual art, and history.

Replay is a graphic novel memoir of three generations. It interweaves my father's childhood odyssey as a Jewish refugee in Nazi-occupied France; my grandfather's experience as a teenage soldier on the Russian front in World War I; and my own youth as a videogame-obsessed American kid, from a 1978 Apple II through four decades in the fast-evolving game industry. The games, books, and films I've spent my career making were born out of those formative events.

Replay is my first graphic novel as a "complete author" (meaning I've drawn as well as written it). To make it easy for readers to follow the intersecting storylines, I've used three distinct palettes.

Replay's "blue" timeline covers my career in game development — from programming my first Apple II arcade games as a teenager, through the 1990s and 2000s with ever-bigger teams, budgets, and stakes on The Last Express and The Sands of Time.

Replay's second, "sepia" timeline depicts my dad's childhood flight through occupied France from 1938-41, as he and his young aunt Lisa tried to outrun the rapidly expanding Nazi regime to reunite with their family across the Atlantic. I grew up hearing their stories. Like many second-generation immigrants, I've often felt that the challenges of my own life were undramatic compared to the last generation's heroic survival. Forty years before little Franzi composed the music for his son's Apple II games, he had bigger things to worry about.

This sepia timeline also holds the back story of my dad's odyssey of family separation and reunion. A quarter-century earlier, in 1914, my grandfather saw his own idyllic childhood shattered by World War I. (His hometown of Czernowitz, now in Ukraine, was a thriving Jewish capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.) He was conscripted and sent to the Russian and Italian fronts, where he spent three years in the trenches on the losing side.

Linking both timelines is Replay's third, "yellow" present-day frame, recounting my move to France for a video game project in 2016, as an American with two teenage kids. It's a story of today's game industry, when multimillion-dollar productions involving hundreds of people can be greenlit, morph, change direction, and get cancelled.

I chose the title Replay because it resonates with both the video-game and historical threads of this book. I've often had the sensation that in my life, I'm unintentionally or unconsciously echoing past events. Like my grandfather, I uprooted and resettled my family across the Atlantic — but in the opposite direction, under significantly more favorable circumstances. "Replay" also evokes my mental habit of rehashing past decisions, as if by doing that I might somehow magically undo the past and obtain a better outcome. Which, of course, is only possible in a video game.

If you're a fan of graphic novels, video games, or are interested in twentieth-century history — or all three — I hope Replay will speak to you and resonate on multiple levels. It's the great origin story I've spent my life preparing to tell. I can't wait for you to discover it.

"Jordan Mechner just released a masterpiece—Replay—and it's a graphic novel! I'm still overwhelmed by it. This sensitive autobiographical comic book touched me enormously. Thank you, Jordan, for sharing your story and that of your family."

— Eric Chahi, creator of Another World

"A journey through space, time and comics. This family memoir succeeds in bringing home two elements: the harshness of war and the struggle for survival of family members, and, in a lighter vein, what it was like to design a video game in the 1980s."

— David Neau, 7BD

"The subtle transitions between eras, and the finely interwoven and complementary life stories, make this comic a fascinating and moving chronicle of a family that survived two world wars."

— Radio France, Editors' Choice 2023 Comics to Read This Summer

"If you enjoy video games and their history, war on a human scale, or tales of a desperate diaspora, this thick "Replay" will not disappoint you."

— Nicolas Ancion, Actualitté

"A highly successful blend of biography and family saga... In both form and content, Jordan Mechner delivers an innovative work that avoids the usual pitfalls of biographical narratives. A touching family story that reflects on the legacy of previous generations, and on displacement in its many forms."

— Baptiste Gilbert, 9eme Art

"Attention, here is a truly unique graphic novel... Replay will fascinate anyone who wants to work in the video game industry. But this comic book is also a wonderful account of the last century's European history, especially the Second World War. It's also a family story about the importance of transmission. Finally, it's a modern story of a couple who try everything to make their marriage work. Yes, Replay is all this and more. And it's definitely a graphic work that will make a mark this year."

— Christophe Coquis, Geek Junior

"An authentic, sober, touching and natural family saga... With great precision, the author succeeds in making us experience some very strong emotional moments, which give the story real power... The whole is fluid and advances steadily, its 300-plus pages leaving breathing space for entertaining anecdotes amid the great wheel of history. A truly personal work, an accessible read for everyone that leaves us enriched."

— Mick Léonard, Planete BD

"The narrative scheme, color-coded for the different eras, is extremely fluid. We move easily between past and present. The art style, with just the degree of realism needed, makes even the harshest scenes palatable. A great book, a fine achievement, that should be read in French high schools, to give today's young people a better understanding of this national historical period which is sometimes watered down or just skimmed over in classrooms."

— Michel Litout, L'Independant

"If this came out as a book, it'd go straight to the Pulitzer or the Goncourt, so there's no reason why it shouldn't work as a comic... it's truly our big, big favourite of the year. It's absolutely the book to have in your beach bag for this summer."

— Hervé Bourit, Local Génial, TV Tours-Val de Loire

"The author's layout and color scheme clearly define each period, making the story a smooth, enjoyable read. Captivatingly realistic and moving... Replay is a gripping tale of the will to rebuild, no matter what the odds."

— Air-Gaming

"An intimate chronicle that is both sobering and moving."

— Thomas Liard, CNews "Les 9 albums à lire absolument avant l'été 2023"

"Jordan subtly underlines the existence of strange temporal echoes that run through the tumultuous history of his family, the Mechner-Zieglers. Their story merges with that of the 20th century."

— Vincent Brunner, Slate

"Replay is the 2023 recipient of the Prix Château-de-Cheverny for historical graphic novel of the year. 'A fluid narrative and a very clean drawing style, reminiscent of Guy Delisle's... Above all, this graphic novel captures the depth of time, depicting the change and continuity within a family in constant exile, while succeeding in giving universal scope to this very personal story.'"

— Tristan Martin, L'Histoire magazine

Replay mobile and desktop wallpapers are available to download for free in the Library.

More by Jordan Mechner

The Making of
Prince of Persia

The Making of
Karateka

Templar

Artist Diary:
Year 1 in France