The most natural thing for us is drawing. The characters [in Persepolis] are hand drawn. We're not technical people. We don't know how to type.

Life is too short to be lived badly.

The real war is not between the West and the East. The real war is between intelligent and stupid people.

All big changes of the world come from words.

Drawing is the first language of the human being before writing. It's a transcription of how the human being sees reality, not reality itself.

When we're afraid, we lose all sense of analysis and reflection. Our fear paralyzes us. Besides, fear has always been the driving force behind all dictators' repression.

Culture and education are the lethal weapons against all kinds of fundamentalism.

My mother always told me I had to do 100 times better than a man. I had to work hard at maths, and learn four languages.

The world is not about Batman and Robin fighting the Joker; things are more complicated than that. And nothing is scarier than the people who try to find easy answers to complicated questions.

The best thing I ever did in my life was to ask, 'Do I like everybody?' And the answer was, 'No.' So why should everybody like me? If people are against me, so what? I'm against them too.

Nothing's worse than saying goodbye. It's a little like dying.

Being friendzoned is like standing near fire. You stand there to seek some warmth, but get burnt instead.

People are usually more interested in what is new, rather than what is better.

People who are ready to learn are those who will be the best to lead.

We have to accept that much of reality is ineffable and so to understand it we can't rely on words alone.

I think one of the coolest things you can do is disappear for a while, because it gives you the chance to re-emerge. To sort of pounce out of the jungle.

People give up the earth for beauty.

As the body dieth when the soul departeth, so the soul of man dieth, when it hath not the knowledge of God.

It all started to come together when I realized that boxing was how I was going to succeed in life.

I believe in the devil as much as God. You can use either one to get things done

My occupation has been a great deal with David Foster Wallace, and he didn't manage it, and he was very much looking for something that isn't totally selfish, and finding meaning. It's a struggle.