BATMANKM
Shared on Fri, 09/15/2006 - 10:35This week i picked up a new Graphic Novel that just came out called "Pride of Baghdad" I can not recommend enough this beautifully illustrated, wonderfully written, 136 page artistic and political feast. I decided to dip into it a few pages the first night i got it. I got into bed around 12:30am and opened it up. 30 minutes later I shut the whole 136 pages closed. It was like a starving man who sat down at a thanksgiving meal and new that he should take it easy the first meal, but once started couldn't stop. I read about the premise for the book in the previews catalogue and thought it sounded very cool. ( Previews for you non comic geeks is a monthly catalogue put out by the one major comics distributer in the nation highlighting and promoting all the titles that they will be offering in their next order/shipment) Also this gripping and absolutely stunning cover illustration in Previews grabbed my eye.
The premise is based on a true story. During the early days of our invasion of Iraq a Pride of Lions were let loose from the Baghdad Zoo. They roamed the streets starving and doing their best to survive. they ended up being shot and killed by US soldiers. From that wild story the writer has crafted a powerful and thoughtful story that is a metaphor for the war and its effects on living creatures caught in the middle of it. I expected the book to be an anti war story. As i began reading it I began to feel that it was a pro war story. By the time i finished i realized it was neither. It was for me, a dissertation on freedom. That there are prices to be paid for freedom and there are costs for liberation. What constitutes being "worth" it is a personal issue. The story starts out focusing on how the lions are kept in captivity most there lives in the zoo and are not happy about that. In fact some are trying to plan ways of escaping and getting back their freedom. I think this is meant to represent the life that the majority of Iraqis were experiencing under Saadam. They were fed, and could count on having the necessities provided, but at the cost of their freedom. The invasion represents liberation in that the bombs blow open the gates and take the "keepers" away. However the chaos and dangers of the "free wild" in Baghdad create a whole new set of threats. The story is all told from the point of view of the animals in an anthropomorphic style where they speak and have elaborate characterization. Humans are on the edge of the story much like the legs and feet of the people we see in Disney animal films like Lady and the tramp of Bambi. But trust me this is no freaking Bambi story!! :-) Once on the streets they struggle to survive, much like the displaced local residents of Iraq have had too, while the bombs explode all around them. They are faced with threats from other indigenous animals that want to rule them, representative of perhaps the militias, or insurgents, and they are ultimately victimized by the very soldiers that gave them freedom, representing the civilian deaths caused by US soldiers as a result of war. There is definitely a message here, or maybe a question, is freedom offered by forced liberation better then no freedom in captivity? One of the lions at one point states " freedom cant be given, it must be earned." The bottom line is there are the two sides to the conflict and while they battle it out, the innocent civilian peoples of that land, ie the Lions, are caught in the middle, terrorized, lost, struggling to survive and being killed. You can argue the politics back and forth, the right and the wrong, but that simple truth can not be debated. That aspect of this and any other conflict rarely gets a voice in the echo chamber of the media and the debate.
The art is absolutely stunning. The animal representation is spot on. the iraq locations are spot on. The whole thing has a animated quality but is rough enough to feel solid and emotional. the writing is fluid, fast paced and you immediately become attached to these characters and worry about what is going to happen to them. If i had one criticism of the book it would be that i wish it was longer! :-) It went so fast and I didn't want it to end.
The following is a 10 page preview that is posted on the Authors My Space site. Check it out. Its only in hard cover right now so its about 20$. Which Ill grant you is steep for a 30 minute read. But trust me its worth it. The soft cover will probably be out by Dec i would guess and those run about 5 bucks cheaper.
Enjoy
BAT
1o page preview on the Authors My Space page here.
The premise is based on a true story. During the early days of our invasion of Iraq a Pride of Lions were let loose from the Baghdad Zoo. They roamed the streets starving and doing their best to survive. they ended up being shot and killed by US soldiers. From that wild story the writer has crafted a powerful and thoughtful story that is a metaphor for the war and its effects on living creatures caught in the middle of it. I expected the book to be an anti war story. As i began reading it I began to feel that it was a pro war story. By the time i finished i realized it was neither. It was for me, a dissertation on freedom. That there are prices to be paid for freedom and there are costs for liberation. What constitutes being "worth" it is a personal issue. The story starts out focusing on how the lions are kept in captivity most there lives in the zoo and are not happy about that. In fact some are trying to plan ways of escaping and getting back their freedom. I think this is meant to represent the life that the majority of Iraqis were experiencing under Saadam. They were fed, and could count on having the necessities provided, but at the cost of their freedom. The invasion represents liberation in that the bombs blow open the gates and take the "keepers" away. However the chaos and dangers of the "free wild" in Baghdad create a whole new set of threats. The story is all told from the point of view of the animals in an anthropomorphic style where they speak and have elaborate characterization. Humans are on the edge of the story much like the legs and feet of the people we see in Disney animal films like Lady and the tramp of Bambi. But trust me this is no freaking Bambi story!! :-) Once on the streets they struggle to survive, much like the displaced local residents of Iraq have had too, while the bombs explode all around them. They are faced with threats from other indigenous animals that want to rule them, representative of perhaps the militias, or insurgents, and they are ultimately victimized by the very soldiers that gave them freedom, representing the civilian deaths caused by US soldiers as a result of war. There is definitely a message here, or maybe a question, is freedom offered by forced liberation better then no freedom in captivity? One of the lions at one point states " freedom cant be given, it must be earned." The bottom line is there are the two sides to the conflict and while they battle it out, the innocent civilian peoples of that land, ie the Lions, are caught in the middle, terrorized, lost, struggling to survive and being killed. You can argue the politics back and forth, the right and the wrong, but that simple truth can not be debated. That aspect of this and any other conflict rarely gets a voice in the echo chamber of the media and the debate.
The art is absolutely stunning. The animal representation is spot on. the iraq locations are spot on. The whole thing has a animated quality but is rough enough to feel solid and emotional. the writing is fluid, fast paced and you immediately become attached to these characters and worry about what is going to happen to them. If i had one criticism of the book it would be that i wish it was longer! :-) It went so fast and I didn't want it to end.
The following is a 10 page preview that is posted on the Authors My Space site. Check it out. Its only in hard cover right now so its about 20$. Which Ill grant you is steep for a 30 minute read. But trust me its worth it. The soft cover will probably be out by Dec i would guess and those run about 5 bucks cheaper.
Enjoy
BAT
1o page preview on the Authors My Space page here.
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Comments
Submitted by Gatsu on Mon, 09/18/2006 - 09:24
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Submitted by wareaglebeene1 on Fri, 09/15/2006 - 10:46
Submitted by BATMANKM on Fri, 09/15/2006 - 11:13
Submitted by Deman267 on Sat, 09/16/2006 - 09:26