Pride of Baghdad (Graphic Novel)

Freedom is not free.

Prowling the broken city.

Tragic, heartache, purrr.

Freedom is not free.

This is the message woven throughout the graphic novel “Pride of Baghdad” as a subtle subtext to the violence, broken lives, and ruins both metaphorical and literal that the lions wander through. Pride of Baghdad, written by super star writer Brian K. Vaughan, and illustrated by the heavily under rated artist Niko Henrichon, seeks to tell the story of the American occupation of Iraq through the lens of the occupied; more specifically, through the lives of a pack of lions set free during the bombing of the Baghdad zoo.

Through the hundreds of panels that Pride runs, we follow four lions. Zill, a full grown Lion with not much experience in the wild. Safa, an older lioness who was brought into captivity much later in life and knows what lies dangers beyond the cement walls of the zoo; she has the missing eye to show for it. There is Noor, a younger lioness, much closer to Zill’s age than Safa, crafty, and cunning. And precocious Ali, Noor’s cub. Through these four lions the point that freedom is not free is pounded into us with increasingly heart-wrenching images. This is no super hero smash ‘em up, there is something to be taken away from this.

Prowling the broken city.

The pride travels aimlessly through the wreckage of war-torn Baghdad, where the ruined lives of the human inhabitants are inter-twined with the ramshackle mess of the crumbling buildings. Through the lions, each with their own perceptions and interpretations of what is occurring around them, they serve as a unique point of view for those familiar with the conflict that occurred only a few years ago. One particular exchange is poignant and worth noting when and if someone were to read Pride of Baghdad after reading this review. It’s when the pride stumbles upon a tortoise. While I’m not necessarily a fan of didactic literature, it does go down much more smoothly coming from a tortoise that has seen it all and has suffered his own losses.

tragic, heartbreak, purrr.

Be forewarned, this is not a book to be give to a child, so don’t go putting that in your amazon cart hoping to give it to little Miguel for his upcoming 10th birthday. There, as in war, are horrors to be seen in this graphic novel. (Note: you cannot un-see a giraffe's head being blown off.) As I re-read Pride for the first time in over a year in preparation for writing this review, I was stunned at how raw my nerves still were after I turned the last page, even though I was aware of what was going to happen on each subsequent page or panel. Brian K. Vaughan is a master of his craft, a storyteller through and through. Niko Henrichon earns a tip of my hat for his stylized sketchy depictions that provoke and provide a sense of urgency to the subject matter.

And just so you know: In the spring of 2003, a pride of lions escaped from the Baghdad Zoo during an American bombing raid.

This is their imagined story as told in graphic novel form.