Pride of Baghdad

By Brian K Vaughan and Niko Henrikson [Vertigo]

A pride of lions escaped from Baghdad Zoo in 2003 during a bombing raid and this real event has inspired the graphic novel from Vertigo which certainly fits with the mature readers content and quality that we expect from this imprint.

You can read it as a kind of adult Disney tale and on that level, it works very well – the cub is pretty cute and gets some really funny lines but the adult lions’ story has a strong focus on the relationships between the members of the pride, it has sex and violence and overall it is a well told war story.

But it’s more than that.

You could read it as a straightforward allegory of the conflict in Iraq, with the lions representing the Iraqi people and the zoo keepers as the occupying forces, whilst the bear who appears later in the story could be interpreted as being an embodiment of Saddam Hussein.

But it’s more than that too.

Through the dialogue and interaction between the members of the pride and between the pride and the characters that they meet, the book explores aspects of freedom and captivity, democracy and totalitarianism, war and peace, aspects not confined to the conflict in Iraq but relating to all wars. It doesn’t preach a message but rather invites you to consider the different viewpoints and make up your own mind on the issues.

And the art is stunning.

The book is beautifully designed so that, on several occasions, you turn over a page to be confronted with either a full-page or a double-page image that is jaw-dropping, either because of its shock value, the way it progresses the story or simply because it is absolutely beautiful.

“You can put it right next to Watchmen. It’s that good” says the ign.com review quoted on the back cover. I wouldn’t go that far – this isn’t going to change the way people think about comics forever. But maybe the next shelf down, as you’ll want to read this more than once and additional readings will only increase your appreciation of this very fine graphic novel.

David Milne The Invisible Inkster