During an American bombing raid in 2003, four lions escaped from the Baghdad Zoo. This true story is the inspiration behind Pride of Baghdad, a magnificent graphic novel by Eisner Award-winner Brian K. Vaughan, best known for his two series Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina.
As the story opens, our four heroes are squabbling over the merits of captivity versus freedom. Safa, a grizzled old female, is content to be free from the brutality of the jungle. The younger female Noor, who barely remembers life on the outside, is plotting an escape. Her cub Ali likes the thought of adventure, while the adult male Zill is wary of rebelling, though he is nostalgic for the natural beauty of the free world.
The matter is decided for them one day when some strange and noisy shapes go careening across the sky. The zoo explodes into flame, the human zookeepers flee, and animals start dying. It is too dangerous to stay.
Safa, Noor, Ali, and Zill tread past the gates, free at last—but freedom turns out to be full of unpleasant surprises. The lions need food, but there are no zookeepers to tend them. They need water, but the river is polluted by oil. They need shelter, but when they try to seek refuge in a palace, they are attacked by a starving bear, the pet of Saddam Hussein.
Artist Niko Henrichon’s illustrations are painted with gorgeous warm yellows and browns. This literal brightness is the only luster in a story that is dark, grim, and violent. Torture, animal abuse, savage death, and gang rape are here, as well as the more abstract violence of environmental destruction. It is a haunting anti-war novel of the highest caliber.
Check the WRL catalog for Pride of Baghdad
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