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Pride of Baghdad - Niko Henrichon
by jazz_mavericks Pride of Baghdad is a gripping analogy of the Iraq war, featuring a fictional story based on real life events. During the second Iraq war, a bombing raid on Baghdad, inadvertantly resulted in the escape of many of the city's zoo's animals. This tale is about a family of lions that escaped, and is the story of their ... survival, their pursuit of freedom, and the challenges that face them. Brian K. Vaughan pens a tale that can be viewed on many levels, each one of them heart wrenching, but filled with optimism. Almost in an Orwellian way, the animals in this story can talk, and are used to portray the emotions and feelings of the people involved in the war. Each lion in the pride represents a different viewpoint towards the war, and the reader will find themselves unsure of which character they sympathise with. Niko Henrichon's stunning artwork puts you right in the middle of the tale. You spend most of the book living with the animals, and tend to forget about the human world, but then, just as you are living wild, you are conronted with a tank... a fighter jet... a machine gun. When this happens, it is like a slap in the face. You forget you are in the world of man - the world of the animal takes over that much. But don't think this is just a story about animals - they are just the avatars of the humans involved in the Iraq war. Both Henrichon and Vaughn have created a graphic novel that is the definition of a modern masterpiece, and a must read for any fan of the medium. Read the complete review |
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Pride of Baghdad - Niko Henrichon
by daemonicragnorak In April 2003 four lions escaped from the Baghdad Zoo, during the US bombing of Baghdad, and experienced a new freedom. This book essentially creates a story for these four lions and their new found freedom. This book is written by the award winning Brian Vaughan (Y: The Last Man) and his quality is really shown in this book, ... along with the quality of the artwork by Niko Henrichon. It starts off with the four lions caged up at the zoo and some of them have plans to escape the zoo, with the aid of other animals, as they long to be free. In this book animals are able to understand each other, but not humans, in a way similar to alot of other stories with animal main characters. The bombing of their zoo allows the lions to escape and then starts the essential search for food for their survival. Not far outside the zoo the lions are confronted by a tank regiment and suddenly realise that their new found freedom is going to be much harder than they had imagined. They move away from the tanks, which takes them into the heart of Baghdad; by this point they are starving from not being fed in a long time and things are looking desperate when they are forced to stop searching because of a storm. The story continues from here, I will not say any more as the ending is worth experiencing without spoilers, but needless to say it will leave an impression on you. The added fact that this is based on four lions that really did escape the zoo makes this story seem even more important; it also means the impact of the ending is even greater. The artwork is second to none, there is no over shading or any under detailing in this book at all, the animals simply look as animals should. Every page looks as good as the cover, which is a rarity these days. With such great artwork and such a memorable story this is one of those few independent graphic novels that truly are worth reading; you don't have to even be a graphic novel lover, you will still love it. Read the complete review |
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Pride of Baghdad - Niko Henrichon
by pigeon_of_doom Pride of Baghdad is a Vertigo graphic novel written by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Niko Henrichon. Based on the true story of four lions who escaped from Baghdad zoo during a 2003 bombing raid, Vaughan explores the reaction of the Iraqi people to the end of Saddam's regime through the lions bid for survival. The anthropomorphised ... beasts voice human, perhaps universal concerns throughout the course of the novel. While the character's animal natures are never betrayed (although they are compromised), they present a unique perspective of the upheaval caused by the war with America, while their adventure is an engrossing tale on its own. As far as allegories go, it's not one worthy of Aesop, Orwell or C.S Lewis, but its a brave take on a sensitive issue. Obviously, the illustration throughout the novel doesn't match the front cover, but it is still very impressive. Niko Henrichon has done a remarkable job. Every animal stays true to their natural gait and facial expressions, yet still shows relatable human emotions. The backgrounds are exquisitely rendered, evoking the setting without becoming overwhelmed by minute details. The beauty of the natural environments and the monochrome clouded ruins of the city are both portrayed realistically. As the story progresses over the course of 24hrs, every stage of the day is illustrated to perfection. Henrichon excels whether drawing a sweeping vista of a forest in the morning, a savannah in the moonlight, or a deserted palace. Less peaceful scenes are portrayed just as adeptly, with violence and brutality shown effectively, but with restraint. There is no consistent panel arrangement. At most, there are five simply arranged panels on each page, with several sumptuously illustrated double and single page spreads scattered throughout the book. I believe the smaller number of panels is a factor in the high quality of the artwork, as the artist could focus more on quality than quantity. Also, the larger panels allow the artwork to have its full effect, which may have been diminished if reduced in size. Use of sound captions is limited, most noise is made apparent by the artwork, but when used they are noticeable, while avoiding being glaringly intrusive This was Vaughan's first attempt at a standalone graphic novel, and also at writing material with animals as the subject matter. While he mostly does a good job showing the attitudes of the animals convincingly, he struggles slightly with the format. By his own admission, a "cliff-hanger guy", he is used to enforced, rather than calculated breaks in his previous work in serialised comics. I found there to be few, if any breaks in the absence of chapters (the only effective one being a double page spread of the lions walking towards the forest as they leave the zoo), events are constantly moving forwards with little respite. For most of the book, tension builds but is never relieved. While arguably an artistic choice, this could also stem from the fact that much serialised work (Vaughan's main medium) relies on building suspense, and a lot of the relief comes as a product of resolution. However, for the most part I feel he adapted to the medium well, and hope there is more to come from him. The characters are quite shallow, serving more to discuss possible views of several generations of the Iraqi population and to advance the plot, rather than to be fully developed in their own right. They all have varying experiences of the world outside captivity, but their back-story is of more allegorical value than plot importance. There is Zill, a typical male lion, who is mostly passive but will fight to protect his pride; he is nostalgic for the past but is mostly content with his lot. Safa is an older lioness who remembers the hard life she had before she was brought into captivity. The stability of the zoo-keeper's regime suits her, compared to the chaos before. All she wants is to die of old age. Noor is the idealist of the group; a younger, inexperienced lioness. She was very young when brought into captivity, and has romantic notions of freedom despite her limited experience of it. She tried to arrange a breakout with other captives in the zoo before the bomb raid, but the animals were too fearful for their own safety and distrustful of the lion's intentions to help them. Ali is Noor's cub, who has never known freedom, demonstrated by the fact that he cannot comprehend the idea of a horizon (he has lived his entire life in an enclosed environment). Innocent and naive as you would expect a child to be, but with a bloodthirsty demeanor that belies his appearance. The hierarchy of the group is that of a regular pride, the lionesses hunting and the lion protecting his pride. The contrasting opinions and experiences of the group allows for freedom and its cost to be discussed in a balanced manner, without allowing any single opinion to dominate. Vaughan has stated that he doesn't mean to preach, but simply to ask hard questions about the war and in my opinion he achieves that aim. I wonder if the artwork actually detracts from the book overall, as much as it evokes the state of the country, perhaps a more abstract or simpler art style would have strengthened the message? However, the conflict was ongoing at the time of publication, so the uncompromisingly accurate portrayal of the country and the upheaval it is currently going through is justified. However, the novel merits reading for the artwork alone, I have honestly not seen better artwork in the medium (unless Yoshitaka Amano's work in Dream Hunters counts). While Vaughan tells a tragic, emotionally affecting story, the allegorical content lacks subtlety (it does work in favour of its accessibility though). It avoids being bogged down in political debates and focuses on the human impact of the war. His inexperience with the format isn't much of an issue except perhaps in terms of pacing. The writing doesn't match the superlative artwork, but the tale told here should resonate with anyone who values the concept of freedom, the setting of Baghdad making it all the more relevant. This review has also been posted on ciao and the escapist magazine website. Read the complete review |
Vertigo Comic Book |
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3 reviews Genre: Graphic Novels / Comic Book / Comics / Author: Niko Henrichon / Hardcover / 136 Pages / Book is published 2006-10-01 by Vertigo |
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1 review Genre: Graphic Novels / Comic Book / Comics / Author: Mike Carey, Peter Gross, Ryan Kelly / Paperback / 208 Pages / Book is published 2001 by Vertigo |
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1 review Genre: Graphic Novels / Comic Book / Comics / Author: Paul Pope / Paperback / 256 Pages / Book is published 2005-04-30 by Vertigo |
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