Pride of Baghdad

Brian K. Vaughan is the best writer in comics. Of this, I'm sure. I have loved almost everything he's written and was happy to finally get a chance to read this. He has an amazing way of humanizing so many different types of characters. The plot here, based on a true story, is simple and pure: survival. He takes it so far past that. Just an amazing story. The art was very good. Overall a fantastic must read!

Excellent, but brief, moving commentary on the horrors of war, particularly the war in Iraq. Shows how people will justify the evil and atrocities of war by creating a perceived threat, where one may not even exist. It shows the fatal human flaw of justifying your actions to get what you want; even if it means destroying life to get to a natural resource; as long as you get the resource. The tale is made palatable by using animals as the story's main characters.

Finally, a thought-provoking book on a controversial subject that doesn't have some philosophy or another being shoved in your face. Sure, the book made me ask questions as to what I felt about the situation in Iraq but it didn't try to take a stance and say that one was right or wrong. Excellent book. The art work is beautiful and every page is just as stunning as the cover. Remove the dust-jacket and the book's cover is still remarkable with it's leather-like texture and embossed title and lion silhouettes. GREAT BUY!!

Using the true story of four lions that escaped the Baghdad Zoo in 2003, Vaughan incorporates other animals they meet along the way, and creates an allegory about Iraq, its people, the nature of freedom, and its ultimate cost. For teens, young adults, AND adults.

The lions had nearly forgotten what it was like in the wild. They had grown accustomed to their keepers, feeding times, conversations with other animals through the cage bars.

One day the keepers ran off. There were earthshaking blasts which destroyed their cages. The pride of lions hit the streets with newfound freedom and newfound fears. PRIDE retells a real story of four lions who found short-lived freedom after a U.S. bombing raid, and serves as a parable for the plight of the Iraqi people in post-Saddam Baghdad.

This certainly is a beautiful work, making it one of the best animal stories ever done in comics. I say "best" from an artistic point of view.
The dialog and story gets preachy in a "war is bad" way. Certainly no one is going to argue that war is actually good, and with this in mind, the endless bombardment (pun intended) of explosions, tanks, and "man is in the forest" fire (the sky is endlessly red) gets a bit dogmatic after a while.
What is the cost of freedom? Who's to say? If lions escaped from a zoo in the US they would probably have met a similar outcome, even without oil under their feet or turtles nagging and preaching in their ear.

You'll learn more about Iraq by reading this graphic novel than you would from a dozen histories of the conflict. This is the kind of work that makes comics an art form--beautifully illustrated with a highly allegorical story that nevertheless is grounded in compelling and believable characters (who just happen to be lions). And it is through those lions, strangely enough, that we see the human face of the war, and the suffering they endure from those who are supposedly there to help them. More than ever, Pride of Baghdad makes it clear that without self-determination there can be no freedom.

When comic fans discuss the best in the medium, typically the same series are mentioned: Watchmen. Sandman. Dark Knight Returns. Brian K. Vaughn's Pride of Baghdad deserves a place in that pantheon. Mr. Vaughn and his collaborator Niko Henrichon do a wonderful job of not only telling telling the heart-wrenching story of 4 lions who escaped the Baghdad Zoo during the American invasion, but they develop them into characters. Imagine The Lion King meets Watership Down. Fans of good stories, not just comic fans, deserve to give this amazing story a shot.

As a children's librarian, my experience has been that kids can handle a lot when it comes to violence and other mature subjects. This graphic novel is far too emotional, complex, and devastating for children, but absolutely necessary reading for teens and adults. I do not say this because it is excessively or pointlessly violent. Hardly. It is beautiful and compelling. At the same time, it killed me. I thought that thought I knew right from wrong, good from evil, and captivity from freedom. As I have felt about every book I have read that has insisted that I grow up, part of me wishes I never read it.

The Pride of Baghdad is truly an amazing graphic novel. The artwork is fantastic, with a hint of orange tint throughout the book. Using the lions as unbiased observers during the U.S. invasion of Iraq, 4 lions escape when their zoo is blown to bits by U.S. bombs. Along their journey Baghdad, they encounter behemoth tanks that crush anything in it path, a pontificating turtle who is tired of human war that causes nothing but wanton death and destructions. When asked why the humans are fighting, the turtle does not know except that black poison (meaning oil) has killed many of his family and friend. We then see a page where a number of turtles have apparently died form the oil slick that seeped into the turtle's habitat. Very powerful and very gripping. Tired and hungry, the pride contemplates eating human flesh that is found in the streets of Baghdad. Eventually they confront a grizzly bear (the U.S.A?) that believes he is invincible by himself. But is taken down when the lions work as team to fight the bear. Finally, the lions reach the rooftop of a building to behold the beautiful horizon. I won't spoil the rest. Buy this book and enjoy a fine graphic novel.

This book is short, but powerful. It surpassed my expectation of a sort of modern animal farm, proving itself far more insightful on the history of this conflict. I also thought the last line was very poignant, turning our empathy towards the lion's suffering into a statement on our relative apathy toward human life.

This is a lavioushly, lusciously drawn comic, both simple and beautifully complex. It's the story of a pride of lions that have been displaced from the Baghdad zoo during the war. The parallels between lions and humans are many and it is a touching statement against all war.

This is a stunning book! Brian K. Vaughan keeps it simple while providing some incredibly thought-provoking moments. Niko Henrichon's art is every bit as great as anything seen in a Disney film.

It's hard to imagine that this story would not strike an emotional chord with any reader the least bit familiar with the state of foreign affairs. Regardless of what your stance may be on the U.S. occupation of Iraq, this book is a must-read.

This is a powerful, well-written work. It follows a group of (speaking) lions as they escape from the zoo in Baghdad and explore their new freedom. However, I do wish it had focused more in Iraqi culture. As far as the reader can tell, these lions are wandering around an anonymous Middle Eastern urban area.

This book is simply breathtaking. Whether your a fan of comic books or not, the story that these 2 men show us simply transcends from just being a simply 'comic book' to a journey that is both beautiful and heart-breaking. Based upon an actual event that happened when the first bombs hit Baghdad, a pride of lions 'escape' from a zoo and must face many perils and dangers. From the very first page, you can feel the panic among the animals. The storytelling by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon is both simple yet beautifully intricate. The fact that you feel for such a few simple lions, it makes the thought of whats going on in the middle east that much more sadder. There are thousands of stories from the war, yet strangely this one hits home the closest.

This is a very short story, but it resonates very deeply. Although it will only take you twenty minutes or less to read it, I totally recommend it. It will leave you satisfied and it will give you a lot to think about. The art is very good, but Vaughan's writing is what makes this story so powerful. This story has so many levels and meanings, I think I'll read it a few times and still find more layers.

With colourful and lively illustrations Mr. Vaughan tells this story with compassion and nerve. The political context makes this story even more interesting to read. Personally I think this book can be seen as an expression of contemporary art.

A few days after reading "Pride of Baghdad," you're going to forget all about it.

Which is a little odd: certainly one has here all the ingredients for a deep, affecting masterwork. You have a proven writer (Brian K. Vaughan) and a proven artist (Niko Henrichon) taking on issues that are both timeless and relevant. Some of the themes dealt with here are ones which the greatest artists in the Western tradition have wrestled with.

You see, this is a graphic novel (basically a long, handsomely printed comic book) about a group of lions in Baghdad. It draws its inspiration from a true story: in March of 2003, American bombs hit a Baghdad zoo, knocking out a wall in the lions' enclosure, which allowed several lions to escape. When, after a few days, the lions were shot by U.S. troops, the incident made it to BBC and CNN.

That's the extent of the similarity with the actual incident: the authors then take quite a bit of liberty with everything else, such as the fact that in this story, the various species of animals can talk to each other and reason elaborately.

The big lesson here is that the lions cannot handle their freedom: they're used to having things handed to them and living an institutionalized life where thinking, risk-taking, and resourcefulness have been rendered unnecessary. At liberty, the find themselves making stupid decisions, continually bickering, and utterly failing to see the larger horizon.

Hey, the authors suggest, isn't that a bit like the Iraqis themselves? Why, the whole story is a take on what's been happening in Iraq generally! The story of the lions is a microcosm of the larger Middle East, get it? An allegory about the responsibilities -- and dangers -- of unearned freedom.

The problem, I suggest, is that Messrs. Vaughan and Henrichon lose control of this allegory after about 30 pages, as serviceable as the idea is.

What they have happening to the lions after their escape, you see, doesn't really seem to follow the logic required by this approach: it's almost a random series of events. There's a turtle, there's a bear, there's some monkeys, there's a stampede of horses. It would appear that later incidents take place not owing to the book's thematic logic but because of the cool pictures they necessitate (e.g., a battle royal with an escaped bear).

But there's a more serious problem: great art doesn't hit you over the head. It sneaks up on you.

Not this book. In a truly deft allegory, the artificer never shows his hand, letting you know exactly what he's thinking or what stands for what. This is why books like Moby-Dick or, The Whale (Penguin Classics),Gulliver's Travels (Penguin Classics), and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn have so much to say to so many people: there are a wealth of meanings there which the authors restrain themselves from pinning down too exactly.

But Vaughan and Henrichon underestimate the intelligence of their readers, I submit, instead deigning to tell us exactly what they're "trying to say." As the script has Noor saying (p. 23), for example, "Freedom can't be given, only earned."

Big mistake. You guys should have let us do that kind of work for ourselves.

Of course, it's possible that I'm entirely wrong about "Pride of Baghdad" being an allegory in the first place. Perhaps we are meant to approach this book at face value: a simple yet gripping tale of big cats on the loose in a war zone. If that's the case, I apologize, and note that there is little here that is worth your time, at least compared to other classics in the genre.

Unless you like cool drawings of cats.

I was terribly disappointed in this book. I felt like the authors ran out of plot options for the family. The art was stunning, but the plot was predictable--even routine.

Moreover, there were too many human ideas in this book. Too many political themes. I can accept the idea that animals have consciousness, but the idea thet reckon time the same as humans or balk at sheer survival is insane.

The art is great, but the plot is predictable. Avoid.