This may be the first graphic novel review where I will comment first on the art before the scripting. That's simply because this is the first time I've ever considered that artwork is perfect. I've read somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 graphic novels and Pride of Baghdad is without question the most beautiful. Every pencil line seems perfectly placed - breathtaking panoramas of Baghdad and, most impressively, animals that display emotion on their faces and through body language in a way I didn't know was possible.
I've noticed other reviewers complaining that this story seems "thin." Well, I agree to the extent that it only takes about an hour to read. (Although you could spend hours examining the artwork.) However, not all great stories need to last hours and hours. I honestly think that there is no graphic novel writer today who does characterization better than Brian Vaughan. In only a short 136 pages, many of which are nearly absent of dialogue, Vaughan makes the reader completely emotionally invested in each of the four main characters. Vaughan's ability to make the reader identify is absolutely uncanny and the only thing I can think to compare it with is Grant Morrison's We3. The plotting and dialogue are both adequate for the task, but this is really a story about characters.
The only complaint I can muster is that Pride of Baghdad pretty much hits you over the head with the author's politics. Usually, this is a complete turn off for me, even if I happen to agree with the author's message. In this case, however, Vaughan does service to both view points on several political issues before letting you know where he stands. Most importantly though, I think he leaves some grey room. Most importantly, the viewpoints are all presented as reasonable in their own right. Like Ex Machina, this is a story for adults who are willing to think a little.
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Reviews with images
Why is this not a movie yet?
As I turn each page, the artwork feels like it should be moving. It's stunning and haunting. The story and characters are engaging. The story of the regular innocent lives caught in the crossfire of the hell of war. I recently started rereading the book after hearing of the zoo big cats being euthanized in Ukraine. It brought me right back to this book. I wish Netflix or another company would pick up this story for an animated movie or miniseries. Either 2d or 3d, similar to Netflix's Andy Serkis directed Mowgli.
