War on Terror; The Terror of War_英文原版

with war and terrorism the number 1 issue in the u.s. it should come as no surprise when comix reflect those concerns. two interesting new works take different approaches: the pride of baghdad (dc/vertigo; 128 pages; $20), written by brian k. vaughan and illustrated by niko henrichorn, examines the moral ambiguities of the iraq war through a fictional account of four lions wandering the bombed-out streets of baghdad; the 9/11 report: a graphic adaptation (hill and wang; $17), by sid jacobson and ernie colon, has become a surprise hit, touching a nerve on the fifth anniversary of the attacks. though one book uses fiction and the other uses fact, both are interested in finding new ways for comix to explore current events.

the pride of baghdad takes its premise from the true story of a group of hungry lions that wandered out of the abandoned baghdad zoo in the days prior to the arrival in the city of the u.s. 3rd infantry division on april 9, 2003. writer brian k. vaughan has a reputation for creating superior "genre" comics with clever ideas that are at once funny and suspenseful. his monthly vertigo series y: the last man, about a world where all the men have suddenly died except for one, rivals tv's lost as a smart, consistently entertaining work of popular art. pride starts with an equally clever idea that and makes for an engaging read, but falls short of a being a masterpiece on the ambiguities of waging war for the sake of someone else's "freedom."

the pride in question consists of zill, the male who still remembers sunsets from the days of being wild, safa, the older, wizened female, noor, the younger female who dreams of her freedom and ali, the cute cub. like a disney movie, the animals have been blessed with the ability to speak to one another, along with the superior intelligence that usually accompanies that ability. however, suspending one's disbelief around such conceits comes more easily with children's entertainment than with a serious consideration of adult themes. i find myself thinking things like, "does an animal that can speak of heaven need to achieve grace or is it (he?) born without original sin?" in any case, after the bombs hit the zoo, the once-caged animals blink through the smoke and ask, "are we dead?" zill replies, "no. we're free."

each in their own way, the pride of baghdad and the 9/11 report deal with the most serious events in the u.s. at the turn of the millennium. where one takes a metaphorical, artistic approach the other shuns art in favor of blunt non-fiction. both are thought-provoking and timely. the 9/11 report in particular has broken ground by using comix to further popularize a critical document for the public good. its success will doubtless result in a flurry of omb and federal reserve adaptations. we look forward to them.