Pride of Baghdad

Book: Pride of Baghdad
Author: Brian Vaughan
Artist: Niko Henrichon
Audience: High School and Adult
In a Nutshell: escaped lions roam war-torn Baghdad

When Baghdad is bombed by US forces, the zoo is heavily hit, and what animals survive escape into the war-torn streets. Four lions- Zill, Safa, Noor, and the cub Ali- have different reactions. For Safa, freedom is a dream come true; Noor, who lived in the wild, prefers the safety of the zoo. It's up to the male, Zill, to hold them together as a pride. They face the dangers of other escaped animals, encounter dangerous new creatures such as herds of tanks, and learn more about the perplexing world of the Keepers as their world collides with the human world.

This graphic novel takes a powerful look at war from an animal perspective. For example, the old tortoise they meet by the river has seen it all before; he doesn't know what the conflicts are about, just that the humans make black death (oil) flow in the river every time. As if no food and the really nasty "pet" bear they find in an abandoned palace aren't bad enough, they have yet to cross paths with American assault rifles.

Be aware that this is an adult graphic novel; there is some language, graphic violence (I hope I never actually see a giraffe get its head blown off by a shell *shudder*), and sexual content. The sex is between lions and not graphic, but still disturbing in places where assault is portrayed.

Maturity level aside, this is a remarkable war story- and based on a true event, by the way. A group of lions did escape from the Baghdad zoo amidst shelling in 2003.