Pride or Heartbreak of the Lion King

I thought I would revisit the graphic novel obsession I have and try Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan. One thing that drew me to this particular novel was my enjoyment of Runaways and Y the Last Man, also by Vaughan. What got me to buy it was the buzz, Vaughan was inspired by the bombing of a zoo in Baghdad. That was more than enough to draw me in, but would the novel itself keep me there.

The simple answer is hell yes. The artwork by Niko Henrichon has the look of Disney but with a more realistic animated feel (yes I know that realistic animated may be an oxymoron). This was one of the first times I actually heard myself gasp as I opened the cover. It is just a beautiful book, and the artwork fits the story itself perfectly. The artwork stands out because of the coloring technique, which has the ability to soften the comic and make it more inviting to the eye.

The story is a fictionalized account of what happened in 2003 when a US bomb hit the zoo in Baghdad. Most people comment that it reminds them of The Lion King. I agree only if you think The Lion King is is the greatest political satire ever told. I believe that Simba is an anagram for bias (m) – never mind it doesn’t work and if I would have just returned The Da Vinci Code without watching it I wouldn’t be thinking in anagrams. So back to the story: the lions escape and enter the recently shelled city of Baghdad looking for their next meal and a place to live. But that is something they never find in their concrete jungle. I can’t ruin the end because it is one of those “oh my” moments that needs to be experienced rather than ruined by word of mouth. I have to say that up until the final pages I was a bit disappointed in the story because it was leaning towards the Disney method of storytelling, but Vaughan uses that as a cover to add even more to the end.

I have to say that this novel follows in the tradition of Maus and Animal Farm, using animals to tell the truly meaningful stories of humanity. We leave our guard down when we are just reading about talking animals that feel that socialism is the answer or mice that survive the holocaust. Try this experiment sometime: show someone a video of a dog made to talk that discusses the importance of a prostate exam and then show them the same video but this time it is a middle-aged man. I would bet that the dog would be more effective. Of course that’s just a guess but it’s still an interesting possibility. Pride of Baghdad is really a great way to convey the emotions and ideas of our current hostile conditions and remind the reader of what it is to be human. I bet that sooner rather than later, this novel will be promoted as the next big talking animal political vision. At least you should read it, it is well worth the time.