War Haiku

Rating:
Summary: AARON SETTLE
Review: There have been comic accounts of several wars, but up until now there hasn't been one of the war in Iraq. That changes with War Haiku the original graphic novel recounting the experiences of medical officer Geoff Edwards as he leaves Tennessee for Kuwait in February 2003. Edwards sent his thoughts back to his friend David who in turn got writer Wilmer McLean and artist Jonathan Hughes to adapt Geoff's poems, postcards and letters into this first comic memoir of the war in Iraq.

Rating:
Summary: FROM EAST BAY EXPRESS
Review: You've read comic books about war (Maus). You've read poetry about war (The Iliad and the works of Wilfred Owen). You've heard jokes about war (Q. How many Vietnam veterans does it take to screw in a lightbulb? A. You wouldn't know, man, you weren't there!) and revelations about war (it's hell). But never before have all these disparate realms been tied together in a single package. Deployed to Kuwait and then Iraq last spring, infantryman Edwards wrote postcards home, which were adapted and transformed into this brief but biting graphic novel by journalist McLean and artist Hughes. Edwards is a contemplative soldier who describes Operation Iraqi Freedom with all the grim perceptiveness ("One man's bloodthirsty killer is another man's best friend"), irony ("These Iraqis are good little capitalists"), frank terror ("I've never been more scared"), and gallows humor ("We had four scud alerts today. But things are calm. All these capitulations are putting us in a good mood") of someone who was -- well, who was there. What does a soldier really see in Iraq? Blood, sand, and self-important embedded journalists. No pat answers here, no knee-jerking. In a quiet way, it's explosive.