War Fix

This quirky B & W comic follows a period in the life of David, a young news reporter. Since childhood, he has watched war reporting with a blank fascination. Then, as an adult, he asks his editor to be assigned to Iraq, to be embedded with the soldiers at the war's front line. This request seems to arise from nowhere, like a spur of the moment decision to change every fact of his life, an upheaval without reason or, as far as his girlfriend knows, context. That dramatic blankness works for me - how well can we really know another person, after all? The reminder of the human unknown, even when so close at hand, works well for me, and continues to work throughout this story. (For some reason, other readers complain that their entitlement to the inner workings of his mind have not been fulfilled. What a curious point of view.) War is hell. Olexa's stark imagery conveys that throughout, exploring many of the kinds of wartime damnation that people bring on others and on themselves. More that just the scenes of war, Olexa explores some of the personalities within it: the professional warfighter, borderline psychotic with a gun, grunt who really doesn't want to be there, and lifelong war correspond who couldn't imagine being anywhere else. These characters appear almost like suits of clothes being modeled for David, to see which fits him best. We never see a response in David's eyes, though - his glasses give whiteout opacity, reminding us always of how little we know the man or what moves him. Then, with equally blank logic or illogic, David's overseas stint ends. He returns to his girlfriend, or at least his body does. Something, we can't see what, has changed, though, and she leaves. Her parting note ends with the words "... if you find what you're looking for, it's your own damned fault." -- wiredweird

Before you get excited, realize that this is a graphic novel, not a military action nonfiction piece. As such, it's a striking representation in black and white pictures of journalist David Axe's journey to Baghdad and war, using artwork to describe an addiction to war's excitement. Axe's written on Iraq for other top publications; War Fix is far more than journalistic reporting and provides striking images to capture experience.