Joe Sacco in the Iraqi army

Ok, so after I got some peeps saying I should do some reviews, here is review # 1. I had heard that Joe Sacco was in the latest issue of Harpers, an awesome magazine full of great smart articles and the occasional bit of comix lore. Art Spiegelman did a review of the Muhammed cartoons last year, and graded them in a series of bombs out of 4(I think it was 4 but can’t remember the number, just the Bombs). In the latest issue, April 2007, Joe Sacco has a great 16 page strip about the training that the Iraqi National Guard goes through. Its a nice little follow up to his Guardian story last year, Complacency Kills, which was a look at some of the tragedy involved in serving in Iraq for American soldiers loosing themselves and friends. The latest story, follows Sacco’s almost obsession of tragedy in combat. We see a group of Iraqi wanna be soldiers, forced into training, when life in Iraq leaves little options for employment. Sacco aptly removes himslef from direct involvement in the training, but is able to capture the ridiculousness of what two weeks of combat training will get you. He portrays the group of trainees as almost bumbling fools, being trained by a group of muscle bound marines with hearts of stone. The Iraqi trainees having little other options than joining other military movements of a more, extreme context. I am always happy to get a new Joe Sacco story to read, and this is no difference. I am really happy with the magazine, and suggest that any fan of Joe Sacco should be compelled to check it. Who knows when the next Sacco story will be coming out, I know that he is working on a long form about the West Bank, but who knows when that is coming out. May this story hold your anticipation at bay until the next Sacco goody makes it way to the newsstands.

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