484 PRIDE OF BAGHDAD
self-made man; he educated himself from the public library and lives by his wits and
the skills he learned “back home” from Jody—riding, shooting, and mechanical skills.
Although a man of the cloth, Jesse’s idols are his father and John Wayne, who appears
periodically as a manifestation of Jesse’s conscience. However, characters such as Amy
and Tulip provide a far stronger female presence than is typical of the traditional
Western. Th e series ranges from the bayous of Mississippi to the Grand Canyon and
the deserts of Arizona, from New York to San Francisco, and culminates at the Alamo.
Th ough an Irish writer, Garth Ennis writes like a patriotic American, and he seems
to forgive America’s faults because of its deeply ingrained belief in the ability to start
over—though it is also the case that many of the most sinister forces in the series are
distinctively American.
Preacher also further explores the disdain for religion Ennis expressed in his earlier
original eff orts Troubled Souls (1989) and For a Few Troubles More (1990), exploring
the fallout of the early 20th-century Protestant-Catholic confl ict in Ireland. From the
millennial Grail, to the evil Marie L’Angelle, to a God who deserts his creation, every
religious organization or fi gure depicted in Preacher is self-serving and power-seeking,
and the series ultimately calls for America to desert the religion it no longer needs.
Preacher won two Eisner Awards , in 1998 and 2001 respectively. It also won Ennis
the Comics Buyer’s Guide Award for “Favorite Writer” fi ve years running, from 1997
through 2001, and was nominated for a host of Eagle Awards in 1999, winning for
“Favourite Colour Comic Book.”
Selected Bibliography: Ennis, Garth. Preacher. New York: DC Comics, 1995–2000;
Slotkin, Richard. Gunfi ghter Nation: Th e Myth of the Frontier in Twentieth-Century
America. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998.
Grant Bain
PRIDE OF BAGHDAD is a graphic novel released in September, 2006, by DC -Vertigo,
written by Brian K. Vaughan ( Ex Machina , Runaways , Y: Th e Last Man ) with art
by Niko Henrichon ( Barnum! ). Th e story revolves around a pride of four lions living
in the Baghdad Zoo at the time of the 2003 U.S. invasion on Iraq. After the zoo is
bombed, they escape into the war-torn streets of Baghdad. Th roughout their travels,
they encounter other animals both friendly and antagonistic who introduce them to
the world outside the zoo; but before they escape the city, they are shot down by U.S.
Armed Forces. Th e concept was inspired by actual news reports of lions escaping from
the zoo and roaming Baghdad until killed by U.S. forces. Vaughan fi ctionalizes the lions’
internal experience as a means to engage in conversation about the invasion of Baghdad
and the Iraq War.
Th e escaped lions include three adults: Zill, the alpha male who slides back and forth
from being reasonable to being violent; Safa, a wounded elderly lioness who still main-
tains matriarchal infl uence, despite her acceptance of being caged; and Noor, primary
partner to Zill and romantic about life in wild. Th ey are joined by Ali, Noor’s cub, who
