Shooting War [Hardcover]

Anthony Lappe (Author), Dan Goldman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 14, 2007

The global war on terror is raging out of control. The president is popping Prozac. And the #1 selling videogame in 2011 America is the terrorist-simulator Infidel Massacre: Los Angeles. On the streets of gentrified Brooklyn, videoblogger Jimmy Burns' latest anti-corporate rant is cut short by a terrorist bombing of a Starbucks...but his live feed isn't. When his dramatic footage is uploaded by Global News ("Your home for 24-hour terror coverage") and rebroadcast across the planet, the obscure blogger is transformed into an overnight media sensation. The next thing he knows he's on a Black Hawk helicopter inbound for Baghdad, working for the same mainstream media monster he once loathed. Burns soon finds that everyone from his ratings-ravenous network overlords to Special Ops troops with messianic complexes to a charismatic band of tech-savvy jihadists all want to make him their pawn.

Shooting War is an irreverent and unflinching graphic novel satirizing network news, the Iraq War, and the burgeoning "citizen journalism" movement that Rolling Stone magazine calls "a scary-smart take on what the horrors of the future may hold."

"Fierce, shocking, over-the-top, and wickedly smart." -New York Magazine



"Ambitious...A determined citizen journalist (and overnight celebrity) infuriated by the mainstream media's indifference to the endless war, Burns aims to bring home the facts on the ground." -Paper

"This is a winner...the Apocalypse Now of the War on Terrorism, told in the form of a brilliantly rendered graphic novel." -Forbes.com

"A stunningly rendered graphic novel that manages to stick a red-hot skewer the war on terror, Islamic jihad, the mainstream media and the antiestablishment blogosphere in one fell swoop." -Newsweek.com

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. A scathing near-future satire of the Iraqi occupation that rings with eerie plausibility, this Web comic-to-print hardcover collection follows a cocky young journalist named Jimmy Burns, who finds himself video-blogging across the front lines of Iraq in the year 2011. An accidental Internet celebrity transplanted suddenly to the Baghdad battlefields, Jimmy quickly progresses from arrogant to regretful, then jaded—in short, he is America in Iraq. As the world slowly disintegrates around him, Jimmy finds himself caught between the competing agendas of Muslim insurgents, the American military and a sensational cable news network as they all clamor for blood on the battlefields. Journalist and first-time graphic novelist Lappé takes obvious delight in skewering all three with a whip-smart, left-leaning indictment of both American media and foreign policy that offers little hope and fewer heroes. The bleak prognostications are cut with black humor and a penchant for explosions that keep the narrative moving. The collection adds 110 pages of new content to the Web version, and Goldman's art, a cinematic blend of photography and digital painting, is framed in widescreen panels that lend an air of video documentary to a grim graphic novel that manages to make media—and the truth—seem more fluid than ever. (Nov.)
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Review

"A scathing near-future satire of the Iraqi occupation that rings with eerie plausibility...The bleak prognostications are cut with black humor and a penchant for explosions that keep the narrative moving." (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )

"Astute, timely, entertaining...Predicts, in dramatic terms, the logical evolution of the war. Pundits say there's no good outcome. This book illustrates what that looks like." (Penthouse )

"Sharp, relevant and timely...It's, dare I say it, a webcomic for the rest of us." (The Beat Heidi MacDonald )

"The light-handed but searing political satire of SHOOTING WAR is taking the Sunday comic strip places it could never have gone before." (Village Voice Julian Dibbell )

"A scary-smart take on what the horrors of the future may hold." (Rolling Stone )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; First Edition edition (November 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446581208
• ISBN-13: 978-0446581202
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,255,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This graphic novel kicks butt! November 20, 2007

By Robert

Format:Hardcover

Length: 0:28 Mins

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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Political Satire & Very Human Coming of Age Story November 5, 2007

By Mel Odom TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Although the author and illustrator say their graphic novel is a political satire that extrapolates current events regarding the Iraqi War, the Mexican immigration issue, and emerging technology as well as a healthy dose of politics, SHOOTING WAR is also a wonderfully compelling read. I was blown away by the storyline, the art, and the voice that comes from the material. I was also completely surprised by the appearance of news anchor Dan Rather and his hefty part in the graphic novel's plot and action.

Lappe and Goldman obviously know their material and believe in their message. They don't hold back and reach out viciously to grab the reader by the hair of the head and drag them through the harsh world they've created. I'd read a preview of the graphic novel almost three months ago, but even that failed to prepare me for the emotional and thought-provoking odyssey I was embarking on when I first began to turn pages.

The book actually started out as an on-line comic. Lappe had written a nonfiction book, TRUE LIES, with Stephen Marshall that focused on the disservice they believe the media is doing to the American people. Lappe is also the executive editor of GNN (Guerilla News Network), has written for a number of magazines and other media, and was the producer of the Showtime documentary about Iraq: BATTLEGROUND: 21 DAYS ON THE EMPIRE'S EDGE.

Goldman writes and draws the strip, KELLY, for [...] and co-authored the graphic novel, EVERYMAN: BE THE PEOPLE. His art is the result of a mixed media effort.

I liked the character of Jimmy Burns from the opening pages. He's just a big kid with a new toy, a wireless camera that allows him to video-blog from anywhere there's an internet connection.... I liked his innocence, but I knew it was going to be blown out like a candle flame before the story ran its course.

In just the first few pages, Jimmy happens to be on-hand in front of a Starbucks (and you have to love the way iconic features of today's popular culture are used and destroyed in the book) where a terrorist bomb explodes. The building, including Jimmy's apartment, is destroyed and several people are killed. Almost overcome by the horror around him, Jimmy keeps talking into the video camera. But I got the impression that it was because he was freaked and wanted to share what was going on with someone else more than just to present a breaking news story.

Jimmy's transmission gets seized by a local network and pumped into an international grid where the world watches. In just a couple of pages, Jimmy gets hired by Global News, the television station that hijacked his video upload, as a troubleshooter, a reporter who's going to be in the middle of all the world's hotspots.

Before Jimmy knows it, he's launched into the middle of the Iraqi War. Since, in the book, it's the year 2011, there are a lot of changes. Sadly, which is one of the messages of the book, many things remain the same.

Goldman's art is beautiful. He overlays comics-style drawing over real photographs of places and events. The explosions are frozen, destructive poetry that draw the eye. The faces, though loosely drawn, convey strong emotions. He uses color like a weapon, subtle when he wants to stay out of the way of the reader and a barrage of attacks when he moves into a full assault on the reader's senses.

In addition to writing a terrific plot that's ripped from today's headlines and giving us characters we all know and understand, Lappe also designs link titles for Jimmy's webpage and magazine covers that are hilarious! Check out: Tom Cruise and Mary-Kate Olsen Call It Quits and let your imagination run wild.

Even though the grim material is salted with humor, Lappe and Goldman never step completely out of the darkness. The execution of a "traitor" at the hands of Abu Adallah and the Sword of Mohammed is horribly bloody business, callous and cruel.

Another aspect I truly enjoyed about the book was the use of technology. It's not going to go away and it will continue to change our lives on a daily basis in small and large ways. SHOOTING WAR uses the emerging tech constantly, whether it's on the handheld camera Jimmy uses or the PDAs or wallscreens on the sides of buildings. The military hardware also gets a lot of play, the older stuff as well as the newer defensive and offensive hardware.

One of the best examples of the emerging technology is the image of the recon and search and rescue teams. The blue faceplate glows and looks like a cross, making them look like instruments of some divine justice.

The authors are merciless in their views on the war. They bring in a lot of information about other freedom leaders, and point out when the United States aligned themselves with those leaders and when they didn't. Again, all of this information came from today's and recent headlines.

The scene where the United States soldiers get attacked and inadvertently shoot and kill a small boy is heart-wrenching to read. You can't read stuff like this and not think of what's going on over in the war. Innocents (and innocence) are being lost on both sides, and you can understand why people who would normally not take issue with occupying forces or domestic rebels, but how they are sometimes forced to.

I loved Dan Rather's presence in the book, and I have to wonder how the authors and publisher got him to agree to be presented with such a strong opinion on the war and the presidency. The line between fiction and non-fiction, reality and possibility, is definitely blurred at this point, and during several others.

SHOOTING WAR has a definite slant on the war and the American presidency, as well as politics. A lot of people aren't going to agree with everything in this book. That's all right. I feel the authors were really provoking their readers into at least thinking something, and feeling it as well.

And if you decide to leave politics out of the entertainment, I feel you'll be thrilled with the story that's drawn, rendered, and written so eloquently between the pages. SHOOTING HERO is a terrific read with enough tension to keep you nailed to the pages till you finish. Even without the political statements, readers are going to feel the rush of fear, the despair of failure, and the allure of triumph. Read more ›

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Innovative and edgy - makes a great xmas gift! December 12, 2007

By Lara Vaidya

Format:Hardcover

Shiny, pretty, without too many words, Shooting War takes a look at the war, at our media, at the corporate take over of our country without taking itself too seriously. Hiding behind animation, Shooting War is able to face, head on, the brutality of the war without any danger of becoming a sensationalistic blood fest.

Makes a great gift for any socially active person!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars An uneven satire of the Iraq War March 1, 2008

By Ethan Jennings

Format:Hardcover

Shooting War is an interesting, horrifying and superbly flawed work that envisions the Iraq War in the near future.

The story sees smartass liberal blogger Jimmy Burns, an angry twenty-something who accidentally films a suicide bombing in New York, recruited by the exploitive, exhibitionist Global News and sent to document the Iraq War. It's now 2011, with McCain in the White House and Iraq even worse-off than it is now, and Jimmy soon finds himself embroiled in a battle between a group of chic Marxist jihadists and a US army group led by a brutal, possibly insane war hero. Oh, and Dan Rather is in there, too.

The art is a mix of stylized drawings and what appear to be real pictures, and sometimes can be quite striking. The group of US soldiers, and their leader, "Colonel Crash," are most noteworthy, and it does a good job of depicting the havoc and chaos of this brutal war. It's not my favorite art ever, and I'm not sure it would've worked in a different book, where the frenetic and sometimes sloppy-looking style didn't serve the story, but it suits Shooting War fine.

The book also does a good job of characterizing its major players. Jimmy Burns is appropriately conflicted, going from an overconfident yuppie to a despondent and hopelessly depressed kid realizing how far in over his head he is to something of wiser veteran journalist by the end. That last transformation comes a little abruptly, and his story arch is a fairly typical coming-of-age type story, but once again, it's done well-enough. If the piece has true villains, they'd be Colonel Crash, an evangelical extremist and a brutal war criminal, and the leader of the jihadist group Sword of Mohammed, who styles himself as a twenty-first century Che Guevera, beret and all.... I was particularly pleased by the characterization of these two characters; both are shown to have admirable qualities (Che-clone has some good ideas about bringing Islam out of the dark ages and ending Western exploitation, while Crash has something of a sense of honor to him) to counter the monstrous crimes they commit. The book certainly doesn't allow the reader an easy judgment as to right and wrong in this case.

Ultimately, the portrayal of the brutal chaos of Iraq is the highest point of the book; whether or not it is a strictly realistic picture of Iraq in 2011, I cannot rightly say, but it does an excellent job of portraying a nation torn apart by war--and as we know, we won't have to wait till 2011 for that situation to be true in Iraq. Frankly, though I recognized many of the elements of the book to be satirical, I often couldn't laugh; the thing is just too dark, too horrific. And I can't imagine that's not the point--you should be horrified at what has been wrought in that country, what is happening there right now. Shooting War succeeds on the front of stirring rage in its reader at the suffering of all the innocent victims of this war.

The pointed portrayal of American mass media also hits home; here, the book is at its most satirical, with the bloodthirsty Global News but also with familiar companies like CNN being blasted for their raw exploitation and manipulation of their viewers. Dan Rather makes several appearances as a hero and mentor of sorts to Jimmy, being one of the few American journalists left in Baghdad, and provides most of the book's comic relief.

Where the book falters is, I think, in the details. The dialogue is often stiff and stilted; characters soapbox and make speeches a great deal, and many interactions are fairly awkward or heavy-handed. And though I generally agree with the book's politics, I hate how it crams them down your throat with a wooden stick. A bit more subtlety and a bit less preaching would've done the book a lot of good. The plot also tends to meander, taking lots of dead-end birdwalks before returning to the main story; this could've been an interesting approach to showing other aspects of Iraqi culture in the war, but they mostly just mess up the pacing. And the portrayal of the Iraqi communists, mentioned by another reviewer, is kind of ridiculous, the book's only truly absurd scene.

So that's Shooting War--dark, horrifying, bitingly sarcastic, uneven, and preachy. The book's flaws disappoint me--with tighter writing, it could easily have been a masterpiece. I still wholeheartedly recommend it; I think it's worth it to anyone to read. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Shooting War kicks butt!!! December 19, 2007

By Solomon G.

Format:Hardcover

This savvy look at the all-too-proximate future couldn't be smarter or more gripping. It holds up a mirror to our own times and beams back an absurd apocalypse. It's a beautiful hardcover coffee table accoutrement. The pictures are amazingly vibrant. A great conversation starter.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sign of the Times December 12, 2007

By Courtney McLean

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Lappe & Goldman's "Shooting War" is a fast-paced, gorgeously illustrated rollercoaster ride through a predicted future of the state of war in the Middle East. The hypothesis is that the conflict won't be over by 2011 (of course, it has been going on, "with or without" the USA for decades) and a video-blogger, Jimmy Burns, gets his big break with a very "lucky" live feed of the explosive destruction of a local Starbucks. We follow Burns, a limelight-chasing media newbie, in his quick rise to fame to the warzone in the Middle East itself. His experiences prove that life doesn't just exist through the lens, but that it's happening all around him and TO him, but he is there to do a job, hence the only way he is permitted to survive in such a volatile place is by way of his camera. Lappe's story gets a little confusing at times, but moves very quickly and is chock-full of warning. But it's Goldman's illustrations that are the star of the show, mixing real photography and digital drawings on two-page spreads that make one look away due to the occasional gore. It's a beautifully executed book and well worth the small price.