War-Fix HC Axe Olexa David Axe NBM NM 1st print

Description

War Fix HC 1ST
Published May 2006 by NBM
1st printing
Written by David Axe
Art by Steve Olexa

War can be addictive. So testifies journalist David Axe, who’s been there, in the middle of the action in Iraq, and the high is potent no matter how dangerous you know it is. Here’s Axe’s journal about dealing with his addiction; the high, the sheer excitement of being in there, in the battle… And the cost to his life, never mind the threat. A new form of visceral, self-analyzing comics journalism starts with this book… An allegory for the U.S.? A graphic novel sure to fascinate, with a talented new artist to watch!

Hardcover, 6-in x 9-in, 96 pages, B&W. Cover price $15.95.

When smalltown newspaper journalist David begs an assignment to Iraq, he’s supposed to be covering the national elections; actually, he’s attracted by the persistent threat of carnage and an urge to get close to violent death. David doesn’t want to take part in any battles personally, but he can’t stop watching as car bombs explode and bullets punch through bodies. As the title suggests, war can be an addictive drug, and there are people who will take any risk for a fix. Axe himself is a freelance newspaper writer who has been to Iraq six times, so his firsthand observations of episodes in combat are fresh and vivid. Beyond his role as observer, however, David remains a cipher, like most of the characters here.

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.”

Near mint, 1st print,