War Fix

by Steve Olexa, David Axe

Overview

War can be addictive. So testifies journalist David Axe who’s been there, in the middle of the action in Iraq. The high is potent no matter how much you know how dangerous it is... Here’s Axe’s journal of dealing with his addiction, the high, the sheer excitement of being in there, in the battle, 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 US?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561634637
Publisher:	N B M Publishing Company
Publication date:	06/01/2006
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	16 - 18 Years

Editorial Reviews

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. The book fails to develop its pseudo-autobiographical story enough to let an audience decide whether David is a helpless, innocent geek or a perverted voyeur of bloodshed-or an even more disturbing combination of those roles. Olexa's black and white art is technically proficient, but it lacks the intensity that would make us identify with David's addiction enough to recognize how much we media-saturated readers share it. (June) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

A journalist develops a craving for combat and finesses a gig in Iraq, where he finds himself exhilarated, terrified, and hooked. He meets other men with war in their blood, and he meets still others-dead people-through stories. When he returns, the girlfriend he left behind, Chinese, meets his plane but walks out later when she realizes he will go back. And he does-Axe has gone to Iraq six times. Olexa's shadowed black-and-white art completes and extends Axe's narrative perfectly with irregular, faceted panels that by turns show Axe, what he sees, and what he envisions of the combat, the living, the dying, the dead. Small details are superb: the girlfriend insults David in Chinese characters; her cat plays with the paper wrapping of his cheap-o body armor. Says friend Geoff, "War is about a lot of things but mostly about dying. Short of dying, you've never really known it. All you can do is watch. Just never forget that someday this is going to kill you." Although brief and underdeveloped, War-Fix is essential as background on war and the conflict in Iraq. Violence and some nudity; for older teens and adults.-M.C. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal