Pride of Baghdad is one of those graphic novels that I just "stumbled across" for lack of a better combination of words. Pride of Baghdad is based on the true events of a pride of lions that were released into the city from the Baghdad Zoo during the attack and subsequent invasion of U.S. forces. The graphic novel explains how the pride lived, how they escaped during the bombings and how they tried to survive on the streets of the city.
While the graphic novel is a fictionalized account of the events that occurred, the dynamic between the members of the pride is not only very real but very interesting. Zill is the lion of the pride that has grown comfortable living a life in which everything is provided to him. For this reason, the old lioness, Safa, taunts him for being an incompetent protector. Safa has an ear that's missing a chunk and an eye that is scratched out, both of which occurred, because the male of her pride when she lived in the wild, was unable to protect her. Therefore, Safa likes the safety of the zoo and would never dream of leaving it. The third adult member of the pride is Noor, Zill's current mate and the mother of their cub, Ali. Noor is always trying to find ways to escape from the zoo, believing that the wild is where they belong. Due to her constant schemings, Safa strongly dislikes Noor and argues that Noor would never know how to survive in the wild after such a long time in a cage.
