Mild spoilers. I have mixed feelings about Battle Born Lapis Lazuli. In many ways Uriarte latest is stunning. The artwork is magnificent. The linework and flow of the panels are elegant, capturing both the intimate moments of camaraderie and violence of battle equally well. A particularly memorable sequence sees a parent lamenting the loss of their child as American soldiers stand by helpless unable to offer comfort. A lot of research went into crafting the story, paying respect to the culture of the people of Afghanistan and to the sacrifice that foreign troops made there. Battle Born is not afraid to show the ugliness of people, the way that war degrades and dehumanises us all. There is a cinematic quality to the landscapes as well as the action sequences. It feels like part-war movie, part-western. It captures both the sense of being trapped by chaotic, unmanageable geopolitics of an unwanted soldier in a country with a rich and complex history and, the frustration of being a hampered by locals who are highly suspicious of any foreign presences.

The main characters all feel like lived-in characters. We get a glimpse of the inner lives of every character that has page time, there are no two-dimensional stereotypes, everyone has an internal driving force that affects the way that they react to the awful conditions that they are put in. Sergeant King, who is our protagonist, is a compelling figure, equal parts stoic and vulnerable, Uritate imbues King’s eyes with a deeply ingrained sadness. King is fierce, intelligent, and, inspires loyalty. Chavez and Forest as sporting characters well-grounded and provide King with a platform for levity and pathos.

Pretty positive so far. Where my problems with the book arise is with its tacit approval of torture and war crimes. I am going to say this three times: Torture does not work. Torture does not work. Torture does not work. There is a sequence in which a prisoner of war is beaten. My reading of the story is that due to high emotions that these actions were justified or understandable. In a tragic book, one of the recurring themes is how we in the West use our “civilised” view of ourselves to justify cruelty to those who aren’t. Maybe Uriate was trying to get across the point that even the best of us can do unjustifiable things. I don’t know. I did find it disturbing. In addition to being morally repugnant, torture does not produce accurate, reliable information. Any story that propagates the myth that it does is lessened in my eyes. There are further war crimes later in the book, but by then, the damage to my experience was already done.

It’s unfortunate that a few pages so marred my enjoyment of the whole. Maybe it’s my regret that the character didn’t take. This is first-class stuff, but I just can’t get on board with some of the messages it puts forward. It deserves to be read and probably read widely.

This is a fast paced and emotional read.

Uriarte excellently captures ups and downs of people and how messy and unpredictable trauma can be. The art is beautiful and is as much a part of the story as the dialogue. I also like that there are sections where Dari isn't translated, giving the book a more realistic feel.

It's a deep and gritty dive into how complicated the US's occupation of Afghanistan is and how people are impacted. Very well written and captivating!

I did not manage to finish reading this one before the publication date and on that I apologise but what I did manage to read and go through I can only describe as very affecting, the art style was wonderful and had quite the cinematic touch to it. Wish I had gotten to the rest of the story! If it is every available digitally I will probably give it a whirl!

'Battle Born: Lapis Lazuli' with story and art by Maximilian Uriarte is a graphic novel set in the recent Afghanistan conflict.

In the Sr-i-sang mountains, Lapis Lazuli is mined. The Taliban's interest in it has made it a conflict mineral. A group of Marines is sent in to the mountain area to stop the Taliban. The Marines make connections with people in the village, but that connection is costly. Now one Marine is faced with a choice between justice and revenge.

This graphic novel reads pretty swiftly because it is mostly wordless or has stretches of characters speaking Arabic. I liked this story of war and the people caught up in it. The art is pretty solid and I liked the details and the silent beauty of the area the story takes place in.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Little, Brown and Company, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

This graphic novel was made to be a movie. It has the strengths of action cinema (a propulsive plot with great combat and fight scenes; pathos; and a theme that grapples with current geopolitical issues through the lives of a platoon of charismatic American soldiers, Taliban terrorists, and the Afghani natives stuck in between) as well as the weaknesses (some of the characters are pretty one note sketches and the ending is relatively expected and sad).

I'll also say that the pdf formatting for the graphic novel was really bad; I had to rotate the screen on my laptop to be able to see the bottom of the pages!

Damn. I guess it takes a former Marine to write and draw a modern day war graphic novel. This is the story of a platoon of Marines sent to a remote region of Afghanistan to stop the Taliban from selling lapis lazuli, now classified as a conflict mineral. It turns into so much more when the sergeant grows a fondness for the people. It's gritty, visceral and full of emotion. I could even look past the long scenes that were untranslated from Arabic. The art is very solid although it can be difficult to distinguish who's who when their gear is on.

I really love this book more than any other that I've read before! I reaply loved this graphic novel!

A gritty, violent story of clashes between American soldiers and foreigners you'd likely see in movies where American soldiers occupy other countries. This centers on a few characters, their costly mistakes, and the ultimate sense of loss and helplessness associated with war.

Battle Born is rightly called cinematic. It is well drawn and a fine example of the graphic novel medium from Maximilian Uriarte. This book ranks as yet another work that shows the power graphic novels hold in telling visual stories and acts as a counternarrative to their assumed simplicity.

Wow.

Just wow. I downloaded this, and read it in one sitting, thinking I would just take one look at it, to see how it was. I usually don’t like stories set during war times, but the people were so interesting and distinct, and full of life, I had to know what would happen. I even pushed on when the Arabic wasn’t translated, because I figured we would know what was being said at one point.

War stories are gruesome. there is nothing that can be done about that, no matter when they take place, or who is fighting. There are rules, to be sure, but sometimes you don’t obey the rules, and it might be justified, but probably it isn’t.

All this to say that this graphic novel pulls you along, even if you are not into violence, or war stories, or any of those things.

Very violent. Lots of swearing. But, the author was also in the marines, so I’m sure he knows how they talk.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Wow. This was a visceral and stunning war story in a modern setting. Disclaimer that there is graphic violence and language, as you'd expect from such a scenario. Read it in one sitting and have already recommended to others.