They're not so much characters or people as names. There's no real story, just lots of disconnected anecdotes with the underlying subtext of Russia + war = bad which is banal to say the least. It critiques the UN/America for their part in this conflict but only briefly - it's mostly a criticism of Russia and its behaviour, which is fair, but lacks nuance in explaining the war. Generally I was left without a strong, lasting impression and the repetitiveness of the misery gets depressing quite quickly.

Joining Nora Krug’s Diaries of War:Two Visual Accounts fro Ukraine and Russia, Igort’s How War Begins depicts the first 98 days and historical background of Russia’s 2022 invasion of the Ukraine.

First published serially on Facebook, Igort adapts telephone testimonials from Ukraine into graphic narratives. We follow some individuals through the whole time span, while others we hear brief single accounts, or sections focused on specific regions or cities. Through it all the focus is primarily on the Ukrainians, with some sections on the Russian soldiers or mercenaries. It is unflinching in it’s coverage, detailing the rape, pillage and destruction or the mental strain of living under constant threat of death.

The book both begins and ends with the phrase “Every war is a dirty war. Nothing epic, no glory; only misery.” And from their begins in February 2022, with invaders crossing the border and normal life becoming the ‘before.’ Page 25 begins detailing the history of Putin’s aggression and invasions of Chechnya and the 2014 ‘secret’ invasion of Ukraine. From their we move day to day through the invasion checking in with some, and seeing the toll of war. With other explanatory sections, such as the part that begins on page 74 about the 1932-33 Ukraine Famine caused by Stalin.

How War Begins is less concerned with the traditional panel structure of comics, instead pages may have many or few panels, or galleries of black and white snapshots. Colors and images range from photo realistic to cartoon stylings. All the artwork is inspired directly by the textual content emphasizing its points, with occasional actual photos.

Igort’s How War Begins moves from vignette to vignette showing the horrors of war on the individuals with no clear conclusion as it centers on an ongoing war. An important depiction of primary accounts from the Ukrainian Russian war.

It was a pretty triggering book, but it was a very informative and amazing book. It showed us how people can be monsters during war, as well as show signs of kindness. It shows the human nature in all it’s nakedness

Thanks to Net Galley, Fantagraphics and Igort for the early look at this March 2024 release. I had previously read Igort's Five is the Perfect Number and his Japanese Notebooks, and read into his Ukraine and Russian Notebooks based on his time interviewing people there in 2008 and 2009. This work, How War Begins, is a continuation of his important comics journalism on Ukraine and the ongoing Russian invasion/occupation. The work is based on his telephone interviews with Ukrainians, comics journalism indicting Putin and his Russian conscripts for an illegal takeover and various horrific atrocities. Much of the work was done in real time, posting online, now collected

The work tacks back and forth between clear and concise and useful historical background/frameworks (the intellectual goods) and powerful individual stories (to punctuate the emotional impact). Sometimes jarring disjunction between somewhat lighter, more cartoony images and sharply realistic drawing, but you can't much fault the iconic, seasoned cartoonist. Great, powerful, comics journalism. Highly recommended! Support Ukraine! Something approximating world peace depends on it.

#NetGalleyARC This was an interesting and informative read. I don’t know much about the history of this area so this story was insightful. Using the graphic novel form to educate about such a difficult and important topic is always helpful and great.

This is such an incredible collection.

Starting from the day the Russians began their invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Igort takes us through the journey of how the lives of regular Ukrainians and how their lives changed over night. With stunning visuals, moving descriptions of war, loss and destruction, novels like this have never been more important. I find this all pretty self explanatory so far.

But my criticism is that this book has no “flow”. It sways continuously between cartoon style dialogue, art without any dialogue where the story is told through pictures rather than by words (not sure what the official word for that is), photos with a short description, and long bulky paragraphs. Individuality, these are all great ways of storytelling. But when it’s in a constant mix, one to the other constantly, the book seems incredibly disconnected, and unsatisfying to read, having to go from looking at some moving pictures to reading a page long paragraph is quite unusual. If the target audience was graphic novel readers, which is great because many of us love reading non fiction graphic novels, this is too bulky and incoherent. If the target audiences was non fiction novel readers, I’m not sure if this book would appeal to most of them, either. So I’m quite confused as to who this book was written for and what type of book it actually is.

I’d rate this about 3.5 stars, but I’ve put it as 4 because I genuinely believe this book still holds a powerful message and is a record of history to ways be remembered.

Interesting and educational story about the war in Ukraine interwoven with a history lesson. Not much dialogue in a comic form but story narration accompanied by art.

In "The Ukrainian Notebooks - Memories from the USSR", an album-reportage published in 2010 in Italian and translated into English in 2016, Igort transcribed the history of a lesser-known genocide through survivors' testimonies, Soviet archive records and personal impressions: the Holodomor, Stalin's extermination of millions of Ukrainians by deliberate starvation. At the time, despite a veritable rollercoaster of political relations between Ukraine and Russia (at times relaxed, at times tense, especially after Ukraine declared its intention to join NATO in 2008) Holodomor was the latest historical episode in Russian aggression towards its south-western neighbour.

Two years later, in 2012, Igort published “The Russian Notebooks”, a shocking documentary about Anna Politkovskaya, Stanislav Makerlov and the serial killings of those brave or unaware enough to oppose the regime.

Now, in 2023, Igort returns with what is perhaps the most shocking album in the series, once again transcribing the testimonies of survivors. Only the testimonies are simultaneous with the events, and the war affects him directly: Igort lived in Ukraine, his wife is Ukrainian, he was brought up in awe of the great classical Russian culture, and the people he talks to are his friends, relatives and acquaintances.

It's not a perfect book - it's a kaleidoscope of emotions, at once war diary, collection of personal messages and miscellaneous facts, recapitulation of Russia's aggression against the republics of the former USSR, inventory of atrocities and survival guide. But it is a necessary book, forcing you to look reality in the face, without mincing words, a book full of real heroes, known and unknown, who discover unsuspected strength in the whirlwind of war. Even if, as Igort says, "Every war is a dirty war. Nothing epic, no glory, only misery." The words of ordinary people convey this message better than all the propaganda...

Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. This didn't influence my opinion in any way.