When I was a kid, I always heard that comics couldn’t tell real stories, they were just roided out guys in tights punching their way to justice, then of course we all know about the ’90s comic revolution and the rest was history. Today, stories of guys in tights ride the comic shop shelves with stories that could easily be compared to literature and one of those instant American Lit. classics is The Sheriff of Babylon.
After reviewing the first issue, it was as if I always heard, “That’s just happening really to people,” as if it was a galaxy away, not something tangible that could occur anywhere. What are considered foreign concepts are very real to me and my life. It is hauntingly accurate in how Tom King and Mitch Gerads have tapped into the Middle Eastern mindset and are trying to make sense to a Western audience what easily did happen with the loss of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
It was surprising they named my people by name…Assyrian. We still exist and the the character of Nassir made it clear how Arabs feel about the indigenous population. However, kissing feet isn’t really our thing, being sodomized by society and ignored by the rest of the world, well we can thank England for that.
Personal politics aside, the story is still raw. The “Hajji” comment made by the protagonist, Chris, was a little out of place because that is a common reference made towards Indians, not us, but I can see certain people wouldn’t care to make the distinction.
The factions in this work of fiction are real, Assyrian, Kurd, Arab, Shia, Sunni, all of it. Political Science courses should use The Sheriff of Babylon to help explain the conflict within the region, and what took place in Iraq 10 years ago is going on today in Syria. The narrative hasn’t changed, only the location.
The Sheriff of Babylon is a phenom that will be referenced for decades to come. You can buy your copy at comic shops and online today.
