NOTE: This was originally published in 2015 on my old site. It is reprinted here with slight editing.
I just finally got around to reading Brian Vaughn and Nico Henrichon’s truly amazing, not-for-kids (Lion sex!) semibiographical comic, “Pride of Baghdad,” about a family of lions who escaped Saddam Hussein’s zoo and were later found by U.S. liberating troops. This is not a book for kids — it’s a mature story, and definitely is worth your time and money. Go get it. Seriously.
And it inspired me to think about all the great comics I’ve read with animals as main characters. We tend to think of them as silly books meant for juveniles, but that’s a mischaracterization. A myth. One I hope to dispel today, with this post.
Note: This is not a list of the best animals in comics. It is a list of the best stories–the best books you can buy and read–that feature animals as main characters. It’s not just a list of Krypto and Streaky and all that. It’s a shopping list for future reading…