Iraq 2011: a graphic novel shows an Iraq in chaos.

• Author: Doherty, Brian
• Position: Shooting War - Book review

ONE OF THE grim consolations of political fiction is its ability to show us how things can always get worse, and soon, and in sadly believable ways. That's part of the appeal of the new graphic novel Shooting War, written by the freelance reporter and TV producer Anthony Lappe and drawn by the online comics pioneer Dan Goldman.

Set in 2011, the book is one of the first science fiction stories about the war in Iraq. Like most political fictions, it feels embedded in a viewpoint even if the authors are clever enough not to state their views didactically. And although the world it presents is harrowing, the viewpoint in Shooting War is strangely comforting. The geopolitics of 2011 are pretty screwed up, in ways ranging from monstrous to tasteless; so are the ways in which wars are reported. But a recognizable modern life goes on, with no apocalypse apparently imminent.

The story stars a left-wing video-blogger named Jimmy Burns, who wins media notoriety by accidentally live-vlogging a terrorist attack on a Brooklyn Starbucks (while trying to expose the corporate gentrification of his neighborhood, natch). Flush with fame, Burns is hired by the "Global News Network" to report gonzo-style from Iraq, where the U.S. occupation staggers on with little success and Dan Rather is once again a big media player on the scene.

In an afterword, the authors say they hope their work of "political satire" will evoke a "chuckle." They misread the tone of their own dark and ultimately serious work, unless you think the suitcase-nuking of Bangalore is a knee-slapper. Rather's role is pretty much the only amusing part.

Anyone eager to consume a grim tale of near-future Iraq is likely craving a "we told you so" lesson, but to the work's credit that isn't easy to come by here. You certainly get the impression the authors think the Iraq war was a bad idea, but the novel provides fodder for other conclusions. Part of why things are going so badly in this future might not be inherent in the invasion itself but in President McCain's decision--improbable for those of us familiar with John McCain beyond his fading roseate glow of media affection-to reduce American troops to 10,000 and recruit reformed Ba'athists to fight against jihadists in Iraq.

Guerilla journalists like Burns are even more important in this media world, since no one trusts the Pentagon as an information source after...