Quaderni ucraini. Diario di un'invasione

Quaderni Ucraini #2

by Igort (Contributor)

Il racconto in diretta dell’aggressione dell’Ucraina da parte della Russia di Putin, testimonia, giorno per giorno, attraverso la viva voce dei civili, la vita sotto i bombardamenti, nelle città assediate. Forte di una rete di testimoni sul campo, costruita nel tempo a partire dal soggiorno di due anni in quel Paese, Igort registra quotidianamente decine di telefonate, che raccontano la vita di stenti e privazioni della popolazione, l’evacuazione obbligata, la ricerca disperata dei parenti, del cibo, dell’acqua. Ne deriva un affresco desolante e umanissimo in cui anche il sale o il pane sono beni indispensabili per ritrovare una parvenza di umanità, di normalità. Dopo aver raccontato, nei Quaderni ucraini - best seller pluripremiato, pubblicato in tutta Europa, Stati Uniti e Asia - le radici di questo conflitto, Igort ritorna a scrivere dell’Ucraina per dare voce a chi solitamente rimane inascoltato, l’uomo comune che vive e soffre le conseguenze di una guerra insensata e brutale. “Quaderni ucraini 2. Diario di un’invasione” registra dal basso l’incedere apparentemente inarrestabile di una guerra fratricida. La resistenza ucraina, la superiorità militare della Russia, la determinazione di un popolo che soffre ma non cede. Speranza, disillusione, orgoglio e solidarietà costruiscono la struttura drammatica ed emotiva di questo secondo volume.

Genres: Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, Comics, History, War, Politics, Russia

168 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2022

About the author

Igort is an Italian illustrator, comic book artist, writer, publisher, film director and musician. He is considered a key figure in the development of European graphic novels.
Igor Tuveri was born in 1958 in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. At age 20 Tuveri moved to Bologne and started publishing comics with the pen name Igort. His early works appeared in 'Linus', a famous Italian comic magazine aimed at an adult readership, of which Igort himself will become editor-in-chief in the 2000's.
In the 80's Igort founded the independent magazines 'Il Pinguino' and 'Dolce Vita' with fellow cartoonists from the so-called 'Valvoline' collective. The collective included artists Daniele Brolli, Roberto Baldazzini, Lorenzo Mattotti, Giorgio Carpinteri, as well as American cartoonist Charles Burns. Igort's works from this period include Goodbye Baobab (1982), a story set in Japan in the 40s and co-created with Daniele Brolli, and Ishiki no kashi - Il letargo dei sentimenti (1984), a comic taking place in a futuristic version of Japan.
Igort is also one of the first Western authors to have worked in the Japanese manga industry, most notably with the series Yuri (1996) for Kōdansha.
In 2000, Igort founded his own publishing house, Coconino Press. The publisher played an important role in the development of the 'graphic novel movement' in Italy, releasing new works by national and international authors, as well as classic works by cartoonist like Jacques Tardi, Daniel Clowes, Adrian Tomine, Chris Ware, Will Eisner, and so on. In 2017 Igort left Coconino to found a new publishing house, called Oblomov Press.
Between 2008 and 2009, Igort travelled through the Ukraine, Russia and Siberia, carrying out research for the books Quaderni Ucraini (2010, Ukrainian Notebooks) and Quaderni Russi (2011, Russian Notebooks). Together with the two volumes of Quaderni Giapponesi (2015-2017, Japanese Notebooks), these form a trilogy of illustration travel notebooks.
In 2019, Igort directed the live action film adaptation of his most famous graphic novel, 5 is the Perfect Number (2002), starring actors Toni Servillo and Valeria Golino.
Besides drawing, writing, publishing and occasionally working in cinema, Igort has also been a life long musician. Since 2022 he hosts a Youtube Channel on the medium of comics, called 'lezionidifumetto·it'.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Netanella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Igort is an Italian cartoonist of Russian descent, married to a Ukrainian. When Putin invaded Ukraine at the end of February 2022, Igort began to chronicle the stories of Ukrainians in real time, recording their testimonies via telephone or social media in real time. Story boards and illustrations quickly followed. Igort has interwoven past events, such as the Stalinist era starvation campaign against Ukrainians known as the Holodomor, or the more recent 2014 invasion and annexation of Crimea. The result is a testament to the struggles of the Ukrainian people, who have stood up to the aggressive and militaristic expansionist Russian machine.

This was a difficult book to read. It hurt my heart. I know Ukrainian refugees here in Florida, and I struggled to understand how something like this could have happened. It is not my plight, but I share the sorrow, and empathize with the suffering of Ukraine. It is imperative that the world knows and understands and stands up to dictators, around the world, where ever and whom ever they may be.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Harrowing" is the word that suits this intense graphic memoir that shows, in devastating accounts, what happens to everyday people and their lives when powerful men make decisions from the comfort of their war rooms.

What makes HOW WAR BEGINS even more disturbing is that this isn't a historical account, comfortably shielded in the past, but relates things happening at this very moment.

[GONZA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erano persone normali, come noi, le cui storie non sarebbero mai state conosciute, se non fosse per una guerra assurda e ingiustificabile.
Leggere questa graphic novel mi ha causato del dolore fisico, ho somatizzato un tale livello di ansia che pensavo mi sarebbe venuto un infarto.

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Igort was publishing these comic strips in real time. It explores not just the current war but traces it back to the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014 as well as more in depth exploration of Putin's Russia.

I really appreciated the backstory and it was quite enlightening.

The current events are very harrowing. Igort breaks through the politics and propaganda to bring us real stories from the ground level.

[Lorenzo Coltellacci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crudo e spietato, eppure raccontato con tutta le delicatezza e il rispetto di un reportage. Sembra di ascoltarle veramente, queste storie, e non solo di leggerle. Si sente il freddo, la fame, il destino inesplicabile di vite così lontane da noi, ma che Igort ha saputo portare qui, tra le nostre mani, con disegni tanto funzionali quanto essenziali, senza fronzoli, senza retorica, senza pietismo.

Un prologo inevitabile che ci racconta tanto della storia moderna, attraverso il passato.

[Michael Reiter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aus mitteleuropäischer Sicht hat man sich fast schon an die täglichen Meldungen aus der Ukraine gewöhnt. Das darf nicht sein. Diese Graphic Novel erschüttert und hilft gegen das Abstumpfen. Große Empfehlung.

[Lia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Igort: "Mi chiamo Igor, sono italiano, Igor è il mio vero nome, un nome russo. I miei erano innamorati della cultura russa, della letteratura russa, della musica russa. Sono cresciuto ascoltando i racconti dei grandi scrittori dalla voce di mia nonna, prima ancora che io stesso imparassi a leggere... I grandi scrittori erano come zii di una famiglia numerosa, che scandagliava l'animo umano nei suoi anfratti più nascosti. Ricordo la luce negli occhi ammirati di mia nonna. Loro erano i maestri, che ti insegnavano a capire chi siamo. Empatizzavo per quello sguardo severo, o ironico, lieve o abissale, che ti portava a guardare alle cose degli uomini con indulgenza e comprensione. Gogol' descriveva, prima di Kafka, qualcosa che con gli anni avrei cominciato a capire, anzi, meglio, a esperire, frequentando quelle terre. La follia di certe meccaniche di pensiero che andavano esplorate, eccome, raccontate, senza sconti, senza risparmiarsi immersioni nell'oceano del grottesco. Il grottesco della grande madre Russia ha generato modalità, pratiche, visioni che hanno sempre lasciato gli occidentali sgomenti. Senza strumenti di comprensione. Quella mentalità contorta e compiaciuta che Kapuscinski chiamava "pantano". O che Churchill definiva con queste parole: un indovinello, avvolto in un mistero all'interno di un enigma. Oggi tuonano i cannoni. Si sbriciolano i palazzi. Non c'è spazio per ambiguità in questo. È cominciata la distruzione. E ora? Come posso pensare che l'esercito di quella terra, così intima per me, calpesti il suolo e riduca in polvere la vita delle persone care? Saranno giorni e notti in cui lo sbigottimento diventerà consapevolezza e poi dolore. La guerra è cominciata, la primavera, invece, tarda ad arrivare."

Consiglio di leggere prima "Quaderni ucraini: le radici del conflitto", poi "Quaderni russi: sulle tracce di Anna Politkovskaja" e infine questo diario di un'invasione.

Con questo terzo reportage illustrato Igort mostra la situazione attuale in tutta la sua complessità su entrambi i fronti, senza mai banalizzare, eppure rendendo tutto un po' più comprensibile. Sono letture davvero tremende ma decisamente necessarie.

[Tobi ﾄﾋﾞ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d like to thank the publishers of this book for this commission and sending me a pre-publication edition of the first English translation of this book in exchange for an honest review! This book is due to be published in English on the 26th of March 2024, and below is my review as of December 2023.

EVERY WAR IS A DIRTY WAR. Nothing epic, no glory: only misery.

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 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.

[Charlie Yale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Igort does not disappoint

[Marco La Mattina · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Una guerra è sempre e solo una sporca guerra. Non c'è epica, non c'è gloria, solo miseria"

[Titus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following the launch of a renewed Russian offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, Italian cartoonist Igort – who has spent time in both Ukraine and Russia and is married to a Ukrainian – started work on what would become this book, which he published in Italian before the year was over. In other words, this book was produced quickly, to respond to events almost as they happened. It's a raw, urgent reaction, driven by emotion and a little rough around the edges.

As a result, it feels a lot more like an actual notebook than Igort's other works with that word in their titles:* there are some passages in real comic format, but much of the book just consists of text notes about a day's events, accompanied by an illustration or two. Correspondingly, this isn't as artistically impressive as Igort's other work – though there are a few stand-out pages. There's also no sign that he put in substantial research, and he doesn't really provide any particularly deep or original reflection on events. Instead, this work's strength is its use of first-hand testimony. Ukrainian friends and family were in touch with Igort and his wife from day one, sharing their experiences, thoughts and feelings, and these accounts form the book's core – supplemented by depictions of events Igort saw in the news, and explanation of the geopolitical context. Needless to say, the events depicted are often terrible, liable to provoke a strong emotional reaction in any reader. They're also grimly fascinating, providing insight into the daily lives of civilians in a warzone – a vital perspective that's largely absent in news coverage of any conflict.

One aspect that deserves special praise is Igort's treatment of Russians. As is right and proper, his focus is primarily on the suffering of Ukrainians, and he certainly doesn't give any credence to justifications for the invasion, but he acknowledges the horrors faced by Russian soldiers, and he doesn't come across as demonizing the invaders or the country from which they've come (though he doesn't hold back his vitriol for Putin and his cronies).

However, towards the book's end there is a section that really disappointed me. It starts with Igort quoting a Ukrainian described solely as "Jevhen" as blaming Buryats (a native Siberian ethnic group) for the massacre in Bucha, claiming that people of this ethnicity “have no empathy” and are "capable of all kinds of atrocities" because they are “closer to Mongols than to Slavs”. As I read this quotation, I assumed Igort had chosen it in order to critique its obvious racism, and I was glad that he was raising this delicate issue. However, the passage that follows – in Igort's own authorial voice – does nothing to challenge or even acknowledge the bigotry, instead seeming to accept its claims at face value, claiming that Buryats “have pity for no-one” and “have shown themselves capable of anything, of unspeakable atrocities”. Fixating on criminals' ethnicity is always dodgy, and directly attributing a crime to its perpetrators' ethnicity – as Igort seems to do – is simply beyond the pale. As if this weren’t bad enough, a bit of online research suggests it’s far from certain that Buryats were even involved in the Bucha atrocities at all – on the contrary, it seems that this may be a complete myth that originated in Ukrainian social media, and that those responsible for Bucha may mostly have been ethnic Russians.

Adding injury to insult, Igort lists the names of what he calls "the butchers of Bucha", implying that these individuals are Buryat war criminals, despite none of them having been charged with war crimes, and none of them having obviously Buryat names. Indeed, investigative journalists have already proven that at least one person named here is a civilian who was 8,000 km away, in Siberia, at the time of the atrocities – and is not Buryat, but a member of a different Siberian ethnicity. Naming and shaming individuals in this way, without robust evidence of their guilt, is shockingly irresponsible.

It might seem excessive that I’ve dedicated half of my review to this slight against an obscure Siberian people – an issue affecting just two of the book’s 168 pages – but it’s honestly upset me that Igort, one of my favourite comic artists, would use his considerable platform to perpetuate racism towards a marginalized group that has just half a million members and virtually no voice in the global mediascape. Buryats and other non-white Russian ethnic minorities have been disproportionately affected by the draft and are dying in large numbers, and the last thing they need is the Western media perpetuating mediaeval stereotypes of them as savages – even if individuals from these ethnicities have committed atrocities.

I’ll wrap up my review by emphasizing that apart from this egregious transgression, I do think the book is worth reading: the insight it provides into the reality of the invasion is eye-opening and very emotionally affecting, and there’s some great artwork scattered throughout. Nevertheless, it’s certainly not as essential reading as his first Ukrainian Notebook, or the Russian Notebook with which that’s published together in English.

*The Italian, French and German editions all follow the same naming convention as Igort's Ukrainian, Russian and Japanese Notebooks – in other words, this book is presented as the second Ukrainian Notebook. After I started writing this review, but before I posted it, Fantagraphics announced that it would publish an English edition under the title "How War Begins: Dispatches from the Ukrainian Invasion", breaking with tradition and making my reference to the title nonsensical to people only familiar with the English edition.

All quotations are my own translation from the French edition, which is the version I read.

[Telarak Amuna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seguito dei Quaderni russi, questi due volumi ne riprendono lo stile, appunto frammentario e un po’ diaristico da quaderno, ma anche l’impronta di composizione. In primo luogo puntano a scavare, rilevare le sfumature, fuggire dai giudizi rapidi e dagli stereotipi; insomma, puntano a capire davvero cosa succede, perché, a chi va la responsabilità, quali sono le conseguenze e, in seguito, a informare, contro la disinformazione propagandistica russa ma anche contro la superficialità di molti dei media europei. In secondo luogo portano in primo piano la vita delle persone in Ucraina, ne riporta le parole, le esperienze, ricostruendo così una quotidianità che è davvero viva, che fornisce voce ai tanti numeri delle statistiche o ai tanti volti anonimi dei vari reportage. Igort si prende il tempo di conquistare la fiducia delle persone e poi di ascoltarle, senza mettere in avanti il proprio Io. Alternando così racconti individuali a momenti di contestualizzazione storica o più collettiva, Igort ci sprofonda in quella cupa realtà di miseria e guerra, ben antecedente all’attuale conflitto, ma lo fa con un grandissimo rispetto per le vittime, per la sofferenza, con discrezione ma fermezza, svelando orrori inimmaginabili ma senza sensazionalismo o morbosità.
Nel primo quaderno, Le radici del conflitto, Igort ripercorre la storia dell’Ucraina all’epoca dell’URSS e soprattutto riporta varie testimonianze sulla carestia causata volutamente da Stalin per fiaccare lo spirito di un popolo fieramente indipendente, seguita da deportazioni di massa di chi non era morto di fame. Certo, gli anni ‘30 sono un buco nero di disperazione in tutte le testimonianze che riporta e riguardo al quale fornisce le maggiori contestualizzazioni, ma la privazione e la sofferenza sembra colare lungo quasi tutti gli anni delle vite narrate, forse uno dei motivi che spiega la capacità di resistenza ucraina, un popolo con alle spalle decenni di miseria e sopportazione.
Nel secondo quaderno, Diario di un’invasione, tramite svariate testimonianze sommate al racconto di alcuni episodi, Igort segue più di tre mesi di invasione. Nell’albo si intrecciano più linee tematiche, dall’assurda propaganda russa alla quotidianità scardinata di un territorio invaso, dalla violenza crescente alla mancanza di risorse, dal desiderio di resistere a quello di scappare per salvare la vita, dalle contraddizioni collettive a quelle singolari; il tutto con integrità intellettuale, di chi non ha paura di accusare i responsabili (ad esempio riportando numerosi esempi di violenza brutale e gratuita esercitata da soldati russi - ma anche, in passato, da quelli ucraini - senza che possa essere avanzata alcuna scusante di ordini dati), ma al contempo vuole capire il motivo del loro agire (come quando ipotizza che uno dei motivi nella violenza di giovani soldati russi, oltre alla propaganda e al lavaggio del cervello, sia il desiderio di non sfigurare di fianco ai veterani, in ossequio a una cultura machista russa deleteria), beninteso senza che ciò ne riduca la responsabilità. Da questa lettura, per me, emerge anche un altro aspetto: l’esigenza di smetterla di deresponsabilizzare i soldati che commettono violenze gratuite, perché queste sono frequentemente una scelta in ultima istanza personale e non legata a ordini diretti. Eppure nei grandi processi per crimini contro l’umanità, sono quasi sempre solo le persone al comando a rispondere di fronte alla corte, mentre ben pochi soldati semplici, autori comunque delle atrocità, sono chiamati a farlo, ingenerando così una sensazione di impunità e anonimato che non funge certo da deterrente per future guerre.

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 2022, Italian cartoonist Igort began collecting telephone interviews from Ukrainians as 140,000 Russian soldiers invaded the Ukraine. Initially published online, they are collected here in hybrid prose/graphic form for the first time with a smooth translation into English by Jamie Richards. Each interview focuses on the experience and devastation that accompanies war

Opening with simplicity – “Every war is a dirty war. Nothing epic, no glory: only misery.” – readers are taken back to cold, wintery February 24, 2022 when the Russian army attacked multiple sites in the Ukraine. Using prose passages to set up stories of personal experiences, from telephone calls to family and friends about the attacks. Igort then works to set up background understanding about the history and politics of the region, going back to 2014 and the removal of Ukrainian President Yanukovych. He then jumps to 2022 and uses a diary format to relay events and incidents that happened in the first 98 days of the war. They are pieces of the lives of desperate people who were affected by the puzzle that is this war. Readers meet and hear about:
• Natasha, who works at a hospital and advises her husband to carry documents safely.
• Dmitri, a soldier who sends his family to safety and misery in Slovakia, while he remains to fight in the war.
• Tatiana, who escapes with family, leaving her husband – a train operator behind
• The bombing of the Mariupol Theater – turned shelter for elderly, women, minors, and babies.
• Splinter groups in Ukraine that have confuse the struggle for independence movement with Nazi-inspired nationalism.
• Misha’s perilous “Odyssey” from Chonhar to Istanbul
• Tatiana Monko’s family forced out of their home; when they returned, they found a bomb hidden in their piano.

Igort uses several techniques to visually tell the story. With many captioned frames, he also employs sketches and smaller drawings to tell the story. The color palette is dark, using multiple shades of brown, gray, and gold. Red is used sparingly to punch a point. Many pages appear as if old lined paper, yellowed with age. Visually stunning.

Useful to build understanding in World History classes, war studies, and political tensions. Although published for adults, this is also Highly Recommended for grades 10-adult.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

In early 2022, Russia begins a large scale ground invasion of Ukraine, the biggest escalation of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War which first precipitated in 2014 after pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted and Russia begins their annexation of Crimea. Igort has been chronicling the various conflicts and tensions of the series for some time now, but with the increased escalation in 2022, their simply was much more to cover than just the odd strip here and there. Serializing the events in the form of infographics and drawn images, Igort capably details the various stories of people on the ground level of the conflict. In current times, much of the conflict is covered via the proxy war lens of the American Congress who have divided their lines based on party affiliation and connections to Putin, but Igort's efforts here cut through a lot of the chaotic mess that the Western media coverage has cultivated around the conflict.

How War Begins is effectively a collection of illustrated prose, with captions accompanying images of the human interest side of the conflict. There are portions that qualify as comics, but largely speaking this is largely meant to read like a serialized set of events that follow the timeline of the largest ground invasion in Europe since the Second World War. Igort brings up a lot of the context behind the invasion - a perspective that is more complete than other accounts though likely still lacking in some - and also adds the human element behind the war. The style here does make for a dry read at times, but Igort's prose is rarely too dense to feel overbearing by any means.

This book offers a much more nuanced take on the conflict, with the greatest share of empathy favored towards the Ukrainian citizens, but some also offered to the press-ganged members of the Russian military who Igort does remind the reader are simply boys being forced to carry out military operations. There's some information left wanting for sure as this isn't a true chronicling of every detail behind the conflict, but Igort offers non-Eastern European readers a much more varied perspective that is very much enlightening and needed.

[Book Club of One · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joining Nora Krug’s Diairies 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.

I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the first and certainly not the last, this graphic novel-styled book illustrates the first stretches of the Putin invasion of Ukraine, although it actually opens in 2022, way after that start. Yes, this is savvy enough to accept the annexation of the Crimea as the beginning of it all, hence some heavy flashback sections early on, but elsewhere it runs through a calendar of the first days of the invasion that the Western media actually paid attention to.

All told, this is more of an illustrated collection of testimony – there is obviously illustration going on, but this is not a fluid, A-B graphic novel narrative, and a lot of the times the visuals are for reportage or giving of mood, as opposed to taking part in the story-telling like a true graphic novel would. That's not a fault, but this can be wordy as a result. And those words can only hit home – the children 'saved' so as to grow up to respect the Russia that raped and tortured and killed their parents; the struggle to survive in a place where all 'laws' of war are ignored, and civilian tower blocks, libraries and theatres are just pulverised.

It's a work that is notable and yet not – notable for the minor things, perhaps, such as only mentioning Zelenskyy just the once. Yes, this is designed to be a vox pop piece, but Kurkov's diaries of the same time, while a very different beast, mention the politicians behind all of this much more routinely. Ultimately it is a strong piece, but again, not actually that strong – in having no solutions, no unique content bar a few direct quotes and a slightly different spread of anecdotes to other books, and little that is actually enjoyable to read, it doesn't provide enough indications of it being a must-buy. I mean, I could say it's a three and a half star book you look at with no regret, but of course you do – regretting every incident on every page and every cause for its very existence.

[Vinayak Hegde · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Every war is a dirty war - Nothing epic, no glory, only misery" - Quote from the book.

"How War Begins" is a striking graphic works I’ve read on the war in Ukraine written with a journalistic flavour. Designed almost like a wartime notebook or personal journal - with illustrations, fragments, sketches, and observations layered together- the book feels intimate, as though one is leafing through the field notes of a journalist witness trying to process catastrophe in real time.

What impressed me most was how Igort conveys the horror of war without relying on explicit gore. The muted palette, the heavy use of shadows, and the stark contrasts in colour create an atmosphere of dread and devastation that is often more powerful than graphic imagery. The artwork is exceptional throughout - evocative, restrained, and deeply humane. One of the panels that lingers in the mind long after finishing the book, is a homage to "Guernica" - Pablo Picasso's painting, drawing a haunting parallel between past and present atrocities.

The narrative itself is factual and gripping, even for readers already familiar with the course of the war. Igort blends reportage with personal testimony, weaving in the stories of ordinary people caught in extraordinary brutality of the Russo-Ukrainian war. The accounts of Bucha massacre, the siege and last stand of Mariupol, and the destruction of Borodianka and Irpin are especially harrowing. The book does not shy away from depicting the violence and cruelty inflicted during the invasion, yet it never loses sight of the human beings beneath the headlines.

What makes "How War Begins" so effective is that it functions simultaneously as narrative journalism, personal memoir, and art. It captures not just events, but the psychological impact of living through still ongoing war - the fear, disorientation, unbounded grief, and quiet resilience.

[Abbas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of comics originally posted online during the first 100 days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine by Italian comic artist Igort. These are real stories of real people—how they are surviving the war and living their day-to-day lives under unimaginable conditions.

We read about the war and the casualties in headlines but often don’t grasp the scale of the tragedy because it feels so distant. These stories bring you up close and personal. They take you into the underground shelters of Mariupol, the apocalyptically barren streets of Bucha, and the many villages where Russian soldiers storm in and seize food and belongings from civilians. The book shows the atrocities committed by Russian forces, but it also shines a light on the quiet resistance of Russian citizens who oppose their regime through small acts of rebellion.

The book also does a good job of explaining the historical context of the war and how Russia has grown more brazen in its attempts to reclaim territories once held by the Soviet Union. The invasions of Georgia, Crimea, and the Donbas were grim precursors to what many now see as the inevitable invasion of Ukraine.

Igort captures the resilience, spirit, and cultural richness of the Ukrainian people—and how they managed to turn a conflict that was supposed to last three days into a years-long quagmire that Russia has little hope of winning.

[Sorcered · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Jen (Remembered Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Igort's "How War Begins: Dispatches from the Ukrainian Invasion," translated from the Italian by Jamie Richards, is a series of short personal stories from the first 98 days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, generally recounted to the author from locals, and presented with pencil-style illustrations. The book is of immediate topical appeal, but lacks the depth, both in terms of the backstories and the illustrations, of his earlier works of graphic journalism (i.e. The Russian and Ukrainian Notebooks).

The team that did the localisation decided to obscure the connection to Igort's earlier book, The Ukrainian Notebook, even though the Italian title is once again "Quaderni ucraini," which just seems like a missed opportunity in terms of marketing. It also inexplicably loses the subtitle "Diary of an Invasion" (Diario di un'invasione), despite that being the title of the recurring calendar illustration that divides the daily sections from each other.

Despite the strange choice of title for the translation, I'd say this is a worthwhile read for the topicality element, but unfortunately it also lacks the polish that's found in most of Igort's other work.

[Cécile Olivier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roman graphique documentaire que je termine 3 ans jour pour jour après le début de l'invasion russe en Ukraine, c'est-à-dire 3 ans après le début de ce récit où on parle encore de guerre-éclair, même si on n'y croit déjà plus.

Une saveur toute particulière que cet ouvrage, qui alterne faits historiques pour remettre en contexte ce qui a mené à cette guerre et témoignages de civils ukrainiens pris dans ce conflit épouvantable.

C'est d'autant plus poignant avec la perspective des 3 années. Mais aussi d'autant plus malaisant et terrifiant au vu de l'inaction de l'OTAN et de l'Europe ET de ce qui se passe entre Poutine et Trump dans le courant des dernières semaines...

Bref, c'est à lire. Le contenu est un bel hymne à la résilience et à la force du peuple ukrainien, tout en demandant des compte à tous nos dirigeants.

Les dessins sont beaux, complétant bien l'écrit et les couleurs fittent avec l'ambiance et la gravité des propos.

[Babo Buca · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's more of a multi-format report than a real comic book, covering the time of the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2022. Through personal stories, we see the impact of the war on the hinterland, the bombed-out cities, the people fleeing, the deaths of innocent civilians. The volume itself draws parallels with the past, we see the situation in Georgia, the starvation of Ukrainian kulaks in the 1930s, but I read it alongside The Bronze Horseman and noticed a surprising similarity. Also, the saddest thing was that the Russians called the fighting anything but war. Reading it all at once it was concentrated, perhaps I should have split the episodes of each day better. The drawing itself is a sufficiently terrifying portrayal of reality, but I didn't like the style. Also, I missed the coherence between the episodes, as it just gets quickly into everybody's lives.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Igort who lives in Italy began receiving messages from people he knew in Ukrain about what they were experiencing. As therapy for him and a testimony to what those folks were enduring Igort drew images and text that he posted on Facebook. This volume is a collection of those images from the early days of the war gathered in one volume and translated into English. Reading this volume provides a mosaic of the chaos of those days and brings home the suffering and loss happening in Ukraine.

Thanks Netgalley and Fantagraphics Books for the opportunity to read this title.

[M]

A collection of journalistic comics about Russia’s war in Ukraine, these drawings are painful, piercing and important in doing the work of witnessing. Although at times they felt fragmented, because of being collected over time as they were posted online, they make a powerful and important document of this very recent and terrible war. Testimonies and stories who would have otherwise been lost to time are now here to be remembered, the awfulness of military destruction and death made visible.

“EVERY WAR IS A DIRTY WAR. Nothing epic, no glory: only misery.”

Thanks to Net Galley & Fantagraphics for the e-arc!

[Kathy Piselli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one starts with Crimea, though there are detours through the Holodomor and the Bandera regime by way of background. Reading it after looking at the news from Gaza there are so many similarities: skittery soldiers allowed to shoot anything without consequences, bombing a building people were sheltering in and then justifying it by claiming combatants were there. The images at night were most memorable, as were the stories of the wife of the invisible man ("like a Russian novel") and the Guernica-like illustration for Hirsivka, in Zaporizhia.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Italian son of russophile parents, married to a Ukraininan, observes the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and collects snippets of stories from different civilians' day-to-day experiences and even a few Russian soldiers. The civilian accounts sometimes feel fragmented--I get the sense that the author's emotional state might have prevented a more clear, focused account--but some historical background is given to give valuable insight into the relationship between Russia and Ukraine, and behind the 'reasons' Putin gave for the invasion.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Every war is a dirty war
Nothing epic, no glory, only misery.”

A real-time work of graphic journalism (which was posted serially on Facebook). The Italian cartoonist IGORT (Igor Tuveri) depicts the telephone testimonies of Ukrainians as Russia invaded in 2022. The book a daily graphic depiction of the escalating horror of the war, starting on Day 1 with invasion up to Day 98 when the book went to press.

The book also includes insights into the history of the relationship between Ukraine and Russia.

[Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic book about the Russian attack on Ukraine is both beautiful and distressing. The stories of people suffering are heart-rending and bring a spirit of hopelessness to this world in which far too few people have learned that no one has the right to start a war. But the story telling here, and the memories left will bring hope for an end to the violence, and perhaps even an end to war itself. I'm very grateful for people who take the time and energy to produce a personal and colorful record like this. The least I can do is read it and learn about these people and their suffering.

[Sephreadstoo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Come il primo volume dedicato alle radici del conflitto, Igort torna in Ucraina per la guerra del 2022, raccogliendo le testimonianze di amici e conoscenti e come stanno vivendo il conflitto.
Anche in questo caso non si tratta di un graphic novel che tratta in dettaglio date o altro, ma le impressioni e le esperienze che sono state comuncate e poi filtrate da Igort tramite il suo riconoscibilissimo tratto e brevi descrizioni.