War Is Boring

This is chapter six of of ARMY OF GOD, the graphic novel-length work of comics journalism about Congo and the LRA by me and Tim Hamilton. As each chapter focuses on a different aspect of the conflict in Congo, this one zeros in on the U.S. State Department under Hillary Clinton and their efforts to combat the violence, rape and kidnapping that has followed Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army and their tear through the countryside.

On Monday, Cartoon Movement will publish the latest installment of ARMY OF GOD by myself and artist Tim Hamilton. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of the conflict in Congo; this one hones in on the U.S. State Department under Hillary Clinton and their efforts to combat the violence, rape and kidnapping that has followed Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army in their tear through the countryside.

This chapter tells the story of Patricia and her harrowing abduction by, and rescue from, the Lord’s Resistance Army. When her father was shot on the spot, Patricia and her brother were taken to a camp where children are forced to kill and girls become “wives” of soldiers.

Go to the 14:30 mark for an update on the international manhunt for Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Ugandan troops on Saturday captured a senior leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group. Self-styled “major general” Caesar Acellam, a 20-year veteran of the brutal Ugandan group, was grabbed near the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic.

This is the fourth installment of ARMY OF GOD, a non-fiction graphic novel about the Lord’s Resistance Army that has terrorized the Congo. This chapter examines the history of the infamous leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, Joseph Kony, who has long evaded capture. Over the last year, Kony has virtually become a household name and efforts to arrest him have been ramping up. Just yesterday, the Associated Press reported that Ugandan forces had captured one of his top commanders.

The blog Excuses and Half Truths praises my new graphic novel.

Kony Hunter with Christopher Meloni from Christopher Meloni

The humanitarian group Enough! praises my graphic novel ARMY OF GOD.

I crossed paths with the San Diego-based aid group Invisible Children in October 2010 in Dungu, a town in eastern Congo. I was there reporting on the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group. Invisible Children’s Adam Finck was there for the LRA, too. The aid group had scored some big corporate grants that it was using to buy radios for isolated Congolese communities. The idea being: when the LRA attacked, the villagers could radio for help.

Don’t continue reading this post if you have weak stomach. Seriously, just stop. If you can stand it, below the jump are photos of recent victims of Lord’s Resistance Army attacks in northeastern Congo. As you can see, the LRA likes to mark its victims in distinctive ways. The photos come courtesy of a Catholic priest who survived LRA abduction in 2008. More on that, later.

by DAVID AXE Author’s note: The aid group Invisible Children, whose work is featured in this 2011 post, has launched a very effective viral video and Twitter campaign (#Kony2012) aimed at mustering support for the international military campaign to hunt and capture or kill Joseph Kony, the leader of the murderous Lord’s Resistance Army rebel [...]