Is it too early to name Brian K. Vaughan the best comic book writer of the new millennium? I must of course withhold such judgment until I really start reading stuff by lauded modern writers like Ed Brubaker and Brian Michael Bendis, but Brian K. Vaughan appears to be infallible. Y: The Last Man is one of the most captivating pieces of literature I’ve ever read, and, though I’ve yet to read them, have heard nothing but praise for Runaways and Ex Machina.

Now, for the last months, I’ve been asking for suggestions for comics to read, and a curious name kept coming up. Nearly everyone recommended a story called Pride of Baghdad. Nobody told me what it was about, only that “it’s not what it sounds like.” Well, I kept on buying other trades, but finally got curious the other day and picked it off the shelves. The first thing that caught my eye was the name at the top: Brian K. Vaughan. I bought it on the spot, without even reading the back cover. Now, the lion on the front made me see the pun in the title, but I still went into this fairly blind. Well, all the hype from my internet friends didn’t do it enough justice.

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