Four Soviet teens suffer the horrors of the siege of Leningrad.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem/Thomas Du Caju
What They Say
On January 27, 1962, a concert at the Maly Theatre in Leningrad is interrupted by a gunshot and an ex-state prisoner is arrested. At the police station, the mysterious gunman recalls the early summer of 1941… When the German army begins its invasion of Soviet Russia, four children are evacuated to the countryside: Maxim, the son of a senior Communist Party official; Pyotr, the son of writers; Anka, the daughter of a concert violinist; and Grigory, the son of a pilot that was executed for insubordination. The farm where they are staying is attacked and the train that is supposed to take them to safety is blown to bits by German planes. The four children must fight through enemy lines to get back to their families in Leningrad. But all that awaits them is the beginning of one of the most prolonged and destructive sieges in history. Two and half desperate years that will push their friendship – and their lives–to the limit.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
In 1941, the Nazis begin their invasion of Soviet Russia. The children of Leningrad evacuate the city, but when German forces attack the countryside, four 15-year-old friends end up behind enemy lines. They fight their way back to their families in Leningrad – only to become trapped in one of the worst sieges in history.
The format of this book is a little different than the other Dead Reckoning World War II graphic novels that I’ve read. Instead of a collection of three parts, The Lions of Leningrad is a two-part story told in retrospective, and instead of one main character, there are four.
In terms of the old Soviet regime, these kids are among the learned and privileged. Maxim’s the son of a communist party official. Pyotr’s the son of a writer. Anka is the daughter of the Leningrad Philharmonic’s concertmaster. Grigory is the son of a fighter pilot. Unfortunately, Stalin’s policies are starting to cast a cloud over their lives. At the onset of the story, Grigory’s father was recently executed for daring to speak about the deplorable condition of their fighter planes, and Pyotr’s father has stopped writing for fear of offending the government.
Unfortunately for them all, things are about to get much worse. In Part 1, we get a very brief glimpse of the kids of Leningrad playing in a potato field right before they’re evacuated to the countryside. But the country proves no safer than the city, and our four main characters must dodge Nazi air and ground forces to flee back to Leningrad. Days later, the Germans surround the city, trapping everyone within. Anka joins the firefighting force to obtain better rations for her and her aged father. Grigory’s widowed mother starts sleeping with Maxim’s communist official father for better rations for her and her son. And Pyotr’s forced to go on the run after his parents are arrested by the NKVD for allegations of spying.
The misery intensifies in Part 2 with the onset of winter. With their food stores destroyed by German bombs, some residents resort to cannibalism. Others starve or freeze to death. With conditions growing desperate, Maxim’s father secures passes for his son and three friends to leave Leningrad via a truck route over frozen Lake Ladoga. But once again, they’re attacked by Germans, and only two of the friends make it safely to Moscow.
The creators do a good job incorporating various aspects of the war and siege. Throughout, it’s clear that the Soviet government is as much a threat to their own people as the Nazis. Leningrad citizens much watch what they say for fear of arrest by the NKVD. Soldiers on the front are forced to fight with antiquated equipment, peasants are forced to dig trenches for the Soviet army, and any officers who order a retreat are shot on the spot. Even in the worst of the siege, with countless people dying from starvation, the NKVD increases misery with their hunt for enemies of the state.
However, the book is short on footnotes. If you don’t know what a gulag or a dourak is, you’ll have to look it up elsewhere. Several scenes of the besieged city feature giant balloons, but their purpose is never explained. No footnotes are provided regarding political or military terminology, but interestingly, it does provide one to clarify the cultural figure Father Frost (the Soviet equivalent of Santa Claus.
Wars are not pretty, and the creators do not shy from throwing casualties on the page. There are corpses and violent deaths throughout, although drawings do not get overly graphic with those details. We see the remains of a butchered pet but are spared watching cannibals devour their victims. By the way, I found it odd that Grigory’s dog lasted longer than Pyotr’s grandmother. I would’ve thought that any pet out in public would’ve been pilfered before the cannibalism started.
The narrative includes plenty of action and dire straits to keep excitement levels high. Character arcs, on the other hand, leave something to be desired. Of the four teenagers, only Anka really stands out. The boys mostly react to situations; Anka actually tries to take initiative. She has more spunk, resilience, and compassion than the three boys combined. She also stands out because she’s the only teenage girl and the only blonde in the cast. The vast majority of characters are male, and aside from their headgear, the boys don’t have much to distinguish them in a crowd.
But even though Anka stands out, she’s not all that relatable as a female character. Much like Anna from Dead Reckoning’s Night Witches, she is part superheroine and part sex object for the guys to leer over. The boys obviously want to be around her because they’re in love/lust with her, but it’s not clear what she gets out of their company (aside from Maxim’s rations). Also, she has zero connection with other females. The end of the narrative states that Anka had a favorite of the three boys, but it’s not apparent at all in their interactions.
The book has no age rating, but I would rate it older teens for violence and gruesome images.
In Summary
If you are looking for a graphic novel that provides an overview of the siege of Leningrad, The Lions of Leningrad fits the bill. In addition to the military assaults dealt by German forces, the narrative incorporates the oppression of the NKVD and the terrible intensity of the Russian winter. The four main characters and their relationships leave much to be desired, but the illustrations and narrative effectively convey numerous aspects of the horror endured by the residents of that city.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dead Reckoning
Release Date: March 16th, 2022
MSRP: $19.95
