jobnik!

Libicki's memoir of her time as a "jobnik" (someone with a deskjob) in the Israeli army is simply drawn, but really gives insight into a young girl's heart. If you don't have a connection with Israel and have no emotions about the Intifada, you'll still be moved by the experiences and the mistakes made by a young girl on her own for the first time. If you do have a connection, you'll be hit double with the frightening onset of the war. Libicki's simple drawing-style adds to her persona's wide-eyed view of the world around her, and she has a true eye for the "sabra" look and feel. A stunning panel shows Libicki overwhelmed by the starry sky, falling (in slow-motion!) to the ground in awe. Libicki is a natural story-teller, and I show more sincerely hope she eventually turns to fiction - I would love to see what she does with fiction if this is what she does with reality. show less

An autobiographical account of an American girl's time as admin support to the Israeli army. The art is fine, feeling quite intimate and also producing a rather dreary atmosphere that fits the army theme. It must be said, though, that it feels rather less appropriate for what are presumably supposed to be more cheerful interludes.

It's a very personal take, with a heavy focus on the author's uncomfortable sex life, interspersed with excerpts from news bulletins about the conflict. It gives some impression of how things are as a member of the army, and how some of the recruits feel about things. On the other hand, I felt like the very idiosyncratic angle diluted that. Much of the book is both mundane and personal, and so not interesting show more to me - quite generic conversations that don't particularly inform the reader or produce an interesting narrative. I was expecting a much bigger focus on the army life side of things, but essentially what you've got here is a personal diary that happens to take place in the army, one-third of which is about sex, and one-third of which is illustrated news bulletins. Also to my regret, we never find out how the author really felt about the conflict - there are loads of images of them watching reports of Palestinian deaths, but we don't even learn whether she feels torn or is hawkishly pro-Israeli. It's not really what I was expecting; I'd even say not really as advertised. show less