Comic and film tell real-life tales of fur and feathers on the frontline
A graphic novel by a Flemish actor and director breathes new life into archive pictures of the heroic animals that served during the First World War
Animals under fire
Cher Ami – also the name of the carrier pigeon that saved an isolated US battalion in 1918 – introduces us to three heroes. Sergeant Stubby is a Boston bull terrier and the mascot of the American Yankee Division. He survives 17 battles, is honoured twice at the White House and is invited for private walks by three presidents.
Jenny the elephant helps carry heavy material behind the frontline for two years after the Germans lose too many of their horses, and baboon Jackie is accidentally approved for battle when his boss enlists.
Wynant bumped into these forgotten stories when he was doing research for a play about the equally forgotten Senegalese battalions who saved Europe in the Great War. “First I stumbled on to the story of Jackie the baboon,” he says, “which set my mind ablaze. Reading about her, I came across Jenny and the Sergeant. I knew these stories needed to be told.”
Unique and absurd
The uniqueness and absurdity of the graphic material spoke to the imagination – old pictures of a dog and a baboon in uniform, standing in the trenches alongside the soldiers, guarding the base at night. Wynant realised that these stories could be fully appreciated through a graphic novel.
But the project soon went much further. Before Wynant had the chance to select cartoonists, friends from the Ghent-based band Yuko turned to him for help with a new video. At the same time, both Wynant and the band started thinking of novel ways to publish and sell music.
Combining all in one, Yuko are touring the country with a live soundtrack to the animated film based on the graphic novel.
His eyes speak of trauma and pride to such an extent that it is hard to believe this is a real picture of an animal
The novel comes with a copy of Yuko’s album, so fans can relive the performance. Comic book creators Ivan Petrus Adriaenssens and Gustavo Garcia drew the tales of Sergeant Stubby and Jackie. Award-winning Kazakhstan-born animator Roman Klochlov and his wife, Anna Heuninck, gave new life to elephant Jenny.
Introducing melancholia was a challenge the couple – known for their vivid and cheerful style –gladly accepted. “The drawing styles differ, but the storyline is always the same,” Klochlov explains. “Something beyond their control changes their lives, and nothing will ever be the same.”
Jenny’s tale, he continues, “starts with humour. She works at the circus and puts smiles on people’s faces. But when the war starts, she is put to use behind the frontline. The war eliminates any of the joy she once felt.”
While stories of animals fighting in the Great War speak to the imagination, Wynant points out that they were devised to do just that. “This was part of the propaganda of war,” he says. “They were mascots of the regimes to show people back home that even animals are patriots. It worked – and it still does.
“I will never forget one picture I found of Jackie the baboon. On the battlefield with a wooden leg, he looks straight into the camera. His eyes speak of trauma and pride to such an extent that it is hard to believe this is a real picture of an animal. Despite the propaganda, this was no trickery. That is what we want to show.”
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