Broken Frontier

Medz Yeghern, the Big Evil is the name Armenians give to the Armenian genocide in 1914-1916. The Armenian people were systematically murdered and deported from the great Ottoman Empire. Once one of the great empires of the old world, it comprised  a large part of North Africa, Asia and Europe. In the first World War however, they allied themselves to the Germans which would prove catastrophic for this once great empire. The defeat of the Germans and the Ottoman Empire led to the Pact of Sèvres, constricting the Ottoman Empire to the heartland of Anatolia, leading later to the formation of the Republic of Turkey.

Told from a triple point of view, Italian author Paolo Cossi focuses on the events off and surrounding the forced Armenian deportation which took place largely in the eastern parts of Anatolia. Cossi looks at the genocide through the eyes of Armin T. Wegner, a German soldier who risked life and limb trying to inform the outside world of the Armenian genocide through his photo reporting. He covers the forty days of Musa Dagh, the Armenian's attempt at resistance from a general point of view. And to close off Cossi follows the trial of SoghomonTehliriam, an Armenian survivor who murdered the minister of Internal Affairs - and later grand councillor - Mehermet Talaat, one of the main instigators and forerunners of the Armenian witch hunt.

Medz Yeghern, The Big Evil is a well documented and researched graphic novel of a time in history which remains largely known by the most specialized of historians. It certainly needs to be more recognized in terms of historical importance, its influence is still being felt today and is one of the main struggling blocks between Turkey and the European Union. But does it hold up as a comic story? 

Unfortunately the answer would be no. Paoli Cossi attempts to infuse the horror with inside looks from the point of views of  his protagonists, however, the main characters remain one dimensional and cliched so that any introspective look falls flat. There's an attempt at a storyline where a friendship is formed between an Armenian on the run and a young Turk who does not agree with the minister of Internal Affairs' genocidal policies but even there, motivation is left to the side in order to just get the story going. The story of the German soldier, rebelling against Germany's involvement also misses its mark due to the lack of motivation; the German soldier going against the grain simply because it is the 'right thing to do'. Throughout the whole book there's an incessant need for to infuse character motivation. Cossi taking advantage of the perpetrated horrors to imbue a lack of motivation into his characters, surfing solely on the emotional resonance of violence could seem to be a rather bold statement but it certainly feels this way.

Up until a certain degree, the art certainly reflects this superficial emotional take. Upon opening the rather bloody yet interesting abstract visual on the cover we are confronted by a rather light hearted cartoony style that seems to revel in its depictions of violence, gratuity showcasing severed heads, bloody executions, lashings etc. Paolo Cossi's drawings seem ill equipped to handle the subject matter and almost imbued me with an Itchy and Scratchy effect, dehumanizing the victims in order to achieve more extreme visuals. I'm pretty certain that this wasn't the desired effect though. Interestingly enough, the few moments where his drawings do work is when he switches style into a more expressive mode of drawing. Characters bend and twist, forming almost demonic figures in a patchwork of violence or become scratchy, worn down photographs where nothing remains but the ghost of the dead. Alas, these moments are rare. 

Paolo Cossi's Medz Yeghern, the Big Evil is a factual graphic novel about the horrors the Armenian people underwent, simply because they were in the way. It is a warning and a shout out reverberating to current events. However, the emotional impact of the story is severely lessened by it's cliched characters and lack of motivation. It probably would be a useful GN to use in the classroom because of its intricately researched nature but as a graphic novel, the lack of story and dissonant storytelling choices make this a rather disappointing read.

Medz Yeghern, the Big Evil by Paolo Cossi is published in Dutch by Sylvester. The OGN is 144 pages long and retails for € 19.95.