Battle Born

The vast landscapes rendered with vibrant colors bring the reader into the snow-capped mountains in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan Province, while rhythmic textures of earth and flesh keep you there. Themes of heartbreak and racism weave through the narrative, creating a very somber contrast to Uriarte’s more irreverent narratives of the infamous enlisted Marine.—New York Times Magazine

Uriarte's manga-derived graphic chops and storytelling technique have grown immensely since The White Donkey; his deliberate pacing, especially in the book's final sequences, is daringly bold. But the combat-based verisimilitude he brings... is its strongest element.—Gordon Flagg, Booklist

Uriarte's illustrations are lush and vivid, with an appealing manga-tinted realism...The effect is sumptuously cinematic with the depth of an action movie.—Kirkus

...The story works best as a tragic meditation on the value of honor and justice in a world ruled by violence.—Library Journal

An epic saga from the voice of a new generation of military veterans about kindness, brutality, and the remains of colonialism.—Veterans Today

Thrillingly cinematic…This visceral war story reinforces the difficulty of decisions by forces fighting across blurred lines.—Publishers Weekly

The vast landscapes rendered with vibrant colors bring the reader into the snow-capped mountains in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan Province, while rhythmic textures of earth and flesh keep you there. Themes of heartbreak and racism weave through the narrative, creating a very somber contrast to Uriarte’s more irreverent narratives of the infamous enlisted Marine.—Josh Terry, New York Times Magazine

Uriarte uniquely tackles the difficulty of being a Marine and serving in the military with raw honesty and creativity through all of his work...Battle Born: Lapis Lazuli is a deeply compelling compilation of the human experiences that affect us all.—We Are the Mighty