In conversation with Carol Isaacs and The Wolf of Baghdad

In this conversation, Hussein Al-alak sits down with London based artist Carol Isaacs, who has had her first book The Wolf of Baghdad published by Myriad Editions. 

Since its publication, The Wolf of Baghdad has also been turned into an animated film. 

What is your name and what do you do? 

My name is Carol Isaacs and I am a musician, playing piano, keyboards and accordion.

I have worked mostly in the pop and world music fields, recording and touring with artists such as Indigo Girls (USA) and Sinead O’Connor (Ireland). 

I am also a cartoonist working under the pen name The Surreal McCoy. My cartoons have been published in the New Yorker, Private Eye, Spectator and many other places. 

My first full-length work The Wolf of Baghdad was published by Myriad Editions as a graphic memoir earlier this year. 
Can you tell us more about the Wolf of Baghdad? 

It’s a graphic novel that tells the story of my Iraqi-Jewish family’s life in Baghdad through wordless images with occasional quotes in between. 

These words are provided by my family who I interviewed and who generously gave me their time and memories.  

The book’s main protagonist (me) has never been to Iraq but has heard about it from her family. She is able to explore Baghdad through her imagination and the testimony of her family. 

She witnesses their everyday lives, their successful integration, and cultural and social cohesion. 

But, thanks to political upheaval, this ancient communities’ fortunes begin to fade and eventually, after terrible persecution and harassment, most of the 150,000 Iraqi Jews have to leave. 

Throughout the book she is accompanied by a wolf, believed by Baghdadi Jews to protect them from harmful djinns (demons). 

Music is a feature in the Wolf of Baghdad and plays a distinctive role throughout the story, can you please explain why? 

Music can be incredibly powerful, eliciting emotions from deep within the listener and performer. It is also the reason I decided to turn the book into a semi-animated film with its own soundtrack. 

As the book is wordless the music chosen to accompany the images have very specific purposes, they all play their part in telling the story of our community using religious prayers, traditional folk tunes and popular Iraqi songs. 
Along with being a graphic memoir, The Wolf of Baghdad is also available as an animated film, can you please tell us more about this? 

Last year the band 3yin and myself recorded the soundtrack to the film. It is now available on DVD as a motion comic - a form of animation that combines elements of print comic books and animation. 

We also perform the soundtrack live to the motion comic on screen. The ensemble play traditional instruments; oud, ney, percussion, qanun and cello with the addition of guitar and specially tuned accordion. 

What has been the public response to The Wolf of Baghdad, as a graphic memoir, soundtrack and animated film? 

I have been very surprised but extremely gratified to find many dialogues opening up between different and disparate communities, proving we have more in common than divides us. 

The Wolf of Baghdad graphic memoir is available to buy at Myriad Editions 

The Wolf of Baghdad DVD motion comic and CD soundtrack is available here

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