83 Days in Mariupol – A War Diary

by Jameson Rohrer

83 Days in Mariupol: A War Diary is a visually intense, distressing account of the people of Mariupol, Ukraine surviving the onslaught of the 2022 Russian invasion. Author and illustrator Don Brown delivers an incredible backdrop on every page portraying the plight of the civilians during this time with specific linework and coloring including lots of neutral tones and red that emphasizes the direness of the situation without being overly bloody or violent. This story provides a chronicling of how the civilians dealt with the invasion and the city’s destruction. In the afterword, it mentions that “Mariupol awaits liberation…and Peace seems far off”, which indicates that rebuilding the city is not an option at this time. Since the war is ongoing, there is no happy ending to make the readers feel better, which I feel is in solidarity with the civilians who lost their city. I finished this story in multiple settings, needing to take breaks due to the intensity of the story and visualizing in my mind how I would feel in this situation. I definitely recommend this title for the chronology, the history and the ability to visualize a traumatic experience for all to access and understand.

83 Days in Mariupol does contain multiple representations of medical trauma due to a violent invasion. There are several trigger warnings to be informed of. The first, is that there are multiple portrayals of dead bodies to visualize how brutal the invasion was. The second would be imagery that suggested severe violence. Nothing explicit but fairly easy to extrapolate from the panel.  In times of war, experiencing medical problems and related issues are more frequent, yet the scale overwhelms the medical community. Food shortages, pharmacy shortages, disrupted heating and electricity, no more running water, decrease in air quality, tree coverage disappearing, sewer and sanitation issues, sexual violence, lack of reliable transportation, torture, imprisonment, crossing national borders, and outbreaks of cholera are all subjects approached by 83 Days in Mariupol. Overall, these topics are presented to the reader that they are occurring but does not go into any medical detail, mostly because the story does focus on the invasion and survival of the civilians. For any interested readers, to learn more about this traumatic experience Don Brown does have a Source Notes List and a Selected Bibliography, at the back of the book, which would be useful in any classroom or academic setting.

Kirkus Reviews has 83 Days in Mariupol listed as “Graphic Non-Fiction, [ages] 14-18”, which seems appropriate. The level of vocabulary and illustration are effective but not overwhelmingly complex for readers, and not too simple either. There is a small amount of profanity, which does make this more teen-centric than younger children. This is an important piece of recent history that should be a purchase for high school, academic, and public libraries.

Editor’s Note: Don Brown has written several other graphic medicine books, including Shot in the Arm, Fever Year – The Killer Flu of 1918, and Drowned City – Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans with the latter awaiting review.

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Jameson Rohrer is a Public Librarian in northern California. Loves all things comics and graphic novels; and was an Eisner Award Judge for San Diego Comic-Con in 2022. Also created Grownups Unite, a virtual graphic novel club for adults in March 2021 and is still going strong. You can find him at various conventions and conferences.