In 15 diverse chapters, 15 anonymous artists grouped together as the Cartoonist Collective in Tehran explore, expose, and memorialize their shattering, intimate experiences of surviving war in the comics anthology I Won't Pretend These Missiles Are Stars: Life in Iran During the 12-Day War. On June 13, 2025, Israel bombed Iran; Iran retaliated; and the U.S. joined the conflagration on June 22. A ceasefire was announced on June 24.
Politics aside, the most pressing consequence for civilians was finding safety amid power cuts, shortages, communication loss, and endless disruptions to daily life: "What haunts me the most is that life still goes on," comments the author of "12 Days." One artist attempts to work while fleeing in "Deadline with Letters." Caring for her cat during a chaotic evacuation--like many others prioritizing their beloved pets--helps another artist cope in "Lappe Letters." In "Momento Mori," the creator's first reaction to the attacks isn't "to run or scream," but rather "to prep [her] own corpse like a mortician on overtime." Some confess wanting to "die with my family"; others try to stay away from "home" but can't.
While the subtitle attaches this collection to a specific time and place, what lingers beyond the historic details undoubtedly transforms the creators' specifics into universal testimony. Illustration styles differ, relationships vary, geographies are scattered, but uncertainty and fear unite the narratives. Survival, though, is not enough: "At least we still know how to create. We know how to turn death and life, our humiliation and our erasure from history, into stories. And if in the end, anything of us remains, it'll be these stories." --Terry Hong