▸ DAUGHTERS OF WAR GRAPHIC NOVEL FULL

The Foreign Legion Arrives

In 1955 Dahomey, an elderly woman named Sika recounts her life story to her grandchildren, revealing her past as one of the famed Agojie warriors. The narrative flashes back to the late 19th century, following a young Sika and her friends, Kemi and Afi, as they are conscripted and forged into elite soldiers. They are plunged into the brutal reality of the Franco-Dahomean wars, facing a technologically superior French army that includes the formidable Foreign Legion. Through devastating battles and profound personal loss, Sika witnesses the fall of her kingdom but survives to carry its true history, finally passing the story to a new generation and reclaiming their heritage from the colonial narrative.

In 1955 Abomey, Nana Sika guides her grandchildren through the ruins of the royal palace, revealing how the French erased Dahomey's history by stealing the sacred royal figures—the bird of King Ghézo, the lion of King Glélé, and the shark of King Béhanzin. Flashing back to 1892, the peace between Dahomey and France collapses as the Agojie wage a hidden war against French supply lines, ambushing porters and destroying ammunition to starve the advancing army. During a supply column attack, Sika witnesses the arrival of a new enemy: the Foreign Legion, disciplined soldiers from many nations bound by blue sashes and unflinching obedience, marching with precision that terrifies her more than cannon fire. As Sena's unit stalks the French column near Dogba, a younger Agojie named Fala is lanced to death by Senegalese cavalry, and when Sika and Kemi are forced to leave her body behind, Afi burns with rage and swears there must be a price—and Sena, staring grimly toward the distant French column, replies, 'There will be.'

Historical FictionAmerican ComicsEnglish12 pagesAug 28, 2026

▸ CAST

CHARACTERS

Legionnaire

protagonist

Nema

supporting

A young Dahomean woman in her late teens to early twenties, serving as an Agojie warrior. She has dark brown skin, short natural hair, and sharp, alert eyes reflecting focus and determination. Nema wears the distinctive uniform of the Agojie: a wrapped cloth skirt in indigo and earth tones secured at the waist, a fitted sleeveless tunic or chest wrap in natural linen, and leather arm cuffs. She carries a musket and wears a leather belt with a sheathed machete. Her build is lean and athletic, honed by rigorous warrior training. She bears minor scars on her forearms from past combat. During the retreat sequence, she moves with urgency and purpose, her posture commanding as she directs other warriors toward safety, showing both physical strength and natural leadership despite her youth.

Fatu

protagonist

Mother of te Children, elegant , educated slim and motherly

French marine

protagonist

Sika

protagonist

As a young West African woman in the 1890s, Sika is tall and long-legged with a lean, developing warrior's build, dark skin, and tightly coiled black hair. She wears the simple cotton wrapper or tunic of an Agojie recruit, often armed with a musket and a short sword. As 'Nana Sika' in 1955, she is an elderly, tall woman, slightly stooped by age, with short, silver-threaded hair, dark, clear eyes, and fine ceremonial marks on her lined cheeks. She wears a faded indigo wrapper and has a distinctive pale scar circling her left wrist.

Dòkpè

supporting

A Dahomean woman in her forties during the 1890s. She is a veteran Agojie officer, lean and hard-muscled. Her face is defined by multiple scars, including one deep scar from her left ear to her jaw that pulls her mouth into a perpetual, grim smile. She wears faded, practical training clothes and carries herself with an air of absolute authority.

Sena

supporting

A senior Agojie officer in the 1890s, older than Dòkpè. She is a West African woman with a narrow, sinewy face and greying hair cut close to her head. A veteran scout, she is alert and moves with quiet purpose, armed with a short musket and a long knife.

King Béhanzin

supporting

The last king of Dahomey in the 1890s. A tall, powerfully built West African man with a broad face and a carefully shaped beard. He is depicted in royal attire: a white cloth draped over one shoulder, leaving the other bare, with heavy necklaces of coral and polished beads on his chest.

Sister Adeline

supporting

A French nun in 1955 Dahomey. She has a long, pale European face, often pink from the heat. She wears a spotless, traditional white Catholic nun's habit and a starched wimple that frames her face.

Houéfa

supporting

A 12-year-old West African girl in 1955. She has dark skin and her hair is in tight braids. She wears a simple blue cotton school dress. Her expression is often grave and watchful.

Dossi

supporting

A 10-year-old West African girl in 1955. She is fine-boned with bright eyes and a round, expressive face. She wears simple clothing appropriate for a schoolgirl in her village.

Gbodja

supporting

An 8-year-old West African boy in 1955. He is thin and reedy, with dusty knees and a closely cropped head. He wears simple shorts and a shirt, often untucked, reflecting his restless energy.

Kemi

supporting

A young West African woman of the 1890s, Kemi is of average height with a compact, controlled, and athletic build. She has dark skin and hair tied firmly away from her face. She is practical and efficient in her movements, wearing the simple uniform of an Agojie warrior and carrying a musket and blade.

Afi

supporting

A young West African woman of the 1890s, Afi is shorter than her friends but powerfully built, with thick shoulders, hips, and muscular legs. She has dark skin and an intense, often defiant expression. She wears the Agojie uniform and carries her weapons with an aggressive readiness, preferring her sword.

Nawi

supporting

The high commander of the Agojie in the 1890s, a woman approaching fifty. Shorter than Dòkpè but with a body thickened by age and battle, not soft. Her West African face bears fine ritual marks and a broad scar from her temple to her nose. Two fingers on her left hand are permanently damaged. She wears a clean indigo tunic decorated with cowrie shells and a short blade at her waist.

Nana Sika

protagonist

PAGE 1

Panel 1:Wide shot of the ruins of the royal palace compound in Abomey. Enormous earthen red walls loom against a pale sky, their surfaces cracked and weathered. Weeds push through packed earth between crumbled structures. Nana Sika, an elderly tall woman in a faded indigo wrapper, walks quickly ahead of three children: Houéfa in a blue school dress, Dossi in simple clothes, and Gbodja in shorts and an untucked shirt. The children crane their necks at the vast scale of the place.

Narrator:“Abomey, 1955. The royal compound had always been forbidden.”

Panel 2:Medium shot of Nana Sika walking with a spring in her step, one hand extended toward the shell of a collapsed building. Her face is animated, her clear dark eyes bright. The three children cluster behind her, looking where she points.

“Nana Sika: Ruined walls once rose here. Courtyards filled with women, voices, movement.”

Panel 3:Close-up on Dossi's upturned face, eyes wide with wonder, mouth slightly open as she looks at the enormous structures around her.

“Dossi: How many Agojie were there, Nana?”

Panel 4:Medium shot of Nana Sika pausing before a vast red wall. A yawning breach marks where the main entrance once stood. Rotting timber and a rusted iron frame are all that remain of the gates. Sika stares through the opening.

“Nana Sika: So many that you could see women every day whom you had never seen before.”

Panel 5:Wide shot as Nana Sika steps through the breach in the wall, entering a broad courtyard. The three children follow close behind, unusually quiet. Before them in the center of the courtyard stands a long stone plinth — empty. Three broad marks remain on its surface where something heavy once stood. Young trees have taken root in the surrounding earth.

“Nana Sika: Beyond these walls stood the palace of King Béhanzin.”

PAGE 2

Panel 1:Medium shot of the three children approaching the empty stone plinth slowly. Weather has softened its edges and dark moss clings to one side. Three broad marks are clearly visible on its surface. Houéfa reaches out and traces one mark with her fingers.

“Houéfa: Statues?”

Panel 2:Medium shot of Nana Sika standing before the plinth, her hand raised to indicate the first empty space on the left. Her expression is serious and deliberate.

“Nana Sika: Not statues like the French put in their squares. These were royal figures. Part man, part animal.”

Panel 3:Close-up on Nana Sika's hand pointing to the first empty space on the plinth. The stone surface shows the outline of where something once stood.

“Nana Sika: King Ghézo stood there — body of a man, head of a bird with bright plumage.”

Panel 4:Medium shot of Nana Sika, her hand moving to the second empty space. The three children watch attentively behind her.

“Nana Sika: King Glélé stood beside him. Part man, part lion. His strength warned all enemies.”

Panel 5:Close-up on Nana Sika's face as she turns toward the third and final empty space. Her voice and expression carry weight — her jaw firm, her eyes distant with memory.

“Nana Sika: And there stood Béhanzin. He had the body of a man and the head of a shark.”

Panel 6:Wide shot of Nana Sika resting one hand on the empty plinth. The children stand around her in silence. The vast empty courtyard stretches behind them, weeds and young trees reclaiming the packed earth.

“Nana Sika: The shark guarded the sea. France could place ships on the water — but the shark declared it did not belong to them.”

PAGE 3

Panel 1:Medium shot of Gbodja studying the three marks on the plinth's surface, crouching low to examine them. His brow is furrowed.

“Gbodja: Where are they now?”

Panel 2:Medium shot of Nana Sika, her hand resting flat on the empty plinth. Her gaze is steady and direct at the children.

“Nana Sika: The French took them. They carried them across the sea as proof that France had defeated Dahomey.”

Panel 3:Close-up on the three children's faces — Houéfa grave and watchful, Dossi's round face stricken, Gbodja's jaw set with unusual seriousness. They stare at the plinth.

Panel 4:Medium shot of Nana Sika pointing toward the three empty spaces in turn, her finger moving deliberately from left to right. The children watch her hand.

“Nana Sika: The bird was Ghézo. The lion was Glélé. The shark was Béhanzin. Our history was carried in animals, colours, songs, carvings and stories.”

Panel 5:Close-up on Nana Sika's face, her eyes fixed on the children. Her expression is fierce and certain.

“Nana Sika: The French did not merely take three pieces of wood. They took three kings and tried to make Dahomey forget.”

Daughters Of War Graphic Novel Full: The Foreign Legion Arrives

CHARACTERS

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