On the first page of his new 250-page graphic novel, "The White Donkey," U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran turned artist Maximilian Uriarte notes in big black letters: THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION.

Well, yes. But …

As an account of a couple of Marine Corps buddies during a deployment to Iraq, "The White Donkey" is, technically, a novel.

But it also is more true than just about anything you will read about America's long war in Iraq from the perspective of those who did the lion's share of the fighting and dying - the lower-ranking enlisted troops.

On its most obvious level, "The White Donkey" is the story of Abe and Garcia, two junior Marines stationed in Hawaii who are being sent to Iraq along with the rest of their infantry battalion.

But "The White Donkey" is about so much more than war. In fact, combat incidents are rather sporadic; this book is devoid of thrilling "Guns of Navarone"-type episodes. Instead, the story is really about Abe's often tortured search for some kind of meaning in his life.

Uriarte spent four years in the Marine Corps and survived a pair of combat deployments to Iraq between 2006 and 2010. He is well known in military circles for his "Terminal Lance" comic strip that runs both on his own website (terminallance.com) and in the Marine Corps Times - a civilian-owned newspaper that covers the military.

More Information 'Terminal Lance: The White Donkey' By Maximilian Uriarte. 284 pp., available on amazon.com for $24.95 starting Monday

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Uriarte spent five years creating "The White Donkey" and self-published the first edition through a rather successful Kickstarter program. Main characters Abe and Garcia also appear in the comic strip, which is both outrageously funny and not for those easily offended by salty language.

This is another aspect of the novel that rings true. (After returning home from Army boot camp, it took a few days before I stopped dropping "F bombs" into every other sentence.) Enlisted Marines and soldiers curse a lot.

But the tone of "The White Donkey" is far more somber than "Terminal Lance." There are some humorous episodes; Uriarte is an expert at reproducing the kind of obscene GI graffiti you are likely to see on the walls of a Port-o-John at a Marine Corps combat base. But this is not a collection of his comic strips.

Uriarte assists the reader by giving each region in the "The White Donkey" a distinct color scheme. Hawaii is watercolor green. Iraq is a dusty tan. And Oregon - Abe's home state - is a brooding blue. Some of the most compelling parts of "The White Donkey" happen on the home front after the tour of duty is over.

How can you talk about killing and facing death to people who have never been there? Can you ever really return home? These are the types of questions that Abe struggles to answer. Uriarte also addresses post traumatic stress disorder and the growing tally of veteran suicides.

The white donkey in the title refers to an incident during one of Uriarte's own tours of duty in Iraq when a donkey on a road caused a military convoy full of hard-charging Marines to come to a complete stop. The image, which stuck with him over the years, is reminiscent of the all-seeing eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg that stare out into the "valley of ashes" in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby."

Don't dismiss "The White Donkey" because it follows the comic-book format. This is literature. It is "The Naked and the Dead" for the millennial-generation troops who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Main characters Garcia and Abe have precious little in common, except for the fact that they are both lower-ranking Marines. Garcia is pragmatic and willing to accept the good and the bad. The Marine Corps has been a pretty sweet deal for him, all things considered. Not so for Abe.

The Marine Corps has been a disappointment for Abe, and he complains constantly about the petty indignities he endures from those of higher rank. His combat deployment has been a mixture of tedium and terror at 130 degrees - nothing like the glorious John Wayne-led "Sands of Iwo Jima" battles that every young Marine hopes for when he shows up at the recruiter's office.

But in the end, Abe finds his answer. And it is an answer that will make perfect sense for anyone who has ever served in the military.

Mike Glenn is a Houston Chronicle metro reporter.