Scan barcode
booksunderthewoods's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent adaptation of a little known event during the D-day invasion. It is surely one of numerous stories of allied troops working with French civilians to overcome the German army but it is very well told. Graphic novels have a tendency to focus on action due to the liberties that the medium provides but this story focuses much more on the quiet moments between and leading up to the action. I think it is that approach that made this book such an enjoyable read and worthwhile for anyone that is interested in the history of WWII or enjoys graphic novels.
lukeisthename34's review against another edition
4.0
A really interesting piece of history here, but it ends so abruptly that it feels very rushed.
mike_no1's review against another edition
3.0
Not very incredible. The action and characters is confusing to follow.
noveladdiction's review against another edition
3.0
Boy was this depressing! But that makes sense, considering it happens during a war. Very informative, yet emotional.
rosseroo's review
3.0
My taste for graphic novels genres runs more toward war or crime than superhero, so I picked this up expecting a gritty war tale. It definitely is that -- basically it's a fictional retelling of an episode from the D-Day invasion known the Battle of Graignes. Most folks know that the Allied airborne troops deployed during D-Day were generally dropped way off target. The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment (part of the 82nd Airborne) was the most off-target of them all, landing about 15 miles away from their drop zone on June 6.
They regrouped in the tiny town of Graignes, and decided to hold their position rather than risk trying to link up with American units landing on the beaches. After a few days, a German SS Panzergrenadier unit made contact with the Americans and after some initial probes, drove them from town. The book depicts all this, but focuses on the camaraderie of French civilians banding together to assist the American troops. There are the inevitable reprisals afterward, including the burning of the town, and execution of American wounded and a number of French civilians.
The author's uncle died in the battle, so it's easy to understand the project as a labor of remembrance. It strives mightily hard to evoke the spirit of people from different backgrounds banding together in the face of a common enemy, but it's not anything we haven't seen before in countless war films and books and as a story, underwhelming. The artwork has a nice rough edge to it that fits the material well, and the colors are pitch-perfect. All in all, a perfectly fine World War 2 graphic novel retelling a small piece of forgotten history.
They regrouped in the tiny town of Graignes, and decided to hold their position rather than risk trying to link up with American units landing on the beaches. After a few days, a German SS Panzergrenadier unit made contact with the Americans and after some initial probes, drove them from town. The book depicts all this, but focuses on the camaraderie of French civilians banding together to assist the American troops. There are the inevitable reprisals afterward, including the burning of the town, and execution of American wounded and a number of French civilians.
The author's uncle died in the battle, so it's easy to understand the project as a labor of remembrance. It strives mightily hard to evoke the spirit of people from different backgrounds banding together in the face of a common enemy, but it's not anything we haven't seen before in countless war films and books and as a story, underwhelming. The artwork has a nice rough edge to it that fits the material well, and the colors are pitch-perfect. All in all, a perfectly fine World War 2 graphic novel retelling a small piece of forgotten history.
squidbag's review
4.0
This is excellent, well executed, to the point, and terribly sad. Detailing the six days spent in a small French village by American forces before they were overrun by the Germans during WWII, it takes a "focus on what brings us together, for without that, we're fucked" POV, but this is almost not enough to put humanity's brave face on what happens here. When this comes out, I will select it for my library.
More...