A review by shieldbearer
The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks

dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

 

I picked this up because I saw the name "Max Brooks". While I love World War Z and Devolution as novels, I was not terribly impressed with the comic "World War Z: Recorded Attacks" and I expected this to be in a similar vein. The endorsements on the back- Henry Louis Gates, Jr!!- and the realization that this was a story that aimed to, within the limits of the comic medium, tell a historical story that made me check this out and am I ever so glad I did. The art is stark and effective - the opening shots of a dropped bomb are breathtaking. 

What most impressed me was the dedication to listing sources in the back where the reader can find more information. There's a whole-ass bibliography in there and that, if nothing else, shows just how much Brooks cares about telling this story. I honestly wish more historical novels and graphic novels would come with a bibliography, but I digress- 

This book makes the history of the Harlem Hellfighters come alive, and this is so often a cliche to say, but in this case, I truly felt it and I will definitely be chasing down the sources in the back of the book.