U.S.S. Stevens | Sam Glanzman | Review
*Image and book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
This book is a compendium of Golden Age comic book artist Sam Glanzman's series U.S.S. Stevens. Complete with a foreword on Glanzman's history and notes regarding the historical events and recommended readings for more information on World War II.
Review:
My family has a history of Naval service. My dad was in the Navy. My maternal great-great-uncle was one of the first casualties after Japan started attacking the Philippines. My paternal great-uncle was one of the soldiers on the U.S.S. Indianapolis who died after delivering the atomic bomb to Tinian. So when I picked up this book, I felt like I was getting a little more connected with family history, not just my national history.
There are many sobering stories in this series. Glanzman does not glorify war or heroes. The few, more lighthearted stories, still have the sobering background of war. Some stories that start off light become sobering. At every turn of the page, you can feel Glanzman's experience and sincerity in his recreations of events that happened to him. Especially interesting to me were the "footnotes" from almost every issue in the book. These talked more on the topic the comic was covering in this issue from PTSD to gays in the military to the high number of illegitimate children born in the Philippines.
If you are interested in World War II, the US Naval History, or war stories in comic book format, this is a book for you. Glanzman mixes in many history and engineering lessons into his comics making this both an emotional and informative read.
There are many sobering stories in this series. Glanzman does not glorify war or heroes. The few, more lighthearted stories, still have the sobering background of war. Some stories that start off light become sobering. At every turn of the page, you can feel Glanzman's experience and sincerity in his recreations of events that happened to him. Especially interesting to me were the "footnotes" from almost every issue in the book. These talked more on the topic the comic was covering in this issue from PTSD to gays in the military to the high number of illegitimate children born in the Philippines.
If you are interested in World War II, the US Naval History, or war stories in comic book format, this is a book for you. Glanzman mixes in many history and engineering lessons into his comics making this both an emotional and informative read.
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