Vietnam

In Comics

I’ve been a little fixated on Vietnam the last few days. I started reading The Short-timers by Gustav Hasford, which was the main inspiration for the film Full Metal Jacket. From an American perspective, I find the Vietnam war fascinating form a socio-political and historical perspective. It was a unique war and the things that were happening at home, in America, were equally unique. So, like I said, I’ve been thinking a lot about it the last few days, so I think it’s worth running through some of the more important comics about the Vietnam War.

The 'Nam

This was the one. Unfortunately, I was eleven years old when this hit and was not quite in the right maturity or headspace to appreciate how amazing this book was. I was able to read the entirety of the series in trade paperback, years later, and although sometimes uneven, it was still a pretty amazing accomplishment. I find it amazing a for a number of reasons. Michael Golden artwork is always a high letter occasion and this may be the last of his major interiors work in comic books. Also, it tried to make the time between each issue be approximately a month, so that there was a very pronounced and relatable sense of time passing and the characters evolving, which was pretty unique, at the time. The last thing is how it was able to make a realistic, hard-hitting comic about Vietnam and stay within the comics code authority. The biggest hit to the book was the shuffling of the creative team in later years, and also abandoning the concept of the passage of time. I think in the later issues, they even tried to shoehorn the Punisher into the book.

The Other Side

This was a more recent comic by Jason Aaron and Cameron Stewart. It attempts to tell the story of the Vietnam war from the persective of a American solider and a North Vietnam soldier, and their parallel, but decidedly different experiences and perspectives. It is a decent book, but I don’t think it is completely successful. It reminds me of two Clint Eastwood films (which I have not seen), The Flags of Our Fathers, and Letters from Iwo Jima. It is interesting that they both came out around the same time. Definitely don’t think there was any funny business, but I think the time was just about right for someone to start looking at the war from both perspectives.

Vietnam Journal

This one I didn’t even know existed until I started doing research for this article, but I am very intrigued. The creator, writer, and artist, is Don Lomax, who served in Vietnam and was based on his notes and sketches during his time serving. The interior art looks pretty amazing.

The Light and Darkness War

This one is a bit of a cheat, but the basic gist is it is about a Vietnam Vet, suffering from PTSD, who gets drafted into a war in another dimension where he is reunited with his deceased war buddies. The art is by the amazing Cam Kennedy and written by the late Tom Veitch. It was published through Marvel’s Epic line and is a bit of a lost gem. Definitely worth checking out if any of the above sound interesting.

Best Vietnam book I’ve read is Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes

Best Vietnam film is Full Metal Jacket by Stanley Kubrick (runner up: Apocalypse Now)