True War Stories, with Proceeds Going to Military Charities

Civilians often (rather insensitively) request war stories from veterans, but those who lived to tell them can be hesitant to do so, because they aren’t sure if they will truly be understood or appreciated. However, a fellow veteran comics writer like Khai Krumbhaar can relate to their experiences. She and Alex de Campi edited True War Stories, a graphic anthology of wartime experiences now available in tradepaper, the proceeds from which go to military charities, including the USO.

For the most part, the contributors wanted to tell stories that were meaningful to them, for personal and even idiosyncratic reasons, but they are not necessarily historical turning points. For instance, probably the two best tales are Krumbhaar’s “Rebels of Macadamia” and Matt Moores’ “Man Overboard,” because they illustrate the hyper-reality of war, but with a slyly dark sense of humor. Frankly, they remind me of the [maybe not-so] slightly off-color anecdotes I heard from my late Naval aviator father.

Fittingly, the Navy is represented in “Man Overboard,” which turns out to be the most ribald yarn of the lot—and dad would be so proud. Peter Krause’s art also nicely suits the characters’ hardnosed and rowdy attitudes.

Krumbhaar’s “Rebels of Macadamia” is the sort of story that shows how war warps the margins of reality, in comical and even macabre ways. It captures a hidden war within the war, waged by Krumbhaar and her army colleagues against the rats in one of Saddam former palaces. The winners would enjoy the white chocolate macadamia cookies they both coveted.

They stakes are considerably higher in Robert Kent’s “My Vietnam Story,” which is well-served by Dave Acosta’s gritty and powerful art. If you thought Krypto was heroic in Superman, wait to you see Maverick, a German shepherd service dog, who foils a potentially calamitous Viet Cong attack. “War stories” do not get much more “war” than this one.

Several contributions illustrate the dividends paid by rigorous and repetitive military training, such as Ian Eishen’s “Joint Team,” methodically chronicling the Navy SEALs tracking a kidnapped Filipino girl, running reconnaissance missions, and carefully planning the rescue operation to be conducted by the Filipino SEAL team, due to the diplomatic rules of engagement at that time. Likewise, Juan Vaca’s “OK” depicts the extraordinary discipline of Marine snipers, notably including the discipline sometimes required to hold fire.

There are three incredibly moving stories. Jerrod Alberich’s “Best Day, Worst Day” depicts the bonds of camaraderie and the fear of losing a brother after a surprise attack. It also gives some good PR to the WWE, who were at Camp Victory, Iraq to stage a performance (or whatever term they prefer) at the time of the mortar shelling.

Truthfully, active-duty Army officer Stephen Cady’s “Brothers” would (and should) make a terrific movie. After a harrowing deployment, seen in extensive flashbacks, Lt. Cady finds himself temporarily quartered on Bagram Air Force base as he awaits transit back to the States. In a twist of fate, the Marine half-brother he barely knows is also stationed there, so he somewhat reluctantly agrees to meet for their mother’s sake. That reunion stretches into seven of the most emotionally resonant pages of sequential graphic story-telling you will ever read in your life.

Yet, perhaps “Prayer Healing,” written by Benari Poulton (currently an Army Reserve Master Sergeant) is just as poignant, if not more so. Ironically, though deployed to Afghanistan (at a time when there was famously precisely one Jewish Afghan still residing in-country), Poulton found great comfort in the Kandahar Air Base Jewish services. He became a contact for the community, so in the chaplain’s absence, he is summoned to a Jewish soldier’s hospital bed, for his Purple Heart ceremony. It is a touching story, but it embraces life rather than sorrow.

There are two misfires. Unfortunately, the woke “Yonder” does not fit thematically, nor does the more cartoony art. There is another story that does not really work, because it is too over-stylized for its own good. Regardless, thirteen out of fifteen is a remarkable high winning percentage for an anthology.

Indeed, there are some amazing stories in Krumbhaar & de Campi’s collection, as well as considerably more humor than you might expect. Yet, that is what rings true from my family experience, as a son of the Army and Navy and a grandson of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Collectively very highly recommended, True War Stories is now available at book and comic retailers.