Graphic novels lend themselves to depicting the frenzy of combat. Illustrators can give readers an aerial shot of colliding sides and then zoom in on, say, a bayonet and a body, showing the gore and splatter with a Tarantino-esque clarity. The following editors’ picks evoke the bloodshed of battles in fields and cities, from a cannibalistic cult operating during WWI to a sibling duo navigating the Russian Civil War to a Black superhero/DEI officer looking to exact justice.
Sam Freeman and Sam Romesburg’s Hound, illustrated by Rodrigo Vásquez with lettering by Justin Birch, is set during WWI and adds a grisly supernatural element. A young British private is sent to the front to join the Hounds, so called because of the snouts of their omnipresent gas masks. The private soon learns of their wartime sport: The Hounds release tortured captive German soldiers, morph into semi-human monsters, then hunt and devour the men. “This stark, unsettling story is told by Freeman and Romesburg with confidently effective understatement,” says our critic in a starred review. “They seem well aware that excess verbiage is the enemy of mood. And that mood is greatly enhanced by Vásquez’s vivid, jittery, full-color artwork, full of scratchy line-work that underscores the gruesome horrors that Private Barrow both witnesses and perpetrates; as he’s told when he’s a boy, ‘In this life, we will hurt those that don’t deserve it.’ A visceral and neatly executed graphic parable of war’s dehumanizing power.”
Edenfrost, another wartime graphic novel with a supernatural twist, is set during the Russian Civil War. Amit Tishler’s story, illustrated by Bruno Frenda, follows Yuli and Alex, siblings desperate to reach their extended family in Kyiv while hunted by officers of the White army. Fortunately, the duo has a “monster made of rock and ice” whom they can summon to do their bidding. Says our reviewer, “Frenda’s realistic, full-color artwork…captivates, sometimes ably carrying the story alone, and rendering various fight and battle sequences with a cinematic flair—albeit with a level of gore that may not be suitable for younger readers. Avid comic-book fans will find that the overall style successfully captures the feeling of classic 20th-century war comics.An impressive, pulse-pounding start to a new series that will leave readers eager for another compilation.”
During a rash of kidnappings, Chris Withers, a former special forces soldier turned social psychologist, has noticed that only white people seem to get justice from the many working superheroes in Dale City. David Washington’s Black Defender: The Awakening (illustrated by Zhengis Tasbolatov) charts Withers’ determination to deliver justice for all, creating an alter ego named Black Defender to do so. Our reviewer notes, “There’s nothing subtle or arch about Washington’s treatment of the topic, which actually works in the book’s favor; by the time Black Defender squares off with a clueless white superhero who has just reflexively rescued a crooked cop, the reader has totally bought in. Paired with excellent illustrations by Tasbolatov, this graphic novel more than delivers on the promise of its premise. A social justice–minded superhero for the Black Lives Matter era.”
Chaya Schechner is the president of Kirkus Indie.
