The Other Side Special Edition

If you're a fan of the war graphic novels of Wayne Vansant and Don Lomax you'll enjoy this one

I will admit that I am a sucker for Superhero comics. For the longest time it was the bulk of my comic purchases. I have been trying to branch out lately in my comic selection and I have enjoyed Jason Aaron's previous work on Scalped Vol. 1: Indian Country and his run of Ghost Rider Vol. 1: Hell Bent and Heaven Bound (v. 5). So at [...] for the trade, I decided to pick this up. The story is told from the perspective of an American soldier and a Vietnamese soldier's journal entries of the Vietnam war. Without spoiling anything, I want to say that this is a solid read from beginning to end, no filler. It is violent, scary, sad, and it has some awesome imagery of how each soldiers mind starts to give out as the war progresses on. When I first flipped through the trade, I was a bit disappointed by the artwork because it seemed too "cartoon-like" for a War story to be taken serious. But once I got home and started reading, those feelings went right out the window as the story took over. Maybe it was just the strength of the story, I don't know. You don't need any prior knowledge going into this to enjoy it. A solid trade of a Great War story for a good price, highly recommended.

At first I wasn't sure of what to make of the ghostly visions seen by Marine Private Billy Everette in this comic, but by the end of the book, and its final shot (to the gut), the whole thing came together in expert fashion. At times the back and forth between the U.S. soldier's and the Vietnam soldier's story got a little too choppy, and some of the events feel like we've watched them unspool on movie screens before, but Cameron Stewart's grisly rendering of Jason Aaron's script made the horrors come to life in shocking, effective detail--and in ways we've never seen on a comic book page or anywhere else. And it only gets more cringe-inducing the longer it sits with you. Good stuff.

I didn't expect a comic to be so moving or for its story to linger with me. Innocence Lost is a theme much explored in the best of literature, and it gets a fresh take here. By showing us how war damages in particular two soldiers, American and Vietnamese, Aaron shows how war damages us all. The dialog rings true, and the pacing is excellent. I look forward to seeing more from this exceptionally talented writer.

While I've always had a soft spot for comics like The Nam or Vietnam War Journal, the latter of those was probably my favorite for its more unflinching depiction of war and the characters' knee-deep-in-it placement. While I'll always applaud Marvel for even putting out The Nam, I always felt like too many issues left the devastation in the background, in the form of explosions on the horizon with characters reflecting back on it from their safe distance. That and the Punisher cameo. When I found Apple's Vietnam War Journal, it seemed a much more intense and authentic experience - it wasn't a Marvel comic, so you knew someone was going to die and stay dead; hell, it was in black-and-white - anything goes. Anyway, let me get to the point before I further digress into my criticisms and verbose rants (insert trademark symbol). It's been many years since either of those books have seen print, and - as far as my memory serves - the comic shelves haven't seen a war comic in quite some time, aside from a handful of Ennis titles. So it was a pleasant surprise to see Vertigo putting out this mini-series last year; even more so that it was really good. Jason Aaron is related to the late author Gus Hasford (The Short Timers, among others, which became Full Metal Jacket), and it was nice to see that unforgettably great phrases like "get ready to run like a bald-headed chicken f***er" run in the family. In fact, one of the great things about this title is the superb balance of good dialogue and resonating imagery. Whether it be talking rats taking dibs on a young private's eyes when he dies, ghastly uniformed skeletons in the chopper waiting to land with everyone else on board, or heaps of bodies unceremoniously populating the setting, the line between the "real" and the "unreal" becomes moot in war, and they are both just as haunting. Cameron Stewart is a good asset to Aaron's script as well, and his art delivers the same "freaking-creepy" factor which I liked in some of his past work, like Seaguy. If you missed the mini-series, pick up this newly released trade; it is not your typical Vietnam War story, and while that is one of its greatest strengths, it is such an engaging read that even the most rigid advocates of formulaic plot will have trouble not enjoying it. Yes, even you die-hard Marvel people (sorry, I couldn't resist). While you're at the comic shop, look for Aaron's newest from Vertigo, Scalped. It is just as good. Trust me, Captain America will come back, Superman will still fly, and The Crisis of 52 Infinite Civil Wars will come and go and come back again and again, and you won't be missing too much by passing on those and instead trying out something new. Who knows, when it's done this well, you may never go back to tights and capes again. Besides, Steve Rogers never had dialogue as good as "I'm ready for death ... and yonder the f***er comes."