War Genre in Graphic Novels

Definition

The war genre of graphic novels comprises those whose primary concern is to represent, investigate, or report on wars. These conflicts can be actual or fictitious. These works depict the effects of wars on the characters, cultures, and countries.

Introduction

Though any genre is by nature constantly revising the boundaries by which it is defined, the war genre of graphic novels is particularly difficult to encapsulate within a single definition. Action and conflict are ubiquitous in graphic literature, and themes of conflict so routinely cross genre barriers that they alone cannot constitute a unique category of text. Similarly, many of the most celebrated graphic narratives that address war and warfare do so without presenting the conflict per se. As a result, a definition of the genre seems impossibly broad, but it might feasibly read as “graphic novels whose primary concern is to represent, investigate, or report on wars, real or fictitious, or the effects of wars on the characters, cultures, or countries that experienced them.”

Graphic novels in the war genre have a mixed parentage that is evident in the myriad approaches to their chosen topics. Within the war genre are works of comics journalism, autographics, fictionalized historical warfare, and fictional warfare. The variety of approaches makes difficult a general theory of the genre, but it also testifies to the robust nature of the comic book medium.

Early comics purporting to portray narratives of real adventure stories and comics aimed directly at parents and educational systems often focused on American war heroes, from the Revolutionary War to expansionist battles in the American West. True Comics, published between 1941 and 1950 by Parents’ Magazine Press, is one such antecedent to the war genre, though contrary to the titular emphasis on the veracity of the accounts, the narratives within were often sensationalized. Classics Illustratedoriginally Classic Comicspublished by the Gilberton Company from 1941 to 1971, is another antecedent to the modern war graphic novel. Unlike True Comics, however, the Gilberton comics emphasized historical accuracy in order to be more marketable to parents and educators. Together, these comics represent the parentage of the war genre of graphic novels, though the mixed genetics of sensationalism and veracity appear differently in the phenotypes of their many contemporary offspring.

Another important antecedent to representations of war in the graphic novel is the work of illustrator and editor Harvey Kurtzman. Kurtzman was himself enlisted in the army during World War II, though he never saw battle during his service. Instead, he contributed to the war effort by developing his artistic talent, authoring comics and single panels in Army publications such as Yank and the newsletter published out of his station, Camp Sutton, called The Carry All. Additionally, Kurtzman was among the many soldier-artists who designed instructional posters for training camps and American propaganda posters encouraging, among other things, donations to the Army Emergency Relief effort. It was Kurtzman’s work after the war, however, as editor of two war titles published by Entertaining (EC) Comics, Two-Fisted Tales (1950–55) and Frontline Combat (1951–54), that is most relevant to the development of the war genre. The titles adhered to Kurtzman’s pedagogical mission to educate children about the horrific realities of war. Marked by Kurtzman’s narrative and illustrative concern for veracity as well as EC’s penchant for explicit violence, prevalent as well in their horror and science-fiction titles, these two series are often cited as setting the standard for treatment of war in graphic literature.

The development of underground comics in the late 1960s and early 1970s also played an important role in the development of the war genre in graphic novels. While Kurtzman’s work for EC Comics presented a realist argument against his country’s involvement in the Korean War, that argument was articulated largely in humanistic rather than political terms. The counterculture generation that came after Kurtzman left as their legacy an urge to disparage, defile, and parody all that the dominant American ideology held sacrosanct. In their more explicit challenge to what they viewed as a repressive culture, the underground comics movement also introduced the autographican auteurist author’s presence in the panels of the comics, narrating political events or depictions of events in his or her own life. In their passionate resistance to the accepted standards of comics, the pioneers of the underground comics expanded the use of the form, paving the way for many of the autographic and journalistic works in the war genre of graphic novels.

Graphic novels of the war genre have built upon these antecedents in their address of marginalized peoples and modern conflicts. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Iraq War, and the American battle against terrorism have all become the focus of graphic narrative, as have conflicts in Macedonia, Bosnia, and Palestine. While these graphic novels, both fiction and nonfiction, have attracted much critical and academic acclaim, many prospective areas of research remained to be explored.

Comics Journalism and Autographics

Much of the most compelling work in the war genre of graphic novels derives its power from Kurtzman’s model of intensive research and its focus from the independent voices of the underground comics movement. In establishing an ethos based on an academic concern for veracity and a humanist concern for providing a media outlet for the experiences of otherwise marginalized peoples, these graphic novels have instigated a return of the graphic narrative to the history classroom.

Jack Jackson’s graphic novels Comanche Moon (1979) and Los Tejanos (1982) are early examples of work in this vein. In his work, Jackson seeks to address the complicated history of the relationship between the United States and Mexico from the point of view of Texan Indigenous peoples. His narratives of mixed-race Comanche chief Quanah Parker and the controversial revolutionary Juan N. Seguin are meticulously researched and include detailed bibliographies of prose sources. Los Tejanos is notably less explicit in its imagery than the earlier Comanche Moon, however, which suggests that Jackson’s work, like that of others working in the nonfiction war-genre tradition, seeks to temper sensationalism in an effort to attract a wider audience to its marginalized perspectives.

Another way to verify the accuracy of the graphic text is through the first-person eyewitness perspective of its author. The graphic novel work of comics journalists such as Joe Sacco, David Axe, and Ted Rall is authenticated by their own personal testimony. Sacco’s graphic novels Palestine (1993; published as a collected work in 2001) and Safe Area Goražde (2000) are two of the best-known examples of the genre, but also important is his War’s End (2005), which furthers his reportage on the Bosnian War. Cementing the connection between war-genre graphic novels and underground comics is Macedonia: What Does It Take to Stop a War? (2007), a collaboration between Harvey Pekar and author Heather Robinson, the latter of whom visited Macedonia in search of evidence that war is not inevitable. Rall’s To Afghanistan and Back (2002) and Axe’s War Fix (2006) are other important contributions to the war genre of graphic novels made by traveling or embedded journalists.

War Fiction

Graphic fiction in the war genre has also taken up concerns related to real-world conflicts. In fictionalizing real events, however, these graphic narratives tread the dangerous line between sensationalism and respect for those who have suffered in the particular conflict. On the other hand, fictionalizing a true event may enable authors and illustrators to address very real concerns, such as military recruiting scandals, the role of the media in modern warfare, and unforeseen casualties resulting from undischarged ammunition, through exaggeration, parable, or allegory. A prime example of the ambiguous ethics of fictionalized accounts is Kyle Baker’s Special Forces (2007–08), about a group of teenage American soldiers in Iraq. The narrative was inspired by reports of dishonorable US Army recruitment policies, and the illustrations take pains to represent the horrors of children scarred by warfare. However, Baker addresses these issues through the adventures of his lead protagonist, who rushes from skirmish to skirmish in what is left of her ragged T-shirt and shorts, often foregrounding anatomy in a way that mitigates the implications of the satire.

Not all fictionalized accounts are as sexualized as Special Forces, however. Anthony Lappé and Dan Goldman’s Shooting War (2006), a fictional account of an Iraq War correspondent, demonstrates another way in which fictionalizing allows for satire. The narrative is premised on an unending American quagmire in Iraq, and the protagonist, Jimmy Burns, is an embedded blogger whose reports seek to correct oversimplified understandings of the relationships between Middle Eastern national and religious groups as well as between the American military and corporate media.

A third intriguing approach to fictionalizing real events is represented by author Brian K. Vaughan and illustrator Niko Henrichon’s Pride of Baghdad (2006). Vaughan and Henrichon use animal protagonists to tell their version of the true story of the animals who escaped from the Baghdad Zoo after a series of American bombing campaigns. The use of animal protagonists in a traumatic narrative recalls Art Spiegelman’s Maus (1986, 1991), but Vaughan and Henrichon use the animals to a different effect. Unlike Spiegelman’s illustrations, Henrichon’s are naturalistic, creating a strange juxtaposition with the articulate thoughts Vaughan has scripted for the animals. The narrative challenges its audience to read for an allegory, while the violent images of weapons turned on animals is effective in ways that violence against people in the war genre might otherwise not have been.

Impact

Perhaps due to the difficulty of defining the genre, some aspects of the war genre in graphic novels have yet to receive a thorough theoretical treatment. One of the key issues not yet fully explored is the dark shadow of exploitation that lurks beneath comics reportage in the genre. For example, a graphic novel written by an American and covering a war in Iraq must confront the question of whether the author’s profiting from the coverage of the trauma of Iraqi peoples is exploitative. The question is all the more pertinent for those working on fictionalized accounts. Similarly, while the underground comics movement exploded the limits of acceptable representation, theory should address the ethical implications of representations of lived trauma. While some studies have been published on the ethical interactions between author and subject, text and reader, in comics more generally, a similar study could focus on the war genre of graphic novels in particular.

A formal analysis of war-genre graphic novels is also missing. The genre houses work by many of the most ambitious authors and illustrators in the field of graphic novels, and in a genre dominated by both armed action and grim reportage, the stylistic decisions made by these creators deserve closer theoretical inspection. These graphic novels must not only express action in a still medium but also make editorial decisions regarding what images to include within the frames. One key area of inquiry, for example, is the role of the graphic novel format in representational decisions, as the format is much longer and therefore provides more room for development than traditional comic books, comic strips, and political cartoons.

Regardless, the tradition of the war genre in graphic novels and nonfiction continued into the 2020s. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the horrific violence the Russian military unleashed on the Ukrainian populace inspired works such as Messages from Ukraine. This work of graphic nonfiction was written by Gregg Bucken-Knapp and illustrated by Joonas Sildre. The Israeli military incursion into Gaza following the Hamas attacks of October 2023 prompted the republication of Palestine, Sacco's notable graphic novel that had been produced almost thirty years earlier. Sacco's work of nonfiction illustrated his travels among the peoples of Palestine in the early 1990s.

Bibliography

Bucken-Knapp, Gregg, and Joonas Sildre. Messages from Ukraine. U of Toronto P, 2022.

Conroy, Mike. War Stories: A Graphic History. New York: HarperCollins, 2009.

McAllister, Matthew P., et al., editors. Comics and Ideology. Peter Lang, 2001.

Pagan, Amanda. "Art and War: World War II Graphic Novels." New York Public Library, 23 Mar. 2021, www.nypl.org/blog/2021/03/23/art-war-wwii-graphic-novels. Accessed 11 July 2024.

Prorokova, Tatiana and Tal, Nimrod. Cultures of War in Graphic Novels: Violence, Trauma, and Memory. Rutgers UP, 2018.

Sheehan, Dan. "Joe Sacco’s Acclaimed Graphic Novel about Gaza Is Being Rushed Back into Print." Literary Hub, 11 Dec. 2023, lithub.com/joe-saccos-acclaimed-graphic-novel-about-gaza-is-being-rushed-back-into-print. Accessed 11 July 2024.

Versaci, Rocco. This Book Contains Graphic Language: Comics as Literature. Continuum, 2007.

Witek, Joseph. Comic Books as History: The Narrative Art of Jack Jackson, Art Spiegelman, and Harvey Pekar. UP of Mississippi, 1989.