Stephen Crane is one of my favorite authors and poets, and his classic war novel is his most expressive and powerful work. I’m amazed to see this graphic novel version capture the essence of Crane’s story so effectively. It’s visceral and moving, capturing the horror of war and death in such a way as to vibrate in your hands. The artwork style fits the subject perfectly, propelling the reader straight to the front lines. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read the digital arc, which does not reflect what looks to be a masterful coloring job as well.

My thanks to NetGalley and Abrams ComicArts for an advance copy of graphic novel retelling of a story about a young boy with dreams of finding glory in battle, and the reality that quickly overtakes him, making him more than he thought he would be.

Back in the day when one could get three comics for a dollar if one dug deep enough I found a bunch of old Classics Illustrated comics. They were ripped a bit, some covers were hanging on for dear life, but I was still interested. Even though I was a huge reader, literature that wasn't genre related was not my thing. Not fiction, and especially not stories that were older than my parents. This to me seemed like a cheat, a Cliff Notes version to stay ahead of classes in school, and told in a graphic style I was familiar with. To my surprise I enjoyed them. The art was a little simple, and my gosh there were a lot of words per panel. However I was hooked, and really wanted to see more classics in this style. A few years later, First Comics started a new run of Classics Illustrated, with hot comic artists doing classic stories. The art was more the focus, at least that is how I remember it, but they were still very good, and something I enjoyed. I wondered why at the time why the big publishers never did there own versions of Graphic Classics or something. Comics are a good gateway to stories, not being daunting like a big book on a shelf. Even fun, in a way. It has taken some time, but finally publishers have caught up. This story might be the most timely, asking questions about what makes a man, what is the sense of war, and the feelings of the elites toward their "peasant" soldiers. Questions that Steven Crane posed years ago in The Red Badge of Courage: A Graphic Novel Adaptation of Stephen Crane’s Classic, illustrated by Steve Cuzor, and in a time of forever wars and questions about masculinity, seems even more important today.

Henry Fleming has done something that most young men do, ignored his mother and done something that made sense at the time, but was probably not the best of ideas. The time is the Civil War, and Fleming as joined the Union Army, the 304th New York Infantry, and is worried about what might happen during his first encounter with the traitorous Rebels. Along with Fleming is a fellow soldier from his hometown Jim Conklin, who in a fit of honesty admits that if others break and run, he would run with them. Fleming and his companions are sent to combat for the first time, meeting a line of Rebel turncoats advancing, and beating them back. The Confederates attack again, and Fleming fearing the worst runs. Retreating to the rear Fleming finds his commanding officers discussing their victory, and Fleming feels worse for running away. As Fleming wanders among the rear, he finds a group of wounded soldiers, along with his friend Jim Conklin who dies of a wound. Eventually Fleming returns to his troops, with a scalp wound that looks bad enough that others think it received it in combat. Just in time for another day at war.

Stephen Crane was ahead of other writers in looking at war, not as a glorious battle of the righteous against the wicked, not at the tactics used by the victors over the losers, but as a place of mud, blood, broken bodies, and shattered dreams. Crane exposed the ideas of the officers detesting their peasant armies, promising a box of cigars for victory, a victory carved our of human flesh. The illustrator Cuzor does a very good job of conveying all this, along with the inner voice of Fleming, the inner voice that tries to keep Fleming alive. The story still holds up, as most classics do, and still seems raw and upfront in its discussion and showing of war. The art is really good, the characters are all clear, and one knows who they are. The battles are scenes of chaos, with smoke, and shadows, and chaos. One never gets lost or confused, and one really gets a very small sense of how horrific it must have been.

An outstanding achievement conveying the ideas of the story, along with making an exciting read that holds readers from beginning to end. I hope more publishers look to this, and see that people want more from graphic novels than guys in capes punching things. I can't wait for more from both the illustrator Steve Cuzor and the publisher.

How did you write a war comic about a man's fear of blood (in the most dumbed-down sense) and decide to make the art dull? A bright splash of red would have brought so much life to the pages. As someone who is not a history buff, I can't recognize the Union soldiers versus the Confederate, a colored variation of the uniform would have made distinction way easier.

The story was bland, his emotion was not conveyed well through the art or the dialogue. After talking with some other librarians, it sounds like Cuzor did not have much to go off in the original work anyway. Big disappointment.

I thought this was well done. It captures the drama and the violence of a few battles during this time. Its realism is spot-on, and what you would expect to see if you were a soldier back in those days of the Civil War. Rumors abound concerning what was going to happen. Were they going to fight? Were they not? The spoken doubts about the leadership also brings home the reality of how people feel when they are used as fodder. The artwork is excellent, capturing the scenes with vivid detail. I recommend this for high school age and above who can handle distrubing scenes of the Civil War.

Thanks to NetGalley and Abrams ComicArts for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Red Badge of Courage is one of those classic books that I never got around to reading when I was younger. One of the reasons I stayed away is because I knew it was about war, which I do not enjoy reading about. However, I decided to give this graphic novel a try.

Set during the heart of the United States’ Civil War in the 1860s, the book is a stark look at the conditions men were forced to fight in. The artwork conveys the utter demoralizing and awful conditions found as troops marched to their next battle. The battlefield conditions were horrendous, and the casualties were high for both sides.

Henry Fleming, the protagonist of the story, is not much more than a kid when he decides to join the union army instead of being drafted. He soon finds, however, that his idea of battlefield glory is replaced by utter despair and fear and cowardice.

I appreciated how the artwork showed some of the many layers to the story with the depictions of Henry Fleming and his battalion. The scenes of battle are bleak, and Henry’s struggles are shown not just with words, but with the excellent artwork of illustrator Steve Cuzor.

I’m not sure how many teens would pick this graphic novel up of their own volition, but I’ve found that reluctant readers can and will gravitate towards books with pictures quite readily, no matter the subject. Would recommend to anyone who, like me, was afraid of tackling a classic about the war machine.

I appreciated the notes at the end that talks more about the life of Stephen Crane, whose life was all too short.

A great graphic novel on a classic novel. The artwork was well-done and the story was maintained to be able to follow the plot. The novel was full of action as well as an introspective look into a person’s character and soul. A great read!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.