U.S.S. Stevens

This book is incredible. It is a man's story of World War II told in comic form. It's very powerful. I'll be recommending this for my library.

Exceptional artwork and even more exceptional stories. A rather obscure comic series thankfully reprinted. Most highly recommended.

Short tales of life and death in America's WWII Pacific fleet from Sam Glanzman, who served on the real Stevens; these are the sort of autobiographical comics I can get behind, rather than some badly-drawn indie movie mope. Originally delivered over the course of decades, the evolution of the art is fascinating to watch, and it started out as a sort of casual Hugo Pratt so was already doing pretty well in the first place (though I should note that, not for the first time, Netgalley compression rendered the black and white period quite hard to follow so I can't really comment on those). The writing isn't always so fluent (in particular, the way the captain is always 'Lt. Comm. T.A. Rakov' would be fine on a nameplate but looks weird in captions) - overall, though, it's a damn sight better than in most old war comics. I'm reluctant to privilege first-hand experience too much in a writer, because that's one of the roads that leads to doubting Shakespeare authorship &c, and I've read plenty of eyewitness accounts that were less convincing than equivalent ventriloquisms and fictions. Still, Glanzman has both experience and talent, and that's a winning combination. For me it comes through less in the horror and pity of war stuff, or even the black humour, which you can also find in a writer who never served such as Garth Ennis (whose recommendation caused me to check this out). The really remarkable moments are the peaceful night-time seas, the pure sillinesses, the tall tales - the stuff a writer who wasn't there might easily feel they hadn't earned. Endnotes and footnotes make clear that not every incident here happened to the Stevens, but they all happened, or near enough. Which also means, of course, that there's not really an agenda. The mid-period work tends to sign off with 'Make war no more', but there are as many stories of heroism and nobility here as anger and waste. Presumably because it's easy for comfy civilians to think war is all one or the other, when the people who've been there know the story is a lot more complicated than that.

Great art and a very good set of stories for history buffs.

My 10-year-old son is a big WWII aficionado and provided this review: It was great. I liked how it incorporated the big picture and the small stories and campaigns. The art showed all the small details.

This graphic novel is appropriate for adults and teens. It is about the naval stories of WWII and the real life accounts make it very interesting.

I received a copy from Netgalley for an honest review.

This is a compilation of the short graphic stories of Sam Glanzman from some of the popular 1970's war comics from DC Comics, such as Our Army At War.

These are short biographical tales as Sam Glanzman actually served aboard the Destroyer, U.S.S. Stevens, in the Pacific War. They stand out as not being jingoistic and not always about the men of the Stevens. Some of the tales highlight Japanese pilots or soldiers and are often shown in a sympathetic light. Most of the tales are only 4 pages long and convey more history and emotion than most longer stories. Highly recommended.

Reading this took me back to when I would visit relatives and read their Sgt. Rock comic collection. Sam Galanzman and Dover have provided a convenient way to revisit old memories and make new ones while getting personal glimpses of WWII navel action. No, this is not large scale action, rather USS Stevens is about individuals doing their duty, remembering home, enduring horrific air attacks, and finding comedy amid the chaos of war. Thanks, Sam, for your service and your comics!