ALAN’S WAR

author:
EMMANUEL GUIBERT

Graphic Novel
336 pages
First Second

Time provides us with the ability to soften wounds, make sense of events that have transpired in our past, and sometimes re-create memories so that they become a bit more manageable, less painful. In the graphic novel Alan’s War, The Memories of G.I. Alan Cope, this may be the case, as the book was based upon Alan’s stories as told to author and illustrator Emmanuel Guibert some decades after WWII came to a close. As a friend and confidant, Guibert was entrusted to bring to fruition the life story of Alan Cope, and he does so in a beautiful and honest manner. Mr. Cope surely would have been proud with the results (unfortunately Alan Cope passed away before the novel was published).

As an eighteen-year old living in California, Alan Cope enlists in the military and is whisked off to basic training and later to advanced training as a radio operator. He manages to sit out the majority of WWII in training, but is ultimately sent off as part of Patton’s campaign to France, Germany, and the Czech Republic. While Mr. Cope sees little action as far as actual warfare is concerned, he does witness a great deal of destruction and human tragedy that affect him deeply.

Alan’s War succeeds not only in recounting one man’s life and personal journey, but also as a work of true art. Mr. Guibert’s illustrations are stunning, and they allow the reader to experience the story on a level that is simply not possible without these black and white cells.

It’s simply one of the finest examples of a graphic novel in the market today.

purchase via IndieBound