| Title | : | The Harlem Hellfighters |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0307464970 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780307464972 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 257 |
| Publication | : | First published April 1, 2014 |
In 1919, the 369th infantry regiment marched home triumphantly from World War I. They had spent more time in combat than any other American unit, never losing a foot of ground to the enemy, or a man to capture, and winning countless decorations. Though they returned as heroes, this African American unit faced tremendous discrimination, even from their own government. The Harlem Hellfighters, as the Germans called them, fought courageously on--and off--the battlefield to make Europe, and America, safe for democracy.
In THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS, bestselling author Max Brooks and acclaimed illustrator Caanan White bring this history to life. From the enlistment lines in Harlem to the training camp at Spartanburg, South Carolina, to the trenches in France, they tell the heroic story of the 369th in an action-packed and powerful tale of honor and heart.
The Harlem Hellfighters Reviews
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I love it when graphic novels are used to tell personal or historical stories -- it's true that they are not just for superheroes.*
Max Brooks said he has been fascinated by the African-American infantry regiment known as the Harlem Hellfighters since he first learned about them in 5th grade. The Hellfighters were honored for their service in World War I:
"We spent 191 days in combat. Longer than any American unit, white or black. In all that time we never lost a trench to the enemy ... or a man to capture. We became one of the most decorated units, black or white, in the entire American Expeditionary Force. Despite being forbidden to fight with our own army, despite imported prejudice from our own government, despite the insults and restrictions and every possible attempt to 'repress them sternly,' despite being set up to fail, we not only stopped Germany's best from taking Paris, but also helped drive them all the way back to their Fatherland. And when that damn war finally ended, we became the first soldiers of any army, of any color, to reach the Rhine River."
For years Brooks (author of the best selling World War Z) tried to get a movie made about the Hellfighters, but the studios weren't interested and said there wasn't a market for it. Finally, Brooks had the idea to write the story in graphic novel form, and it worked spectacularly well. The incredible artwork by Caanan White shows the horror of that War to End All Wars, and of the fierce spirit of the men who fought in it. We see the rats in the trenches, the gas and barbed wire of No Man's Land, the damage that a machine gun could do to the human body, and the shell shock of the soldiers.
In addition to the war scenes, we also get stories of the racism the Hellfighters experienced while they were training in the American South. It wasn't until they served along side the French that they were treated like equals. And yet back in the States, they were still thought of as inferior.
"We'd been getting news from home. Bigotry and violence were getting worse, not better. Lynch mobs, race riots, black civilians were still dying at the hands of their fellow Americans. And here we were, spilling our blood, losing our friends, seeing things, doing things, the likes of which can change a man forever."
There is an upbeat end to the story in that the Harlem Hellfighters had a parade in their honor on February 17, 1919. More than a million New Yorkers came out to welcome them home.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in World War I or in African-American history.
*If you want to read more graphic novels, some of my favorite personal and/or historical ones are the Maus books by Art Spiegelman; Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi; Nat Turner by Kyle Baker; Blankets by Craig Thompson; Fun Home by Alison Bechdel; and Guy Delisle's Burma Chronicles and Pyongyang. -
Forgotten heroes of a forgotten war...
That’s the Harlem Hellfighters, the name the Germans gave to them. They called themselves The Black Rattlers, fighting men of The 15th New York National Guard. When their own country wouldn’t let them fight with them, they fought alongside the French army, and were called the 369th Infantry Regiment. By any name, they were one of the most decorated units in the American Expeditionary Force, spent more time in combat (191 days) than any other American unit, and were the first soldiers of any army to reach the Rhine. Despite being rejected by their own country. Despite being set up to fail. Despite official orders from the American Command for the French to treat them with the same discrimination and disrespect as did American whites. They were men of pride, men of mettle. They were heroes.
Max Brooks wanted to turn this story into a movie. He was told that World War I didn’t sell, and a World War I story focused on Black characters didn’t stand a chance. Eventually, he teamed up with illustrator Caanan White and instead of a screenplay created this stunning graphic novel. The story is tragically powerful. The black and white illustrations enhance that power. This is historical fiction at its best in graphic novel form. -
As far as I can tell, this is a lightly fictionalized account of the
Harlem Hellfighters, an all-black regiment that served in World War I. Though American, they served for and with a French army that treated them with significantly more humanity than that of their own country. It's a compelling story, that Brooks has made very readable. The racism that the regiment encounters can be very difficult to read, but it absolutely should be read. It's a shame that, despite their accomplishments, the men of the 369th have been largely forgotten.
The art does drag down the story a bit. It can be hard to tell what's going on during action scenes, and there are places where the violence is so incredibly over the top that it's just plain distracting. -
I'm afraid the ratings may be inflated on this book because of the subject matter. First of all I find WWI stories fascinating right off the bat. So I was ready to like this one alot before I even started. Second, I think there is a reluctance to give a bad rating to anything tackling the subject of racism. This book is not bad, but I think it will make a better movie than it did a graphic novel. The author has said the story started as a script he's been floating around Hollywood and adapted it to a graphic novel. Overall I liked the book, just found it a little 2 dimensional. Yeah, the black guys are heroic, yeah they are persecuted anyway, etc. I get it. There wasn't much more depth. I think there could be alot more about the war conditions the men dealt with in general and the black character(s) who were motivated to go to war to be paid by white folks to kill other white folks. More of that kind of grey area motivation would make it more interesting. The artwork is great, however I think it suffers from the smaller format. A larger format book with narrower margins would really let the artwork shine. Definitely worth reading, but not a 4.5 star book.
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This is one of those books that blurs the boundary between kid's picture books and more YA ish graphic novels. It's being called a graphic novel by many folks on GR (not sure if it is advertised that way) but is shaped like a picture book and laid out like one. The material is too adult for a young picture book crowd. I would say the content is more appropriate for middle-grade or YA. While the story is important and fascinating, I don't think it's addressed in enough depth to truly be called a graphic novel/history. But, I like these form and genre-related questions. It's always interesting to me when books don't fall into expected categories.
The writer originally wanted to make a film on the topic, and I hope a film is made, or several films, because this is not just one story. It's many stories. It would really enrich American historical and cultural understandings if several of these stories (about the war, about the music, about the soldiers and their families) were part of mainstream media and school curricula.
The art, for the most part, is fantastic. Beautiful. There are eerie convergences of beautiful art and violent circumstances. There is one page with a piano in a field that is really captivating.
I highly recommend this book because of the content and the art and I hope it inspires and opens doors for many related works. -
This book is so worth reading and has such troubling flaws that I've struggled to review it. On the one hand it's a story very few Americans know of, about a black Regiment in the segregated U.S. military during World War I, so disciplined and fierce that they never retreated or even lost a trench, and who spent the most time in combat of all U.S. units. That people believe only white Americans served in WWI is shameful, and the best part of the book is Brooks's Afterword, explaining his fondness for the Harlem Hellfighters and the research history of this project.
But much of the representation of battle lacks humanity. We're asked to sympathize with black soldiers who are attacked by bigots when they come home, who have to trick the army into giving them rifles, and discover that the U.S. has instructed the French not to treat them with dignity for fear they will be spoiled. Anyone's empathy will be tapped. Yet this is incompatible with how Brooks and White depict battles, which is all Action Movie glorification of these badasses shooting and stabbing their enemies to death. Killing fellow human beings should be ultimate evil the world forces them into, and yet it receives minimal reflection. There are multiple explosions where people's bodies disintegrate except for perfectly preserved intestines, which splay like ribbons across the page in ludicrous displays of over-the-top violence. There is no empathy for opposing forces that are fundamentally trapped in the same and most evil part of any cultural system: war.
It's difficult to recommend a war book for something other than the war, and yet I have to, because other aspects beg to be considered. Brooks has included a plethora of fascinating anecdotes, such as the U.S. Army donating rifles to local white clubs in preparation for their members potentially serving and causing a shortage in the armed forces, leaving black soldiers unarmed. Black soldiers then created fake gun clubs trying to trick the army into donating weapons they needed for training and service.
An even more unsettling anecdote has a member of the Hellfighters falling ill during passage over the Atlantic. His friends try to visit in the makeshift hospital, and the doctor happily tells them the good news: he didn't die of the flu, just pneumonia, so nobody else from the ship has to be afraid of having caught anything fatal. The soldiers stare at each other, and then to all the beds in the gaping hospital room, full of dire cases.
Some of the stories are inspiring, others disturbing. Brooks and White establish a strong dynamic of men devoted to fighting for a country that's systemically mistreated and exploited them. A late-book flashback to one soldier recalling his easier early life as an usher helping white folks find their seats for Birth of a Nation is haunting. You immediately recognize the ugly irony.
It's a shame, then, when the book creates new ugly ironies. Enemy troops looking like gaggles of idiots with exclamation points over their heads before they're suckered into slaughter. The most prominent woman in the book is a busty girl there to cling to a soldier in bed as he broods - doubly ironic that it's captioned referencing that some people object to interracial couples, but they're not a couple with any sense of equality. She's a nameless idealized object that he disregards. It begs for another comic about the vastly overlooked roles of women in World War I.
This all makes The Harlem Hellfighters a problematic and important book. Its considerations are incomplete, and still profoundly important for fighting against the erasure of Black History. What it does right is memorable. -
This is an excellent book and should be required reading in the schools. Despite the Racism that these men endured, these men have left a lasting mark on history and proven that there is indeed honor and courage. Thank you Mr. Brooks for telling this story.
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Written by Max Brooks and illustrated by Caanan White in black and white photo-journalist style and very dramatic in all respects. Brooks is the World Z/zombie writer, so it was surprising to me that he was the one who wrote this… and that it is this well written. The art, focused on a lot of action is sometimes a little confusing, but overall good. The focus was on the 369th Infantry in WWI, who had grown up and came back to racism, but who were heroic fighters in the war, a little known story of African Americans fighting for their country… and killing white people with the blessing of white people, ironically. As soldiers they experienced racism, too, though this was work they saw as advancing themselves and their race. In some ways this came true and in some ways as they came back to see fanfare that mainly came to whites… well… but this is an important contribution to history and African American history in particular. Pretty fascinating stuff to have in an accessible form. It feels cinematic, probably in part because Brooks tried and failed to drum up interest for a film on the subject: WWI, not much interest in that in the studios, and then African Americans in WWI.... he was told there wouldn't be an audience. I disagree, and think a film might come out of it still if this book gets around. It feels already a little like the film he had wished he made. But it's good and worth reading. Maybe a good book for WWI units in History courses, but it is not just a YA text, either.
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Hard to believe there is still resistance by many prominent Americans to bring the true history of the United States of America to the world. Many choose to still wear blinders and sanitize events that took place (and are still occurring) to subjugate and repress a significant portion of its population, and to deny those people their part in American history and world events. Read the author's note. I'm not a big fan of graphic novels, but I am grateful to the author to use whatever vehicle was available to tell this story. Shame on members of the print and visual media who "passed" on this great opportunity. My African American grandfather served in France in WWI, but he never talked about his service. When asked about his service, his countenance would cloud and a frown would come over his face and he would say he didn't want to talk about it. Max Brooks has done me a personal favor, and a favor to all Americans who want to know the truth. Being a graphic novel, it leaves little to the imagination about the injustices suffered by these brave black Americans and the horrors of war. I was thankful it is printed in black and white. I encourage every American to read this. It is appropriate for high-schoolers and adults. The bibliography is a valuable source for further reading on these forgotten / hidden heroes.
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Historical fiction packaged as a graphic novel. An important story (the trials and successes of black American soldiers in WWI), introducing plenty of key figures in a sufficiently entertaining, effective, and poignant package.
Non-spoiler alert: This is not for the faint of heart - it's brutal (and, excuse the pun, graphic) stuff.
In addition to the history, it's worth it for the exquisite passage by Irvin Cobb, penned in the Saturday Evening Post in 1918: If ever proof were needed, which it is not, that the color of a man's skin has nothing to do with the color of his soul, this twain then and there offered it in abundance.... [A]s a result of what our black soldiers are going to do in this war, a word that has been uttered billions of times in our country, sometimes in derision, sometime in hate ... but which I am sure never fell on black ears but it left behind a sting for the heart - is going to have a new meaning for all of us ... and that hereafter n-i-g-g-e-r will merely be another way of spelling the word American.
A special bonus at the end are a handful of photographs of the non-fictional characters. Great stuff! -
They called it a war to end all wars.
But all it did was end the golden age of Europe.
A powerful story about Black Americans fighting for democracy in the first World War. Dubbed the Harlem Hellfighters, these soldiers were set up to fail, and yet succeeded in the face of so much adversity from their government, fellow solders and the people they fought for.
Max Brooks is a talented storyteller and drew me in from the first page. Stories involving racism really hit home with me, as my family was one of the victims of prejudice in World War II being Japanese Canadians. This was a tough read, but an important one.
While the ending is relatively happy, the story is far from over. Things have definitely improved today, but racism is not yet eradicated and I hope that one day it will be because after all:Under our fragile skin flows the same red blood.
Its important to know where we came from, so that the past does not repeat itself.
A recommended read.
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You’ve probably heard this story before: Coloured men who want to fight for their country, for their freedom, who are treated as less than garbage, but persevere to become the best of the best. We’ve seen this story told many times, in many different forms, from the Tuskegee Airmen, to the The United States Colored Troops. But that doesn’t mean the that the story of men who fought and died for the freedom of a country that hated them is any less important. I loved the choice of black and white artwork. There are some brutal scenes, typical of horrific events during a war, but the stark contrast of black and white makes the scenes more powerful and vivid than full colour.
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This is a graphic novel in the best and truest sense of the term; there's nothing funny-bookish here, it's a very mature, serious, intelligent, and educational volume. It's the history of the 369th Infantry Regiment, an African American unit which fought in World War I. It's a meticulously-researched and extremely moving account of their combat against the Germans and the prejudices they faced from their own countrymen. The art is black-and-white and perfectly complements the prose. It's all presented in a stark and deceptively simple manner, never manipulative or overblown. It's one of the best, most thought-provoking books I've read in years. (I received a copy through the Goodreads Firstreads program.)
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SIX WORD REVIEW: Forgotten period between slavery and Nazism.
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Honestly, graphic novels are not my thing, and I read this only because of interest in the subject, which it gave a good overview to. It brought home a truth that when the American black man shows his worth, as with these fighting men in WWI, a not unsubstantial portion of the population re-acts in violence or other unpleasant ways.
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I love a good piece of overlooked history, and Brooks shines light on one in an evenhanded and easy-reading manner. But while it's well written and told, the art brings it down. Odd as it seems to say, the black and white format detracts from the black and white nature of the conflict being recounted.
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I really liked this here book. It was both historical and interesting. Its based around the 1919 infintary called "The Harlem Hellfighters." That was the name given to them by the germans actually. Through and through this book kept my attention with an, almost too tight grasp. I would reccomend this book for anyone that enjoys either Action, Non-Fiction, Historical, or Realistic books. It is based on a true story, most of the characters are infact real. Would read again! 13/13 yogstars
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This graphic novel was best at the end: the Epilogue. Ok, so comic book format, and this modern format in particular, is not my thing, but the history was well brought to life. Just not for my taste, as I prefer text.
Read,
Write,
Dream,
Walk !
#PublicDomainInfrastructure
ShiraDestMay 3rd,
12018 HE -
Gore, action-packed, interesting and fun to read. Your typical war comic book with a classic black and white colours scheme. Similar to The Nam comic books by Doug Murray and Marvel Comics.
The story takes place in the USA during the Great War (WWI) and the battlefields of France. Following a group of soldiers and their adventure into the devastating and frightening war included harsh relationships with others and their status in society.
:v) -
Max Brooks, es quien nos regala esta adaptación de los sucesos ocurridos en la primera guerra mundial, contándonos la historia de un grupo de personas cuya característica principal es que su color de piel era más oscura que la del promedio americano, ya saben ese espectacular espécimen blanco, cabello dorado, ojos azules. ¿les recuerda a la ideología de alguien en particular? cof cof... 卐 cof cof…
La historia es contada de una manera en la cual va transcurriendo la historia desde varias perspectivas de los miembros del escuadrón 369, como son completamente insultados, ultrajados, tratados como sirvientes. No los llevan a la guerra, los tienen haciendo tareas deplorables y cuando los mandan, son enviados como carnada a misiones suicidas, al cabo que importa, la vida de un blanco vale más que la de un ̶n̶e̶g̶r̶o̶ (persona de color, afroamericano)
Si conoces un poco de historia esta novela te va a gustar, es un excelente complemento para conocer más de ella, y si no lo eres, créeme que es un excelente comienzo para internarse en este mundo maravilloso, recuerda que el conocer nuestra historia evita que repitamos errores de nuestro pasado.
RESEÑA COMPLETA:
http://www.elplacerliterario.com/2018... -
History you weren't taught in school, served up with righteous passion.
This is one of those can't-lose books, at least if you're a history buff, a military person, a graphic novel fan, passionate about African American issues, African American, or, probably, male. From the first page I was just like, OK, I'm good with this.
Four stars rather than five because the narrative doesn't so much conclude as stop. In an interview, Brooks mentioned he'd been shopping this around Hollywood as movie property, and I can how the graphic novel's final scene would have worked well as a third act, a big cinematic climax. A book, however, even if it's a graphic novel, calls for an approach with more nuance and better pacing.
Kudos to artist Canaan White for making the anger, filth, unimaginable violence, treachery and fleeting glory these men lived through so very, very vivid.
Not a graphic novel for the squeamish. Hella flying gore. -
I do not enjoy war stories. I known this about myself, but ever so often I pick one up, hoping that it offers me something different to learn and that will drive up my interest level. This time I thought the comics format would peek my interest. Not so much. I really wanted more about the the experiences of being African-American and being enlisted as opposed to actual scenes from the trenches. I am grateful that this was drawn in black and white. I can't imagine if this were a full color comic. It would be far too gory I imagine. I did find a lot of the artwork to be cluttered and hard for me to dissect what was happening. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of panels that were really quite striking, but overall the art was kind of chaotic for me and didn't do much to build the narrative. I imagine the history of the Harlem Hellfighters endlessly sad and fascinating. I just don't think this book conveys that well enough for me.
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While reading about Puerto Rican musicians in the Harlem Renaissance, I learned that my countrymen--granted US citizenship in 1917--fought with the Harlem Hellfighters and played with James Reese once the war ended. I remembered I had acquired this graphic novel in November of last year and searched for it in my library.
My first reaction was disgust at how gory it was. I thought, "What can you expect from a man who writes about zombies most of the time?" Little by little, the social injustices and the rhetoric the government used to try to keep these brave soldiers in their place outweighed the graphic violence and I appreciated this well-researched glimpse into the lives of those young men who got their first taste of equality abroad. -
This flew by like a good movie. I'd not read a graphic novel for a while and whilst I'd have loved some color on the pages the story and the art work were just outstanding. Hellfighters is the story of the only black American soldiers in WW1 who were such fierce victims of racism on their own shores that the only way they could answer the call they felt and fight for democracy was to fight along side the French. They tore it up, never losing a trench, never losing someone to capture. Dark, gritty, inspiring and tragic it's worthy of a read and to be passed on so others know the story.
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Read an edition that was an Advanced Readers Copy, Uncorrected proof. The art was not colored in, it was only in black and white. It might have been more powerful with the color added. I might have to glance at a real edition of this some day.
UPDATE 4/18/2014:
The trade paperback edition arrived in the store today, I flipped through and noticed that all the art work is in black and white. I think this book would have been much more powerful in color. -
First...I'm a sucker for Max Brooks, who wrote a zombie novel I actually love...and his parents are both favorite artists: Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft.
I have just recently learned about the Harlem Hellfighters, and while searching for a novel by Walter Dean Myers, I saw this...ordered post-haste.
Europe is embroiled in the War to End All Wars, but the US is not involved...but Wilson give clues that we will join...an all-Black regiment is formed in Harlem...with young men who wanted to serve a country that abused and segregated them...This book follows the men of the 369th Infantry Regiment from their first training (no guns...guns are for the white soldiers), thru forts in the South (don't dare touch a white local, or swing back when attacked0, to being sent to Europe (no ticker-tape parade for the Black Regiment...just lousy accommodations. Once in Europe, things aren't much better...the white leaders make sure the Hellfighters see little action, and do most of the menial work...until...
Just like the film Brooks would love to create, the French need a regiment to 'stay behind,' fight to the last man, to buy time...The Hellfighters step up and become a mythic fighting group...more time in combat that any American unit...NEVER losing an inch of territory in battles with the Germans, NEVER losing a man to capture. Fighting, fighting, representing a country that disdains and ignores them...at best. Lynches them at worst.
The illustrations by Caanan White are...graphic. Violent. stomach-turning. And probably not as horrifying as the battle scenes these men endured. I kept reading wondering what I, as a high school ELA teacher, would do with this book...for sure it would be in my classroom library. For sure I'd share it, with warnings: language, violence, a few veiled references to sex...and a raw, unflinching look at what men suffer at the hands of men.
In the author's note, Brooks talks about his efforts to produce this story as a film, and how the graphic novel format actually has a cinematic element that helps pull his story along.
The last sequences of the book are brutal and heartbreaking...the level of suffering this regiment...any regiment...endured is horrifying. And yet someone, somewhere, is ready for another bloody war even as I type.
When the Hellfighters returned home, the country was embroiled in the Red Summer of 1918...they returned home to more prejudice, more violence, more rejection.
"Henry JOhnson was the first American (Black or white) to receive the French Cross of war. His heroism was not officially recognized by his won government until 74 years after his death. In 2003, the U. S. Army awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army's second highest honor. Members of his family and supporters are still waiting for the Medal of Honor.
These men are more examples of the kind of Americans our country has not begun to deserve yet. -
I love books like this, that teach me something I didn't know, and something that I didn't know was a bias in my life. I don't do all that much thinking about World War 1, because I'm a borderline pacifist who doesn't think war is the most interesting part of history. But, in my imagination it's the whitest war. I mean, we use the term doughboy to refer to American soldiers in WWI. I don't know where that phrase actually comes from, but no one is whiter than the most famous
doughboy.
For this reason, it was great to read the story of the Harlem Hellfighters, who fought despite extreme prejudice from their own countryfolk on top of the horrors of WWI warfare. I'm always appreciative of having my understanding of history expanded and filled out. Furthermore, I appreciate being unsettled by stories about war. While I've never been to war, I can't imagine that we do anyone a service by censoring the horrific experience of the war. The art work in this book is appropriate to the reality of war (as far as I understand it) and appropriate to a book written by someone who made his name writing zombie survival guides.
My biggest complaint is that it was sometimes hard to follow. There were a few panels that, given a minute of study, I couldn't figure out what they were depicting. Now that I'm writing this, I realize it could be an intentional move on the part of the book's creators, which would actually be a pretty cool move to capture the chaos of war. It did (or, maybe I let it) take me out of the story from time to time as I tried to figure out what exactly was going on. -
A book I just picked up off the shelf at the library, I will surprised how much I liked it. While not intended to be a 100% factual representation of the history associated with the historic African-American unit in World War I, this work does incorporate a good bit of legitimate, real history that many readers would find interesting and engaging. At times, his portrayal of the racism (real and dramatized) faced by the soldiers will stand out vividly, and you will come to root for the protagonist to overcome the injustice. They don’t entirely (like in real life), but you will see some of their successes. If you are a fan of World War Z, you will probably like this graphic novel. Not really for the younger kids, but high schoolers could do okay with this work.
