Military Families Magazine published an article spotlighting recent military history and war comics and graphic novels. MFM interviewed graphic novel author Wayne Vansant for an article published June 9. The article takes note of Vansant’s works, describing the impressive output of fiction and non-fiction war comics and graphic novels being published today and Vansant’s work in particular:
Fictional stories featuring average (G.I.) Joes were extremely popular from the 1940s on, with Sgt. Rock, published by DC Comics, arguably the genre’s best-known poster boy. In recent years, however, fiction has given way to military fact via a growing new outlet: historically accurate graphic novels.
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Artist and writer Wayne Vansant is one of the most prolific creators of military-themed graphic novels. He started by illustrating the Marvel Comics series “The ‘Nam,” and later wrote and/or illustrated numerous war-focused graphic novels, including “Grant vs Lee,” “The Battle of the Bulge,” “Normandy: A Graphic Novel of D-Day” and “Bombing Nazi Germany,” all for Zenith Press.
For Dead Reckoning, Vansant wrote and illustrated an adaptation of Erich Marie Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “Katusha: Girl Soldier of the Great Patriotic War,” a fictional story based on fact about a Ukrainian girl who joins a Soviet tank unit during World War II.
Vansant does extensive research to guarantee the authenticity of his books, and Katusha was no exception.
“I’ve always had an interest in the Russian Front and its many points of view,” Vansant told Military Families Magazine. “I went to Ukraine in 1998 and once I heard the famous song ‘Katusha,’ I was hooked. Although I had already read a lot about the Eastern Front, I began reading everything I could get my hands on, historically, militarily and culturally.”
The article also spotlights writer Garth Ennis’ war comics, including his series War Stories, Battlefields, his graphic novel The Night Witches, with artist Russ Braun, and his 2020 graphic novel illustrated by P.J. Holden, The Stringbags. From the article:
Vansant is a fan, noting, “Ennis’s stories grind down to the marrow of the person in the story, and are obviously perfectly researched.”
Vansant notes the response he has had to his work from veterans at comic book conventions and personal appearances:
“The response I’ve had has been mostly positive,” he said. “They appreciate that I get the equipment right, or at least I try to. But for some veterans, my approach is a little alien to them. I gave a copy of my ‘Battle of the Bulge’ book to a veteran of the 99th Division, and realized that the book he was holding and his personal experiences did not match up. He didn’t remember the story, only the terror.”