VIETNAM JOURNAL: A Graphic Novel

Lomax bases his fictional work on his real experiences in Vietnam in 1966, with powerful results. Narrator Scott Neithammer, in Vietnam as a war correspondent, follows foot soldiers' combat experiences, with each chapter focusing on a personality, a battle or even, as in the first chapter, the history of a lucky field jacket. Lomax's characters and topics include an opportunistic television reporter, a military attack dog, helicopters and the first contact between American and North Vietnamese troops in the Ia Drang Valley. Although Lomax doesn't have much patience for antiwar protesters, he doesn't think the U.S. should've gotten involved in the war. In commenting on the age of Vietnamese civilization, a GI remarks, "Thousands of years of tradition. That's why it's so damned arrogant of us to force these people to live their lives on our terms.... Anyone can see the stupidity here—on both sides." Eventually, a number of American troops have had their fill of war of any kind. A career soldier announces, "Twenty years and I'm out. Then I'm moving into the backwoods as far away from the phonies and the politicians as I can get." It is Lomax's concern for average soldiers that, in the end, makes his work significant. The author sees them as "caught between a rock and a hard place," urged on by politicians but with nothing much to gain by fighting. Lomax's drawing is lean and solid, with strong characterization that never veers into the maudlin. Adults will best understand the book, although junior high and high school students can certainly learn from it. (Aug.)