During a trip to the East Village, I happened to come upon St. Mark's Comics (I saw it in an episode of Sex in the City) and went in to check it out for myself. There I came upon a work, by the legendary sequential artists Will Eisner, entitled The Last Day in Vietnam. I have heard so much about him that I though why not just try it? I was not expecting much but in the end I was knocked down and dragged away by it.
This comic book is nothing like your stereotypical American Comic-no superheroes, any alternate dimensions, nor resurrecting characters, just six short stories full of the sorrows and joys of war. It is a true mature work.
Last Day in Vietnam is an excellent set of mini stories set around several individuals involved in the Vietnam conflict and Korean War. There are six stories in all, each with a quirkiness that cannot be described with words, but was done powerfully with sequential art. The first three stories are set in Vietnam and the remaining three during the Korean War.
The first story, titled Last Day in Vietnam, and is about Major who is scheduled to leave Vietnam in twenty-four hours. His last tour of duty is escorting a reporter to a camp for a story, unfortunately during his escort duty the Vietnamese attack, stranding the reporter and the Major in the midst of a battle.
The Periphery is the second story. A Vietnamese man is the narrator, and he describes the daily activities of several reporters sent to cover the Vietnam conflict. In four pages Eisner sums up the agonizing price of being awarded the honor of covering the conflict in such away, that the end will leave you speechless.
If pictures were worth a thousand words, the next short story is worth one million words. The Casualty is the tale of a wounded soldier and his exploits with a Vietnamese prostitute, alcohol, and a soldiers need to find some joy in his existence while participating in the conflict. Most of the movies I have seen about Vietnam go into the abuse of drugs by the soldiers to forget their troubles, none really address the use of sex as a drug to forget about the casualties like the few scenes in this work do.
0">The next set of stories goes several years back to America's forgotten war, Korea. A Dull Day in Korea is about a red neck type of character bent on killing. "This Heah Ko-rea and AH'm Bored!" he states at the beginning of the story. The character is bored because currently his group is occupying a small Korean village. In order to pass the time he reminisces about his days in West Virginia where he hunted with his alcoholic father, who only showed pride in him when he was able to kill something. A Dull Day in Korea is an interesting look at some of the people sent to fight in wars, and the psychology that allowed them kill so easily.
The fifth story Hard Duty, is also set during the Korean War. It is set around another character that wants out of the daily duty of occupying to go back into battle. He was transferred from the battlefields because he was just too good at killing. The military thought his brute anger and strength could be used in a less destructive way on a military base. It is an interesting twist to the character in A Dull Day in Korea; it further blurs the line between good and evil, showing there is a fine line between dark and good in every person.
The final story is the most profound in my opinion. A Purple Heart for George is about a soldier who every weekend gets drunk and submits a transfer request to the front line of a Korean battle. And every Monday he never realizes that he has done this. This story is interesting because it shows how people in the military want the glory of it all but may not want to necessarily want to exchange the ultimate price for that glory.
Overall Last Day in Vietnam is an excellent book. If you are looking for something different in American comics you have to check out this book. This book is an excellent look into the psychology of military personnel in combat. If you are a war buff this is a must have for your collection
I like this work of Eisner's, and I am interested in reading more. If anyone can recommend any of Eisner's other works please write me at JenniferJ@ybfree.com. Also, please feel free to send me your comments about this article.