We are sticking with Marvel, as we look at another Vietnam War story, done as a graphic novel.
The writer is again Doug Murray; but, this being a graphic novel, it is not subject to the constraints of the Comics Code, as The'Nam was. Joining Murray is war comics veteran (and Air force veteran) Russ Heath. Heath had mostly worked outside mainstream comics, for a while, doing some work in animation and on Little Anny Fanny; but, he occasionally dipped his toes back into comics, like the Rocketeer movie adaptation, the following year.
This time, Murray sets out to tell a Vietnam story, from both sides, as our main characters involve a young American soldier and a similarly young Viet Cong soldier and their journeys to their roles and the loss along the way. Since this was done under the Epic banner, language and graphic detail are more mature audience levels than The 'Nam, though that was a mature comic, for a good portion of its life (aside from when they stuck Frank castle into things).
Jim Novak handles the lettering, while Heath does the colors, and Marc McLaurin is the editor. Carl Potts was the Executive Editor of Epic, at this stage, Archie Goodwin having departed to DC. If it feels like this slipped out there unnoticed, chalk it up to the lack of promotion Epic works got, in general, and certainly after Archie had departed.
We start with a quote from president Lyndon Johnson: "To win, it is necessary to win the
hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people." This was a phrase used greatly , by the government and the military, to promote the ideas that they were working to make lives better for the average Vietnamese....whether he liked it or not. No one thought to ask the average Vietnamese what he or she wanted, which was probably to be able to live their lives in peace.
The story begins in a village, in South Vietnam, where a Viet Cong cadre has an old man bound and kneeling, denouncing him as a traitor. An elderly woman, presumably his wife, is on her knees, holding her hands clasped in prayer/pleading, for his life. The rest of the village is made to watch.....
There is a woman of the village, with a baby. The VC leader denounces the village leader for sell out to the Americans and says they will pollute them, just as the French did "This woman" and he grans her by the chin and slaps her, while holding a bayonet. He then cuts the chief's throat, saying he will never allow the Europeans to control them, again. He then calls for volunteers to join. He asks the husband of the woman with the child and he refuses. Others join and the rest of the village is forced to store rice and weapons for the cadre. The young woman is of mixed blood, which was often treated harshly in Vietnam, as well as other Asian cultures. The VC depart and we then see a similar scene, with an ARVN unit, with a US Special Forces advisor. They are looking for the VC and their weapons cache. Le, the young man with the mixed race wife, is uneasy, worried that they will find the weapons and consider them VC, potentially wiping out the whole village. A soldier calls out and the produce a crate, loaded with American-made M-1 carbines. They ask whose hut the weapons were in and Le reacts, then runs away, as the soldiers shoot at him. his wife tries to stop them. Le is hit several times and falls, at the edge of bamboo forest. The villagers are rounded up, for resettlement and the village is put to the torch, to the protest of the young wife...
The villagers are marched out of the burning village and the elderly wife of the dead chief is pulled away from his grave. They are loaded into helicopters and taken away, as the wounded, but living, Le watches.
The story then cuts to the US, where young Jim Brett is enjoying his graduation party, after finishing high school. he tells his friends he is off to Columbia University, which they question how he will afford it. He says he has ROTC lined up, which will cover what his dad can't. They aks about Vietnam, after he graduates college and he assures them that the war will be over before then.
Jim attends college, where he finds things are a bit different from high school, including protests against Dow Chemicals (makers of napalm and Agent Orange), as well as signs that ROTC teaches people to kill.
I must have missed that class, over my 4 years in Navy ROTC.
One of the distractions from his study is a young lady, named Cookie (seriously? What is this; Gidget?) and he is also neglecting his ROTC courses and gets some feedback from his instructor
I can't speak for the Army ROTC program, especially of the Vietnam Era; but, the basics of ROTC, in my time, was that you trained to be a reserve officer, spend a short tour (2-4 years) on active duty and then revert to the reserves, for another period of time. The Navy program was a little different in that we went in as active duty USN officers, and not reserve officer (USNR), with a commitment of service comparable to the time to achieve our degree. There were also state sponsored ROTC scholarships and ROTC could be taken as an elective. In the Vietnam Era, at some universities, ROTC was a compulsory course. Those already enrolled in college could apply for a 2 or 3 year scholarship, depending on the amount of study that had finished. Under the terms of the scholarship, you had to participate in classroom and drill, plus maintain a minimum grade point average. Failure to do so could result in loss of scholarship and the requirement to pay back the governments investment with active duty military service, as an enlisted soldier. In other words, flunk out and you were off to the Army, as a grunt, not an officer. However, if you had the right political connections, like Ross Perot, you could get out of your military obligations.
Cookie urges Jim to quit ROTC but he says if he quits, he will likely be drafted. Cookie doesn't believe the government would do it and Jim listens to her.....
Jim decides that crawling through the mud is for the birds and goes to see the First Sergeant. He had qualified for OCS and requests permission to transfer to the program; and, after 8 weeks of training and 30 days leave, finds himself crawling through mud, in Vietnam. The only difference is that, now, he is expected to lead the patrol. He is clueless; but, he is paired with an experienced ARVN officer and a veteran platoon sergeant. They steer him the right way and they get through their first fire fight. The lesson learned is to hold their position until darkness, when Charlie will withdraw. If things get bad, they call in air support and artillery fire. Mostly, Jim learns to loosen up a bit. However, they forgot to tell the VC that and they start taking machine gun fire. Jim turns to the sergeant for suggestions, and he orders the M79 grenadier to drop an HE (high explosive) round on the enemy and then they charge the position. The tactic work, as the grenade round hits the machine gun nest and either kills, maims or disorients, giving the soldiers time to rush the position and hit them hard, while they are off balance. Jim asks what the next step is and the sergeant says they call in air support, before it gets dark, otherwise they are on their own. A Marine fighter-bomber squadron responds....
After the fighters depart, they get a body count and Brett learns the ways of mathematics, Vietnam style....
Here, we see the difference between doing a Code-approved book and one without outside restrictions. First, we had a naked Jim and Cookie, in his dorm room (strategically covered, though, since nudity is far more upsetting than violence). Then, we have use of a certain word, favored by Mrs Slocombe, in Are You Being Served?, but in a different context. However, the point I am referring to is language in the Code that prohibits the depiction of governmental authority as being corrupt or callous. That aspect was more likely to be enforced in the 60s; but, you weren't going to find war comics, in the 70s, which showed Army officers outright lying about enemy strength, to inflate body counts, for political capital. However, it was a very common practice as body count was one of the few measurable elements of the war, since territory was not being taken. We also hear of soldiers taking ears, as trophies, with those trophies helping to determine the body count.
Jim is counseled by his captain, who says he did good, listening to his sergeant and then tells him to learn to relax and gives him a pass, to do just that. then, the captain and the sergeant share a hand-rolled cigarette, that I don't think contains tobacco.
The next day, Sgt Lopez (aka "Lucky") takes Lt Brett into Hue, the ancient imperial city of Vietnam, where they shoot photos of the Imperial Palace. Lopez remarks that the trouble began there, as a French trader, who felt he had been cheated by the local government, tried to take the city, by force, and failed. Lopez takes Brett to a French colonial house, where he meets Major Bui, an ARVN officer, who remarks that the captain is breaking the new lieutenant in the right way. They meet their hostess, Madame Hoa, and Sgt Lopez says that Captain Decker requested that she show Lt Brett how to relax. She smiles and leads the men into a parlor, where awaits a group of experts in relaxation....for a reasonable fee.
The major's special treat arrives, in the form of the Eurasian woman we saw in the village, at the beginning, dressed in a sheer, short nightgown. Brett is stunned by her beauty and the major offers her to him, as his gift. Madame Hoa directs the woman, Nhi, to take the lieutenant to her room.
Nhi takes the young American to her bedroom, where they have milk and cookies and play a game of Go Fish.
Well, if it had been a Code-approved book, maybe.
Nhi removes her gown and Brett sees marks across her back. they were from Major Bui, who prefers women with foreign blood, for his....special tastes. She feels empathy for Jeanette, a blond Frenchwoman, who will likely be the major's companion, for the evening. She then asks Jim if he wants her to undress him and he stammers out, "no." Bass notes and whammy bars fill the air, as we cut to the jungle.
We find Le, alive and leading a VC cadre, writing of seeing his wife and child die, when the soldiers came, as he is warned about an approaching helicopter.
Le survives and remarks that they will be ready soon, and then things will change.
6 months later, Lt Brett is with Nhi. She was purchased by Jim and given her freedom and they live together, in Hue, near the base. Jim has to eave her and report in.
Outside Hue, Le's cadre meets with others and learns that the operation is much bigger than he thought. They cannot conceal everyone in bunkers and they are harassed by gunships attacking their camp. Le's men suffer casualties and he helps the medic treat the shrapnel wounds, hoping that the enemy does not score a direct hit.
Christmas, 1967, finds Bob Hope putting on a USO show. Brett and Lopez are in attendance and we see that Jim's attitude to the situation in Vietnam has changed, in part due to personal reasons....
Most likely, the situation Jim is upset about is a denial by the Army to gain permission to marry a foreign national and for her to be brought home with him. We also learn that Decker is gone and, based on Sgt Lopez's reaction, most likely dead. They sit back to watch Ann Margaret sing and give some ammunition for the soldiers there, if you know what I mean.
Lopez suggest talking to Major, now Colonel, Bui, who always seem to have connections. Col Bui is most helpful...for a price.....
Jim and Nhi celebrate Christmas, together and Jim asks her to marry him.
We cut to jungle, where Le is part of a column, moving through the night and the rain, which provides shelter from air atatcks. However, when they cross a road, flares go and men scatter. le and many other end up lost and away from their units.
Later, Jim meets with Col Bui, having provided the "supplies" he needed. Bui is pleased and says Jim will soon have his papers. He prepares to depart for leave, during the Tet holiday, when his plans are interrupted....
It is the beginning of what became know as the The Tet Offensive. On January 30, the VC and PAVN launched coordinated attacks, with more than 80,000 troops, with attacks in Saigon, Da Nang, Nha Trang and Pleiku, as well as 36 of 44 provincial capitals. Hue was a major target, as it housed the ARVN 1st division headquarters. The PAVN & VC hit with a division-size force, on January 31. The ARVN 1st Division held out in their fortress HQ; but, the PAVN and VC overran much of the city and established control, while the ARVN citadel was cut off. They had lists of enemies of the states and began rounding them up and summarily executing them, while others were marched away, for "re-education" and were never seen again. Estimates range between 2,000 and 6,000 civilians killed, mostly consisting of teachers, lawyers, government officials and other civic leaders, plus any who opposed the Communists or didn't provide enthusiastic enough support.
The battle commenced to retake the city, with ARVN reinforcements and and American task force, made up of elements of the 1st Marine Division, the 1st Cavalry Division and the 101st Airborne Division. After the initial attacks, these elements launched counter-attacks, beginning with the Marines and then 1st cavalry attacks on the PAVN supply lines. Slowly, day by day, block by block, the American and South Vietnamese forces retocck the city and pushed the PAVN out, until by February 22, the city was in the hands of the US military and ARVN forces. The back had been broken of the PAVN and VC and they had withdrawn. Elsewhere, the attacks were similarly repelled, with the recapture of territory initially taken by the offensive. In the end, US and ARVN forces had driven off the PAVN and VC, inflicting heavy casualties among them. However, in reporting in the United States, the focus was on US casualties and footage of desperate fire fights, without context. Less emphasis was made of the ultimate victory of the US and ARVN forces than the initial gains of the PAVN and VC. To the soldiers who fought the battle, the media coverage sounded like they had lost the battle and the war. That is an over-simplification; but, the fact was that coverage of the Tet Offensive shocked average Americans, as, for the first time, they saw American soldiers and Marines fighting desperately for their lives, against an enemy that their government said would be defeated by American military might. This was supposed to be the same Army the fought the Battle of the Bulge (same Army division, in fact); but it barely survived an attack by a power far less than the Wehrmacht? few outlets were giving full context, nor was anyone educating the public about the difference in fighting those two wars. in the end, it bolstered support for the Anti-War movement and had a major effect on the 1968 Election.
Back to the story.
The PAVN and VC hit the outskirts of the city, at the positions manned by Lt Brett and the 1st Cav, as well as ARVN forces. They use claymore mines and other defenses to inflict heavy damage on the attackers, while keeping up a high rate of fire. They repel the attack and survey the carnage, when word comes in that they are moving out to retake the city, which is in the hands of the enemy, this being a diversionary attack, to pin them down.
In the city, we see Le and his cadre removing political prisoners and re-educating the populace....
1st Cav moves in on the outskirts of the city and begin their block fighting. They link up with ARVN forces, then move out, but come under sniper fire. They work quickly to eliminate the sniper. The fighting continues, street by street, while US forces are working under constraints....
Finally, they get word that the gloves have come off and they can call for air strikes and artillery. Artillery barrages begin, on the ancient city, as Le watches, with many of his friends killed in the bombing....
Fighting is desperate, as the enemy forces man strongpoints and use rockets and machine guns to hold off the Americans. They call in a gunship and wipe out the strongpoint, then hit a building filled with enemy soldiers with "willy peter" (white phosphorous) grenades, turning the building into an inferno. They shoot the enemy as they emerge fromt he flames, wiping them out to a man, angered by their own casualties.
Lt Brett realizes where he is, only two streets away from Nhi's apartment. Jim abandons his men to go see that Nhi is safe. Sgt Lopez argues, but Jim is adamant. He still realizes he is being an idiot, but he can't help himself. Meanwhile, Le is picked as a courier, to get word of the battle back to Hanoi, so that their sacrifices can be used as a porpaganda weapon. he makes his way down streets, alone, just as Lt Brett, trying to stay clear of the fighting, despite the urge to aid comrades.
Jim gets to the house and finds Nhi safe, but then Le bursts in, seeking cover....
Jim dives for his weapon, but doesn't make it and takes a burst in the chest, killing him. Nhi screams out at the death of her fiance. Le, recognizes his wife....
Nhi yells at him, that their child starved to death and she was sold to a brothel. He has killed the man she loved, the man who bought her out of a brothel and wanted to marry her. The man who came through the fighting to make sure she was alright; and, now, he is dead, at the hands of her former husband. She pulls Jim's sidearm from his holster and points it at the stunned Le. he reacts, opening fire with his AK. Nhi lies dead, next to Jim, Le is frozen by what he has done. Then the door of the apartment opens and Sgt Lopez shoots Le dead. We end with Sgt Lopez reporting to the company commander, remarking that Col Bui said he would take care of burial of Nhi, as they observe coffins of US soldiers, being loaded on a transport plane, to carry the dead home.
Jim Brett is laid to rest and his parents receive the flag that draped his coffin, "on behalf of a grateful nation." A salute is fired by an honor guard. We see a New york Times headline that US troops were massacred in the Tet Offensive and urging the US to withdraw from the "insane war".
We end with Sgt Lopez observing Col Bui and a woman burying the ashes of Nhi, in a cemetery. A New York Times headline follows, showing the signing of the Paris Peace Accords, bringing an end to the fighting. However, afterwards, the North overwhelmed the South with 21 divisions and captured the capital of Saigon, uniting the country under Communist rule, bringing the true end to the fighting, within Vietnam (until Vietnam invaded Cambodia and found itself in a war with China).
This is a complex work which illustrates the war, from both sides. For Jim Brett, it is an American war and he attends college, with an ROTC scholarship. He can't keep his head on his studies and ends up washing out of the program. However, he is able to go to Officer candidate School and still go to Vietnam as an officer, instead of a foot soldier. Not that it brought him any protection. it also didn't give him the training to lead in combat. Thankfully, he had an NCO who knew his job and gave him on-the-job training. Meanwhile, Le refuses to be in the fight, but finds a personal reason, when the ARVN comes and locates the VC weapons stash. he abandons his village and family and seemingly is killed, but survives. However, his village is torched and he believe his family killed. He now has a personal stake in the fighting, to gain revenge for the deaths of his wife and child. This opens him to the propaganda of the Viet Cong and he becomes a valued member of his cadre. Nhi is taken away, believing her husband dead. She is already on the fringes, as a mixed race woman and she is considered suspect, because of the weapons and Le's actions. The child dies, as they are left to starve and she is sold to a brothel, where she becomes the plaything of a Vietnamese major, who likes to whip women of European blood. The focus is most heavily on Jim Brett, but Le's journals bring us the other side of the coin, while Nhi shows those caught in between and the suffering of the innocents.
The work itself has some curious elements that I would like to learn more about; but, I can find no interview with Murray about the graphic novel. One of the things that makes me curious comes in the art. Jim Brett is shown in Army ROTC uniform and in US Army utilities, with 1st Cav shoulder patches. However, in the boot camp scene, he is wearing a camouflage helmet cover that looks like the Marine pattern. It makes me wonder if they didn't change the story, at some point and have Jim Brett in the Marine Corps. His DI displays the Combat Infantry Badge. That is an Army decoration; the Marines do not wear such a device. During the early patrol scene, brett wears his flak jacket, but the rest don't. Army and Marines both wore them; but the Marines were big sticklers about wearing them. However, that may be an artist choice or maybe more of an indication that Brett is new there and more likely to wear it than others, who left them behind to reduce the weight they carry in the field.
Later, when Sgt Lopez shows Brett Hue, they are depicted wearing what are most definitely Marine utility caps, with the 8 points that differentiated them from the Army. The US Army of the Vietnam Era wore OD Green ballcaps. Previously, in Korea, the US Army wore soft utility caps, with a rounded crown, like you see in MASH, with Col Potter and Major Burns (more often than other characters). Those were later brought back, in the 80s. Heath draws definite points, on the cap. Captain Decker is also depicted in one, when they assess the damage after the battle. Also, the air support they receive is from Marine F-4 Phantom IIs ad they arrive at Hue, in marine helicopters. That isn't necessarily significant, as the Marines had their air arm in that sector, which might have been on stage for support. However, 1st Cav had a dedicated air wing, with their own helos. The Marines led the initial counter attacks on Hue; which makes me wonder if, at some stage, Brett was supposed to be a Marine officer and the story changed.
Regardless of whether these are changes in the script, mistakes, or based on experience, Heath draws everything with his usual accuracy, including the streets and buildings of Hue, based on photos of the battle I found. Heath was always noted for his attention to detail.
Like The 'Nam, this is telling things from the soldier's POV, while adding an enemy perspective. It is able to use more of the language, though no F-bombs. It filters a lot of historical detail, like Bob Hope and Ann Margaret in USO shows. The only problem is that Ann Margret toured Vietnam in 1966 and 1968, not 1967. She toured with Hope in 1968 only, and was just with Johnny Rivers and his band, in 1966. Raquel Welch toured with Hope, in 1967. Maybe memories got crossed, as Murray was in Vietnam in 1968.
Again, the politics of the war don't really enter into things, other than the campus display we see, when Jim is a student, and that Cookie is part of the Anti-War movement. Then, it is just the media depiction of the Tet Offensive as a major calamity, rather than a large battle, similar to the battle of the bulge, with a similar outcome, that the enemy was pushed back and unable to launch further offensive operations, until after the US withdrawal. The New York Times headline we see has a date that says Sunday, January and then the date is obscured. Since the attack occurred on January 30, that can't be correct, as the Sundays of January, 1968 were the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th. Basically, this is doctored to depict talk within the media to withdraw. In that, it acts as propaganda and not historical fact. There were editorials from different points and I am sure there were headlines quoting opponents about withdrawing; but the use of the Times headline suggests a reconstruction, not a fabrication. In the few interviews I have found, Murray was very critical of media coverage during the war. He has points; but, it is as broad a generalization as some media accounts, which suggested atrocities were commonplace, and not extreme reactions. Journalism is supposed to be the search for truth; but, it is dependent on the reporter and even the best reporter is never fully unbiased. TV was a big game changer in that, with more rapid reporting and less time for fact checking or nuance. The soundbite replaced the in-depth article. Even Walter Cronkite wasn't free from that.
We have one more example, from Marvel Comics, to explore; and, this one is definitely from a US marine perspective. Next time, we look at Semper Fi, Marvel's short-lived companion to The 'Nam, featuring stories of the US Marines from several periods, but with a recurring look at Vietnam.
Before we leave, here is a 1987 interview with Doug Murray, conducted by Charlie Rose, for the CBS News Nightwatch
Note the discussion about the changing culture and addressing the Vietnam War, as well as separating the politics of the war from the soldiers who served there. Both Platoon and The 'Nam were about relating the soldier's story, rather than the political story or the historical perspective, even though the politics of both the 1980s and the 1960s still found their war into such discussions.