War Stories is the follow-up to 2008’s Grunts mini-series. Created by Shannon Eric Denton, Keith Giffen and Matt Jacobs, this series follows what I call the “Howling Commandos of Easy Company” tradition. As a matter of fact, that’s the exact same line I used when I reviewed the previous Grunts trade paperback. I liked it so much I used it in two reviews!
Anyway, what I meant by that is that these characters have a comfortable familiarity to them: there’s a battle-hardened sergeant, a ladies’ man, an overweight fellow nicknamed “Fatty” and so on and so forth. They’re archetypal war characters that you know inside-and-out as soon as you see them or read their name.
That comfortable familiarity is helped a lot by the pencils of Matt Jacobs, who captures the mood and nuance of the characters quite well. Now, I have to be honest here – when I started reading this collection, I wasn’t too keen on Jacobs’ artwork. That’s odd because the last time I saw his work (in the previous volume of Grunts), I liked it a lot. I’m not sure why it didn’t appeal to me as much in this volume as it did in the first one, but about midway through, something clicked with me and I really started digging it. I think what it boils down to is that I might not be a big fan of his style, but I can’t knock his technique. This is a man who knows how to create a comic book. And he should! He’s a graduate of the Kubert School. Whether it’s a quiet night behind enemy lines or a full-on battle, each panel is packed with energy and perfectly captures whatever the mood is in the story, whether it’s tension, rage or sadness. And my god, does this man love to draw some gore!
Enough about the art, let’s get back to the story. Or stories… this book is an anthology featuring ten short stories with the Grunts characters. Each story focuses on one member of the team and gives us a bit more insight into who they are and the bond they have forged on the battlefields of World War II. The sci-fi angle from the previous series is nowhere to be found; instead we get intensely personal stories of triumph, tragedy and loss. To be completely frank with you, I actually liked this volume of Grunts better than the previous one! I felt like I really got to know the characters quite well and share some of their experiences… it’s almost like listening to grandpa’s stories about “the Big One”.
Cover art to GRUNTS: WAR STORIES by Matt Jacobs
We also get a bunch of really sweet pin-ups and faux advertisements for war bonds. I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff, so I really appreciated the fact that these were included.
You like war stories? Then you’ll like Grunts: War Stories. It’s not often you find an anthology that is so solid throughout: I don’t think there was a single story in this book that I disliked. It’s a book that manages to be a fun read while still having a lot of emotional impact. It’s well worth your time and only $14.95 for over 100 pages! Go ahead and ask your retailer for it already!
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