Synopses & Reviews
When I was eighteen, Uncle Sam told me he'd like me to put on a uniform and go off to fight a guy by the name of Adolf. So I did.
When Alan Cope joined the army and went off to fight in World War II, he had no idea what he was getting into. This graphic memoir is the story of his life during wartime, a story told with poignant intimacy and matchless artistry.
Across a generation, a deep friendship blossomed between Alan Cope and author/artist Emmanuel Guibert. From it, Alan's War was born - a graphic novel that is a deeply personal and moving experience, straight from the heart of the Greatest Generation - a unique piece of WWII literature and a ground-breaking graphic memoir. Emmanuel Guibert has written a great many graphic novels for readers young and old, among them the Sardine in Outer Space series and The Professor's Daughter with Joann Sfar.
In 1994, a chance encounter with an American World War II veteran named Alan Cope marked the beginning of a deep friendship and the birth of a great biographical epic.
Another of Guibert's recent works is The Photographer. Showered with awards, translated around the world and soon to come from First Second books, it relates a Doctors Without Borders mission in 1980's Afghanistan through the eyes of a great reporter, the late Didier Lefevre.
Guibert lives in Paris with his wife and daughter. An Eisner Award Nominee
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A National Public Radio Best Graphic Novel of the Year
When I was eighteen, Uncle Sam told me he'd like me to put on a uniform and go off to fight a guy by the name of Adolf. So I did.
When Alan Cope joined the army and went off to fight in World War II, he had no idea what he was getting into. This graphic memoir is the story of his life during wartime, a story told with poignant intimacy and matchless artistry.
Across a generation, a deep friendship blossomed between Alan Cope and author/artist Emmanuel Guibert. From it, Alan's War was born--a graphic novel that is a deeply personal and moving experience, straight from the heart of the Greatest Generation--a unique piece of WWII literature and a ground-breaking graphic memoir. Alan] Cope was an interesting man, and the years that passed since the war did not dull his insight. He kept a soft-spoken viewpoint that allowed him to modestly and subtly detail the friendships he developed and the brutal experiences he endured without ever dwelling in sentimentality. That was his rare gift as a storyteller, and Guibert's knowing move to leave it intact. Better still, Guibert's illustrations shine through with startling clarity in black and white. Cope's stories deserve no less.--John Hogan, Graphic Novel Reporter Relating the experiences of Alan Cope as a graphic novel memoir, Guibert adopts a conversational tone that makes readers feel as if they are overhearing the G.I.'s memories of World War II, both humorous and poignant. Guibert met Alan Cope 'by chance' in 1994, when the former G.I. was 69 and Guibert was 30, and Cope began to relate his experiences to the graphic novelist. We watch Alan grow up on the page just after he is drafted in 1943 at the tender age of 18. Having only ever ridden a bicycle, the first thing Alan learns to drive is an army tank. Elements of the book may remind older readers of Catch 22, as when Alan's crew must wait two months after their arrival in Europe because the army has 'misplaced' their weapons and vehicles. Guibert uses this format to great effect, emulating the soldier's feelings of claustrophobia, for instance, when a 300-pound fellow soldier is sleeping above him. And when Alan attempts to descend from a barn's hayloft and discovers too late that there's no ladder to support him, Guibert divides the panels and employs the page turn to build optimal suspense leading up to the soldier's fall. The artist also evokes the awe-inspiring views for this young American seeing Europe for the first time ('We don't have villages like that where I come from. They were charming--tree-lined streets, fields, farms . . . everything was different and fascinated me, you know?') and, having returned safely home, viewing General Sherman, the largest tree in Sequoia National Park ('You know, you can't begin to imagine that tree until you've seen it, and you can't quite grasp it when you do. You just feel it, that's all'). Guibert leaves the tree's trunk colorless, allowing the audience to use their imaginations, with Alan's words as the launch point. Graphic novel fans will also appreciate the ease with which Guibert shifts between Alan's flashbacks and foreshadowing. The narrator comes across as a laid-back fellow who gets along with even some of the tougher members of his unit, and he accepts the homosexuality he detects among several of his fellow soldiers. His placid temperament helps to explain how easily he makes friends with Germans after the Yalta accords, especially his influential friendship with German composer Gerhart Muench and his American-born wife, Vera, a poet. This friendship becomes a kind of measuring stick for Alan's growth. Gerhart, being older and more worldly, attempts to guide Alan (on his 'calling' as a minister and his choice for a wife), and although they have rifts, they overcome them. Much of the memoir reaches into Alan's post-war life, but what will be of most interest to older teens is Alan's candid view of his military training, the war itself and what he discovers about human beings' commonality more than their differences.--Jennifer M. Brown, Shelf Awareness
This epic graphic memoir spans oceans and generations, with a narrative as engrossing as the artistry that illustrates it. In his preface, renowned French graphic novelist Guibert explains the bond he shared with the much older Cope, who had served as an American soldier during World War II and left his native country to return to France in the aftermath. 'He spoke well; I l
Review
"[A] fascinating side of wartime life rarely seen in military films or history books." Booklist
Review
"Cope becomes so real that, as he ages across the final quarter of the book, teens will stay involved with how his youthful experiences and ideals colored his mature choices and memories." School Library Journal
Review
"The narrative voice is captivating, and the black-and-white illustrations are often stunning, whether capturing the grandeur of Big Sur and the giant redwoods of California or showing the destruction of European villages by soldiers who shared a common bond of humanity with the civilian 'enemy.'" Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
When I was eighteen, Uncle Sam told me he'd like me to put on a uniform and go off to fight a guy by the name of Adolf. So I did.
When Alan Cope joined the army and went off to fight in World War II, he had no idea what he was getting into. This graphic memoir is the story of his life during wartime, a story told with poignant intimacy and matchless artistry.
Across a generation, a deep friendship blossomed between Alan Cope and author/artist Emmanuel Guibert. From it, Alan's War was born a graphic novel that is a deeply personal and moving experience, straight from the heart of the Greatest Generation a unique piece of WWII literature and a ground-breaking graphic memoir.
Synopsis
“When I was eighteen, Uncle Sam told me hed like me to put on a uniform and go off to fight a guy by the name of Adolf. So I did.”
When Alan Cope joined the army and went off to fight in World War II, he had no idea what he was getting into. This graphic memoir is the story of his life during wartime, a story told with poignant intimacy and matchless artistry.
Across a generation, a deep friendship blossomed between Alan Cope and author/artist Emmanuel Guibert. From it, Alans War was born - a graphic novel that is a deeply personal and moving experience, straight from the heart of the Greatest Generation - a unique piece of WWII literature and a ground-breaking graphic memoir.
About the Author
Emmanuel Guibert has written a great many graphic novels for readers young and old, among them the
Sardine in Outer Space series and
The Professors Daughter with Joann Sfar.
In 1994, a chance encounter with an American World War II veteran named Alan Cope marked the beginning of a deep friendship and the birth of a great biographical epic.
Another of Guibert's recent works is The Photographer. Showered with awards, translated around the world and soon to come from First Second books, it relates a Doctors Without Borders mission in 1980s Afghanistan through the eyes of a great reporter, the late Didier Lefèvre.
Guibert lives in Paris with his wife and daughter.