The Stan - Softcover

Axe, David; Knodell, Kevin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1682470989 ISBN 13: 9781682470985

Publisher: Dead Reckoning, 2018

Synopsis

The 'Stan is a collection of short comics about America's longest war. Individual stories highlight different perspectives--one through the eyes of a Taliban ambassador and others through the eyes of Afghan and U.S. Army soldiers--but every account highlights the human element of war. The tales in this book--based on reporting by David Axe and Kevin Knodell and drawn by artist Blue Delliquanti--are all true and took place in roughly the first decade of the U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan. While the stories are from the recent past, The 'Stan is still very much about Afghanistan's and America's present--and likely their future.

About this title

About the Author

Kevin Knodell is a journalist that covers conflict, culture, and crime. His work has appeared at Playboy, The Week, Vice, Soldier of Fortune, The News Tribune, and others. He's a former contributing editor at Warisboring.com and writes the Acts of Valor comic series for Naval History magazine. He lives in Tacoma, Washington.

David Axe is a writer, editor, and filmmaker living in Columbia, South Carolina. A former war correspondent, he has written for Vice, The Daily Beast, The Village Voice, and many other publications. He is the writer of the graphic novel War is Boring and the 2017 movie The Theta Girl.

Blue Delliquanti is a cartoonist and illustrator who likes to write about robots, insects, and unconventional families. She is the creator of the online comic O Human Star and the co-creator of the graphic novel Meal with Soleil Ho. Blue lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a woman and a cat.

Review

"The stories in this book are an accurate depiction of U.S. Military intervention in Afghanistan.... Digesting history through an animated style of narration lightens the task of reading history, it adds color (literally) to learning through storytelling. These drawings will capture your imagination so much more than words alone. It leaves the reader with a broad perspective of America's longest war in less than two hours of reading." --Naval Historical Foundation

"Delliquanti preserved the interview format by showing some of the interviewees telling their stories out of uniform." --Comicon.com

"The American involvement in Afghanistan has been documented in many ways but this book, a collection of short stories, re-told by two journalists, Kevin Knodell and David Axe, is unusual in that they are in 'comic strip' form. There are 17 individual stories ... all interesting and brought to life by illustrator Blue Delliquanti. There are stories from US military personnel, Taliban fighters and Afghan National Army soldiers. It is an enjoyable book and offers a unique insight into the conflict and those involved in it." --Gun Mart

"All 17 essays ... are vibrant and compelling. They are not just stories of the 'default' idea of hardened men at war--choking down MREs and slinging language that would make your mother blush--but also stories of refugees and stories of civilian victims.... Each story will leave you with needed perspective, and importantly, empathy for the other." --Collateral
"Delliquanti's cartoonish style is just detailed enough as not to overshadow the magnitude of the stories, giving unique expressions to faces while simplifying the imagery for any reader to understand. The result is accessible to military and human-interest readers who might be new to comics. Based on on-the-ground reporting by Knodell and Axe, this realistic view of an ongoing conflict, rendered in a casual yet powerful voice, not only acts as a necessary record of experiences and sacrifice but as a humble thanks to all those who have lived--or are still living--through them." --Publisher's Weekly

"Graphic journalism at its best!.... [The 'Stan] is a fantastic read for those who like military stories, who want real military stories, [and] who care about what's really going on in the world." --Graphic Policy

"The 'Stan is a full-color, graphic novel anthology of true stories that took place during the first decade of U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan (America's longest war). The stories come from a diversity of perspectives, including those of Afghan and U.S. Army soldiers, as well as a Taliban ambassador and others. The 'Stan respects the extreme difficulties faced both by soldiers in American Afghanistan, and the civilians in a land torn apart by war. Highly recommended." --The Midwest Book Review

"The 'Stan is a page-turning book for military enthusiasts and comic readers-alike. Sit back and relax and be taken into a powerfully charged ride filled with action, emotion, fear. This is more than a comic book, this is a visual and candid journey of life, fear, bravery, conflict." --ComicScene UK

"As a former war correspondent and author of a previous graphic novel about his experiences, Axe admits to mixed feelings over the possibility of America's troop removal.... Such profound ambivalence runs through these stories, presented in collaboration with journalist Knodell and artist Delliquanti, whose bold colors bring a vividness reminiscent of pop art to the murkiness of the conflict.... There are no larger truths to be found in this brief graphic narrative, and perhaps there will never be. These comics do not depict a faceless enemy, but they suggest compassion, bravery, and even heroism despite the absurdities of a war with no purpose and seemingly no end." --Kirkus Reviews

"Every picture tells a story, but whose? In American war comics, the answer was once predictable: Sergeant Rock's perspective long sufficed. No longer. Today's military comics exhibit much greater diversity. A case in point is The 'Stan, one of the inaugural run of comic books published by Dead Reckoning, the new graphic novel imprint of the Naval Institute Press, which seeks 'to make military themed comics a vibrant genre again and to introduce a whole new generation of graphic novel readers to the power of these stories.'" --Michigan War Studies Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Dead Reckoning
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1682470989
• ISBN 13: 9781682470985
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128
• Illustrator: Delliquanti Blue