Let me preface this review by saying that I've never much enjoyed the war genre. Comics or films, stories depicting real, human wars be it World War II or Vietnam have never been something I wanted to experience. I hate having to think about the inherent fear and unnecessary loss of life that comes hand in hand with war, and it makes me uncomfortable to see young people my age forced into the combat of a war they didn't start. Simply, it reminds me of how much I loathe being a human being.
That said, Billy Tucci's Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion, which was just recently released in a superb hardcover edition, aims to use one of DC's classic heroes, Sgt. Frank Rock, as a channel in which to tell the oft overlooked tale of the 141st Infantry that was trapped by German forces in Vosges Mountains in October 1944, eventually to be rescued by the mostly Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Stuck in their position for a week with depleting resources, the 141st essentially await their elimination while various units try to break them free.
First and foremost, Tucci absolutely did his homework. The Lost Battalion is meticulously researched from cover to cover; everything from military jargon to weapons and vehicles are historically accurate, and the reader is reassured as such by the two brief essays that bookend the six collected issues. Written by veterans of the battle, one a member of the 141st and the other of the 442nd, both men give their seal of approval to Tucci's project, both in historical accuracy and the creator's devotion to the men and their story. In fact, I found the foreword and afterword more emotionally riveting than comic itself, which leads me to my only true gripe with this book.
Using Sgt. Rock and his Easy Company unit - including regulars Wildman, Little Sure Shot and Ice Cream Soldier - in a way belittles all of the hard work and research that Tucci performed. As great of a character as Rock is, the intention to tell the story of the heroism of these sometimes under appreciated men is skewed a little as they are replaced with fictional characters. Though in his foreword Lt. Erwin H. Blonder states "you could point to many soldiers in both the 141st and the 442nd and say, 'there goes Sgt. Rock.'", I can't help but feel that the impact would have been increased greatly by the inclusion of the real-life soldiers. That said, Tucci does a great job in later issues of keeping Sgt. Rock to the side and letting the members of the 442nd take center stage.
All that aside, Tucci tells (and draws) a very endearing comic, avoiding the all to easy devolution into violence for the sake of shock value, making the limited instances of violence (limited in terms of a war comic) have all the more impact. His pencils are extremely detailed, right down to the arguably trivial matters of buckles and straps on the soldier's uniforms. Tucci's line work is mixed with coloring courtesy of Hi-Fi Design, who does a great job of providing the representative colors of the title of each issue, as all issues are titled after various environmental elements, like "Fire", "Fog" and "Earth". For instance, "Fog" has an intense overlay of misty gray tones laced throughout the issue. It's clever by design and ups the ante for the level of artistry that was poured into the book's illustration.
My favorite part of The Lost Battalion was Tucci's instinct to tell the tale mostly from an outsider's point-of-view, a wise choice considering it is perhaps impossible to accurately narrate a solider's thoughts if one has never been in combat. For his anchor, Tucci uses fictional wartime cartoonist William Joseph Kilroy. Kilroy is a war correspondent for a magazine accompanying the 442nd on their mission to rescue the 141st from their position. The Lost Battalion is dispersed with some of Kilroy's own cartoon representations of the things he is experiencing, in a sketchy black and white format that looks like it was culled straight from his journals. Kilroy's style is, by Tucci's own admission, representative of Joe Kubert's (co-creator of Sgt. Rock) style and is a nice little throwback into the history of comics in one of the most unexpected of places.
In all, The Lost Battalion is a great piece of work, and something Tucci should be quite proud of. Though I may not lean towards war comics in a situation of choice, Tucci's work did its job in giving the recognition to a Regiment that has been long overdue, though it very well could have been a success without the attachment of the titular Sgt. Rock.
