Civil War Adventure

   Those of us who've been reading comics since the '60s remember when you could buy comic books that covered a wide variety of topics (as opposed to the super-hero intensive publications of today).

   There were titles for science fiction, westerns, romance, horror, humor... and war.

   War must have been a favorite topic for many artists (who perhaps didn't care for drawing superheroes) - what tremendous talents tackled those books, including Joe Kubert, Jack Kirby, Russ Heath, Dick Ayers, John Severin, Gene Colan, Don Heck - the list goes on and on.

   But despite their high quality and top creative talents, war books have mostly disappeared from the modern comics scene.

   Which is why it's wonderful to see a new war title being published with the kind of quality that would fit right in with those classic tales.

   I'm talking about Civil War Adventure, a compilation of historical events, vignettes and dramatic moments from the War Between the States.

   Written by Chuck Dixon, the volume is loaded with information, personal stories, historic insights - it should delight history fans as it brings the classic story of war into focus.

   Most of the art is by Gary Kwapisz, whose work is tremendous - he seems to be channeling John Severin here, with maybe a touch of Will Eisner. It's impressive, compelling work.

   Other artists and writers included are Esteve Polls, Enrique Villagran, and Silvestre and Erik Burnham.

   Some may consider it wrong to label this a "war comic" - it's very much a historic narrative about a brutal, raw period in the history of America.

   What can I tell you? My first reaction was, "That's one terrific war comic."

   More, please!

Grade: A

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