World War One: 1914-1918

by Alan Cowsill, Lalit Kumar Sharma (Illustrator)

"The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our time."
-Sir Edward Grey, British Foreign Secretary

The First World War, also known as the Great War, involved over thirty nations and resulted in the deaths of millions of young men.  This stunning new book brings history to life as we see the war through the eyes of the young conscripted servicemen on all sides of the conflict. Introducing the advent of tanks, airplanes, air raids, submarines and gas attacks, we take a close look at the first modern war of the 20th Century. From the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo to the Treaty of Versailles we see for ourselves what life was like in the trenches, on the home front, at sea and in the air. This is more than just a history book; it is a fully illustrated journey into another age.

We follow the fortunes of a group of young conscripts and volunteers to discover what life was really like in the trenches and how they coped with returning home after the horrors of the front line.

Genres: History, Graphic Novels, Comics, Nonfiction, World War I, War, Historical

132 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2014

About the author

Alan is an award-winning writer and editor who started out selling comics and magazines as a dealer before becoming a full-time creative, giving him a complete understanding of the industry from all sides. He has created stories for most comic companies, and edited hit titles for Marvel, Panini and Eaglemoss. When he’s not working for Bullpen, Alan writes novels and practices Kung Fu and Qigong.

Reviews

[L. McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUPER FAST REVIEW:
Just re-read this book and damn, it is good! An interesting true story about WWI (a topic that I have great interest in). A very intense comic with interesting characters and the art is perfect for the story. The narrative is super well written and it’s one that would be educational for all ages (including adults though it might be too intense for some very young kids).
Highly recommended this!

5/5

[Robert Taub · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting summary of WWI from the perspective of a soldier. The author uses far too much cliche and trite humor, in my view; this diminishes the seriousness of the conditions and stresses lived by the soldiers. Still, it works well as a historical overview for readers unfamiliar with the history.

Anybody reading this should try to take a trip to Ypres (portrayed in the story) and the surrounding area of Belgium. It will be an unforgettable experience.

[Thomas Edmund · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel contains an excellent blend of historical narrative with devastating storytelling and equally intense artwork. The majority of the prose is a matter-of-fact explanation of World War, while character focussed drama is perhaps a little sparse. Still the piece is very powerful and really good for someone like me who perhaps doesn’t have time to devote to a lengthy doco or non-fiction novel but is more than happy to read a well penned graphic novel on the subject of the ‘Great’ War.

[Shishuraj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels a little basic after having read Jacques Tardi’s masterpiece ‘It was the war of the trenches’, but this serves better as a quick summary of the war from the British perspective.

[Arush Ul islam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good brief history of World War I, deserves to read for once.

[William O’Pomegranate · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Namratha · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our time.”
~ Sir Edward Grey
British Foreign Secretary

At a time when the world is poised yet again on the brink of repeating history and as we fervently hope that better sense prevails, it seemed pertinent to reacquaint myself with the First World War (1914-1918) which was pegged as one of the deadliest conflicts in history. Campfire Graphic Novels does a stellar job of blending a devastatingly detailed historical account with the physical, emotional and psychological toll that it took on the soldiers and civilians.

Narrated through the eyes of a young soldier in the trenches, it adds a bit of fiction to an unfortunate amount of fact as it covers all the events from the 1914 assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo to the weary 1918 armistice between the Allies and Germany. A war that killed over 16 million people, injured 20 million more and wrecked trauma on millions more to haunt generations to come should have been, as it is was called the war to end all wars.

But history and big bullies had (and seemingly have) more in store for us.

Towards the end of the novel, lies a very pertinent statement by our fictional soldier:

“I will never forget those years. I couldn’t if I tried.
But I hope others remember too. It’s important they remember. Not just the fallen but the reasons for the war and the senseless loss of life as those in power sent a generation of young men to their deaths.”

[Bernard Dy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing graphic novel. I was a bit skeptical that it could cover as much as it did but a well crafted story by Cowsill manages to hit the key points of the war and the artwork adds motion and color to it.

Any graphic novel is going to be challenged to cover the scope of a four year war, but by following the story's narrator, we get to see simulated eyewitness accounts of some of the dreadful proceedings in trench warfare, while the main character also tells us about other parts of the war as if read in papers or from conversations with other characters in the story that had experienced parts of other theaters.

Yes, it's a fictional story, but in the same way that Platoon, or Forrest Gump, or Gallipoli were fiction. They all can teach about parts of history and in some ways World War One is more ambitious in scope than the others.

My main misgivings are about the otherwise very pleasant artwork. It can sometimes make it hard to tell the characters apart, and in few panels I found that there were some debris in the picture that could interfere with the narration.

Overall, I had a great time reading this book and wish everyone could read it.

[Noah B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderdul art and storyline. A great representation on the life lived during the time of World War one as well as the different machinery/weaponry that came during the time of war. It was interesting to find new facts on the war as I am a big history buff and love to always learn more about it. The art expresses in great detail the dark feel of the war and I couldn't be happier with it. Of course the book isnt perfect, I found it hard to keep the characters straight and would like to see more of the perspective of what we dont hear about such as the battle with the ottomans and other empires instead of always hearing about just the main central powers such as Germany and Austria-Hungary, and the allied powers of Britain,France,and the United States. There is so much more that happened outside of these powers and I would love a novel to show that. Nonetheless,it was a great representation of the hardship of war,and reminds us of the costs that went in to making this country what it is today.
Love,Noah Brickner❤🥬

[Apratim Mukherjee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a graphic history of the First World war,one of the bloodiest conflicts in history,as seen from the eyes of a British soldier.The graphics are amazing and the writing is good(not as amazing as the second world war series).The book covers unknown aspects First World War related to PTSD,problems of young recruits,falling empires etc.;but doesn't cover Treaty of Versailles(the seed of second world War),rise of Lenin,death of Princip,Gallipoli campaign and contribution of Asian soldiers.
Its not of the standard as other Campfire history books.It is a good book but not comprehensive.
Hence,I award it three stars.

[Chels Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and moving way to learn WWI history. The pictures are well drawn and the script is fast past switching between interpersonal and factual. It does lack some detail but it’s a good jumping into book. I did a lot of wiki searches and googled a lot of what was spoken about to get a better understanding, such as what exactly was “strap to a gun” punishment. Good for all ages, but it’s defiantly overview and introductory.

[Robert Noll · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good starting point for some of the more memorable battles of WW I. The story is intertwined with the history of the war, as well as a brief description of the events leading to the war. Some shortfalls:
* Not enough details about the war being "the last of the old, the first of the new;"
* Not enough details about the political machinations leading to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand;
* Not enough details about battles and belligerents outside of Europe.

[Frankie Dunning · Rating 3 out of 5]

The graphic novel World War One was a historical fiction book by Alan Cowsill. I would recommend this book to others if they needed to read a historical fiction book. I like how they told more of the story through the pictures more than the words so it told a story in a different way. I dont usually read historical fiction books but maybe I will again.

[Sheila Bracken · Rating 5 out of 5]

This graphic novel is packed w/ information, great pictures, & the story of Joe & 16-yr-old George to show how common people, especially soldiers were impacted—physically & emotionally—by the war. Lesser known stories of minority troops, carrier pigeons, & dogs were compelling. I’m still working out the when and how I will use this in my classroom.

[Jenn Palomino · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently got a whole bunch of historical graphic novels and this one did not disappoint. It’s a historical fictional narrative of WWI told from the perspective of a soldier. Even though the main character isn’t real, a lot of the stories about the war are. It’s a great overview of the war and the art was super sick.

[Alan Waye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloody fantastic

Words cannot describe how bloody great this comic was. It had me hanging on wanting everyone to live but with wars come death so read it think on it and let's bloody hope there will be no world wars ever

[WhiteStar 111 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very intense and sad. George suffered a lot which was very realistic. I really like this book

[Blackhazard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book about world War 1. It is realistic and good.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good basic overview of the war that touches on a number of different roles and locations. Art is overall pretty good but lacks detail and style that I find more compelling.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting way to get a basic understanding of World War One.

[Shiven Jain · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.75 - BORING AS HELL

[Shrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome book with humour and facts. I recommend you all to read this!

[Aranya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great book for history buffs and has a lot about World War One.
I would rate this book 4.99.9.
I loved this book so much because again it has a great understanding about World War One.

[Sean Lubben · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent brief overview of "The War To End All Wars". Certainly made me want to continue learning about the time period.

[Diago Padilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! It showed what really happens in a war!

[Be Loud]

Good coverage

Good graphics and story telling. I learned a lot about the Great War. Recommend this book to any history student.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

World War One: 1915-1918 is a well researched historical graphic novel recounting the War To End All Wars from the perspective of two British soldiers. Their stories are chronologically interspersed with major events/battles as well as tales from other soldiers. The book is well done and gives a very manageable view of its subject.

The ratio between historical event to personal story is 50-50. We'll follow George and Joe, foot soldiers, but also learn about naval battles, airmen, even the animals involved in the war. Interesting anecdotes, including the white feathers of cowardice given out by women at home, gassing of troops, introduction of tanks, even Lawrence of Arabia are interspersed throughout the storytelling.

The author does a great job of giving a face to the war. As well, the pulp-style illustrations suit the subject matter well. That the guys are a bit too 'super her buff' would probably be my only complaint. I'd not expect a common soldier farmer to have ripped pecs and tight shirt when he pulls out a knife. The size of the book is very manageable - not too much but also the right size to be satisfying.

In all, this is a great resource to both learn more about Great War and enjoy personal stories from the soldiers who fought. Note that this is heavily focused on Britain's involvement so you won't find much about Australians, Americans, Germans, Russians, or French here.

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alan Cowsillin käsikirjoittaman ja Lalit Kumar Sharman kuvittaman "World War One: 1914-1918" (Campfire, 2014) -albumin päähenkilö on brittiläinen jalkaväen sotilas, jonka kokemusten ja kertoman kautta lukija saa kohtalaisen hyvän kuvan ensimmäisestä maailmansodasta ja sen tärkeimmistä tapahtumista. Lukukokemus ei mene silti puuduttavan luennoinnin puolelle, vaan fakta ja fiktio ovat hyvin tasapainossa. Jos olisin historianopettaja, niin saattaisin hyvinkin käyttää tämmöistä sarjakuvaa hyödyksi tunneillani.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good overview of the First World War. If used with Wayne Vansant's The Red Baron: The Graphic History of Richthofen's Flying Circus and the Air War in WWI, a student should be able to grasp the outlines of the First World War. Also recommended are Max Brooks' The Harlem Hellfighters and Pat Mills' Charley's War.

If you want your child to have any cultural literacy, best look up these graphic histories folks. History classes are being gutted by politicians and their edu-crat minions.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good review of WWI with the story line of one man from Britain who fought in the war. Great way to re-introduce myself to the events of WWI. Graphic novels are a quicker read than a book of the same info, but not sure I like to figure out some of the story from the comic.