The Forever War, Vol. 1

The Forever War (Graphic Novels) #1-3

by Joe Haldeman, Marvano (Illustrator)

Based on the award-winning 'The Forever War' novels by Joe Haldeman, who wrote this series!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels Comics, Aliens, Dystopia

154 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 3, 2002

About the author

Brother of Jack C. Haldeman II

Haldeman is the author of 20 novels and five collections. The Forever War won the Nebula, Hugo and Ditmar Awards for best science fiction novel in 1975. Other notable titles include Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine and Marsbound as well as the short works "Graves," "Tricentennial" and "The Hemingway Hoax." Starbound is scheduled for a January release. SFWA president Russell Davis called Haldeman "an extraordinarily talented writer, a respected teacher and mentor in our community, and a good friend."

Haldeman officially received the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at the Nebula Awards Weekend in May, 2010 in Hollywood, Fla.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic adaptation of The Forever War was originally published in three volumes in the late 1980s. Years ago I somehow just read the middle volume and wasn't terribly impressed, but recently stumbled across this omnibus edition and enjoyed it much more. (Maybe I just needed that happy ending.) It's a classic novel of military sf and has long been celebrated as a counterpoint to Heinlein's Starship Troopers. The script is abbreviated but hits the main complex points of time travel and the horrors of war, and I liked the background art style, especially the astronomicals, but wasn't too fond of the character depictions. I suppose my initial lukewarm reaction to the comic was probably partially due to my long-term admiration for the original novel; I was at the convention where it won a Hugo for best novel of the year in 1976 (Mr. Heinlein was the Guest of Honor. I was also in attendance at the World Con two years before, when Mr. Haldeman's brother was the Con Chair and where the iconic and legendary Lime Jello Incident transpired, but that's neither here nor there.) Anyway, I enjoyed reading the graphic version but don't recommend it as a substitute for the original prose.

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed the comic version better than the book, which really surprised me! Fortunately, the comic book version removed the most offensive things in the original (particularly the institutional gangrape and the homophobia) and let the story shine through. The art is great when the camera is panning or taking landscapes. The human faces aren't spectacular, but recognizable. The story was difficult from a time dilation point of view, but I felt the comic book did a good job with that as well as with the various spacecraft and the poor Taurans. Seriously, if you are curious about the The Forever War, I would highly recommend this comic book version first.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was curiously flat. Haldeman’s original novel is a deserved classic of science fiction. This graphic novel seems like a faithful enough adaptation (it's been too long since I read the original, and the memories are faded), but it feels muted. There's no excitement, no heart to it.

It may be that the book was destined not to adapt well. It's very much a novel of ideas, a look at the realities of maintaining a war with an extraterrestrial civilization across the vast distances of interstellar space. While traveling at near light speeds to their military objectives, centuries pass back on Earth … There are action scenes, but the emphasis is more on the psychological effects on the soldiers involved than the combat itself.

It's a serviceable enough adaptation, but there's nothing particularly special or surprising about it. Marvano’s art shows hints of people like Walt Simonson, Howard Chaykin, Frank Miller, and Moebius, but without their originality or facility with page layouts.

In the end, The Forever War works better as prose than comics. Best to skip this and read the novel instead.

[George Ilsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published in French in 1988, this story starts in 1990 and continues for centuries. There are big gaps because of interstellar travel, and in those interstices (months in "subjective time," but decades or centuries in time on Earth) there are great leaps in technology and culture. The soldiers however have been trained for one purpose, and they remain stuck in their assigned roles.

Apparently this is all based on a novel where these sweeping philosophical ideas are discussed more fully.

I enjoyed this graphic novel presentation. I didn't have the original material for comparison, and liked how big ideas were touched on without belabouring.

Rating this based on enjoyment, and use of the medium, I'm rounding this up to 5 stars. It's a big colourful book, crammed with ideas about war, propaganda, technology, sexuality, and ends on a hopeful note.

[Zdravko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fora je pročitati strip odmah nakon romana i iako nije dočarao besmisao ratovanja kao originalno djelo, nije ni loše. Ajmo reći 3.5.

[Trike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new edition of French artist’s Marvano 1988 comic adaptation of the classic Haldeman novel. This is a solid adaptation that hits most of the high notes of the book. I’m not sure how someone unfamiliar with the novel would see this, but as someone who has read the book numerous times over the past 40 years, this feels like a Cliffs Notes version. It’s not bad, just streamlined and simplified. Apparently Haldeman himself provided the text for the English edition.

I did like how Marvano updated the tech as he went along, underscoring the changes occurring as centuries pass due to time dilation. It does have a very 1980s view of the future, though, as people are still doing things like reading newspapers. All in all, though, I enjoyed it.

[Kam-Hung Soh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good graphic adaptation of the novel, including its sardonic tone, the acceptance of the horrors of war and even the unexpected uplifting ending. The print in this omnibus edition is sometimes too small or too low contrast (e.g. tiny green on black lettering on glossy paper) to read.

[Anna Brytańczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Komiks dotyczący książki s-f o tym samym tytule. I jest prostszy, wiele rzeczy jest uproszczonych, więc łatwiej się go czyta, ale jednocześnie w niektórych miejscach w głowie odpowiadałam sobie to co w książce i nie wiem czy jest to dobra propozycja dla kogoś kto nie ma tego backgroundu. Możliwe,że wtedy nie zdaje sobie czytelnik sprawy, aczkolwiek mam mieszane uczucia. Niektóre fragmenty bardzo fajnie skrócone, inne brakowało mi rozwinięcia. Możliwe,że jak w książce im bliżej końca tym akcja przyspieszała i była mniej rozbudowana tak i w komiksie, po prostu bum, wojna, bum koniec. Natomiast aspekt całej zimi po jakimś czasie pominięty praktycznie całkowicie, a był jednym z ciekawszych w powieści. Natomiast ilustracje duuuzo dodają, dużo lepiej się odbiera ta historię z tymi ilustracjami. Chociaż nie wiem czy jest to historia tak dobra do adaptacji komiksowej, bo więcej tutaj myśli niż dialogów.

[LaTeigne Du Cosmos · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 étoiles.
Thème très sérieux, qui fait réfléchir, mais je me suis ennuyée. Je n'ai pas trouvé que le style graphique avantageait l'oeuvre, mais ça reste très personnel.

[Warren Wulff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should probably read the actual novel, to be totally fair to this work and to understand how the graphic novel differs from the novel. However, there are some weird ideas about sexuality and anti-LGBTQ undertones throughout that don’t serve the story at all except perhaps to advance the author’s feelings. I will give tremendous credit for accurate portrayals of time paradox and how it would actually affect humans, unlike what we see in Star Trek or Star Wars.

[Dimitrios Mistriotis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Titan Comics for translating and compiling this classic - along with other European titles not previously available in English. Will buy volume 2 as soon as I can while I do not know if there has been an adaptation of the 3rd volume.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really 2.5 stars. The concept of the time difference between planets and different parts of the universe made logical sense. But the rest of this was just not for me....

[cumulonimbus99 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Jonathan Maas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great adaptation of a great tale. I love Marvano's art as well.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jedna z najlepszych rzeczy jakie czytałem ostatnio. Mam ochotę wrócić nie raz do tego, a z pewnością spróbować oryginału (książki). Ciężkie, a za sprawą paraboli do Wietnamu jeszcze cięższe właściwie... Myślę że posmakować powinien ten komiks także i hejterom SF, bo dzięki dość uniwersalnym przemyśleniom wymyka się gatunkowi

[Shyue Chou Chuang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haldeman is fortunate to have Marvano illustrate his novel which was a decent story and gave it life. The Marvano illustrations add a new dimension to the tale of war.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Admission: I haven't read the source material and I'm a child of the Star Wars era of fast-paced, gun-slinging sci-fi. So this slow beast of a think piece didn't exactly thrill me. But once I began to understand the implications of a man living across centuries, I found myself converted into an interested party.

The Forever War as a title sounds thrilling, but the actual war parts of this graphic adaptation are pretty hard to follow...and largely dull due to realism. In space, a silent missile moving at the speed of light obliterates your ship and everyone dies. End of story! Not quite exciting, but definitely real and startling. The true heart of the tale, though, is the one soldier who lives. By the end, when he staggers back towards Earth, only to discover that all humans are identical clones - I was a bit shook. What would it be like to live 900 years? Truly, that would lend itself to madness. Fortunately, the author takes a more thoughtful approach. Those parts of this adaptation were the most enjoyable for me. I'm definitely considering picking up the source material now.

[Michał Jerzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kiedyś "Wieczna wojna" wywarła na mnie olbrzymie wrażenie, ale dotyczyło to w zasadzie tylko pierwszej części. Teraz dostrzegam też atuty części drugiej, choć jest to już raczej czysta fantastyka, a nie (słabo) zakamuflowana opowieść o Wietnamie. Poza tym homofobia Haldemana dziś już mocno uwiera. Część trzecia też jakoś się jeszcze broni, ale czyta się to w zasadzie siłą rozpędu, a zakończenie jest mizerne. Ogólnie - trzy gwiazdki z uwagi na sentyment.

[Zare · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read and re-read the novel many times and when I saw this book I had to check it out.
Graphic novel follows the same story line and is very faithful to the novel itself. In terms of the graphical presentation it has that Jeremiah look-and-feel, grainy at some points almost pointillist drawing when it comes to people but clean for anything else (machinery, cities and nature). It is a very distinctive art specific for European, especially Belgian comic artists.

Story wise this is novel in graphic form (minus the episode on Marygay Poitter's farm but if I understand correctly this part was usually skipped and is available only in editions with original text). Story is one that never loses on importance and sounds true for every age. This is story of people drafted to fight in conflicts on the other end of the galaxy, conflicts they know nothing about how and why they started. People sentenced to literally leave everyone they know behind since due to laws of physics while they age in normal manner, everything they left behind ages much faster. Fighting in the war spanning thousands of years against the enemy they never have the chance to familiarize with and understand these soldiers will try the survive not only the enemy but also their own army - from incapable officers to technology developed for war that might be even more deadly to its users than enemy ever could be. Finale is truly heartbreaking but so familiar to anyone who has own experiences with conflict (either personally or through relatives and friends).

But even more important part of the story is the one about society itself. Fired up by media and politicians unable to handle the situation (so familiar these days) society wants action, action, action (again, sooo familiar these days) and is ready to send its own to fight in war but then, due to great distances and remoteness of the conflict, they forget them and very fast shun them (again that end is just remarkable). Picture of the modern society is portrayed very well and ever present themes are there - unemployment, violence, crime, social institutions that do not help people except through sheer power and enforcement, society open to everyone and closed to so many to the very extreme (enforcing no need to work (that ends with people going mad or barely surviving on rations provided), medical care that separates the population into very rich and forever living, those to be kept alive and those to be left to die depending on their "usefulness to society" (brrrr), universities that allow people to join them only if they are deemed worthy).

All of this causes our weary soldiers to re-enlist and go back to the front-line because they now share more with the enemy than with their own culture and people. They are looked at as relics and society hates them for a very single reason - they know they need them but how to accept this notion in this brave new world (again, something that is soooo familiar today).

It is obvious that all these themes are ageless and today, to be honest, they hit very close to home. Highly bureaucratized government machine paired with the science that becomes more of a politics driver than science is a truly terrifying picture. Remote warfare where society does not see the corpses and death so is willing to tolerate it (although publicly being quite opposed to it), forced eugenics and political decisions that end not in evolved and improved humanity but in split humanity is truly something to be worried about.

Excellent story and great visual presentation. I am more of a fan of written word but with this book you cannot lose - if you read the novel you will enjoy this comic, if you first read this graphic novel I hope you will also pick up the original novel (for those small details that might be lost in visual presentation and there are many).

Highly recommended to fans of military SF and SF in general.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

🅡🅔🅥🅘🅔🅦

The Forever War
2017
Comics
Rating: 4.5/5

The Forever War is a faithful and compelling retelling of one of the genre’s most thought-provoking military sci-fi epics. Written by the novels author Joe Haldeman, the comic captures the original’s bleak introspection, commentary on war, and human themes. The story follows a soldier drafted into an interstellar war against an alien species, and the narrative uses the concept of time to explore the alienation and disorientation experienced by veterans returning to a world that has moved on without them.

The artwork is surreal, and appropriately detailed, mirroring the mechanical nature of both the war and the future society. There’s an understated feeling, allowing the emotional weight of the characters to take centre stage. The muted colours match the narrative’s tone, giving the comic a distinct visual identity, with themes of isolation. Battle scenes are brutal, but never glamorised.

This is not just a space opera, it’s an exploration on time, identity, and the cost of conflict. The story tells the passage of time, with a character who ages only months while centuries pass. The resulting emotional and cultural disconnect is portrayed with subtlety and empathy. The growing alienation, not only from the military machine but from humanity itself as it evolves into something unrecognizable.

The pacing is deliberate and reflective. If you’re unfamiliar with the book you may find it slower than action-driven stories, but if you’re willing to engage there’s a story on a deeper level. The interpersonal relationships, particularly between the central characters offers the only anchor of humanity amid an ever-changing universe, adding emotion to a tale dominated by bleak realism.

It’s an intelligent story, evocative art, and realistic themes, with strong science fiction elements, and anti-war themes. It’s a haunting reminder of how war dehumanises and disorients, and how love, however fragile, can endure even the most vast stretches of space and time.

#theforeverwar#joehaldeman#titancomics#dupreewenttothemovies

[Jemppu · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderfully epic space saga - yet from a very closely personal perspective -, with such humanity and frailty, poignantly describing the gruesomeness and redundancy of warfare. And with a side of centuries of pathos, to truly earn its name.

The art - it has some quite sharp disparity between gorgeous settings and action, and the unfortunate sloppiness and uncertainty in depictions of human facial features.

Still, the human characters aside (but not the figures), the art is powerful in drawing out evocative scenes; noticeably reminiscence of - and surely on some degree inspired by - Giraud's Moebius art, detectable from the determined and even pen stroke, and from the presentations of scenery and scope. And perhaps somewhat in the designs of the spacecrafts not based on real life too (and those that are, add a certain delight with the fact that for the on-orbit transportation vehicles of choice the book chooses to employ the space shuttles of its time; giving a rare opportunity to see the retirees in action on the edge of the universe war beyond their planet of origin - and way past their real life decommission).

Highly commendable is also the coloring; the final touch to bring the art alive and add mood to the scenes with subtle toning - the decisive color palettes for both the bold contradictions and the uniform washes rather enhancing the resemblance to Moebius.

Fantastic story, which will surely stay with. And has me that much more excited to finally read the original novel too.



Edit 08/2022: I seem to have posted my review originally here to the entry for the first issue of the graphic novel adaptation. The review is for the first full book, not just the first issue.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Haldeman's Hugo Award-winning _The Forever War_ is a science fiction classic. The novel, which explores the implications of fighting in a war so distant, so detached from the everyday lives of the folks back home, that its warriors become untethered from society.

This is science fiction, so Haldeman's writing about a galactic war. However, one senses that he was also writing about Vietnam. _The Forever War_ is a classic, however, because it isn't only about Vietnam. Soldiers in Afghanistan talk about fighting the Forever War and the book appears on many military reading lists.

The Graphic Novel edition does _The Forever War_ justice. Well drawn and thoughtfully abridged, this edition brings the story, and the ideas, of _The Forever War_ to life for readers who may not wish to dive into a novel. I picked this one up for my kids, and all three of them tore through it. I did, too. Nothing can beat the novel, but this graphic edition provides an outstanding avenue to experience Haldeman's classic.

Recommended for: military people, science fiction buffs.

[Danijel Jedriško · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prije desetak godina čitao sam "Vječni rat". Hadelmanova knjiga ostavila me bez teksta kako zbog izvedbe tako i zbog baratanja fizikom putovanja svemirom. Desetak godina kasnije nisam siguran jesam li bio premlad pa se radi o mladenačkoj fascinaciji ili je knjiga zaista toliko dobra kakvom je se sjećam. Strip "Vječni rat" napravljen je intrigantno, vraćanje asocijacija na pročitanu knjigu izvedeno je uspješno no strip je, kao drugačiji medij, ipak priči dodao nešto svoje.

Serijal "Expanse" gađa tu istu notu, ljudi i prostranstvo svemira. Zaista u tom smislu navodi na zaključak da smo mali usred svemira. Dvije su stvari beskonačne, rekao je Einstein. Svemir i ljudska glupost. Nakon čitanja ovog stripa dodao bih - i rat. Društvo međutim evoluira. Sviđa li nam se smjer te evolucije drugo je pitanje. No Vječni rat se odvija u nama. Daleko od stvarnoga rata, mi moramo sami sa sobom naučiti biti tolerantni i sa više empatije. No, to je rat u kojem se još ne nazire pobjednik. Rekao bih nažalost.

[Bastian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A graphic novel adaptation of one of the best sci-fi books ever. Contrary to popular beliefs, this does not cover all three books (Forever {War, Peace, Free}), but only the first, Forever War. And that is a good thing, since Forever War is a beautiful, well-rounded book, that doesn't need a sequel.

It reads like a heavily abridged version of the original book, but somehow manages to remain faithful in tone and impact. At first I was worried that it might spoil my memory of the book with its visuals, but quite on the contrary, the art style matched my vision of The Forever War perfectly. A beautiful companion to a true classic of sci-fi.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can tell the art is from an earlier generation, but it is really great. Better than a lot from today.
I enjoyed the story, but I knew I would because I came to this from the novel. I do think the love story, the affects of the time dilation, and the oddness of the changes in the human race go a little too fast to get as good a grip here as they do in the novel. I remember a lot more fascination with the changes and the amount of time passed than I get from this telling. It definitely is a lot better than reading Cliffsnotes version though.
Summary: Great art and visuals to go with a classic sci-fi story.

[Nikola Ziki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad.

For a person who has already read the forever war novel, twice, it does good to bring back old memories and emotions contained within the book, and there's abundance of those.
Even though most of the characters, the Taurans and the planets aren't visualized the way I imagined them, I still got that thrill that I felt while reading the book.
I was not overly impressed with the art style, but I felt that it tried to resemble the 70s comic book era style. So to add more to the nostalgic feeling.
The ending is very rushed leaving the reader not understanding anything that's happening.
So I would suggest that if you want to read this novel, you better read the book first.

[K De · Rating 5 out of 5]

This graphic novel follows the original novel exactly because Joe Haldeman is the novelist and has faithfully adapted it to the comic book format. Mavano has done a wonderful job of illustrating the writing. The work itself has stood the test of time. It is just as relevant today as when it was first published in 1974. War that has lost any reason. War that spans a thousand years. War that is for the benefit of the government. The madness of it all is explicitly written. Highly recommended for what is happening now.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read the original novel this comic was adapted from. With that in mind, this is a weighty graphic novel that manages to convey an interesting and detailed story--dealing with a range of characters as well as larger ideas about humanity, advancement, and the cost of way. It's a generally successful adaptation of a military space drama and--though it didn't blow me away--it's a solid read for a graphic novel and feels like it is probably a successful adaptation of the source material.

[A1Cvenom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid all around good Science fiction comic recommendation. You get a little bit of everything, violence, space wars and mind F*cks. The large time gaps and paradoxes are very cool. There is a sense of existential dread and pending doom that makes it really feel serious and believable. I love the art and the brutality of the story. The ending was also good which made me feel very satisfied after completing it.

[Przemysław Skoczyński · Rating 3 out of 5]

Na początku nawet ekscytacja, bo te wszystkie analogie do Wietnamu (trop podany czytelnikowi na tacy we wstępie) sprawiły, że zrobiło się ciekawie, ale od części drugiej zaczął się monotonny ciąg zdarzeń, który nie zrobił mi kompletnie nic. Gdybym miał dzisiaj - dwa dni po lekturze- powiedzieć o co toczyła się gra i w jaki sposób, pewnie bym coś wybełkotał bez ładu i składu. Nudy