Son of Hitler

by Anthony Del Col, Geoff Moore, Jeff McComsey (Contributor)

What if Adolf Hitler had a secret son no one knew about?

In the darkest days of World War II a female British spy handler discovers a rumor: that when Adolf Hitler was stationed in France during the First World War he fathered a child. Armed with stolen Nazi files, she secretly tracks down this son to recruit him for a mission to meet his biological father - and assassinate him.

But that may not be the end of the Hitler family saga...

A pulpy spy and alternative history thriller in the vein of Man in the High Castle, Zero Dark Thirty, Inglourious Basterds and the works of John Le Carre, this Image Comics graphic novel exploring one of the war's greatest legends is by acclaimed writer Anthony Del Col (Assassin's Creed, Kill Shakespeare), New York Times bestselling illustrator Jeff McComsey (FUBAR, Flutter) and newcomer Geoff Moore.

A story so wild it could only be true... maybe...


Advance Praise:

"Few war stories are this fun." - NPR

"A damn good spy story, with echoes from the Second World War reverberate to the present with chilling and elegant efficiency. We need stories like this one, now more than ever before." - Greg Rucka (writer of Queen & Country, Lazarus)

"[A] firecracker espionage tale... With its intricate elaboration of secret service work and shocker of a last-act twist, this comic achieves the satisfying web-of-secrets allure that John le Carré and Len Deighton pull off in prose." - Publishers Weekly

"SON OF HITLER will leave you speechless in the best way possible." - Geek.com

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Alternate History, War, Comic Book

192 pages, Hardcover

First published June 20, 2018

About the author

Anthony is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer/producer of podcasts and comics. His stories include KILL SHAKESPEARE, ASSASSIN'S CREED, the controversial graphic novel THE DEATH OF NANCY DREW, and the award-winning Insider comic I ESCAPED A CHINESE INTERNMENT CAMP, a first-person exploration of one Muslim Uyghur woman’s imprisonment by the Chinese government (2022 Pulitzer Award for Illustrated Reporting and Commentary).

His 2020 audio drama ASSASSIN’S CREED: GOLD, starring Oscar-nominee Riz Ahmed, was Audible’s top-rated release of the year. HIs first project with Audible, the found-footage thriller UNHEARD: THE STORY OF ANNA WINSLOW, hit #1 on Audible and broke download records.

Other projects include the Ringo Awards-nominated graphic novel SON OF HITLER (“few war stories are this much fun” - NPR); LUKE CAGE: EVERYMAN (Marvel), three seasons of Wondery’s hit podcast AGAINST THE ODDS, over 50 episodes of the Army Matters podcast and a series of acclaimed and award-winning comics for Insider that explore subjects such as anti-Muslim policies in India, filtration camps in Ukraine and migrant workers in Qatar.

A proud Canadian, he lives in Brooklyn with his lovely - and patient - wife Lisa, son Dashiell and daughter Siena.

Reviews

[Donovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It doesn’t change history but it does satisfy the Jewish blood. A surprising blend of über violent revenge fantasy, intimate biography, and historical fiction. The illustrations are great, sketchy realism.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings when I picked this book up - 'Nazifiction' is often poorly written and misses key ideological issues. This book was a taunt drama aside from the historical association with events during WW II and did resonate several buried issues that were examined in a very intelligent way.

[Kim Friant · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be fair, I’m not a big fan of graphic novels, and that’s really the only reason I’m giving this book 4 stars. The story and the artwork are excellent. Thankfully this “alternate history” falls closely in line with fact and not on its own ridiculous timeline. The characters are emotional and I found myself hoping that history did indeed have a different outcome. I really enjoyed this book and I wish it was available in novel form. I guarantee it would be 5 stars!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun ride, with a non-romantic leading woman at the center. Well done.

[Dean Davidson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This graphic novel isn't going to change your life. It's entertaining and you can crank through it in its' entirety in under an hour but there just isn't a lot of depth or originality here. While reading it, I got the sense they were trying too hard to make a statement (political, art-wise, etc.) and ultimately failed to create a good novel, leaving readers with what feels like a half-finished final product.

Cliches abound, and a few lines that correlated to current politics actually made me roll my eyes due to how obvious they were. This feels like a promising first attempt, but it's far from a masterpiece.

[Billie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In reality, 3.5 stars because the plot got a little eye-roll-y for my tastes at the end.

[Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

graphic novel
قصتها بتحكى وقت الفترة بتاعت الحرب العالمية الثانية عن ان هتلر لة ولد عايش فى فرنسا حياة فقيرة و قاسية بيكتشف من جاسوسة بتقابلة انة ابن هتلر و بتطلب منة انة يساعدها عشان يقضوا على هتلر و يقتلوة و هو ينتقم منة بسبب اللى حصلة فى حياتة و اللى حصل لامة و خلال احداث الرواية بيحكى عن رحلة البطل للوصول الى هتلر و القضاء علية
احداث الرواية ممتعة و فيها دراما على شوية اكشن حلويين المهم انها رواية حلوة و فكرتها جديدة

[Michael J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthony Del Col takes the urban WWII myth of Hitler's son as his template and spins a well-researched yarn of historical fiction with plenty of suspense and emotion.
The back history of the alleged son of Hitler is woven throughout the story so that the reader comes to understand how things came to this point, what influenced young Pierre during his formative years, and how he handles frustration, anger and mistreatment with brutal, violent snap decisions. The reader comes to empathize with the young man, product of a one-night stand with the ruthless German fuhrer and a French prostitute. His childhood was difficult and his classmates' constant taunting usually led to bloody consequences (for the teasers). Pierre finds purpose and comfort in his work as apprentice to a baker, who is secretly passing messages inside madeleine pastries.
The real hero of the graphic novel as well as the most interesting character by far is special agent Cora Brown, who has dedicated her career to the assassination of Hitler. When she learns of the existence of Hitler's son through three defecting German officers, the hunt is on for the son in hopes of using him to gain access to the wicked leader. Pierre is persuaded to assist, since getting in front of his father gives him the chance to kill him. Several methods are tried before the team finds success through one of Hitler's doctors, who has his own schemes in mind. There's an unexpected twist in the story related to Pierre's discovery. The ending is not exactly what readers may be expecting, but it is still very satisfying. Artist Jeff McComsey gained his reputation as editor/writer/artist on the historical zombie FUBAR graphic novels, but this may be his best work yet. He uses colors to indicate both setting and mood as well as flashback scenes. He's particularly good at facial expressions and conveying various moods including rage.
I was given a promotional uncorrected proof of the novel (with some sections of unfinished art) from my local comic shop, which enabled me to write an advance review.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book as good as it sounds. Pierre the lowly baker's assistant with a vicious streak is told that British wartime intelligence – well, one operative working for it at least – suggests he's little old Adolf's kid. Who better to rock up to him and dispose of him? Of course such a plan can't go so easily, not when the kid has his temperament, and not where Nazis are involved, either. I think I liked the limited-palette monochrome images, although I can't say I fell in love with the look. I certainly did like the numerous twists and jerky movements the story took us on, and I certainly felt the creative team were onto a winner with one particular aspect to the plot I daren't mention. They could have gone down the sensationalist, insalubrious side of things, but no – they did their history of the War with a great deal of intelligence, and this is all the more enjoyable and readable for it. Four and a half stars.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Son of Hitler is a very good spy story and a wonderfully drawn graphic novel. It is a World War II story with contemporary ramifications, which I truly enjoyed.

I was caught up fairly quickly in the espionage thanks in large part to compelling characters. They were as believable as one can expect from an espionage story that is partly alternate history.

The artwork was ideal for the story, subdued without being simply black line drawings, with subtle changes to accompany a mood or some action.

The thing that gave it the final boost to the rating it got was the idea, quite pleasant, that a particular bloodline might have been exterminated. Yes, Hitler's, but particularly the chosen name that has ruined this country because this is alternative history. Some things that never happened just really needed to have happened, but didn't, and now we're screwed as a country because of an evil family.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss.

[El Neo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting alternative history.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beyond the eye-catching title and cover art, Son of Hitler is basically Inglourious Basterds without the wisecracking fun. Cora Brown, British spy, thinks she's uncovered Hitler's son and plots to use him to kill Hitler. It's an engaging idea, but the actual character of Hitler's son, Pierre, is bland and never really wrestles with the idea that he's the son of a mass murderer besides being really, really angry. Like, the kid basically Hulks out several times. It's fun in that Inglourious Basterds way, but it's definitely not deep.

The plot takes an unusual twist midway through, making Son of Hitler about twice as long as it needs to be. It's still a enjoyable time, but it's barely Pierre's story - Cora is the main character here and she's also wildly underdeveloped. Basically, check out Son of Hitler to see some Nazis get decked. If that's not your bag, skip it.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may admittedly be a bit biased for stories that take place during this era and around this war, but I really enjoyed this one as a great spy thriller, which I typically don’t enjoy.

[J.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this is a great spy story. Great art as well.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 *
Yes, the topic of Allied nations at the end of the war and the struggles of the resistance was never going to be a happy tale, but this felt like it was trying to hard to be 'shocking'.
None of the characters are easy to empathise with (spoiler alert... they're all arseholes) and at times the narrative is a rambling mess, especially in the final act.
On the subject of that final act, my arc was unfinished, with the last section just consisting of rough sketches with the finished speech. Obviously this didn't aid the storyline much, but I'm not sure it would have improved it any.

[Alex Sarll]

What if Adolf had left a by-blow, who ended up raised by a French prostitute and working in a bakery? Well, what if he had? The kid doesn't seem terribly keen to continue the family trade - indeed, he's in the Resistance. Granted, he has almost superhuman combat abilities, just like his dad didn't, but I didn't think this was meant to be a superhero story. It's all rendered in an art style where everyone's faces go weird whenever strong emotion intrudes, which could be an homage to 'degenerate' Expressionism, or could just indicate rushed work. But wait! There's a twist! A twist which, granted, doesn't go quite as full Pat Mills 'Aaaah!' stupid as it looks like it will, but that's the best which can be said of it. I should have paid more attention to the co-writer's responsibility for the painful Kill Shakespeare, and skipped this one.

(Edelweiss ARC)

[Marcia Miller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh...

Inglourious Basterds did a much better job of presenting the dangers of Nazi resistance that also included humor, pathos, some degree of believability, and ample human feelings. This book fell flat. The writing was over-simplified, story fuzzy to follow, drawings only okay.

Since this is not a genre I'm widely familiar with, perhaps I just don't appreciate telling a story in this manner. But then, I've read other graphic novels that were as compelling as great literature of any kind. This book isn't one of those.

[M.K. Lansbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story! Though the title may have the reader believe it's a tale of Hitler's illegitimate son, it's really about his spy handler, the obsessed-with-finding-Hitler Cora Brown. She's almost like the origin story of Judi Dench's 'M' character from the Bond films and really drives this plot.

And what a twist at the end! Made me think about some of the forces today controlling the rise of populism.

One of my first graphic novels - and what an intro to the genre!

[Duane Maddy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just another boorish, poorly drawn politically motivated book that's supposed to surprise you with its witty, current take on history. It's the reason graphic novels are in a state of disrepair. Utter garbage that I should have passed on and never wasted my time with. The dialogue was elementary, at best. The penciling was unspeakably weak. Of the books I've read this year, this was among the two-or-three worst.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

[review based on b&w preview copy]
I was gauging it to be about 3 stars until the end, when a plot point was introduced that I hadn't even considered and turned what would have been a routine postscript into an exciting bonus adventure. It's a bit pulpy, yes, but not inappropriately so. The art is consistently good and serves the story well. Curious what it will look like in full color...

[Tri Le · Rating 4 out of 5]

Violent and fun alternate history graphic novel about Adolf Hitler's secret son. I found the artwork fitting and appropriate. The compelling story was enjoyable and I liked the characters (amongst them, violent Pierre and his British handler Cora). It's not deep, but it's a good time.

[Andréa]

Note: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher at ALA Midwinter 2018.

[Tom De · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice GN. Reads as a spionage thriller in WW2. What if....this was in the the top 10 2018 of best GN of the year?

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a sketched-out art style and a monochromatic color scheme, this violent revenge fantasy is a fantastic addition to anybody’s library.

[Thymie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have been wanting to read alternate history graphic novels and this one did not disappoint!

[Bill Coffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting alternate-history spy thriller that throws us a good curve 2/3 through, but the whole thing is often undone by it’s less than stellar artwork.

[Goran K · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spy alternate history story in which twists and turns change every now and then. Story is solid, beginning with rogue British agent, female protagonist Mrs. Brown that is non-romantic, and a Hitler's French son. There is a good part of non-fiction there, starting with dr. Morell. I also liked how Mrs. Brown changed her name to Mrs. Black at one point to deceive German agent, and some "black" events occurred a few panels later.
Madeleines at the end were also a nice touch.

Drawing is really good, monochromatic, but with changing pallets, depending on where we are on the timeline.

That said, most of the events were a bit too predictable for my taste, especially as it's a spy story. Writing felt a bit flat, and over-simplified and at some points I had hard time with suspension of disbelief as all the events were supposed to work in a "real world".
Also, whole novel feels rushed, it could easily have been twice as long, without skipping a lot of narrative, and giving a bit deeper insight into characters.
Still a very solid read, recommended especially to history aficionados and people that like conspiracy theories.

[Kelly Sedinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good graphic novel whose conceit is quite simple: What if Adolf Hitler had sired a child during World War I, a child who might have been able to get close enough to Hitler to assassinate him?

The story told here is full of twists that delighted me as a onetime reader of a lot of espionage fiction (I need to rediscover that genre!), which I will not spoil here. Suffice it to say that the story does not end up where I expected, in any way. But it is engagingly told, paced very well (using time jumps and flashbacks to great effect), and the art is terrific and moody. The feel is of a black-and-white spy thriller.

Terrific book. I'm glad I randomly picked it up at the library.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read an ARC copy of this book, so I’m not sure what the final look of the art will be, but it wasn’t my favorite style. I felt like it got a little muddy at times. The story was a different take to the thousands of WWII stories already out there, so I give it a thumbs up on that front. Toward the end of the book, I sighed a few times because of the plot twists, but overall, it was a good reading experience. I am giving it three stars simply because it was an okay story, and I do not see myself revisiting this book in the future. If you like historical fiction, war stories, or espionage stories, then I do recommend it.

[Alican Kunta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting concept told by excellent storytelling. It's easy to finish this great read at one sitting. I loved the plot twists, double crosses and the pure emotion in this book.
Unfortunately the underwhelming artwork doesn't do justice to the story. I understand it was intentionally done in a sketch-like way but it's just poorly executed- missing the proportions, facial features etc.
It's a shame, with a good artwork this book easily could have been lifted up to an Alan Moore level graphic novel.
Still, I think there is a very good script for a movie in there. I can already picture Kate Winslet as Cora Brown. One can always dream...