Six Days: The Incredible Story of D-Day's Lost Chapter

by Robert Venditti, Kevin Maurer

June 1944. World War II. D-Day. 182 members of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division parachute into the French countryside--a full eighteen miles southeast of their intended target. Six The Incredible Story of D-Day's Lost Chapter is an original graphic novel from DC Vertigo is the true story of a World War II battle that took place in the small village of Graignes, France for six days and the people that survived to tell the tale.

In the worst mis-drop of the D-Day campaign, a group of soldiers are rattled to find themselves even deeper behind enemy lines than anyone had intended. Miraculously, the citizens of Graignes vote to feed and shelter the soldiers, knowing that the decision would bring them terrible punishment if their efforts were discovered by the Germans. That day of reckoning comes faster than anyone could expect.

As a small German militia passes through, the world's war comes to their remote town in the countryside and for the the next six days, the small band of American paratroopers and French citizens must fight for their lives to hold back 2,000 enemy combatants.

Six The Incredible Story of D-Day's Lost Chapter is a true story of survival, loyalty, the brutality of war and a triumph of the human spirit so rarely brought to the comics form. Writers Kevin Maurer (#1 New York Times bestseller No Easy The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden ) and Robert Venditti ( Green Lantern )--whose uncle fought in the Battle of Graignes and is a key character in the tale--completed exhaustive archival research in preparation this unbelievable untold story from World War II.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, History, War, Graphic Novels Comics, Nonfiction, France

148 pages, Hardcover

Published May 14, 2019

About the author

Robert Venditti is a New York Times bestselling author of more than three hundred comic books and graphic novels. Some of his works include the monthly comic book series Justice League, Superman ’78, Hawkman, and Green Lantern for DC Comics, X-O Manowar, Armor Hunters, and Wrath of the Eternal Warrior for Valiant Entertainment, and the graphic novel Six Days, inspired by the story of his uncle’s participation in D-Day. He has also adapted Rick Riordan’s global bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus novels, as well as Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia and Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz. His graphic novel The Surrogates was adapted into a feature film by Touchstone Pictures, and his work on The Flash was the basis for season three of the CW television series.

Venditti lives in Atlanta, where he both writes and serves as a storytelling consultant for some of the most recognizable entertainment brands in the world.

Reviews

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

June 6, 1944 and Operation Overlord is in full swing. A group of US soldiers find themselves unfortunately displaced 15 miles away from their drop zone, deep behind enemy lines. Luckily they find allies in the local French village of Graignes as they dig in and prepare to resist the oncoming German force. They have six days…

Robert Venditti, Kevin Maurer and Andrea Mutti’s book is subtitled “the incredible story of D-Day’s lost chapter” – but I’m not sure what about this story is incredible? It starts promisingly – the failed drop, regrouping, preparing for the war to reach them – and then it ends so anticlimactically. I kept expecting that “incredible” aspect to appear and it never did. I don’t know if spoilers apply to this book given that it’s real history but a bunch of US soldiers and French civilians are killed by the Germans and the village is burned down… that’s it.

It’d be like if in Saving Private Ryan, shortly after the storming of the Normandy beaches, Tim Honks and co. tried to take out the machine gun nest, got mown down, and the movie ended. You’d be left wondering – what, that’s the movie? I expected so much more!

I’m not sure what the importance of the story was or what we’re meant to take away from it. I mean, it’s sad and tragic but that was WW2 all over – it sucked. There were a thousand stories just like this happening all across France post-D-Day. Graignes got burned down but so did other, larger towns that resisted the Nazis. One of the most horrendous as an example: in the wake of Operation Anthropoid, when a high ranking Nazi official, Heydrich, got assassinated in Prague, the Nazis killed thousands of civilians and wiped out the towns of Lidice and Lezaky in retribution.

American soldiers and French civilians worked together for six days – ok, and? If this was meant to be a tale of doomed camaraderie, you don’t really get a strong sense of it here. The significance of “six days” was totally lost on me. Once the fighting started, it was really hard to tell which side was which as everyone looked the same.

I couldn’t tell you one character’s name as none of them stood out – they were all simply archetypical American GIs/French civilians from this era. That’s why that ending has zero impact on me – it’s just some random GI writing a letter to another random American mother who lost another random son to the war. We never got to know any of the characters enough to care.

It’s set up well and takes you to that time but it’s not hard for me to see why this episode of the war is largely unknown. No clue what we’re meant to take away from the book beyond the usual “war is hell” thang. If you’re after some absolutely incredible WW2 comics, I highly recommend Garth Ennis’ War Stories and Battlefields series instead.

(Hat tip to L. McCoy for the rec)

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

The true story of some paratroopers trapped behind enemy lines during the Invasion of Normandy. Their planes were knocked off course, landing them many miles away from the rest of the allied forces. They come upon a small French town and dig in, waiting for the Germans to appear.

Venditti does a fantastic job of humanizing the war, focusing on the soldiers interactions with the townspeople in the days leading up to the fight with the Germans. I was transported into the story, even though Mutti's artistic talents don't lend themselves to distinct looks for the soldiers. His gritty pencils do do a good job of telling an interesting untold tale of WWII.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A timely release for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, but this dramatization of true events is quite disappointing. The sketchy writing and art leave us with characters that are one-dimensional and difficult to tell apart. When people started dying at the end, I had no attachment to them to heighten the tragedy or even a real certainty as to who was dead.

Update: Okay, I was curious about the events of this story so I started to do some Google searches and found that this graphic novel is not a particularly good history either, changing the names of the real people depicted. How is this honoring them and their sacrifices?

[L. McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy shit, this should be getting more attention.

What’s it about?
A group of soldiers on D-Day jump out of the plane to fight... but land miles away from where they were meant to land. They ended up in a village and the villagers may help them but it will be a major risk for the village if the Germans find out. It’s a true story, by the way.

Why it gets 5 stars:
The story is very interesting. As someone who’s interested in history (especially war history) I’m surprised I didn’t know about this before! This really should be reading for high school history classes if you ask me!
The art is great and suits the book’s tone very well!
The characters are very interesting. At first I wasn’t sure because it jumps right into the story but as it goes on I became more interested and invested in these characters.
The action parts are intense and very well done!
This story is unpredictable. Admittedly, it might just be because I never learned about this but the end is unexpected.
There are a couple well done comic relief bits.
I learned which is good for a history comic.
The religion element is pretty good. I’m not sure if it’s promoting religion or not but I like how it points out the more positive elements of faith and belief. Even if you don’t believe yourself it’s notable that there are positive parts to it.
The ending is interesting and emotional.

Overall:
Why aren’t more people talking about this book? This book is very interesting. It’s an interesting story with great art, it’s very intense and teaches about a part of WWII that isn’t well known. It’s amazing!
Highly recommended!

5/5

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

During World War II, there are countless monumental events that are repeated and hammered throughout our education as quintessential components to what led to one of the most disastrous massacres in the history of mankind. Among those events is the Operation Neptune, also known as D-Day. This seaborne invasion has been reimagined and reproduced numerous times on the big screen for everyone to understand the complex, intimate and stressful period lived by soldiers and citizens alike. While the context is known by many, it is trying to understand the emotions felt throughout that stretch of a couple of days that really resonates with everyone. Not only was the future obscure to all those who were there, but it was also riddled with life-defining decisions that could lead them just about anywhere, including the grave.

What is Six Days: The Incredible Story of D-Day’s Lost Chapter about? Taking place on June 1944, right in the midst of the D-Day campaign, this graphic novel recounts the true story of a World War II battle held in the small village of Graignes, France. For the duration of six days straight, a group of American soldiers find themselves at the heart of enemy grounds and is sheltered by French citizens while knowing that such a gesture would result in death if Germans were to find out. This story revisits the combined efforts for survival of American paratroopers and French citizens as they face merciless enemies in this quiet little town. Through crystal clear understanding of humanity, this story allows readers to applaud the ingrained heroism that we all possess in us when facing the impossible.

The first thing you notice with this graphic novel is its absence of long bubbles of dialogue and narrative. The intention behind this decision is clear from the start as Robert Venditti and Kevin Maurer wish to let the artwork speak for itself and convey the emotional weight that comes with this war. From questions of loyalty to brutality, there isn’t an instance throughout this story where the psychological state of the soldiers and the citizens aren’t discretely explored as they face incredible threats ready to assault them when they least expect it. The exploration of friendship, romance and religion are also quickly covered, while the story tries to portray the devastating battle that took place in Graignes, France. Although a happy outcome is what is wished by many, the denouement obligates us to understand that life has simply never been fair for many.

Thankfully, the artwork works wonders with the overall theme in this graphic novel. The blurry and hectic panels, especially during the action scenes, offer the readers the impression of reliving history and the complete emotional spectrum that comes with World War II. While happy moments made you smile, the terrifying moments made you dread for the lives of all those that were implicated during this event, whether they wanted to or not. The colours are also respectful of the era in which it takes place and the use of large panels allowed the artists to fully explore the repercussions and overarching doubt and misery that hovers over this era. In fact, the ragged-edged of despair is felt through the art and helped introduce all the themes that the writers wanted to incorporate in the narrative.

Six Days: The Incredible Story of D-Day’s Lost Chapter is a stunning true story of survival during the D-Day campaign told through a rare medium and with unprecedented research to support this tale.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written with an attention to detail and a good balance between the American and French perspective, this book also features the humanism needed to portray the whole view of the war. Friendships, flirtations, and humor. Yet, also the despicable fighting and the atrocities of an evil enemy. The artwork shows this shifting of tones most notably in the lighting and the color. Bright and hopeful, and dark and bleak.

On the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Six Days is an important homage to the coming together of peoples for a life and cultural-enduring fight.

4.5 out of 5 stars

For my full review: https://paulspicks.blog/2019/05/14/si...

For all my reviews: https://paulspicks.blog

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Six Days is a satisfying World War II tale, although it doesn't quite live up to its subtitle. Basically, a few paratrooper units land in the wrong place on D-Day, work with the locals to fortify the town, then try to fend off the Nazis on their own. The parts of Six Days that feature the soldiers interacting with the locals are charming and fun; the battle scenes are monotonous and hard to follow. The whole thing ends pretty abruptly, seemingly skipping over a large part of the story. It's a fast, interesting read, though nothing truly special.

[Václav · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4,1 of 5 for nice WW2 "Normandy" story about some brave soldiers and even more brave villagers)
Yes, we get another story about brave American soldiers liberating Europe. WW2 material is rich, but it gets a bit winded in a movie and comic media alike. So the authors trying t tell the stories and push too much on it (looking at you, Ennis), or not enough. Six Days is almost in the middle. It has a great build-up and the overall quality of the storytelling is nicely high with one flaw - the long building up the story suddenly ended in smoke. The finale is quick and leaving us in the dusk of the battle, with some individual note and a lot of questions. Was this the end of the battle? What happened next? What happened with the rest of the US troops? We know a little bit from the introduction, but the actual story feels there is one before the last issue missing.
The art is decent, it looks OK but it also has its flaws. The german helmets and uniforms are depicted with great liberty, sometimes too much great because there are panels where on the first look I wasn't sure if that is US troops or German ones. Also, there is overkill on explosions -when few volleys from mortar fell or there are few shots from ONE canon, all hell breaks loose and it looks like in the middle of the B-52s bombardment.
Those are no minor flaws. The story could be finished in a better way, the art could be a little more realistic/less-confusing because the story feels very real. But the comic is still very good, especially on WW2 comics standards.

[OmniBen · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review)
Picked this one up cheap as the DCVertigo title suckered me in, being a monumental fan of the imprint, even if this isn't your typical Vertigo fare. This was my first experience with Robert Venditti. I'm aware he has a solid reputation amongst the newer crop of DC and Marvel writers, and given the results here, I can see why. Sure, Six Days was nothing revolutionary or exceptional by any stretch, but its relative restraint with the narrative and the overall balance between the two aspects of this story demonstrated Venditti as being a man of (at least) reasonable talent within the comics medium. That said, this book definitely had its flaws, with the last dozen or so pages being completely unnecessary and ruining the rather impactful little ending it had worked towards somewhat earlier. Most of the characters felt a little flat and interchangeable, as well as lacking any real distinction in an artistic sense. The art itself was fine, neither outstanding nor terrible. It did what it had to do, although not much more. If I'd dropped any real amount of money on this, I might feel a little more slighted, but this was more than an acceptable way to spend half an hour or so. 3/5


OmniBen.

[Suzytornade · Rating 2 out of 5]

J'ai trouvé ça moyen, ça n'apporte rien de particulier par rapport aux autres livres sur la même thématique... J'ai trouvé ça confus, anecdotique et je ne me suis pas du tout attachée aux personnages... C'est vain pour ma part.

[Brannigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very informative and entertaining comic about a small battle in France during WWII. I highly recommend you check it out.

[Samuel Steffen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book about a massacre. It is rare a wwii book is put into a comic. Gives good visual to what occurred. Great art work.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great art, compelling story of hope in the days after D-Day but the story felt rushed and even left out critical parts.

[Nate · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s easy to forget that Garth Ennis isn’t the only writer of war comics these days, especially when his work is consistently fantastic. So when a new book in the genre comes along, it stands out. In Six Days, Robert Venditti teams up with journalist Kevin Mauer for a true story about paratroopers who get stranded in a small French town during D-Day. The civilians decide to help the soldiers prepare for an eventual German attack, providing them with food, shelter, and a sense of geography. It’s a good story, certainly worth telling. But Venditti and Mauer’s treatment is nothing special. There have been many popular depictions of D-Day, and their story fails to stand out as anything other than an obvious "war is hell" narrative. It’s not the authors' fault, but I kept thinking of the early Band of Brothers episodes, to which Six Days bears a striking resemblance. And I can’t help but compare this book to Garth Ennis’ WWII comics. Next to those, the dialogue here is flat and the storytelling is somewhat bare bones. It’s not as shatteringly human as Ennis’ stories, either.

If you read the blurb and introduction by Martin K.A. Morgan, you know pretty much everything that happens in this story. This is a doubly troubling when the subtitle promises “The Incredible Story of D-Day’s Lost Chapter.” But, again, what happens here isn’t very surprising. I’m certain there are many “lost chapters” of D-Day, so I don’t know what makes this one stand out. Perhaps Venditti’s uncle being one the soldiers upped its importance.

As a WWII comic, Six Days is merely okay. Read Garth Ennis’ extraordinary work instead.

[Mikael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not very incredible. The action and characters is confusing to follow.

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a awesome graphic novel and I can't wait for more of it to come out, if this was out when I was a kid I might have liked history much more. This is the story of the 82nd Airborne and how they got dropped behind enemy lines far from where they should have been, and how they and the villagers battled together for six days in Graignes, France to keep it from the Germans. The illustrations are phenomenal and the story line even though non fiction is awesome and engaging. I really have loved these new DC Vertigo comics a lot, all of them, so I will keep trying them as they keep coming out.

[Jurij Fedorov · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine nothing more. It's basically exactly what one expects from a regular comic book you pick out randomly from a shelf. Nothing great yet coherent enough. The writer wants to tell this grand tale of an American unit that dropped down in France 15 miles from the intended location. They are alone in a small town of 200 houses in a swamp area. Germans with heavy machinery run them down and then execute all the wounded men who surrender to the Germans. Then burn down the town and kill civilians.

Unfortunately you don't know how many soldiers there are. How big the town is. How many weapons they have. What the plan is. It's all quite vague. It's definitely an important story yet we spend most the time on seeing some young women talk about their sick father, soldiers eating, some fighting we don't quite understand as it's crudely drawn. Is this important? If so then why not show it more clearly? Instead we have several pages just with a sermon in church. In a TV show this would be a needed slow down in pace and a bit slice of life seeing a young woman flirt with a soldier. Here it's utterly pointless as we don't even see the proper military work. We basically just know they died somehow.

It's not really worth it over just any WW2 movie or a more detailed comic book.

[Zachary · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting real-life story, worthy of telling, but unfortunately, not well-told.

Six Days starts off promising, but one gets lost trying to tell the characters apart. They're not given distinctive visual characteristics by the artist, which really would've helped, nor are they written distinctively. This made it so that each soldier sort of blends in with the next, and I found it hard to know or care about who lived and who died.

The story also takes its time leading up to the climax, which is fine, but then the action is rushed and it's hard to tell what's going on visually besides "there was a big explosion." It's all over so soon, making the whole book anticlimactic.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the 82nd Airborne Division landed way, way off target the night before D-Day. This group was 15 miles farther south than intended in the town of Grainges. The townspeople vote to aid the Americans at the risk of German retaliation. For six days, the paratroopers and townspeople supported each other, worshiped together, and fought together until the weight of German forces finished the battle. A very interesting look at little covered part of D-Day.

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title!

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent read, recounting a true story from World War 2. A group of American soldiers are parachuted into the wrong place and have to try and hold a town with less than 200 soldiers against a German mechanized division of 2000. The French villagers decide to help, at great risk, and the books strength is showing the very human interaction between soldier and civilian.
It’s David versus Goliath, a theme as old as man, and done superbly well.
The art complements the writing perfectly, and the whole book looks fabulous.
Highly recommended.

[Nick Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent adaptation of a little known event during the D-day invasion. It is surely one of numerous stories of allied troops working with French civilians to overcome the German army but it is very well told. Graphic novels have a tendency to focus on action due to the liberties that the medium provides but this story focuses much more on the quiet moments between and leading up to the action. I think it is that approach that made this book such an enjoyable read and worthwhile for anyone that is interested in the history of WWII or enjoys graphic novels.

[Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is excellent, well executed, to the point, and terribly sad. Detailing the six days spent in a small French village by American forces before they were overrun by the Germans during WWII, it takes a "focus on what brings us together, for without that, we're fucked" POV, but this is almost not enough to put humanity's brave face on what happens here. When this comes out, I will select it for my library.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy experience and meditation on what it was like to take part in the early days of America’s entry into WWII, what the graphic novel’s subtitle calls a lost chapter from D-Day. The forward isn’t much, somewhat confused as it is about how the French from that time are remembered. The coloring is spectacular, as modern comics tend to be. Nice to see Venditti, as cowriter, associated with another fine piece of work (his Hawkman is a total revelation).

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great quick read about a little-known conflict during WW2. There's a lot of attention given (and not without cause) to the stuff everyone has heard about (D-Day, for example). But stories like this are an important part of the story of us as a human race and I appreciate creators who bring them to our attention--ESPECIALLY when they're in graphic novel format, haha.

[Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. Read it in one sitting and loved it. I liked the way it was written and I like the storyline put into it. History nerds like me spend hours researching and reading all about D-day and it’s horrors but this story never once crossed my mind. It is absolutely the kind of book readers who enjoy history should read.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry but what started out as an interesting, inspiring story, quickly turned into an anticlimactic nothing of a story. We barely learned anything about these men and why decisions were made. The art was solid and a good match for the story. Overall, this just seemed like it was going for poignant and landed on lackluster.

[Bruno Franco Netto · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice, poignant WWII true tale depicted with beautiful art. The novel tells the story of the battle of Graignes in which french villagers and American GIs joined forces to battle the German invaders. A simple WWII story that speaks of human decency and bravery in the face of aggression and hatred - a valuable reminder of times past for our times.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well crafted story with great visuals (graphic novel). I have heard of this story in my history readings but this made it come even more to life. Well done by the authors & artist. Highly recommended.

[Dan Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

As it title says by covering a chapter of D-Day that is rather unknown. One that showcases the bravery not only of the soliders but those French citizens who came to their aid. Fascinating history with impactful emotion as that bravery is shown to not always be enough

[Marek Michalak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a big fan of war stories, so be warned I might be a little prejudiced. It is a decent, simple war story, with one twist at the end. It was a decent graphic novel, if nothing that will stick in my mind for a long time.