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True War Stories
A sniper in Haiti faces the repercussions of the shot he never took. A team of SEALs help rescue a kidnapped girl in the Philippines. Army interpreters in Iraq battle their toughest foe: the rats of Saddam’s palace. A soldier on a late-night run surprises a motorpool saboteur. A young cavalry lieutenant, fresh off the Battle of Kamdesh, meets the Marine half-brother he’s never known. A Navy ship reacts to an unexpected man overboard. And if you’ve ever wondered what Christmas was like in a war zone, you’re about to find out.
True War Stories is a 260-page full color graphic novel anthology containing fifteen true tales of American service members overseas. Nearly every branch of the military is represented in this collection of stories that are heartwarming, heroic, harrowing, and even at times, hilarious, spanning the globe. This unique project, assembled by the multiple-Eisner nominated writer/editor, Alex de Campi and co-written/edited by Iraq War veteran Khai Krumbhaar is an entertaining and moving work of graphic nonfiction, pairing members of the US military with the biggest names in comics to share real war stories told by those who lived them.
Artists include Peter Krause, Ryan Howe, Skylar Patridge (drawing her own father's Vietnam story), Eoin Marron, Tish Doolin (a former Army medic), Dave Acosta, A. D'Amico, Drew Moss, Josh Hood, PJ Holden, Chris Peterson, Sam Hart, Jeff McComsey, and Paul Williams. Colors are by Dee Cunniffe, Matt Soffe, Kelly Fitzpatrick, Tarsis Cruz, and Aladdin Collar. All lettering is done by de Campi herself.
True War Stories is a 260-page full color graphic novel anthology containing fifteen true tales of American service members overseas. Nearly every branch of the military is represented in this collection of stories that are heartwarming, heroic, harrowing, and even at times, hilarious, spanning the globe. This unique project, assembled by the multiple-Eisner nominated writer/editor, Alex de Campi and co-written/edited by Iraq War veteran Khai Krumbhaar is an entertaining and moving work of graphic nonfiction, pairing members of the US military with the biggest names in comics to share real war stories told by those who lived them.
Artists include Peter Krause, Ryan Howe, Skylar Patridge (drawing her own father's Vietnam story), Eoin Marron, Tish Doolin (a former Army medic), Dave Acosta, A. D'Amico, Drew Moss, Josh Hood, PJ Holden, Chris Peterson, Sam Hart, Jeff McComsey, and Paul Williams. Colors are by Dee Cunniffe, Matt Soffe, Kelly Fitzpatrick, Tarsis Cruz, and Aladdin Collar. All lettering is done by de Campi herself.
264 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2020
3 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Alex de Campi
260 books240 followersAlex de Campi is a New York-based writer with an extensive backlist of critically-acclaimed graphic novels including Eisner-nominated heist noir Bad Girls (Simon & Schuster) and Twisted Romance (Image Comics). Her most recent book was her debut prose novel The Scottish Boy (Unbound). She lives with her daughter, their cat, and a Deafblind pit bull named Tango.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 7, 2021
Part of me was disappointed; another part of me was relieved. War is always shown with spits of gunfire, martyrs and sadists, explosions that leaves fireballs rising into the sky. Sometimes, the soldiers are humanized or shown as hollow shells of themselves. Rarely is the mundane humdrum existence waiting or supporting featured.
True War Stories is a project that doesn't skimp on the diversity of soldier life. It has tales of learning to be happy with yourself, tales of family by blood or by circumstance, and reflections on life in a combat zone even when it's boring and normal. Unlike Hollywood portrayals, which rely on gunplay to keep one's attention, here, the soldiers and their truth take center stage.
As a teacher, I had hoped this would help capture the attention of some of my struggling readers. Perhaps it still will. But it's more honest and reflective than I expected, less guns and glory than anticipated. In that way, I am both disappointed that it isn't what I needed as a teacher, and relieved that it's more than I could've asked for.
True War Stories is a project that doesn't skimp on the diversity of soldier life. It has tales of learning to be happy with yourself, tales of family by blood or by circumstance, and reflections on life in a combat zone even when it's boring and normal. Unlike Hollywood portrayals, which rely on gunplay to keep one's attention, here, the soldiers and their truth take center stage.
As a teacher, I had hoped this would help capture the attention of some of my struggling readers. Perhaps it still will. But it's more honest and reflective than I expected, less guns and glory than anticipated. In that way, I am both disappointed that it isn't what I needed as a teacher, and relieved that it's more than I could've asked for.
August 20, 2021
Absolutely no what not I expected....it was 100% better. Going in I thought it was going to be a lot of doom and gloom but the stories had such a wide variety of topics.
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September 16, 2024Fifteen stories written by active and former American servicemembers, taking place from Vietnam to the present day. None of the stories are bad and some of them are very well done. They’re all very human, and often deal with mundane but ultimately meaningful aspects of the war experience. My favorites: “The King of Macadamia,” about cookie-eating rats in Baghdad; “Prayer for Healing,” about Jewish soldiers in Afghanistan; “Yonder,” about someone who feels desperately out-of-place in the military; and “Roadside,” about a friendship gained in Iraq.
The art is uniformly strong throughout. It was nice to see PJ Holden, a Garth Ennis war comic regular, draw a story here. I wish there was a table of contents, however, and bios of the artists (writer bios are included at the end).
A worthwhile project overall.
The art is uniformly strong throughout. It was nice to see PJ Holden, a Garth Ennis war comic regular, draw a story here. I wish there was a table of contents, however, and bios of the artists (writer bios are included at the end).
A worthwhile project overall.
March 23, 2021
The graphic art here hits differently than pure text. Surprisingly moving stories. I especially enjoyed a story by Randy Brown because of the sense of optimism that is ground down by reality. And I always called white chocolate macadamia nut cookies "War Cookies," so it was fun to read a story about that. Get yourself a copy.
May 11, 2025
As memórias de soldados, entre o humorístico e o traumático. Pequenas vivências e detalhes que humanizam momentos da história do século XX, através das recordações vivas dos combatentes, não as dos famosos, mas as dos anónimos, aqueles de que raramente se fala. Algumas histórias são tocantes, outras assustam. Há um pouco de tudo, entre as recordações das injustiças da guerra, da morte aleatória de amigos, do impacto nas populações civis, ou os traumas de ex-combatentes.
September 21, 2025
Nice anthology.
The fact that most of the stories chosen to be part of it are not heroic ones, but rather focus on internal and social conflicts the soldiers lived through while in the military and during wartime, sheds light on aspects that are mostly left out of any war narrative.
Soldiers are people too, and while they have pressing issues due to the conflicts they are in, other aspects of their lives continue to influence them.
The fact that most of the stories chosen to be part of it are not heroic ones, but rather focus on internal and social conflicts the soldiers lived through while in the military and during wartime, sheds light on aspects that are mostly left out of any war narrative.
Soldiers are people too, and while they have pressing issues due to the conflicts they are in, other aspects of their lives continue to influence them.
October 1, 2025
I really enjoyed this. It wasn't the type of war stories I was expecting. It highlighted the slice of life stories that are usually absent in the tales of war. Diverse stories as well from all walks of life.
The story about the rats was a highlight for me and something I'll think about often when the subject of Afghanistan comes up.
The story about the rats was a highlight for me and something I'll think about often when the subject of Afghanistan comes up.
July 27, 2025
15 stories are collected here.
14 stories about soldiers and service.
1 a whiny, neurotic paean to mental illness.
Don't read that one. (Don't worry, you'll know it when you see it, from the very first panel)
14 stories about soldiers and service.
1 a whiny, neurotic paean to mental illness.
Don't read that one. (Don't worry, you'll know it when you see it, from the very first panel)
July 20, 2025
pensé que era algo muy propagandístico pero me sorprendió la humanidad de los relatos
February 27, 2022
True War Stories is a startling good anthology of modern and not-so-modern war stories, proving once again that Alex de Campi can do just about any genre, and do it well as editor (in this case), editor collaborator with Iraq veteran Khai Krumbhaar. This time out, the multitalented de Campi lettered the book.
However, I have two negative criticisms, quibbles, really, which reflect my personal peccadilloes.
There is no table of contents, at least in the trade paperback edition, so the reader can't get a good overview of the interior, or flip between stories at will.
As well, while there is an informative "Our Authors" section in the back, there is no "About the Artists" section, so that one may learn about contributors to find more of their work. Mind you, some of these artists are stellar, Canadian Ryan Howe and Peter Krause among them. If this is a case of contributors wanting anonymity, I am agreeable to that. However, there should be a disclaimer or explanation if this is the case.
Other than those qualms, these stories are utterly human, tragic, funny and sometimes scary firsthand accounts of modern theatre-of-war situations.
Artist Richard Johnson's deployment portrait sketches, interspersed between the stories, are absolutely astonishing slice-of-life pieces.
I will continue to read anything that Alex de Campi writes, edits or collaborates with others on.
However, I have two negative criticisms, quibbles, really, which reflect my personal peccadilloes.
There is no table of contents, at least in the trade paperback edition, so the reader can't get a good overview of the interior, or flip between stories at will.
As well, while there is an informative "Our Authors" section in the back, there is no "About the Artists" section, so that one may learn about contributors to find more of their work. Mind you, some of these artists are stellar, Canadian Ryan Howe and Peter Krause among them. If this is a case of contributors wanting anonymity, I am agreeable to that. However, there should be a disclaimer or explanation if this is the case.
Other than those qualms, these stories are utterly human, tragic, funny and sometimes scary firsthand accounts of modern theatre-of-war situations.
Artist Richard Johnson's deployment portrait sketches, interspersed between the stories, are absolutely astonishing slice-of-life pieces.
I will continue to read anything that Alex de Campi writes, edits or collaborates with others on.
July 12, 2022
A collection of short stories told in graphic novel format. The stories show the deeply personal costs of war, and how our service men and women deal with it.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews