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Le Vent des Libertaires #1-2
Makhno: Ukrainian Freedom Fighter
The spellbinding true story of the infamous Ukrainian anarchist and revolutionary. 1 VOLUME RELEASED - INDEPENDENT STORIES. In early 20th century Ukraine, freedom fighter Nestor Makhno, the son of peasants, was among the most heroic and colorful figures of the Russian Revolution, encouraging his people to find and embrace social and economic self-determination. This is his story, of a military strategist who tirelessly defied both the Bolsheviks and the Germans to protect his homeland.
120 pages, Paperback
First published June 30, 2020
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91 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
May 13, 2022
I REALLY wanted to like this. I'm an absolute sucker for non-fiction OGNs, but I'll admit, sadly I felt a little lost and out of my depth with this one. That's not to say this isn't interesting! It definitely is! There's lots to learn here, but I felt this was a heavily driven character story and because of this I found Nestor Makhno way more interesting than the actual events unfolding around him - there are LOTS of details here about the man himself, but the information regarding the events surrounding him aren't as fleshed out as I would have liked to give me a deeper understanding. I think because of all this the pacing always felt a little off to me as it jumped backwards and forwards throughout Makhno's life.
The illustration work here is great. I thought it incredibly fitting to the story and it suited the atmosphere of a non-fiction book very well.
It also should be pointed out here that a portion of the proceeds from this book are donated directly to the current Ukrainian relief efforts.
Overall, this was a worthwhile read, simply for the fact I got to know more about a historical figure I had otherwise not known about before. That said, I really would have liked more context on the events around the man himself to have a more historic understanding. There's also a lot of dialogue here which makes it feel like homework at points.
The illustration work here is great. I thought it incredibly fitting to the story and it suited the atmosphere of a non-fiction book very well.
It also should be pointed out here that a portion of the proceeds from this book are donated directly to the current Ukrainian relief efforts.
Overall, this was a worthwhile read, simply for the fact I got to know more about a historical figure I had otherwise not known about before. That said, I really would have liked more context on the events around the man himself to have a more historic understanding. There's also a lot of dialogue here which makes it feel like homework at points.
September 10, 2023
Grafika - 1*
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February 28, 2022Plus ça change...
This book tells the story of Nestor Makhno and his fights to form an independent anarchist state in Ukraine around 1920. I don't know whether the author got the details right. But it was an interesting story. Common people banded together and fiercely fought to defend themselves from, .... basically everybody. The tsarists regime, the German army, and eventually even the communists. Those people went through a lot.
This story is about Makhno, so we don't see much more of the Ukraine after he fled to Paris. But it was no bed of roses for those left behind. For a part of what happened later, if you like to stick with "graphic novels", I suggest The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks: Life and Death Under Soviet Rule.
This book tells the story of Nestor Makhno and his fights to form an independent anarchist state in Ukraine around 1920. I don't know whether the author got the details right. But it was an interesting story. Common people banded together and fiercely fought to defend themselves from, .... basically everybody. The tsarists regime, the German army, and eventually even the communists. Those people went through a lot.
This story is about Makhno, so we don't see much more of the Ukraine after he fled to Paris. But it was no bed of roses for those left behind. For a part of what happened later, if you like to stick with "graphic novels", I suggest The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks: Life and Death Under Soviet Rule.
June 16, 2022
If you want to learn something useful about this complicated figure, this slick, romanticized graphic novel isn't the place. In this telling, the men are ripped, the women are buxom, everyone speaks in slogans, and history is a series of Marvel-style showdowns. The highlight/lowlight for me was when Leon Trotsky tries to shoot Makhno inside an armored train. Yeah, that didn't really happen. Only recommended if you like action more than accuracy.
April 17, 2022
It was very interesting. Creative liberties taken, little historic depth. It was mostly about Makhno, very character driven, and can't say he's likeable. However he seems to have played an important role in Ukrainian history as a liberator from Russian oppression, and I'd be curious to know the opinion of him by Ukrainian nationals, including the civic nationalists.
August 26, 2024
I think as far as comic books about makhno go this is a pretty good attempt. I do think that for all its focus on violence, betrayal and sex it does lose a little bit of Makhno's humanity. In particular I wish they would have talked about his endorsement of Franciso Ferrer's education models, but maybe that's just because I love Francisco Ferrer. You should probably, and this suggestion of course applies to myself despite me not taking this suggestion yet, read other books about makhno in addition to this one. I think this one is more for entertainment, and to try to bring to life a glorious story that can in some ways be understood best in the kind of grandiose and magnificent imagery that comic books offer. I really enjoyed this book overall, but I have qualms with it now and I likely will have more qualms with it the more I learn about makhno. I do appreciate that it doesn't whitewash his flaws, particularly in the way he treated women. Although I wonder, again, if some of that was actually overemphasized. Can't say for sure; perhaps the source I learned about makhno from didn't talk about that enough.
March 31, 2022
Bardzo hollywoodzka w formie i romantyczna opowieść o machnowszczyźnie i losach Machny. Sporo trupów w tle i łbów ścinanych, ale to wciąż daleka od prawdziwych wyczynów chłopców z Hulajpoła. Jako komiks historyczny strawny, co jest rzadkością.
May 5, 2022
I'm not sure what I expected going into this. I got it as part of a Humble Bundle media and game bundle to support Ukraine.
I didn't really know anything about Nestor Makhno prior to reading it, and if I'm honest, I don't know much about him after either. What I did read was about a man who was a seemingly charismatic leader, but spent much of that time in jail, led many losses in battle over time, a philanderer who never loved his wife and the mother of his child, and who died after catching TB from a lost love. I was surprised to find just how uninspiring the whole tale was.
Honestly the story was much more tragic than heroic, and seemed to focus more heavily on the man than his accomplishments.
I didn't really know anything about Nestor Makhno prior to reading it, and if I'm honest, I don't know much about him after either. What I did read was about a man who was a seemingly charismatic leader, but spent much of that time in jail, led many losses in battle over time, a philanderer who never loved his wife and the mother of his child, and who died after catching TB from a lost love. I was surprised to find just how uninspiring the whole tale was.
Honestly the story was much more tragic than heroic, and seemed to focus more heavily on the man than his accomplishments.
April 15, 2022
Worth it alone for the background on Ukraine's tragic history, from the slavery of serfdom to the never-ending invasions by its neighbors.
March 25, 2022
When I first learned of Philippe Thirault's Makhno: Ukrainian Freedom Fighter, I was worried that it would be like Red Rosa by Kate Evans. Don’t get me wrong, Evans made a good graphic novel that attempted the admirable goal of telling us the entire story of Róża Luksemburg’s life from hopeful start to brutal finish while trying to educate the reader about socialist ideas. Sadly, it falls short in some aspects through a bit of cultural ignorance towards Luksemburg’s Polish origin and an overabundance of text that just doesn’t work as well in the comic medium. I’m glad that my worries regarding Thirault's work on Nestor Makhno were unfounded.
Just like most biographies in entertainment form, this one has some fictionalised elements to make for a better read. Fortunately, all of the creative liberties taken here are quite in line with real historical events and none of the crucial facts have been altered. Makhno is shown pretty much just as he was, or at least as others perceived him: a valiant revolutionary and great leader, but also a man with aggressive tendencies – prone to occasionally impulsive decisions and with a drinking problem. There is no glorification here, but instead we have a sympathetic though accurate portrayal of a tragic figure; a once glorious freedom fighter who died a bitter, lonely 45-year-old in poverty and disease, persecuted by Stalinist spies in a foreign land far from home.
It really helps that all the art by Roberto Zaghi is gorgeous. Generally, when it comes to comics, I’m a sucker for the classic and iconic styles of John Byrne, Glynis Oliver, Dave Cockrum, etc. However, here we have the more modern and realistic look, which can be boring if not executed well. Fortunately it looks amazing as presented in Zaghi’s lines and colourised by Annelise Sauvêtre. Those familiar with photographs and recordings from the Russian Revolution and the wars in Ukraine will appreciate the attention to detail and historical accuracy expressed in the clothes, buildings, armaments, and other things shown on the pages of this beautiful graphic novel. Zaghi also didn’t shy away from showing the gore of war here and some nudity, so keep that in mind if buying for a younger reader.
Overall, Makhno: Ukrainian Freedom Fighter is a surprisingly faithful take on the life and death of Nestor Ivanovych Mikhnenko that will surely be appreciated by newcomers as well as those familiar with the history behind the events and people shown on these pages. My only gripe with it is the editor’s insistence on using Ukrainian spelling norms, when in fact Makhno and most of his army (as well as the local peasantry) spoke primarily Russian combined with dialects of Russian that borrow Ukrainian words – the desire to conform to Ukrainian language norms also falls flat, when native names are sometimes misspelled several times. A small complaint in the grand scheme of things, though.
Just like most biographies in entertainment form, this one has some fictionalised elements to make for a better read. Fortunately, all of the creative liberties taken here are quite in line with real historical events and none of the crucial facts have been altered. Makhno is shown pretty much just as he was, or at least as others perceived him: a valiant revolutionary and great leader, but also a man with aggressive tendencies – prone to occasionally impulsive decisions and with a drinking problem. There is no glorification here, but instead we have a sympathetic though accurate portrayal of a tragic figure; a once glorious freedom fighter who died a bitter, lonely 45-year-old in poverty and disease, persecuted by Stalinist spies in a foreign land far from home.
It really helps that all the art by Roberto Zaghi is gorgeous. Generally, when it comes to comics, I’m a sucker for the classic and iconic styles of John Byrne, Glynis Oliver, Dave Cockrum, etc. However, here we have the more modern and realistic look, which can be boring if not executed well. Fortunately it looks amazing as presented in Zaghi’s lines and colourised by Annelise Sauvêtre. Those familiar with photographs and recordings from the Russian Revolution and the wars in Ukraine will appreciate the attention to detail and historical accuracy expressed in the clothes, buildings, armaments, and other things shown on the pages of this beautiful graphic novel. Zaghi also didn’t shy away from showing the gore of war here and some nudity, so keep that in mind if buying for a younger reader.
Overall, Makhno: Ukrainian Freedom Fighter is a surprisingly faithful take on the life and death of Nestor Ivanovych Mikhnenko that will surely be appreciated by newcomers as well as those familiar with the history behind the events and people shown on these pages. My only gripe with it is the editor’s insistence on using Ukrainian spelling norms, when in fact Makhno and most of his army (as well as the local peasantry) spoke primarily Russian combined with dialects of Russian that borrow Ukrainian words – the desire to conform to Ukrainian language norms also falls flat, when native names are sometimes misspelled several times. A small complaint in the grand scheme of things, though.
May 18, 2024
Makhno: Ukrainian Freedom Fighter by Philippe Thirault is an absolutely amazing action story about people fighting during the civil war following the Russian revolution, however, its an abysmal recounting of Nestor Makhno's life. I stumbled upon this book after reading Thirault's 'Miss' comic, which is amazing. I'm always skeptical of fictional depictions of real events, but its hard to pass up a story on Makhno because he is an anarchist whose life is full of action, heroic deeds, and commitment to revolutionary change.
Although Thirault gets the action correct, it pretty much fails on every other way including replicating a lot of the smears (they insinuate he is an alcoholic for early on), and falsehoods put out by Makhno's haters (like the Bolsheviks) and they even add some of their own (that Kropotkin didn't support Makhno). The title itself is laughable--sure Makhno was Ukrainian--because Makhno was an anarchist fighting for freedom from the state, not for his particular state. This could be considered a minor gripe if Thirault was then really clear that Makhno's anarchism was the most important aspect of his life, but, if i recall correctly, there is only one maybe two moments when they mention his anarchism and its always sort of a side aspect. Obviously they didn't have to have Makhno loudly proclaim it, but its a comic book so they should have especially on the cover for instants or during his speeches.
If folks want to know and understand anarchists they should read said anarchists work. Likewise, for Makhno, folks should read 'Nestor Makhno — Anarchy's Cossack: The Struggle for Free Soviets in the Ukraine 1917–1921' by Alexandre Skirda,
Although Thirault gets the action correct, it pretty much fails on every other way including replicating a lot of the smears (they insinuate he is an alcoholic for early on), and falsehoods put out by Makhno's haters (like the Bolsheviks) and they even add some of their own (that Kropotkin didn't support Makhno). The title itself is laughable--sure Makhno was Ukrainian--because Makhno was an anarchist fighting for freedom from the state, not for his particular state. This could be considered a minor gripe if Thirault was then really clear that Makhno's anarchism was the most important aspect of his life, but, if i recall correctly, there is only one maybe two moments when they mention his anarchism and its always sort of a side aspect. Obviously they didn't have to have Makhno loudly proclaim it, but its a comic book so they should have especially on the cover for instants or during his speeches.
If folks want to know and understand anarchists they should read said anarchists work. Likewise, for Makhno, folks should read 'Nestor Makhno — Anarchy's Cossack: The Struggle for Free Soviets in the Ukraine 1917–1921' by Alexandre Skirda,
September 3, 2022
"The lesser of two evils is still an evil".
This book is a short graphic novel biography of the Ukrainian revolutionary Nestor Makhno. Yes, he fought a great evil for the cause of Ukraine's liberty: the Russian Communists. Yes, he fought another great evil for the sake of Ukraine's freedom: the anti-revolutionary White Russian Army that was intent in restoring the Tsars. And yes, he was slandered by history at times. But that does not mean that Nestor Makhno was a good man, or that his dream of an anarchic Communism would have made Ukraine into a paradise. If we go by the example and actions of Nestor Makhno, anarchic Communism would have been a land ruled by the whims and power of hot-headed local peasant strong-men in which the rule of law hardly mattered and deaths by vengeance would be common. It may well be that Makhno's Commune Communism was the lesser evil compared to the Russian Communism that came to dominate Eastern Europe after WWII. But the lesser of two evils is still an evil. All of that being said, Ukraine never had a more committed person defending her independence from the predatory Western powers or the hypocritical Russian Communists.
This book is a short graphic novel biography of the Ukrainian revolutionary Nestor Makhno. Yes, he fought a great evil for the cause of Ukraine's liberty: the Russian Communists. Yes, he fought another great evil for the sake of Ukraine's freedom: the anti-revolutionary White Russian Army that was intent in restoring the Tsars. And yes, he was slandered by history at times. But that does not mean that Nestor Makhno was a good man, or that his dream of an anarchic Communism would have made Ukraine into a paradise. If we go by the example and actions of Nestor Makhno, anarchic Communism would have been a land ruled by the whims and power of hot-headed local peasant strong-men in which the rule of law hardly mattered and deaths by vengeance would be common. It may well be that Makhno's Commune Communism was the lesser evil compared to the Russian Communism that came to dominate Eastern Europe after WWII. But the lesser of two evils is still an evil. All of that being said, Ukraine never had a more committed person defending her independence from the predatory Western powers or the hypocritical Russian Communists.
July 21, 2024
Extremely fictionalized story about a revolutionary Ukrainian socialist/anarchist that includes a personal assassination attempt by none other than Leon fucking Trotsky. Yeah.
Like, I think maybe they tried to portray this person as really passionate about the rights of the people, but really made me wonder how much he was just like so many other famous leaders in these eras, just a psycho who wants attention and to be able to kill people for "good". Given how many different factions there were in this time period, it's hard ot tease apart who you should be rooting for, and this comic doesnt help at all. It does make we want to know more about this person and his followers tho.
The pacing in this is really really bad, like the time jumps were hard to get in the beginning, like before we even know who is who yet. The art is fine, pretty standard american style hero comic art.
Wouldn't really recommend this, it's not well told, poorly paced and probably more fiction than reality.
Like, I think maybe they tried to portray this person as really passionate about the rights of the people, but really made me wonder how much he was just like so many other famous leaders in these eras, just a psycho who wants attention and to be able to kill people for "good". Given how many different factions there were in this time period, it's hard ot tease apart who you should be rooting for, and this comic doesnt help at all. It does make we want to know more about this person and his followers tho.
The pacing in this is really really bad, like the time jumps were hard to get in the beginning, like before we even know who is who yet. The art is fine, pretty standard american style hero comic art.
Wouldn't really recommend this, it's not well told, poorly paced and probably more fiction than reality.
April 26, 2025
I've always thought that the biography of Nestor Makhno could make a great action movie (or these days, streaming miniseries), and this graphic novel does a pretty good job of showing the benefits and pitfalls of that treatment of his life, work, and adventures. Unfortunately, I was kind of looking for more of a graphical history than an action adventure. For instance, I hoped to find out more about pretty-boy anarchist Fedir Shchus or Green Otaman Nykyfor Hryhoriv (and his old-west style end). Apart from the historicity, it would have been nice if even the fictionalized composite characters had been developed more. This is still a fun read, and I can see that illustrator Roberto Zaghi consulted the Osprey Publishing's Uniforms of the Russian Civil War books.
June 10, 2023
Rather sympathetic for the title character, but his motivations and his world are depicted quite unrealistically (this is a work of fiction, I understand, but ---). There are many amorous shenanigans, great leaders addressing faceless crowds (and Trotsky and Lenin, although they are in the book, do not do that), and all too many characters look like they come from a cowboy movie. The bits showing Makhno in France in 1934 are the best, more life-like and obviously easier for the authors to research and depict. Afterword discussing "the real Makhno" gets many things very wrong, too.
July 30, 2024
I wanted to like this book more than I did. Was very excited to see a book on Ukraine in the library. While this book did introduce me to a completely new historical figure in Ukraine, I wish there were more facts to it. When researching Makhno afterwards, it appeared that some of the events in the book never happened in real life. There was also a significant sexualization of women that took a way from their roles in the uprisings. Glad I read it. Would have made some significants edits if I was writing it.
January 1, 2025
This introduced me to a part of history I didn't know anything about, so it gets a few stars for that, but it's definitely a "Hollywood biography," introducing characters who apparently didn't exist, giving Makhno relationships he didn't have, and even changing the names of real people (his daughter was named Elena--also, he was married to someone else before he married Halyna, and abandoned her).
It's messy, but sheds light on the messy situation eastern Europe found itself in following the end of WWI and the Bolshevik Revolution.
It's messy, but sheds light on the messy situation eastern Europe found itself in following the end of WWI and the Bolshevik Revolution.
June 4, 2022
First time for everything, right? People tell me I need to read graphic novels and say that they are just not my thing. This one came out a few months ago, and given the geo-political situation, I decided to give it a read. It was a very interesting way to read a mediocre-at-best biography of a anarchist revolutionary. Art was beautiful, though the story was way bloodier than I usually go for. Very graphic depictions of violence, death, murder, and blood/gore. 2.5 stars
June 14, 2022
Nestor Makhno witnessed and oversaw plenty of killing, raping, and pillaging on his way to and during his leadership in the attempted anarchist peasant overthrow of both the Ukrainian landowners and Russian usurpers. The Makhnovist movement is always and interesting one because they were fighting both the feudalists and socialists all at the same time, and though they weren’t politically “successful”, their struggle proved inspiring.
April 20, 2022
A romanticized and fictionalized graphic novel about Ukrainian anarchist Nesto Makhno and his revolution to liberate Ukraine from the Russian Reds (Bolsheviks) and Russian Whites (Tsarists).
While this account is mostly fictional, it gets all of the historical aspects of Makno's life correct.
A very good read!
#StandWithUkraine #HumbleBundle
While this account is mostly fictional, it gets all of the historical aspects of Makno's life correct.
A very good read!
#StandWithUkraine #HumbleBundle
May 27, 2025
I wanted to love this. The art is beautiful, but the storytelling isn’t enough to keep you engaged. It also takes a lot of liberties with straying from the historical record, but doesn’t make interesting or exciting enough choices to justify re-writing Makhnovist history.
It doesn’t brush over the misogyny of the movement and the times though, so that’s good at least.
Pretty.
It doesn’t brush over the misogyny of the movement and the times though, so that’s good at least.
Pretty.
Read
September 2, 2025Interesting in that I know very little about this period, disappointing in that I’m not sure I learned much. It’s very rushed and comic-book-y… I enjoy a graphic novel nonfiction when it’s done well, but this was trying to do too much in too few pages, IMO.
May 15, 2022
Learned a bunch of new things but some things seemed forced to make the ‘narrative’ more compelling. Suspect it still would have been pretty interesting without the flourishes.
August 5, 2022
Confusing and kinda boring *shrug*
September 3, 2022
This was interesting, but I wish it was more accurate. I also think it assumes the reader knows a decent amount about Ukrainian history from the start, which I don't.
December 20, 2022
Why does Makhno look like Tom Cruise.?|
No documentation of sources. Taras Bulba as superhero?
No documentation of sources. Taras Bulba as superhero?
July 13, 2023
I really enjoyed this comic. I enjoy a bit of comic book violence though, especially when its well-drawn and the story is compelling.
July 29, 2024
4+
With the local Ukrainian background and the current Russian invasion the story really has punch.
With the local Ukrainian background and the current Russian invasion the story really has punch.
March 18, 2025
A very violent retelling. No idea how accurate it is.
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