The Harlem Hellfighters

This is an absolutely wonderful book. I feel like I owe the author and the artist a debt for making this book. It really moved me. As I am typing this review I can feel the emotion, energy and the weight of the story of The Harlem Hellfighters churning inside of me. These were men that were tougher than the tough times that they lived in. Their story is one of incredible courage. They lived in a world that gave them nothing but subhuman treatment and were then placed in grave danger in defense of that world. Despite being stuck between a rock and a hard place they enthusiastically jumped at the chance to fight for their country. This story may be a fictional account but I have learned enough of the real story to know that much of the book is, in fact, factual. I first learned of The Harlem Hellfighters by watching a World War I documentary. Admittedly, I never heard of them until very recently. I was astounded that I had never encountered a single story about them in my entire life. I purchased this book - as well as other literature - in order to learn as much as I possibly could about the 369th in the War to End All Wars. I love that the story is told in the Graphic Novel medium. The illustrator is quite brilliant in his ability to visually enhance the author's writing and convey the grit and raw emotion behind the words. A picture really is worth a thousand words. Some of the panels depicted scenes that would have taken many pages to describe in words. The real life picture at the end was a fantastic touch. I looked into their eyes and I could see the fire and passion that drove them. I would like to thank the author and the illustrator. This is already one of my favorite books. Thanks to your choice to use your powers and skills to educate and entertain an audience with your take on the story of The Harlem Hellfighters their victories will continue to awe and inspire This was a moving tribute to them.

This should be required reading for all students! This is untold history into unappreciated group of American warriors! The conditions and prejudices that they overcame is downright staggering by modern standards!

The book is great, but although it hasn't been pre-owned, it came with a red mark on one side (first photo) and glue plus signs of wear on the front (second photo, highlighted inside a green circle I drew on the photo).

We don't know what we are capable of. Woodrow Wilson knew what would happen if black soldiers returned from Europe victorious, having made the world "safe for democracy." The Harlem Hellfighters fought a double war: they fought the terrifying war against the Germans, and they fought the insinuating, sly racist oppression of their own president, Woodrow Wilson. Wilson was an uncloseted democrat racist, and his appointees understood that the black soldiers had to be sternly repressed, or else they might succeed. The book is excellent in its depiction of different social classes and accents, especially in the beginning of the bok where the recruitment is shown. At times it is difficult to figure out who is who as the people are being blown to bits, but usually the next frame calls out the name of the deceased, so you can figure it out. Black and white graphics, a lot (a LOT) of bodily fluids, and people being blown to smithereens. The book does show the sickening racism against these soldiers by dishonorable democrat politicians, like Mayor John F Floyd and Woodrow Wilson himself. And of course, it looks at the soldier's feelings of bitterness, resentment, and the desire for violent revenge that arose from their treatment. You see a race riot on page 39. The book offers good historical quotes: from WEB DuBois on page 77, from Irvin S. Cobb on page 124, and the Alan Seeger poem "I have a Rendezvous with Death." There is a great discussion on page 175 on dignity and respect, and an excellent summary of what these men overcame. The graphics offer very good sensory information, and one of the best visual tricks involves "remembering." Great presentation of the graphics. As a parent, I highly recommend this book.

Absolutely loved this graphic novel. Before reading it, I had no idea about the 15th New York National Guard Regiment, later redesignated as the 369th Infantry Regiment.... The legendary Harlem Hellfighters! I had been under the misconception that African American soldiers didn’t serve in World War I, and this book completely changed that. An incredible, eye-opening story that deserves far more recognition.

The Harlem Hellfighters is an eye-opening account of not only a the horrors of a war we are slowly losing focus of, but also the gross mistreatment of brave, decorated warriors solely because they were black. The art is fantastic. The writing and scripting are solid. The story is as inspiring as it is important and appalling. This is easily one of the most important works to grace my favorite medium. I have to take issue with one thing, however: the self-censorship of "curse words". Racial epithets aren't censored, but they're important to the tone of the story and shouldn't be. Graphic violence isn't censored, but again, without it the story of the Great War would lose some impact. So why censor "curse words"? It seems childish, but all in all, something so petty can't ruin this story. Buy this book. It's not just a great graphic novel, it's an important account of fading history preserved in a way that only comics are capable of.

In the long history of war we have many instances of minorities who are treated many times as less than second class citizens. This is very inherent in the imperial armies of the French in Indo-China and Northern Africa and the British all around the world where the sun never set on its Empire. Such anomalies were in existence in all of the United States Armed Forces throughout the late 18th and the entire 19th century and half of the 20th century. During this time frame the black men of these times served in the military very often times as support troops doing menial tasks very much like slaves prior to the Civil War. During the 19th century we see for the first time that blacks were used in the Indian Wars of the West and were given the name of Buffalo Soldiers. This piece of historical fiction is based on factual material written by Max Brooks and illustrated in black and white by Caanan White which gives us a detail account that many Americans have no knowledge of. This being the centennial of the start of WWI, we are also given an education of a black 369th Regiment from New York. The fact that this unit was one of the first American units to be deployed to France and the French at this time were in desperate need of fresh combat troops to be the needed fodder to fight the German Hun, we see the 369th fighting not with other American units but rather the French. At this time in American history the American army would not use a black regiment to fight in any combat arm during WWI. However the French needed bodies and for them the color of the skin did not matter. Brooks shows the frustrations and the injustices that the black soldiers had to endure. What the author also brings to the table is that this regiment was one of the most decorated of all the units in WWI. It endured the most time of all American units on the combat line. If you go to Harlem today you can visit the 369th Regiment Armory and see a monument of the Harlem Hellfighters so named by their German adversaries on the Fields of Flanders. This book gives a wonderful history of this unit and is an enduring story which should be imbedded into American Military History.

Be careful buying new. The prices was ok but I had to marked it down 2 stars because the book is listed as new & what I got is in ok condition but definitely not new.

Magnifique BD sur une histoire qu'il faut connaitre de la 1ère Guerre Mondiale ! Ce livre vaut le détour pour ses illustrations et le moment d'histoire qu'il apporte.

great Comic with inside into a very certain time and place in history, very unknown to me prior and made me interested to research more about it.

I see lots of people surprised and leaving angry reviews that it’s a graphic novel. Yes it’s a graphic novel. Compelling story, the graphics make it even more raw. A wonderful read about some undercooked heroes of the First World War.

This was a present for my husband, his first graphic novel. Adult content, interesting story linked to true story.

Un bel pezzo di storia americana ai più sconosciuto fatto di guerra, eroismo e discriminazione. Incredibile pensare che questi uomini non potevano combattere nell'esercito del loro paese per motivi razziali, tuttavia mostrarono il loro valore in battaglia. Bellissimi i disegni di White e anche i testi di Brooks meritano. Consigliatissimo agli amanti del periodo storico purché abbiano padronanza dell'inglese. Amazing WWI comic book, Harlem Hellfighters story is worth telling, a story made of war, heroism and discrimation. I can't believe they were forbidden to serve in the US Army because black, however they proved their valor on the battlefield. Highly recommended to WWI fans, White and Brooks did a great job !