Graphic Novel Reviews: Lost Soldiers

In 1969 three men are stationed together in Vietnam. Two remain friends. The third evaporates into the special OPS of the CIA.  In 2009 a leftover grievance and a desire for revenge bring fresh violence to their lives a world away in Juarez Mexico.

Aleš Kot ‘s Lost Soldiers is a male focused war/revenge story.  The main elements of the narrative play out like a main stream pop corn movie. Lots of gun violence with Kowalski the man with the grudge seemingly impervious to bullets for much of the story. Burke, the perpetrator of fear, resentment, and violence is portrayed as a super solider gone rouge. Hawkins, a black solider is the redemptive piece of the puzzle working through rather than embracing his PTSD. Some of the plot elements are not a seamless fit, and reveals about Kowalski’s family do not add much to the portrait of man struggling with his dark side. Kot is clearly saying something about the ravages of war and the scars it leaves behind; unfortunately it is sometimes lost in the hyper violent story line. There is nothing to fault with the art team of Heather Moore and Luca Caslanguida. Perhaps the most interesting component of this title is the coloring, though some of the jungle overlays are a little chaotic.

Given the level of violence this is definitely for a more mature audience. Fine for older teens, though probably best kept for the adult collection; appropriately rated mature.