From School Library Journal
Grade 11 Up–In 1999, war breaks out between a newly fascist Europe and the Allies of Britain and America. Thirteen years later, a stalemate seems permanent. Two mercenaries, alcoholic Bloody Mary and Britannic-cliché-spouting Major, emerge from the prewar days and join forces with the Allies. They encounter a fighter for the Euros, who seems to die in every battle yet always returns intact. Moreover, he keeps killing even when his head is blown off. Mary and the very amusing Major rendezvous with the man, crossing paths with a wine-obsessed fellow mercenary. Whoever wins will tip the balance of the war, and the battle goes into the stronghold of Rochelle, the fascist French dictator. Bloody Mary has strong plotting and powerful imagery with many elements of great graphic novels: the war backdrop, the lone traveler hero, the sarcastic sidekick. Although the final half switches to a religious cult in America, the personalities never change and there is continuity among them. Also, there is character development, some of it both funny and touching. Strong, graphic language and sexual content are included.–John Leighton, Brooklyn Public Library, NY
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
