When Legionnaire Peter Crogan loses a friend and comrade to a violent sand storm, he is forced to confront some hard questions. Should he wait out the rapidly approaching end of his five-year term of service with the French Foreign Legion, or should he accept an offer of promotion and devote his life to a campaign whose purpose is an enigma to him? Crogan won't have much time to consider his options as he's besieged by the armies of the infamous Tuaregs, under attack from desert raiders, beat down by the relentless heat, and trapped in a cave with a mysterious and terrible creature who is picking off the people in his party, one-by-one. Luckily, he won't have to go it alone! He's but one man in a rag-tag group of hardened fighters, all under the command of a brutally strict sergeant and a dashing captain who may be too brave for his own good... Return to the adventure-prone exploits of Chris Schweizer's not-so-famous fictional family with this new epic volume in the critically acclaimed Crogan Adventures series.
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From School Library Journal
Grade 4 Up—Peter Crogan, a Legionnaire fighting for France in North Africa, is at a crossroads in the year 1912. He's a few months away from his military contract ending. Should he become an officer, or move on to bigger and better things? When brash and dashing Major Roitelet takes command of his unit, Crogan doesn't get the chance to think about his options; it's battle after battle until the tragedy at Fort Mayne. Crogan attempts to lead a few survivors to safety, but at what cost? This action-packed graphic adventure manages to give several historical facts about the Legion in North Africa while keeping children wrapped up in the story. The cartoon illustrations seem simple at first, but every emotion the characters go through on their journey is visible on their faces. Schweizer keeps the drawings visually compelling, yet extremely basic at the same time, and kids will forget they're reading in black and white. While obviously geared toward younger readers, this is a story that a wide range of ages will enjoy.—Ryan Donovan, New York Public Library
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* This second book in the Crogan Adventures (Crogan’s Vengeance, 2008), which tracks the exploits of the multigenerational, extranational Crogan family, stars Corporal Peter Crogan, a French legionnaire in 1912 North Africa. This is a decidedly less-zany workout than Vengeance, though Schweizer still tosses in plenty of gags, dorky characters, and wry verbal ripostes. All that, and a ton of action, helps to make the surprisingly resonant historical examination of foreign soldiering go down that much easier. While weathering sandstorms and endless marches from fort to fort, Peter’s loyalties are tugged in opposite directions by a callously ethnocentric hotshot Captain and a gruff but compassionate Sergeant. After his entire squad is massacred and he is captured by Tauregs, who intend to make an example of him, Peter stages a daring escape and leads a group of other prisoners to safety with heroically little heed paid to his own well-being. Schweizer’s artwork is leaps more assured than in the previous volume, which suffered from a certain claustrophobia and wordiness. This book handles wide tableaus, tight details, and ranges of facial expressions equally well. With characters who take raffishness to a delightful extreme and a generous bounty of imaginative insultery (“bird-nosed dunderpate,” “ribbiting war-migrant”), the Crogans’ escapades are becoming simply some of the finest comics adventures around. A portrait gallery on the inside cover features heroes-in-waiting, including ninja Crogan-Junichi and private eye “Calloway” Crogan. Grades 7-12. --Ian Chipman
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great book for history buffs and comic nerds,
This review is from: Crogan's March (The Crogan Adventures) (Hardcover)
I needs to be said that Crogan's March is one of the more delightful books to come out over the past couple of years. It's a delightful adventure tale about a rare sort of story (that being the French Legionnaires) and it's a rare sort of comic in that it's as well composed as it is drawn. While the cartoonish style (and I use that in the most respectful terms) might put some off there is clearly a level of care, concern, and skill involved in drawing North Africa the way that he does. Crogan's March is the kind of adventure story that people don't tell any more-- and I mean that in the best way possible. Crogan's March is a darn fine comic. And at this price, you can afford to take the risk!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Action & Adventure in the French Foreign Legion,
By
This review is from: Crogan's March (The Crogan Adventures) (Hardcover)
Reason for Reading: Next in the series. This was a Cybils '10 nominee and as a panelist for Graphic Novels was required reading for me. The panelists did not receive a review copy from the publisher and like most other panelists, I, unfortunately, was unable to find a copy before our nominations were due. My copy from Interlibrary Loan request had just now come in.
Set within the framework of the modern day Crogan family, the father tells the patriarchal story of a fellow Crogan ancestor from the past. This book is about Peter Crogan, Legionnaire, circa 1912. An action packed story of a man within the French Foreign Legion and the fellow soldiers he meets and bonds with in various ways. Also explores his feelings for the locals whom they are there to protect and the Tuareg, who are fighting against them, along with the other soldiers' opinions. Peter is an average guy. We don't know exactly why he's in the FFL, but do know it was to get away from something and to start over, like many others who joined the Foreign Legion. Crogan doesn't seem to be any different than the others, he doesn't look different or act different but gradually as the story progresses we can see that Crogan has a conscience. He regrets certain actions and decisions he's made and he soon starts making decisions based on his conscience and we have an unlikely hero in the making. The story is full of action and adventure. Being lost in a sandstorm, battles galore, trapped inside the depths of a cave and being captured by the enemy for public decapitation in the morning. Yes, there is no lack of excitement. But there are also moments of pathos. Crogan first gets choked up when one of his buddies is the only one not to survive the sandstorm while others are only grateful the casualties were so few. Crogan realizes some truths in several poignant moments and there are two especially sad moments towards the end of the book. I can't say the artwork is anything special for me. It's typical b/w cartoony drawing, well done. I really liked Vol. 1 but I adored this Volume. I think the story had so much depth and I must admit it my enjoyment may be due, in part, to my love of French Foreign Legion stories, from when I first saw Laurel and Hardy join the FFL to other old b/w movies to the awesome book "Beau Geste" by P.C. Wren. Looking forward to Volume 3 which from the cover picture at the end of the book looks like it will be about the Revolutionary War.
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Old Story and a New One at the Same Time,
By
This review is from: Crogan's March (The Crogan Adventures) (Hardcover)
Peter Crogan joined the French Foreign Legion for the same reason many people did--to escape. But now, in 1912, almost at the end of his five-year term of service, Peter must stop running away and face some tough questions. Why does France have forces in North Africa? What should the role of the Foreign Legion be in settling conflicts between the various tribesmen? Who are the people that the forces are fighting, and is the fight even worth the cost it is exacting? With a hot-headed hero as his new Captain, Peter faces a Tuareg invasion and must decide what is right and what is wrong in a world where nothing is black and white, only gray.
As in the first volume of his Crogan series, Crogan's Vengeance, Schweizer uses the setup of a unique family history to teach a lesson. Brothers Eric and Cory Crogan are told stories of their ancestors when their father wants to make a point about something. In Crogan's March, this early introduction comes across almost like a lecture, but it is only three pages long and once readers are immersed within Peter Crogan's world, they'll be too engaged to feel preached at. Schweizer doesn't pull any punches. The life of a French Legionnaire in 1912 was hard, and you feel that completely. These men are dirty, rough, uncouth, and quick to fight, but they can also be noble and selfless. Schweizer is careful to show readers that these good qualities may not always be present in every person and even when they are, they may be buried deep inside someone, requiring a severe situation to bring them to the forefront. He is also careful not to make any endings too happy. Not everyone survives, as is appropriate for that time period and setting. And we don't get a clean ending either, which is true of a lot of family histories, where elements of a person's life remain lost in the past. Schweizer obviously did a lot of research into the politics of North Africa in the early 20th century, so his details ring true. He draws a thought-provoking parallel between the attitudes of the North African peoples and the French from that time period and the attitudes of those in the Middle East and those in America and Europe today. Conflicts go on, people misunderstand each other, whether on purpose or unintentionally, and hatred spreads. It's an old story and a new one at the same time. Schweizer's art is rough-edged, fitting for his rough characters. There isn't shading; everything is in stark blacks-and-whites. This means that readers have to pay closer attention to characters in order to keep them clear, but as this is a story that asks for full participation, that is not a bad thing. One character, Peter Crogan's new Captain, is written with a painful French accent. It highlights his pompous nature, but is difficult to read. Even more so than in Crogan's Vengeance, this volume is for teen and up. There is a lot of fighting and a lot of violence, though nothing is gruesome just for the sake of being gruesome. But war is war and people die. The high level of action means that this has the potential to be a good title for reluctant readers, though it may need some pushing. Readers do not have to have read Crogan's Vengeance to understand Crogan's March, but after they've read one, they're sure to want the other. -- Snow Wildsmith
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