Last Day In Vietnam [Paperback]

Will Eisner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 2000

Last Day in Vietnam is Will Eisner's memoir of stories about soldiers who are engaged not only in the daily hostilities of war but also in larger, more personal combat. During Eisner's years in the military, and particularly during the many field trips he made for P.S. Magazine, he observed camp life at close range. Some of the stories in this novel are comical, some heart-rending, some frightening, yet all display the incredible insight into humanity characteristic of Eisner's entire oeuvre. The first edition of this graphic novel features a full-color cover painted by the artist, with a matte and spot-gloss finish, interior cover flaps, and special sepia-colored ink printed on high-quality antique paper.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Drawing on memories from his World War II service days and his army-sponsored trips to Korea and Vietnam, comics innovator Will Eisner put together Last Day in Vietnam, a six-story collection that reveals the strange feelings that arise in soldiers during wartime. From the long, rollicking title story to the somber, bureaucratic cautionary tale "A Purple Heart for George," Eisner consistently finds new angles on old material, while maintaining the mainstream position that war, though ridiculous, must be fought when necessary. The sepia tones of the stories and interspersed photos of Korea and Vietnam add gravity to the already weighty tales, but the book never becomes heavy-handed. Last Day in Vietnam is impressive work from an artist with an impressive record. --Rob Lightner

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse (July 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569715009
• ISBN-13: 978-1569715000
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #694,124 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

WILL EISNER was born William Erwin Eisner on March 6, 1917 in Brooklyn, New York. By the time of his death on January 3, 2005, Will Eisner was recognized internationally as one of the giants in the field of sequential art, a term he coined.

In a career that spanned nearly eight decades -- from the dawn of the comic book to the advent of digital comics - Will Eisner was truly the 'Orson Welles of comics' and the 'father of the Graphic Novel'. He broke new ground in the development of visual narrative and the language of comics and was the creator of The Spirit, John Law, Lady Luck, Mr. Mystic, Uncle Sam, Blackhawk, Sheena and countless others.

During World War II, Will Eisner used the comic format to develop training and equipment maintenance manuals for the US Army. After the war this continued as the Army's "PS Magazine" which is still being produced today. Will Eisner taught Sequential Arts at the New York School of Visual Arts. The textbooks that he wrote based on his course are still bestsellers. In 1978, Will Eisner wrote "A Contract with God," the first modern Graphic Novel. This was followed by almost 20 additional graphic novels over the following 25 years.

The "Oscars" of the Comic Industry are called The Eisner Awards, and named after Will Eisner. The Eisners are presented annually before a packed ballroom at Comi-Con International in San Diego, America's largest comics convention.

Wizard magazine named Eisner "the most influential comic artist of all time." Michael Chabon's Pulitzer-prize winning novel "Kavalier and Clay" is based in good part on Eisner. In 2002, Eisner received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Federation for Jewish Culture, only the second such honor in the organization's history, presented by Pulitzer-prize winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman.

You can always find more information about Will Eisner at www.willeisner.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars decent read but nothing special, February 12, 2008

By 

Sibelius (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Last Day In Vietnam (Paperback)

Will Eisner shares a handful of his observations and experiences during the Vietnam Conflict in this 80 page, graphic novella, "Last Day in Vietnam."

While the stories all contain a poignant moment or two (mostly along the variety of 'war is hell') the narrative is somewhat constrained by Eisner's signature artistic style - a euphoric, cartoony aesthetic - that seems somewhat out of place in constrast to the bleak message of the stories. That being said, fans of Eisner's work along with those who appreciate War comics will find some enjoyment from this title.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eisner true-to-life ordeal during war time; allegory; good, September 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Last Day In Vietnam (Paperback)

"Last day in Vietnam", the graphic novel by Will Eisner. This book constituted a series of short stories. An anthology. However, peering through the same wavelenght, it is indicative to another denotation-- a collections of short stories gleaned from factual encounters by the author, during those indelible memories of his life of actually in more than one war. The book title, explicitly pinpointing to the feature story that runs from the opening pages & as well endowed with the most abundant pages, with 32-page allotment.

"The last day in Vietnam", the installment, was one of best anthologies played out in this graphic novel, along with the poignant last anthology. This feature was told with a first-person narrative technique. As one of the military authority escorting a press agent, whose whole individual per se, in no way & none anyhow, could be chance upon by the readers, to their war camp. In short, the military man was chattering to akin in front to a virtual hand-held camera. The artwork veritably confirmed this take, clearly depicted this proposition.

Overall, "the last day in Vietnam" feature is a prolific, little short anecdote. Although, I suspect, it is obligatory to re-read the story more than once like I did, to contemplate what the author, Will Eisner, furnishing to say. A slightly suspenseful & chilling effort.

In my perspective, this book is not one of the author best of endeavors. However, the stories constituted here are wholly allegorical in nature, they are symphathetic & relatable in real life. The core genre of these stories are pertinent to war. More than once, Will Eisner was indeed drafted & participated with other novice draftees, as he was hurled into the horizon of war to fight for his mother country.The whole presented here are pleasant, heartwarming, some funny, some tragedic. This book was crafted during the latter years in the 1990's.

The last story is one of the best, if not the best composed here. It was a story of a draftee who was a recidivist of a drunkard, hankering to vault from working a desk job to a full-blown military combatant, one who will actually tread into the wilderness & shall brazenly endures a real-life nightmare amidst with others. His friends, like a clockwork, doggingly showed earnest concern for his person by frequently like a ritual, tearing off his application to shift duty. However, one day his colleague, unfortunately, did not salvaged this inopportune circumstance, thus, their worst fear came to life.

This particular short yarn turned out, surprisingly, a poignant & fulfilling story. They were as well evocative, pleasant & allegorical. It portrayed to us the unrevealed dimensions of war. Superior story.

Will Eisner, one of the pioneers who help shaped the tumultuous maelstrom of the graphic novel industry. His name is a legend in the comicworld. I muse,in my opinion, as a token of appreciation, buying a copy from each one of us like this particular book, shall certainly reciprocated to "the man" whose cinch to become one of the legendary names in the industry for decades to come, as a homage.

The size of the book is appproximately, 8.5" X ll" (width to lengh), virtually commensurating to an oversized graphic novel book. The paper quality is sepia tone (light brown color), good thickness & coarse paper, softcover & inked (drawn) in brown color, 80 pages. Overall, good production quality.

If you will like this book, perhaps you will also love other graphic novels I'm extremely fond of. Such as "To the heart of the storm" by Will Eisner; A Jew in communist Prague vol. 1-3 softcover by Vittorio Giardino; "Age of bronze" by Eric Shanower; "Four women" by Sam Kieth; "Batman: Absolution" by J.M. DeMatteis; "Green Lantern: Willworld" by J.M. DeMatteis.

An astounding book to buy & add to your collections.

Highly recommended !

4.0 out of 5 stars Vignettes of rear echelon warriors, August 15, 2007

By 

Jean E. Pouliot (Newburyport, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Last Day In Vietnam (Paperback)

As the introduction for this books indicates, Will Eisner used his graphic talents to educate US armed forces in three conflicts -- WWII, Korea and Vietnam. His work in this small but impressive volume is mostly taken from Korea and Vietnam, and touches on peripheral stories of these conflicts. "Last Day in Vietnam" follows Eisner's guide to the war, a stocky, macho rearguard major who is suddenly confronted with fear on his last day "in country". "A Purple Heart for George" tells the tale of a young soldier who is bellicose when drunk and of the file clerks who try to keep him out of combat. "The Periphery" is about journalists -- those who "report" from the comfort of a Saigon café and those who return from hotter areas. "The Casualty" is about a wounded GI reminiscing about his Vietnamese lover and the pain she brought him. And "A Dull Day in Korea" tells the story of a bored GI on the DMZ in Korea, who has a loaded rifle but no enemy to shoot at.

Each tale is told with Eisner's trademark brevity. The entire book can be read in less than half an hour. This leads to some disappointment as each of these too-brief stories ends. Some tales are a bit too comic-bookish for my taste -- a few too many situations are resolved by a characters facing out at the reader with a "so, what are you gonna do?" quizzical gesture. One story, about a soldir who loves killing, ends with a too-easy comic reversal.

But as with all of Eisner's work, the images and stories stay with you long after you put the book down.While this is not my favorite Eisner work (check out the "Contract with God" trilogy) it is good stuff and worth a look.