Customer Reviews

The 'Nam (Marvel's Finest)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved reading THE 'NAM comics in high school. A great series on an individual's experiences in the Vietnam war, and the story is told in real-time, so you can follow Ed Marks through his tour of duty in 12 issues. Writer Doug Murray is a vet, so he knows his subject. Artist Michael Golden did a fantastic job, almost cartoony, but with much realism and focus on the technical aspects.

Those 12 issues were a great story-arc and would have been perfect for this collection; however, here Marvel Comics only includes the first FOUR issues, resulting in a severely incomplete story... and at $14.95 for the book, four stories is a rip-off. Also, the pages were not recolored for this collection, using the same horrible "dot-tones" as you see in the Sunday funnies.

The cover touts the logo "Marvel's Finest", but this collection doesn't make the point.

There is no better Marvel series that deserves to be one of the first 1980s titles collected in the "phone book-style" Essential format. The story is brilliantly told in a very realistic, hard-hitting style. Michael Golden's pencils were also magnificent!

But while this may be an acceptable collection if you want to introduce yourself (or a loved one) to Marvel's groundbreaking war comic, which ran for 7 years from 1986 to 1993, the price is ridiculous.

$15 for a 96-page collected volume? You gotta be kidding me! This was actually the third printing of this book, the first was $4.95 and the 2nd cost $6.95. Slapping a "Marvel's Finest" logo on a nice, new cover did not justify the price hike. But at least they put it back in print.

(You can easily pick up Near-Mint, first-printing copies of the first 5 or 6 issues for the same price at your local or online comic shop!)

Well here we are 5 years later, and this series *demands* a new re-release! Marvel, please release "The Essential 'Nam" and make it at least 2 volumes! That would cover the first half of the series, and trust me, there are a lot of Vietnam vets who would appreciate it!

I can remember when this title came out in the '80s right at the height of renewed interest in the Viet Nam War. Along with Oliver Stone's movie, Platoon and the TV series Tour of Duty, there was the comic book, The 'Nam.

Written by actual Viet vet Doug Murray and beautifully illustrated (for the first 13 or so issues) by Michael Golden, this series followed the one year tour of duty of PFC Ed Marks. Murray dedicated one issue to one month of Mark's tour and crammed in all kinds of period speak and slang that the troops used while in country. This gives the stories and the characters a real feeling of authenticity that was missing from war comics for a long time.

The 'Nam was one of those rare comics that wasn't afraid to address death (even major, beloved characters died during the series) in an unflinchingly honest and touching way or present unlikable characters. It covered all sorts of aspects of the war, from going on R'n'R, to the death of a close friend to the dangerous jobs of Tunnel Rats. I am hard-pressed to think of any other comic exclusively dedicated to this war before The 'Nam or since.

Michael Golden's artwork is another thing that made The 'Nam so good. His stint was the finest work of the series and was never equaled after he left. Even though his style is a bit on the cartoonish side, he made it work perfectly by giving each character their own distinctive look that was important so that one could distinguish who was who in all those similar green uniforms. What I liked so much about his style of illustrating is the cinematic quality to it. I could easily see his artwork transformed into a movie as he employed all sorts of moody, atmospheric lighting techniques and colours that really brought the action on the page to life.

Sadly, this collection is a bit of a bust as it only collects the first four issues. Murray and Golden were a team for at least the first 12 (maybe 13?) of the series. They are definitely worth tracking down as this was one of the finest war comics ever published.

Just read it last night! One of the best war comics ever produced! Once I dived it I just couldn't put it down! You surely don't see a lot of these nowadays. A very realistic take on the Vietnam war as it doesn't try to be preachy but show the war from the experiences of soldiers fighting in the war as Doug Murray and Larry Hama fought in Nam. Marvel definitely should reprint this, this is good material for study on the Vietnamese war and should be read in high school! A must read!

I just read this in Iraq, funny thing is change the uniforms a little and the country and BAM! It still rings pretty damn true today. I wish Marvel would bring it back as a monthly series again. Golden the artist is amazing. I loved every thing about the book except it was too short! I have been looking all over for volume 2 and have it in the mail. I have read it a couple of times already in 140 degree heat and it is covered in sweat now, but I am going to carry it around for the rest of the war until I get home. The last time I fell in love with a comic or graphic novel like this was Dark Knight Returns about ten years ago.
You can't go wrong with the book even though it is a quick read. It just sucks that it leaves you wanting more. I know I am going to be digging thru comic bins for the next 2 years trying to get the complete series.

The Nam was an cool comic book when it first came out, but after the first twenty-four issues the storyline started to stray from the title's orignal theme and ideals. Too bad for them but the first four issues were but together in a comic album format. Why did Marvel only rel-reease the first volume
edition of The NAM and charge a higher price for it? The least they could have done was follow the military career of Ed Marks. He was one of the most intersting characters in Marvel Comics. They sure knew how to destroy comic lines.
First New Universe and now this! Marvel needs to put out the first two years of The Nam out on bookshelf format. But this one is a good start.

Strongly recommended.