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Best regards, Andrew Stewart - - - Subscribe to the Washington Babylon newsletter via https://washingtonbabylon.com/newsletter/ Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <h-rev...@lists.h-net.org> > Date: November 7, 2019 at 7:57:19 AM EST > To: h-rev...@lists.h-net.org > Cc: H-Net Staff <revh...@mail.h-net.org> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-War]: Cotton on Knodell and Axe, 'The 'Stan' > Reply-To: h-rev...@lists.h-net.org > > Kevin Knodell, David Axe. The 'Stan. Illustrated by Blue > Delliquanti. Annapolis Dead Reckoning, 2018. Illustrations. 128 pp. > $16.95 (paper), ISBN 978-1-68247-098-5. > > Reviewed by Joshua Cotton (Jackson State University) > Published on H-War (November, 2019) > Commissioned by Margaret Sankey > > The conflict in Afghanistan has drawn on to become the longest war in > US history. To date, an entire generation has been born and raised in > the eighteen years since the initial invasion of October 7th, 2001. > As a result of the near ceaseless conflict, more than sixty-nine > thousand coalition troops and thirty-eight thousand civilians have > lost their lives in the ongoing conflict.[1] The human cost of such a > protracted war can never truly be calculated and at best we can hope > to collect and curate an accurate record of the people caught in its > wake. Kevin Knodell, David Axe, and Blue Delliquanti's _The 'Stan_ > does just that in what many might find a peculiar way. _The 'Stan_ is > a graphic novel collection of short comics about the American > invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. Told from the first-hand > accounts of US soldiers, Afghan security forces, and a Taliban > ambassador, _The 'Stan_ deals with multiple perspectives and > reactions to the conflict in seventeen short comics ranging from > before the invasion to Americans returning home during the 2013 > security transfer. > > It may seem odd to some to retell the experiences of participants in > such a violent conflict in a graphic novel. For many the format is > synonymous with fiction and whimsy, but in the hands of a talented > author and artist it provides a medium that injects life and vibrancy > into historical accounts. Shifting viewpoints and dynamic visual > panels can redirect narrative focus from scholarly interpretation to > a sense of active participation in events. Details often drafted by > writers are ostensibly shaded by the flourishes of their literary > voice and academic interpretation; whereas the medium of the graphic > novel allows for a writer to submit only the facts and details > essential to the story, which an artist must then interpret much the > same way the reader would. This binary revision and perspective help > reshape narratives by removing trace elements of bias and are > especially effective when dealing with primary accounts as these > stylistic choices remove much of the author while maintaining the > authenticity of the interviewee. > > At its heart _The 'Stan_ is an attempt to humanize the conflict by > introducing readers to very real, very human participants in the > conflict. The larger politics of declining superpowers and fanatic > theocracies are only passing backdrops to the reactions and > experiences of those in the crosshairs of the conflict. _The 'Stan_ > begins with an account of the coming of the Americans as told by > Abdul Salam Zaeef, the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan. Zaeef's > story begins with his involvement with the Mujahideen as a > fifteen-year-old boy during the Soviet occupation. His story harkens > back to the deep resolve of the war-hardened Taliban fighters who had > survived not only the Soviet invasion but also the brutality of the > warlords who preyed on the nation in the Soviet's wake. Most > poignantly, Zaeef scribbles: "Yet others were dancing to the drum of > the Americans. They failed to understand what the future held for > them" (p. 3). The next panel sees him bound and blindfolded in the > orange jumpsuit of a Guantanamo Bay detainee. Zaeef's story is a > fitting beginning for the book. It prepares readers for the sense of > futility that seems to permeate much of the rest of the book. Many of > the American soldiers display a sense of optimism about their initial > mission, which is quickly dashed by the constant threat of an > invisible insurgency, malfunctioning equipment, and an inability to > create a lasting peace and security for the civilian population and > their allies. > > There is an absurdity in war. _The 'Stan_ does not shy away from that > reality and it is demonstrated again and again throughout many of the > stories. Multi-million-dollar equipment does not work; special > operations units buy their gear with Central Intelligence Agency > credit cards over the internet and get them delivered by next day > mail; and the allies who risk their lives alongside American troops > one day are left to rot the next. The insanity of it all is almost > laughable until you realize that this not a parody but the reality > these people live. Knodell and Axe recount the stories of Private > First Class Timothy James who was stationed at Combat Outpost Margah > during a night attack. James recounts a malfunctioning M249 machine > gun, an armored vehicle's remote gun that had no power, and an AT-4 > rocket that malfunctioned in the same engagement. Two of the most > heart-wrenching stories are those of Abdul of the Afghan National > Army and interpreter Sami Kazikhani. Both men, having served their > nation and aiding the coalition forces, end their narratives as > refugees: Abdul living as an exile in Dubai and Sami searching for > asylum in the refugee camps of Europe. > > _The 'Stan_ does well in its diversity of story type. There are > sympathetic accounts of the local people and their plight, the > culpability of the United States in civilian casualties, and > inclusion of underrepresented demographics in the theater of war. > Specialist Alison Parton's account of transitioning from chain > restaurant employee to human intelligence collector comes as an > insightful read of the rigors and challenges faced by modern > servicewomen who have to contend with not only American prejudices > but also cross-cultural challenges from local populations. Parton's > closing remarks are a stark reminder of the ongoing stigma > servicewomen face on the home front: "When people argue about 'women > in combat,' they don't get that women have been in combat this entire > war" (p. 54). > > The dialogue and narrative presented in the book are simple and > clean. Most interpretations are left to the reader to divine > themselves with a few conclusions drawn by the interviewees. The > conciseness of the stories might be the sole drawback of the book as > many of the stories leave the reader wanting more. Delliquanti's > artwork is accessible and not overly stylized. Panels reflecting the > interviewees break up tense scenes and remind the reader that these > stories are matters of fact and that the individuals involved are not > exaggerated caricatures but living, breathing people who walk among > us. This is no more exemplified than in "War and Fireworks," the > seventeenth and final story in the book in which Knodell takes us > back to the home front where he recounts his own tale of the lasting > effects of war on the soldiers and survivors of the conflict. Here > Knodell recounts communing with returned servicemen and the lingering > effects of PTSD. Knodell talks about an incident on the 3rd of July > where fireworks trigger a minor episode for him and some of the > servicemen. The stark irony of using explosions to celebrate war and > its survivors is presented as it has been by many veterans, an > erasure of the plight of the soldier in favor of the myth of the > glory of war. > > Note > > [1]. Rod Nordland and Mujib Mashal, "U.S. and Taliban Edge toward > Deal to End America's Longest War," _The New York Times, _January > 26, 2019, > https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/26/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-peace-deal.html; > > and Neta Crawford, "Update on the Human Costs of War for Afghanistan > and Pakistan, 2001 to Mid-2016," Watson Institute, International and > Public Affairs, Brown University, August 2016, > http://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2016/War%20in%20Afghanistan%20and%20Pakistan%20UPDATE_FINAL_corrected%20date.pdf. > > > Citation: Joshua Cotton. Review of Knodell, Kevin; Axe, David, _The > 'Stan_. H-War, H-Net Reviews. November, 2019. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=54684 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
