Six Days: The Incredible True Story of D-Day’s Lost Chapter

Based on a little-known episode from WWII, this action-packed graphic novel tells the story of 182 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division mistakenly dropped 15 miles from their target zone on the night before D-Day. Regrouping in a small French village and bonding with the townspeople, the Americans dig in and wait for the Wehrmacht to attack. The plot is powerfully dramatic, pitting the outnumbered Allies against a massive Nazi counterattack. But while the kinetic art by Mutti (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) just about jumps off the page with furious color, the narrative is strangely disconnected. The dialogue sounds canned, when it doesn’t ring like a Sgt. Rock comic (complete with grizzled non-com barking “the war ain’t waiting for your boots to dry” at his men). Some attention is paid to the anxious bravery of the French civilians, who know they will be punished for any assistance to the American soldiers. The final battle is well-calibrated, but the aftermath feels oddly perfunctory. Timed for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, this effort will appeal to war comics fans, but doesn’t quite give due justice to its rich source material. [em](May) [/em]